*Gasp*
"Take a deep breath and pull yourself up. The pain will only be momentarily before you feel relief. So focus on my voice and head toward it."
The enchanting voice called out to Lisa.
In the vast underwater depth, that voice seemed to be Lisa's only dark spot, forcing her to head toward it.
Her head broke over the water's surface, causing Lisa to take her first big breath of fresh air, and she-
"So you finally decided to open your eyes, child! It is nice to have you with us again. No! Don't get up now. Your neck has a huge wound on it that needs to be looked after. It'll likely scar badly. You are lucky that you did not bleed out because of it."
Lisa focused her eyes on the white person, who was working on making her feel better.
'Ah, a doctor? Did she say something about my neck? What happened? I don't think I remember-'
Memories flashed across Lisa's eyes, and she closed them to combat her sudden headache.
Lisa's brain reminded her of the serene feeling of having that considerable world looming over her body and its golden eyes looking into Lisa's own. She remembered the bite hurting, but her body also enjoyed that sensation.
'And then! What happened after? I am sure someone else joined me to cure me before I died! There was a wet feeling on my neck, licking my wound. Wait! Was It even a human? Or was it the wolf?'
Nothing made sense in Lisa's brain except that she missed school.
'Shit! I cannot believe I forgot all about school! I need to make it there before they mark me absent and send a notice back home.'
Lisa forced her body to stand up so that she could get moving. Her sudden movement caused the doctor to look her way, and his displeasure was felt.
"What are you doing? It would be best if you were careful. You lost a lot of blood, and your neck also has an open wound that can start bleeding if you agitate it. Just go back to sleep now. Besides, it is already dark outside. Where can you even go at such a time."
The doctor advised Lisa before he forced her to lie down on the bed.
Lisa went quickly with the flow, but her internal agitation did not ease. If anything, she felt even worse than she did before.
She knew what was going to happen once she returned home.
But before she could even worry about that, Lisa had a more significant issue to tackle.
"I don't have any money to pay you. I don't have insurance or any other claim either. No one else can pay on my behalf either."
Lisa felt awkward saying this after being treated, but she did not want to give the doctor the impression that she could pay for all this.
And anyway, what would the doctor do about Lisa's inability to pay?
He showed no signs of being shady or involved in the underground business, so Lisa doubted she would be sold or worse.
The doctor also made a surprised face at Lisa's words.
"Ah, your bill has already been paid. The couple who brought you in paid early for anything you might need. You don't have to worry about a thing and go to sleep."
Somehow, that terrified Lisa more than not remembering what happened.
As far as Lisa was concerned, free kindness was never good, and any show of it was worth pondering.
The doctor must have noticed Lisa's suspicious look because he was quick to come to clear out the air for her.
"Don't worry too much about who paid for your bills. They left without giving out any information for you to contact them with. I am sure they don't want you to pay them back."
The doctor assured Lisa she would buy it, but she did not.
She was, however, going to take the doctor up on his offer to stay here tonight.
Lisa was already in debt to the couple who saved her. There was no point in wasting this perfectly good opportunity to stay safe for another night.
"Just go to sleep for now. I will leave breakfast and a chance of clothes for you out this door tomorrow. Once you are done, you can check out."
The doctor assured Lisa everything was alright and routine with what suited her.
For the first time in forever, Lisa felt calm and protected. She did not have to suffer under her mother's tyranny.
"This somehow works out. Mother did say that I should not return home tonight, right? She got her wish."
Lisa sighed before lying back down on the bed. She did not think she could fall asleep at an unknown place like this.
But she surprised even herself by falling asleep in seconds.
Lisa's eyes looked outside the window, and her heart skipped a beat when she noticed the same shade of red that her mind remembered.
'That red! It feels familiar. I think it's been there for as long as I can remember. Huh! How weird? I am sure I should be able to stay awake for longer. But my eyes no longer want to stay open.'
Lisa fell asleep before her mind caught up with what was happening.
When she woke up the following day, no signs of anything having happened remained. Lisa's mind felt refreshed, and the only remains of yesterday was the wound on her neck.
As promised, the doctor had left a packed meal and a pair of changing clothes (suspiciously in her exact size) outside her door.
Lisa did not want to make assumptions about how the doctor knew her size. The more she went inside that hole, the more self-conscious she became.
It was better to cut off her train of thought before it became too much…
"Ouch! This hurts. I'm glad the clothes the doctor gave me cover my neck and injury. Otherwise, I am sure Mother will have fun making this injury worse."