Dark Matter - The Mors Mortis Trilogy Book 2

Chapter Nineteen - Reasons

The first thing Jared was aware of was his breathing; painful, rattling breaths, but breaths all the same. The next, was a faint repetitive beeping. It grew louder as the haziness withdrew from his mind, and with it came everything else.

The pain. The memories. The shock.

He almost wished the darkness would come back and wash it all away again. He hadn't minded the finality he'd felt when Parker's bullet had entered his brain. He'd been so certain it was the end of him, that the next time he opened his eyes he'd be in the world of the dead. And yet he wasn't there now, he knew that with a conviction that shocked him.

The beeping sped up, and he registered vaguely that a pressure band was wrapped around his arm and a heart-rate monitor was hooked to his chest.

For a moment he lay still, trying to control the pain that throbbed through him like live wires, but then something rustled beside his head and he froze. He fought the urge to open his eyes as a shadow passed over his eyelids, his skin prickling with the knowledge that someone was watching.

"Do you think he's waking up?" the hoverer whispered.

The voice was female and sharp as a knife, the words sending a breath of air onto his face.

"I hope not. He can stay dead for all I care."

There was a long silence and Jared tried to keep his breathing steady, but then the shadow moved away and someone thumped down into a chair beside him, two boots coming up to rest on the bed, the heels pushing against his leg.

"He's going to wake up eventually, Tai," the first voice reasoned. "But you're right, it's probably better it doesn't happen right now. Leah would be pissed."

"I don't know why she cares," Tai said softly. "He's just a rebel."

"An immortal rebel," the girl countered.

"That's not the reason she's been watching over him, and you know it."

Jared's breathing quickened again, his heart racing.

Leah was alive.

Relief flooded his system, momentarily easing the pain, but something else these people had said overshadowed it, bringing him back to reality faster than he liked.

Immortal? They thought he was immortal?

Before he knew what he was doing, he'd opened his eyes, staring at them in shock.

A familiar red-haired girl sat next to him, her legs resting on the bed and crossed at the ankles. But the moment his eyes opened, she jerked away, the chair clattering to the ground as she rolled backwards and pulled a gun from her belt, pointing it at his head.

He glanced over to his left to find who he presumed to be Tai mimicking her actions, his face dark with anger and mistrust as he backed towards the wall and hit a call button.

The action made Jared's stomach sink. He'd seen both their faces enough times before to know they were part of the S.I.S, and he had no idea what that meant for him.

"It's about time you woke up," the girl said.

Jared tried to sit up only to fall backwards when his wrists didn't allow it. He glanced down at them to find he was handcuffed to the bedrails, the metal cool to the touch as it bit into his skin.

The girl grinned dryly. "I think it's only fair to warn you that if you try and transport yourself to the world of the dead to get out of those, we're both going to shoot."