Agonizing pain…pain that prevailed through the very core of the body…pain which throbbed along with each pump of heartbeat…It was the first mirage of sensation that haunted her mind as soon as she opened her eyes. Waking up from the dreamless stateless sleep, for a moment she regretted waking up to such gut-wrenching reality.
Sarra pushed past her fears to finally open her eyes, and was just short of wailing out due to pain, when abruptly her scream died in her throat without coming out. She straightened up in one quick motion and while sitting on some unfamiliar bed, in a completely unfamiliar room, the very first thing half-awake Sarra confirmed was the condition of her right arm.
"How's this even possible?" Her eyes widened in shock as she caressed her right arm with her fingers. It was uninjured, in fact more than healthy, it was smooth and unblemished in every aspect.
Sarra whispered in apparent bewilderment as the last of the lingering sleep vanished from her eyes in an instant. Now with a quite 'alert' state of mind, Sarra once again felt her right hand by clenching and unclenching her fist slowly. She next lifted her healthy right arm up but it was done with a tinge of fear like any moment an intense pain will erupt out that will shake her from inside out.
Sarra felt frightened by the prospect of her overthinking, but likely she was more frightened by this fully healed arm that almost seemed unnatural with not even a single blemish marred on it. If not for sensation in her right hand, she would have doubted if it was really her own arm?
Ultimately, after moving her arm up and down, and getting a normal reaction out of it, relief washed over her as she realized it was true, her arm had magically healed overnight, not some illusion.
But just as soon as relief emerged in Sarra's heart, it was followed by the rollback of memories of the previous night that came flooding back. Suddenly cold sweat formed on her forehead as she recalled that creepy laughter and accompanying pain of her mutilating herself in a desperate bid to survive. Sarra shivered in terror upon re-living it all,
"I failed. Yes, now I recall I should have failed…died there. My attempt was futile. It didn't stop them. They…They were able to come to this side by themselves. But then… "
Before she could speculate what could have happened back there or how did she end up here or foremost of all who saved her? Right at this moment, the handle of her door 'clicked' like someone was about to enter from outside and for a moment Sarra tensed as she habitually found her hand moving back to her jacket's pocket for her weapon.
But…Sarra was pulled back from her alerted state and was thrown into another shock as she found out that she was wearing a flimsy robe that was the only thing covering her body except the blanket on the bed.
"Wait! Don't open.." Sarra cried out.
But the door opened steadily without any pause as a young woman nearly the same age as Sarra entered inside. Her black eyes stood out along with her sharp facial features, with a miniscule beauty mark right under lips that accentuated her looks. But the most striking feature of her beauty was her shiny almost ink colored black hair that stood in contrast to her slightly tan skin.
The new girl had a bowl of some food in her hands, as she walked in with an absolute empty look in her eyes. She raised her eyes and for a moment along with the scream of Sarra, both of the girls felt their eyes meet. Sarra's eyes widened slightly upon taking in her unexpected visitor, but unexpectedly there wasn't a shred of change of expression in the other girl's eyes.
"About time! Maya is outside, and she is going to open the portal soon. Get ready."
Sarra broke out of her reverie as she quickly overcame the initial surprise of meeting someone in such circumstances. As for the honest first impression, She felt a disturbing irk in her heart, as the vacant look in the eyes of the new girl gave a jarring feeling to her. It was not like her own look of indifference which was born from apathy and slight pride but her vacant look was almost like…almost like…
"Eat the food. We have a tough road ahead."
Sarra awoke as her previous words finally washed over her as she felt a wave of questions floating up inside her head in an instant. Her brows scrunched up in confusion as she could not make head or tails of what this girl was talking about. But before she could even begin to separate her latest comment from her previous words, into single understandable sentences to ponder over their meaning. She saw the girl, placing the bowl of noodles on her bedside and already on her way outside.
"Wait. Wait. What the hell is happening? Who are you? Where am I? What are you talking about? I need answers…."
In hurry, Sarra jumped out of the bed with a start and reached out to hold the arm of the absconding girl. But to her surprise, the girl - without even looking back ducked a little to let her hand miss her shoulder by a tiny margin, and stepped back while turning around to face Sarra face to face with the same lost expression on her face, albeit with a tiny hint of annoyance in her eyes.
The series of movements done by her to evade her, in this one moment were so clean and so smooth that Sarra immediately appraised the danger level of this girl similar to a high level martial artist.
'She is a trained fighter?'
The unfamiliar young woman didn't show any signs of hostility as she still raised her finger to wave it in front of the Sarra.
"I would advise you to not touch me. It would be best for you."