There were a lot of people in the room, moving furniture or equipment or something. Stacey didn't bother opening her eyes to find out.
Eventually all those people went away.
There was a crackling sound like the sound of a badly received radio station that needed tuning. It cleared up, focussing into a ringtone. The sound of a phone call being made.
"Hello?" said a familiar voice of a woman. The voice of someone she'd never thought she'd hear again.
Stacey's eyes flew open and she sat up. A strong arm caught her dizzy body before she could fall and Mr Huo sat next to her, holding a microphone in front of her mouth. She pushed him away, but he didn't budge.
"Hello? Who's there?"
Stacey's voice got stuck in her throat. She couldn't speak.
"I'm hanging up," the woman's voice warned. "You telemarketing pranksters. One day you'll get what's coming to you."
"Mum, don't hang up," Mr Huo said into the microphone. "Stacey's here, but she's injured and sick. She can't talk very well. Give her a bit of time, please."
"WHAT?!" Mrs Wright screeched after a slight pause. "Who are you? What's wrong with my baby? Where is she? What have you done to her? Stacey? Stacey, baby. Where are you? Where have you been? How can you not call us for so long? I told you that you shouldn't have moved out to live on your own. Stacey? Baby? Mummy's here. Answer me, baby. You. Hey, you man. Answer me. Why haven't we been able to contact her for so long? How do we get her and bring her home? We'll do anything. How is my baby?"
"Woman, what are you doing, screaming into the phone?" a male voice could be heard through the speakers.
Stacey mouthed the word she wanted to say but couldn't say it either. The sound wouldn't come out.
"Calm down, Mum. Please, calm down," Mr Huo said into the microphone patiently. "Stacey's here. She can hear everything you're saying. She's just having difficulty speaking. She's had multiple brain injuries and most recently had a stroke."
"What?! No way! Oh, Stacey. My baby," Mrs Wright wept. "What hospital are you in? We're coming over now!"
"Why are you crying? What is it? What's wrong? Is it Stacey? She's not dead is she?" Mr Wright demanded. "Don't just stare at me. Put the phone on loudspeaker. There. Say it again," Mr Wright said. "What is it about Stacey?"
"Mum," Stacey was finally able to get the word out. Her voice cracked as she sobbed. "Dad."
"Stacey! Baby, darling, where are you? What's wrong with your voice?" Mr Wright thundered into the phone. "Where on earth have you been? Do you know how worried we are? Tell us where you are. We'll come pick you up right away."
"Go home," Stacey clutched Mr Huo's arm. "Want go home."
"Hush, shhh," Mr Huo stoked Stacey's head, wiping her nose with a tissue. "Don't cry. Your parents are here."
"What's wrong with Stacey?" Mr Wright demanded. "Why is she talking so weirdly?"
"Dad, she's had brain injuries. She had a brain bleed recently and it's affected the speech and motor centres of her brain. She can understand you fine, but she has trouble speaking and moving," Mr Huo said.
"Dad? Who's your dad?" Mr Wright huffed.
"Let me explain on Stacey's behalf. We don't have much time left available on this line before we lose connection," Mr Huo said. "Try not to interrupt while I tell you all the important information."
"We won't interrupt. We're listening. Go on," Mr Wright barked, but his voice was wobbly. Stacey could hear her parents crying, sniffing and blowing their noses.
"Stacey was kidnapped a while ago when she went for a walk in the park. The kidnappers mistook her for somebody else," Thieren lied. "I found her after she'd been abandoned. She'd been starving and was already suffering a brain injury at the time. It wasn't serious. Just a very small injury that affected her memories and mood. I'm afraid we're in a wartorn country Very far away from your country. We're trapped here with no way out. I doubt I will ever be able to get home, let alone Stacey. I can't safely get her out. I'm sorry. Don't worry. It's relatively safe where we are living at the moment and Stacey is being well looked after in the hospital. We have access to all the facilities she needs."
"How'd she get hurt?" Mr Wright interrupted. "You said it was only a little injury at first."
"There was a battle," Mr Huo explained, squeezing Stacey's hand that was clutching his arm tightly. "She got accidentally involved in local politics and was stuck in the middle of the battle. Because she didn't know how to fight, I apologise, but I took advantage of her poor mental health to train her and turn her into a beserker just before the battle. That way she wouldn't remember the battle too clearly and she would have a far higher chance of survival. Although I regret harming her in that way, it was better than watching her die or being carried away to become the baby making tool of a beast."
"Oh, Stacey. My baby," Mrs Wright wailed.
"It was likely a good thing that she had gone berserk at the time. The leader of our enemy had captured Stacey and I was too far away to go to her rescue. You'd never believe it and sometimes I can't believe it either," there was a hint of pride in Mr Huo's voice, "she killed the leader of those bandits herself and cut his head off. She was badly injured in the process but she dragged his head back, causing the battle to end early and saving the lives of quite a few girls in the process."
"Oh my goodness," Mrs Wright's voice gasped.
"Go on," Mr Wright's voice said gruffly after clearing his throat.
"I sent her to hospital as soon as we noticed her injuries. She was recovering pretty well. At the same time, Mum, Dad, we also got married."
"WHAT?!" both of Stacey's parents screeched and began shouting undecipherable questions into the phone.
"Please let me explain," Mr Huo said, talking a little faster when Stacey's parents had calmed down a bit. "We only have a few minutes left and I want to explain everything to you to reassure both of you, as well as her. She has depression now, you see. She won't eat or drink and I had to fork out a lot of money to gamble on this chance to contact you. I'm hoping with this call, she will choose to live. Quite a few of Stacey's friends died or were seriously injured in that battle. She blames herself for it. It wasn't her fault but the community are using her as a scapegoat and blaming her for it."
"Oh, my baby. You have to live. You have to stay safe and live," Mrs Wright sobbed. "You can't give up.
"Tell me how you got married," Mr Huo said in an iron hammered tone.
"We're only married on paper so far," Mr Huo explained. "I haven't touched her. I'm waiting for the day she consents, but that might be a long time in coming," Mr Huo sighed. "She doesn't fully understand why, but I had to marry her to protect her. So it's not a consensual marriage on her part. If I didn't marry her, someone else would have and I wouldn't have the right to be able to make sure she stays safe and make sure no one else tries to take advantage of her. I just want to protect her. I've been here so long that they think of me as a local. Also, I'm rich and have some measure of power and authority. Nevertheless, I think it's safe to say that my wife hates me."