Storm Heart

Aspen

Current time
Aspen's POV
The words were out before I could stop them.
They were not my own.
The flash of pain that had stabbed through me the next second brought me to the floor.
I writhed, panting in exertion.
God this was AGONY!
The sound of screaming was the only thing that I could hear.
I was in a world of pain.
I never noticed when sight returned to me because the brightness only hurt and I was forced to snap my eyes shut.
Relax! Please you're not helping!
The voice was desperate.
I found my mind relaxing of it's own accord but my body seemed to have a mind of it's own because I kept flopping around like a dying fish.
I'm HURTING! I whimpered silently to the voice.
My pain is your pain for the time being, but if you relax then it will all go away...
The voice explained gently despite the pain that flowed along our link.
I breathed heavily as I thought about what was happening.
I was connected with a complete stranger. That was if any of this was real, which I sincerely doubted.
It's the truth, we are mindbound.
The voice replied softly.
STOP! It isn't real, IT ISN'T REAL! I shrieked across the bond.
I felt another wave of pain sweep through my body and a scream tore from my lips.
I was unaware of the prickling sensation in my arm.
But sweet relief came to me in the form of forced unconsciousness.
Thank you, Aspen...
The words were the last thing I heard.
I finally relaxed...
*
Light was the first thing I perceived.
Then feeling.
Then emotion.
I felt drained, hollow, dead inside.
I moaned softly and blinked open my eyes.
Maximus's worried face gazed into my eyes.
He opened his mouth before closing it again.
I noticed his clenched fists, the hard look in his eyes when he glanced at the doctor sitting beside him.
"Aspen?" The doctor questioned.
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
"Aspen, I'm Doctor Gordon from the MMC medical testing facility. We heard that you've been unwell and were called in since your Uncle was unavailable." Doctor Gordon explained.
I nodded again and closed my eyes because the light was too painful.
"Could you tell me what happened in your own words?" Doctor Gordon inquired gently.
I nodded and opened my mouth to speak.
How did one tell someone that they were mindbound?
One didn't I realized.
So when I spoke all I said was.
"Pain."
The doctor nodded, but evidently wasn't satisfied.
"What kind of pain?" He questioned, pulling out a pad of paper and a pen.
"Burning pain, all I could feel was pain everywhere, like I was a forest on fire..."
"Have you ever had a serious injury to your body that might have caused this?" Gordon inquired, eyes burning into my own.
I shook my head.
I had never so much as jammed my finger on a basketball...
"Nothing? Broken bones? Sprains? Injured ligaments?"
I shook my head again.
Gordon wrote something down on his paper pad and clicked the pen thoughtfully.
I didn't like the way he was looking at me...
"Ever heard of a mindbond?" He questioned, eyes intently burning into my eyes.
I paled, fear churning in my gut.
"No." I replied as calmly as I could.
Gordon frowned.
"No voices in your head telling you to join the Darkness? Nothing?"
I shook my head, folding my hands to hide the tremors running through them.
"Alright, if that's the case, please come with me." He ordered, walking towards the door of the nurses office.