Those That Slither | ON HOLD

Fifteen

A thousand hammers banging a million nails into her head. That was what it felt like when Leah woke up to the sound of her own weeping. Loud thumping pierced her skull as a sweat storm drizzled down her forehead. Her chest felt close to concaving to the point where she was convinced she'd really been trampled on.

The world around her was a muffled ball of background noise and voices, none of which she could make out. All she knew was she was alive, or barely hanging on.

In darkness, the muscles in her body seemed to slowly come back to life. Each one revived, seemed to instantly grow sore. The painful awakening brought her to the reminder of what had happened, or at least what she could recall.

The snakes had made a guest appearance on the porch, and under her clothes. There were no boundaries after all, they'd do as they pleased. And Simon, she flashed back to his expression and words; he swore he wasn't in control of her torture. He had in fact been inviting them to come inside when she flew past him, snakes on her skin. But that was the last thing she remembered- cold slimy snakes.

Leah throbbed. The voices around her began to morph into one, and then it became clear they weren't speaking English. The tongue of the Tamanaka sprung into her ears.

Her body tingled, sparks traveling across every inch of her flesh. She needed to know what was going on. The longer the darkness veiled her, the more her mind tried to rekindle her nightmare. Her chest tightened. It had been a dream right?

Of course it was, stupid.

How else could she have seen what she'd seen? It was impossible. It was also intensely horrifying. Those glazed eyes were full of so much of the past and yet there was no life behind them. They were the eyes that would haunt her forever.

Leah heaved all the effort she could and tried to turn her head. And then very slowly she opened her eyes.

Though it wasn't bright, the light still hurt her pupils. She part her lips, running her tongue over them before swallowing to coat her dry throat. "What's going on?"

The voices stopped and the background noise slowly faded until she heard him.

"Leah," strong hands caressed the side of her face before a blurry face looked down at her. "She's awake."

"My head hurts."

She blinked harshly and finally focused on Daniel peering down with furrowed brows. He ran her hair away from her face, "Welcome back."

"What happened?"

He bit his lip and turned to someone behind him. Leah watched her vision fully restore before she tried to sit up. Dizzy, she fell back on an elbow and rubbed her head, fingers wiping over a bandage on her forehead. Well that hurts like a bitch.

She winced and focused over his shoulder, where Simon was kneeling down, "Well, what happened?"

He stood and wiped his hands on his pants. A serious expression bound to his face. "The puppets of the craft were here. Those snakes," he inhaled sharply, "They were everywhere and on you. You were running from them when you tripped and fell, and you cracked your head."

It made perfect sense and brought her back. She had in fact fallen, but obviously knocked out after the impact. Leah pushed herself up and slumped forwards still sore, "Well that explains a lot. Is it serious?"

Daniel switched his position and sat beside her on the couch, "We were able to stop the bleeding fairly quick. Simon here sealed it with aloe ash so you won't need stitches."

She gazed at the man with dark hair and guardian bracelets on his wrists. Though she still felt unsure about him, she did feel a twang of gratitude towards his actions. "Thank you."