Comatose

Disjointed Reality

Chapter 3

Angelica could feel herself floating as if she was weightless. The sensation felt a lot like swimming to her. Garbled voices made their way to her ears as she strained to bring them into focus. Opening her eyes, she was surprised to find the sun beating down on her as she drifted along in water. Shocked she glanced around seeing trees and a cabin in the distance. Not just any cabin though, but the one they use to rent to take the kids to the lake for summer vacation when they were little. It had been years since they had been there, however. As the kids got older, they started to spend the summers with friends and doing summer jobs. The last time she could recall coming to the lake house was when her children had been in jr. high. It had been over a decade since she had last seen the place and found herself confused as to how she came to be there now.

The voices mumbled again drawing her attention back to the cabin. Turning her head in the water she watched the dock lazily as she floated on the water. Figures began to materialize, fuzzy at first before solidifying making her eyes widen in shock. There, standing on the dock, was her husband and their two children. There was another figure with them but there were no discerning features she could make out on that one. Turning over in the water Angelica began swimming a path straight to the dock hoping to catch her family. She was so determined to get to them she didn't even realize something wasn't quite right. About four feet from her destination however she ran into some kind of invisible wall. Reaching out into the air her hand slid across an invisible barrier that kept her from getting any closer. Frustrated she swam along reaching her hand out until the barrier disappeared and she tried once again approaching the dock from the side. Again, she met the wall just before she could reach her family just beyond it. Deciding to try from the other side she turned around in the water only to stop in shock.

Laying in the water where her legs should have been was now some kind of tail. Reaching out a shaky hand her fingers danced along the glittering silvery scales that ran along it. She pulled her hand back in fear as she found that not only could she feel the sensation in her fingertips but also in what should have been her legs. Testing it out she tried to wiggle her toes only to watch in horror as the end of the tail flickered through the glistening water. Freaking out she began to push around on the invisible wall trying to get to her family and away from the nightmare she now found herself in. No matter how hard she tried or how she approached the dock she could not break through. Not only that but she found she was also cut off from the shore. She was left adrift in the water as some kind of freakish mermaid completely cut off from her family. She could only tread the water of the lake as she watched them with tears in her eyes. A longing so vast it consumed her very being taking hold as she viewed helplessly the scene in front of her.

"We did everything we could, but she was in pretty rough shape when she came in. It was a rough surgery Mr. Byrant and I'll be honest with you we weren't sure she was going to even make it. Your wife suffered an excessive amount of blood loss due to her injuries and I'm surprised she made it to the hospital alive. I wish I had better news for you than that but the fact that she made it this far is a miracle itself." Though Angelica couldn't make out the figure that had been talking she assumed it was a doctor. Did that mean she was actually in a hospital right now and not at the lake?

"When will she wake up doctor?" This came from her husband whose voice sounded watery and distressed.

"It's hard to say. At this point it's a waiting game now. She could wake up tomorrow, it could be a few days or even months from now. We just don't know at this point." Her daughter, Tiffany, let out a horse cry of distress that squeezed Angelica's own heart with the sound.