V I G I L A N C E ~ (Marvel) ~

C H A P T E R 2 6_

(song above dedicated to Pietro Maximoff)

Voices echo in my head...

"He was the greatest warrior in the Realms..."

"Six singularities―"

"No one is born with those gifts―"

"Esther..."

...Esther...

"I love you."

I wake suddenly with a gasp as if from deep dreams...

All I see is white...

I shut my eyes again and blink a few times... Fluorescents...

I feel my brows pull together as things gradually become known to me... like the white ceilings and the gentle hum of a machine of some kind... and something plugging my nose, a cold sensation filling it all the way to my lungs. I taste iron on my tongue and my head throbs, the rest of my body pretty numb...

I feel bare. But when I can move my head enough to look down I see a hospital gown covering my body. A tube extends from my side and a smaller one is attached to my inner elbow, making moving rather difficult. I just lie there with my head against a cushion as I try to figure out where I am or... what...

The last thing I remember is sitting at home with―

No...

Wait...

Where am I?

"Relax... you're okay..." A calm female voice says to me, probably sensing my panic from my expression and doubled heart rate.

I look over to see who came in and my eyes focus on Natasha. She has freshly straightened hair and isn't as dirty as she was before, wearing a casual jacket over a t-shirt and black skinny jeans.

She walks in with some ice chips and hands the cup to me.

I take it with shaking hands, noting the monitor that's hooked on my finger when I do so, and let her raise my bed so that I can sit up better.

I gently take the spoon in hand, my senses all returning now but I still feel drowsy.

"Careful. They have you on a lot of pain meds," she says as she sits on the edge of my bed.

"Wh... where―?"