nightmare

Chapter 3

Nova shot up, gunshots still echoing in her head. She gasped, a wave of pain coursing through her body. She was shaking as she felt for the bandages around her torso. "No no no NO!" She was still alive. She wouldn't see her family.

Damn Adrian Everhart. He had saved her. And now they all knew who she was. She would be arrested, tried, and most likely neutralized. And she would have to live. The Renegades would not let her die.

"Hello, Miss Artino. Glad to see you're alive." Captain Chromium was glaring down at her, with the Dread Warden at his side. They stood above her, waiting for her to speak. She shrank into the bed as far as she could, wishing that she could go back to sleep.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Her voice was almost gone. "I wasn't meant to live. It wasn't supposed to go on this long."

The Captain's face softened. "Adrian is a mess. He hasn't spoken to anyone in days, not even his team. He spends all his time with Max in the hospital."

"Is he okay? I heard―"
"You didn't hear about it. You were there. You can stop the charade, Nightmare. We know you tried to kill him. And Adrian. And me."

Nova inhaled shakily and looked up at him. "I didn't stab Max. It may have been my fault, but it wasn't me."

Simon scoffed. "Please, The Sentinel saw you standing over his body, covered in his blood. Do you expect us to believe you'd try to save him? Forgive me, Nightmare, if I don't completely trust you."

"Believe what you will. I would never try to hurt Max. He's a child. Just like I was when the Renegades didn't come." She curled into herself and winced as a wave of pain swept through her body. "You made me into this," she hissed, glaring up at them. "You killed my parents."

Bang.

She flinched as the gunshot rang through her head. Bang.

Bang.

The final gunshot.

Evie.

"Please leave," she whispered.

I can't take it anymore.

***

The Captain and Dread Warden had left a little under an hour ago, and Nova was still curled up as much as she could be without disturbing the bandages around her torso. Her head was buried as far into the pillow as possible while still allowing her to breathe. She was mostly being ignored by the nurses, for they left her mostly alone after her condition had stabilized. They came in every few hours to change out her bandages and slather it with an antibiotic ointment. Mostly, though, she received dirty looks and silent threats from the other side of the glass.

She had gotten no more visits from the Council, nor from her team. No. Not her team. She was not a Renegade. She was an Anarchist.

A soft knock rang through her ears. Nova didn't bother to raise her head, she knew that they would come in anyway.

"Nova?" Oscar and Ruby were standing at the door, staring at her. They stepped inside, and another face appeared in the doorway behind them.

Danna.

She hesitated on the threshold, glancing at Nova, before stepping into the room.

"Hey." Danna was standing a couple of feet away from her cot, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Great skies, Nova, what were you thinking? Do you know how worried we were? How could you do that to us?" Ruby was towering over her, tears in her eyes. "When Adrian brought you in, there was so much blood, we thought you were dead." The last words were barely a whisper. Oscar reached out and grabbed Ruby's hand, squeezing it gently.