The world was weird for a while. I could hear nothing. I see nothing. I was...nothing.
I don't remember much from the abyss but being so aware you were nothing was a terrifying reality. I don't know where I was, and I don't think it was the place where you go if you die. At least, I hope not.
I woke up into a overly bright room, and I soon heard the beeping and involuntarily sighed at being in this situation again. The sigh didn't come out though. I started coughing as I couldn't catch my breath and my throat was dry. I couldn't ask anything as my mouth was also parched. I flung myself forward and started freaking out. I looked around to attempt to find a water pitcher or something. I downed two glasses of water before I took in the rest of my surroundings.
No one was in the room. The room white pure white, everything was white and honestly it hurt to look at. There was about half of the water pitcher left and there seemed to be no food around or other signs of living. The machines were loosely connected to me, making it easy to remove them seeing as I felt fine after the water. I could hear vague conversation down the hall, it seemed to be shushed and hurried even though it was midday outside. I heard no one moving in the other rooms, but that didn't necessarily rule out the presence of others in them.
The floor was freezing when I set my feet down on the tile, shocking my system a little as chills went down my spine. I couldn't see outside the window through the pale sash that was draped across the window. I don't know what it was exactly, but it was odd that it was so bright in the room. I stood up, the white hospital dress flopping barely above my knees. It seemed to glow like all the other white things to the room. I closed my eyes as a headache bloomed at the base of my skull. I felt around with my hands and feet slowly as I made my way to the bathroom.
The door handle seemed to almost be frozen when I finally found it. I pushed my shoulder against it and shoved softly. My breath came out if front of me into the sparkling bathroom. Ice lightly covered everything, with no real showing of why it was frozen over. I backed out slowly and made my way over to the main door. I slowly twisted the handle and opened the door slowly. I poked my head out into the hallway and sighed. No one was out there, so I stepped out softly into the hall.
It was trippy seeing colors again, and the colors were odd at best. The floor was a deep purple that seemed to hide every dip and bump in the wood floor. The walls were a little bit harder to tell what color they were. The color seemed to shift as I passed them and the doors were all painted in a black light type paint. Shadows danced at the end of the hall, as it turns to the left and right. There was no sign of the people I heard before and I was slowly becoming nauseous. My eyes started to close as I stumbled down the hall and I had almost gotten to the t before I fell and blacked out.
I sat up fast as the heart machine I was attached to started going nuts. This time, the room was a soft cream with the typical blue curtains hanging on the railings. The soft white blankets cushioned my legs and the pillows fell from my back. There were still no people in the room, but there were flowers sitting on the back table and what looked to be a bag by the couch. I sighed and scrubbed my face with my hands. I am much more tired then when I woke up in whatever place that was.
I was slightly concerned to go anywhere from the bed and wasn't sure if it was safe to reach out to anyone. I looked around for my phone, to see if it was anywhere within reach and functioning. It was at the desk beside the bed and just as I grabbed for it, the doctor walked in. He looked like he had had a long night and there seemed to be something staining his coat. I hoped it was coffee.
"It is good to see you awake and moving." He nodded slightly at me. He walked around, checking machines, charts, and doing basically anything else but interacting with me. He wasn't human, though he tried to burry his scent under a ridiculous cologne. He wasn't a wolf though, and quite frankly, to loud to be a witch.
"Sir, where am I?"
"At a hospital, isn't it obvious?"
"Sir, you and I both know damn well I don't mean what kind of building I am in. Where am I as in the name of the hospital and what town?"
"Grovefeild Heart Medical Center. You are in Grovefeild county, West Harper to be exact."
"West Harper, that is...outside of my pack territory."
"The girls you were with are waiting outside the room, as well as the group of people who brought you here. Your alpha has been contacted. Do you remember what happened?"
"We.." I was silent for a while. "We...stopped some hunters on the way through Fennel Forest outside Harrowood. We just wanted to keep people safe. No one said what they were doing and this older gentleman left one of the vehicles. We were trying to have a discussion and then there was this noise....I don't remember anything else."
"Alright. You should be cleared to go home soon, I am going to let the girls in if you are okay with that?"
"Sure..sure"
The doctor turned around after marking something on the chart and hanging it behind the door. I heard him mumble something to people outside. There seemed to be a slight uproar outside, I am assuming because he told them that only so many people could go in the room and all that jazz. Clearly no one listened as Sherri slammed open the door and waltzed in, Kat and Claire following in toe.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Sherri demanded as she smacked me on the shoulder.
"To be perfectly honest, I am not sure what I did."
"You defended hunters for one thing, and why did you step right into the path of those things? We thought they killed you."
"Well, sorry to disappoint you."
Before they could get in another word, the group of non humans from the hunting troupe walked in, Lokat at the head. In total there seemed to be about 5 people. Lokat was definitely the oldest, followed by a modest couple in there 40s to 50s, and two others. A boy and a girl, the girl seeming a little older than us girls and the boy. The girls moved to stand in protection of the bed. The two youngest stood in the doorway as the three older ones moved forward. Lokat had a soft look adorning his face with something in his hands.
"Sir, I am sorry if I offended you earlier, we just wished to make sure things were well and we were not under attack."
"I wanted to thank you for what you did back there. We had heard of something attacking various groups and that it was living in your territory. We don't know where it went after it hit you. We wish to leave this as a gift of our appreciation." He set the cloth bundle on the bed and stepped back.
"Sir, if I may ask, what are you? I have never met people like you before."
There was a soft laugh around the room, "Well, welcome to the territory of demons darling."
"Interesting, that is. How long have you been here?"
"We have been here since the beginning and have seen many a thing. Child, I think you may be in for an long journey ahead of you. I wish to reach out and provide assistance to you four girls."
There was a grunt from the back of the group. The younger male didn't seem to appreciate being volunteered to help. I reached his eyes, his brows furrowed in irritation. There was an urge to comfort the man, to smooth that brow and bring a new light to his eyes. I shook my head.
"Sir, with all due respect, what do you think we will be getting into?"