Dylan
I knew that I was awake, but I was not moving and I wasn't able to see anything. Breathing felt odd to, like if it wasn't easy to pull the air in my lungs or push it back out.
Scenting the air didn't give me anything either because it smelled stale and held a stinging bleach undertone to it.
Unsure if I was just coming out of a dream and if I just wasn't fully awake, or if this may be another dream, I reached out to Rae.
While she didn't respond to me, I felt her there, but it was as if she was too tired or worn out to respond to me.
Okay, I told myself as I tried to figure out how to either wake myself up fully, or figure out what was going on.
Flexing my fingers and toes would be an easy way to determine if I was in that weird half sleep half awake state.
As my toes moved, I felt that there was something sitting atop my bare feet. It was soft and cool to the touch so I figured that it must be a sheet or something. If that was the case then I must have fallen asleep and I was just in bed.
Moving my finger tips, I brushed them against something covered in a thick cotton like material and when I pushed my thumb down, the structure was thick and didn't give.
Okay, so then I was laying on something, but it was much harder than my old mattress so I wasn't in my own bed. That made sense since the smells around me were nothing I would have found in my house.
Checking off in my head what I knew was like making an internal list to try to determine what was happening.
I was awake.
I could hear, smell, touch, but not see.
I was laying down on something.
I was not in my own home.
Rae was with me, but couldn't speak to me.
Well, I'm not exactly sure if these things were supposed to make me feel better or worse, but I was proud of myself for determining this much in such a short amount of time.
Trying to open my eyes was proving too much and I coud feel my heart race as I began to panic a bit when it didn't work.
As soon as I realized that I was starting to panic, I heard a loud beeping sound from somewhere near me. Focusing on the beeping, I realized that it was getting louder for a moment, then slowed as my beating heart did.
There were other sounds that I was starting to pick up and they were getting closer. Soft but quick foot steps, hushed voices, and then the sound of a door opening.
Both, the sound of the voices, and the foot steps increased in volume and multiplied in their numbers almost immediately.
"What's going on," a male voice called out.
"Is she okay," another male said.
"Call the doctor," said a soft female voice.
"Why was she even left alone," came from a female voice that I knew very well.
Lecia was here, where ever here was, and I could now smell her familiar scent in the air still tinged with bleach or cleaner of some kind.
Other scents filled the air and while a few of them felt familiar there was one that was oddly comforting and when I caught it in the air I took a huge gulp of air in through my nose.
Gods, it smelled warm and appealing, but also appetizing in a weird way. As soon as I thought the words, I felt my stomach growl softly.
"Listen, she must be waking up, she's hungry, I heard her stomach just now," Lecia's voice came out sounding a bit odd. She sounded like she was hopeful that whoever was here with her would validate her words.
"We must wait for the doctor before we determine anything ma'am," said the soft female voice I recalled from a moment ago.
There was movement by my left hand, and I felt something moving across my skin and then suddenly, there was a hand grabbing mine.
As I felt the thin fingers grasp mine, I let the warmth of their skin sink into mine and I hadn't realized that I had been cold until that moment because a chill raked my whole body as the new warmth seeped in.
Closing my fingers around the slender hand in mine caused a few things to happen very quickly. Screaming, yelling, movement near and far, and many many voices talking over each other.
Lecia screamed, "She's awake, I swear to the Gods she just squeezed my hand, look!" She yanked my hand up and while I could feel everything, I still couldn't force my eyes open.
All of the voices in the room and the noises were starting to overwhelm me so I decided to focus on the loud beeping that was increasing with the rate of my heart and breathing, but the voices were starting to drown even that out.
The beeping was so erratic that I hoped that someone other than me was actually listening to it, when suddenly there was a soft ripping sensation across my face and a reddish yellow light filled my closed eyelids.
"Can you open your eyes Dylan," came Lecia's voice much nearer to my face then it had been before, but I obeyed her words and tried to force my eyes open again.
This time, even though I had to struggle to move them, I was able to lift both of my eyelids. They were much heavier than I have ever felt them, almost like I had just been in a deep sleep.
What awaited me was a shock to the senses. The room I was in was not mine, and seemed to be some sort of clinic or hospital room. White was everywhere and on everything other than the many people standing around the bed I was lying on.
Lecia was on my left side still holding my hand. There was a petite woman, in white standing near the foot of my bed. The twins stood right behind the strange woman. To my surprise, Vit stood in the room near the wall, and Eren stood right beside him.
When our eyes met, I felt so many emotions at once and I not only felt my heart rate speed up, but the damn machine that was on the side of the bed began to beep loudly.
As his eyes turned quickly to the machine, along with all of the others, I turned to look at Lecia. Opening my mouth to ask her something made me realize that there was something over my nose and mouth.
Taking my right hand, I reach up to touch my face, and realized that my limb felt heavy.
What is wrong with me? I thought quickly, but Rae didn't answer me like I expected. The slow movement of my hand was watched by all and I felt a little self conscious.
Looking over at my hand, and then at Lecia, she quickly spoke, "it's okay Dylan, you have an oxygen mask on that was helping you breathe."
Turning quickly to the petite woman, she asked her, "Can we take it off of her now, it seems like she wants to talk."
Okay so things were making much more sense, but I wasn't sure how the hell I had ended up here and I really would like to ask her what was going on.
For a moment, the little woman, who I now realized was a nurse, looked annoyed with all eyes on her, but she didn't budge and stood her ground with much more force than I thought she needed, but what did I know.
"No, as I said before Ms. Silvera, we need to wait for the doctor before we do anything. Be glad that I did not kick you out of this room when you removed the tape from her eyes so harshly. You could have hurt her."
Well, that explained the whole vision thing, but I saw the instant regret play across Lecia's face, "f*ck, I didn't even think about it hurting her, I just figured that she was freaking out because she couldn't see anything."
Squeezing Lecia's fingers was the only way that I could let her know that it was okay, and that I wasn't mad at her. It worked, but the tears still filled her green eyes even though I could tell she was trying to hold them in.
Before anyone else could say anything though, the door opened again, and a handsome older man in a long white lab coat walked in. If he was annoyed by the amount of people in the room, he didn't let it show on his face or voice.
"Well, thank you for gracing us all with your presence Ms. Solamier. There have been quite a few people anxiously awaiting your return." Dr. Pavel's words were kind and sincere.
It has been quite a while since I have had any exams with him, and since they had always been in the orphanage or in my home, I wasn't used to seeing him look so, well, professional I guess.
Dr. Pavel had short salt and pepper hair, and his tanned face held many lines and wrinkles, but when he smiled he had the cutest dimples in his right cheek. I had always thought that he personified the word "gramps."
As he walked over to me, he took a little black flashlight out of one of the large front pockets and he shined it in my eyes quickly. Then he moved over to my wrist and looked at the readings on the machine.
There was a computer on the table next to my bed under the machine and he started typing something on the screen and everyone was quiet just watching every step that he was doing.
When he was done typing, he turned back towards me again, and I met his gaze. "Dylan, all of your vitals look good, I am going to remove your oxygen, but if you start having problems breathing you need to let me know right away, okay," he said while nodding to me."
Since I couldn't answer him, I nodded in return watching him the entire time. Reaching above my head, I could hear him messing with something on the wall behind me and then there was a soft hiss that released the pressure against my face.
The mask loosened and when he reached back down to me, he asked as he placed his hands on my shoulder, "I'm going to sit you forward, is that okay?"
Nodding at him again, I felt him pull me up slowly and reach around the back of my head and unclasp something back there. As soon as he did, the mask almost fully fell off face.
Slowly, he laid me back down and asked, "would you like to sit up now?" As he laid me back down, he fully removed the mask. "Yes, please," I responded and my voice came out so raspy that it didn't even sound like me.
Looking towards him quickly, he spoke again before I even had the chance to ask, he said, "you're voice is horse from the lack of use and the constant flow of air being pushed through your nose and mouth. Now I'm sure you have a lot of questions so I'll try to explain everything I know so you dont' have to use your voice, okay?"
Nodding at me again, he watched for me to answer him in same. I quickly glanced around the room at all of the faces of those here, and noticed that they were all nodding in unison.
Looking back at Dr. Pavel, I nodded and he softly chuckled as he nodded in turn. "Okay, before we begin, do you wish to have this discussion with all of these visitors in the room with us?"
Even though I know he was asking kindly and there was a smile on his face, I had a feeling that he was trying to reinforce to me that I had a choice and that if I didn't want everyone in here, he would make them leave.
Considering that I had no idea why I had woken up here, and how nervous I had been when the machine was going crazy earlier, I hesitated before telling him my response.
Thankfully, Lecia, who's friendship has become so invaluable spoke up. "Don't make her say it, everyone needs to leave and give her a moment alone with the doctor."
Squeezing her hand quickly, I held tight to it, and I hoped that she would pick up on the fact that I wanted everyone, but her to leave.
Dr. Pavel had grabbed a small stool from the corner of the room and was rolling it up to the side of my bed for him to sit on, and he watched as everyone started to file out of the room.
None of the others seemed angry with Lecia's words, but I actively avoided Eren's gaze before he walked out the door and I could feel his eyes watching me until the door closed.
"I assume that you wish for Ms. Silvera to stay with you," he asked me as he looked towards her acknowledging our clasped hands. Choosing to answer with a nod, I looked towards her, and then back at him.
Adjusting his coat and himself on the stool, he pressed a button to raise the head of the bed I was laying on and when he assumed I was comfortable, he spoke again.
"Okay, let's begin from the very beginning, and then if there is anything that Ms. Silvera thinks I'm missing she can jump in and fill in the pieces. Okay?"
Both Lecia and I were nodding at each other and then at him. Clearing his throat as if he was preparing for a long conversation, he smiled and then began to tell his tale.
Unsure of how long he had been sitting here telling me, I was so shocked when he finally finished talking. Lecia had jumped onto the bed and was now sitting next to me, but still holding my hand.
A few times during his tale, I felt her squeeze me harder, or rub her thumb along my hand, and even smelled the salt from the tears that filled her eyes. Or maybe it was the tears in my eyes, I wasn't sure right now.
What I was sure of by the end of his tale, was that I have been in this room for almost a month now, no one knew exactly what happened to me, how I had ended up being in the state I was in, or how long it would take for my wolf to come out of the stasis she was in.
As he had told the story, Lecia jumped in a few times and gave detailed elaborations about how I had never been left alone, and how everyone had taken shifts to stay with me, but what had stood out the most, was who had brought me in.
Eren.
While I had tried my best not to react to his name, every time Dr. Pavel mentioned him I felt my heart race. Thank the Gods that he had turned off that machine earlier, I didn't need everyone knowing that little fact.
My head felt both full and empty and even though I had apparently been asleep this entire time I felt pretty exhausted. I tried to remember what had happened before this, but it hurt to think too hard.
The one question I did ask, was about my job. Lecia was the one who jumped in to answer that one quickly. "Alpha Rogan spoke to your boss directly and let him know that you were sick. He approved your time off until you are ready to go back."
Well, that was surprising, but I was really glad. When he said that I had been here for so long, I had feared that they might have fired me. I would have to thank both Alpha Rogan and Mr. Winters once I was home.
That lead to my next question, when would I be able to get out of here. Dr. Pavel reached over and patted my hand before he let me know that I would still have to stay for another few days to make sure I was fully recovered.
With no further questions for him, he let me know that he was going to report to Alpha Rogan since I had no true guardian, and he would let the nurse know that I was okay to see visitors
I thanked him for everything, and Lecia, who looked like she had no intention of leaving, thanked him as well. Once he had taken his leave and the door finally closed, leaving just the two of us in the room. Lecia burst into tears.
A bit surprised by her sudden change in both mood and demeanor, I tried to pull her closer to me, but my arms still felt too heavy and I was barely able to lift our clasped hands.
She must have felt my insignificant tug, because she swiftly moved to from sitting near my feet, to sitting by my side. "What's wrong," I croaked out, hating the sound of my voice.
When Lecia's eyes met mine, I saw the sadness there and I brought my other hand over and softly rubbed the top of our joined ones. Finally cried out, she took her other hand and wiped at her face quickly.
"I thought you were dying and I didn't know if you would ever wake up again. No one knew what happened, and even though we came up with a solid story for Alpha Rogan," she whispered, "we were afraid that that wolf had done something to you."
At her words, I suddenly remembered bits and pieces of what she was referring to. My head still hurt and I was even more tired after hearing what happened, but I had to ask.
"Did he come back, has he been back to look for me," I asked trying my best to hide the hope in my words.