What a terrifying dream. She snuggled her head into her pillow, hoping that she would still fall asleep and that fantastic feeling of the handsome stranger would reappear, but her consciousness was jostled by some unfamiliar smell or sound. She finally roused herself for good. The girl opened one reddened eye and turned to look at the alarm clock. The alarm clock was gone. Instead, she saw a cabinet, on which stood a plastic jug of water and a white cup.
She raised herself up on her elbow. In her left hand was a needle stuck with a plaster, connected by a thin tube to a bag of colorless liquid that dripped into her veins. She stared at the pouch for a moment, then looked around the small room with a single window. In addition to a cabinet and a bed, there were still screens beeping rhythmically.
She sat down and immediately regretted it. A sharp pain pierced her back and neck. She immediately returned her thoughts to the accident. So this was not a dream. She froze for a moment, trying to recall the recent events.
She went back to the road, met the mysterious boy again, and then had an accident. Furthermore, she also remembers that, semi-conscious, she crawled out of the car and into the woods although the brunet who helped her last time had yelled at her not to do so. He then vanished into thin air, and she landed in the arms of a handsome stranger.
Groping painfully tingling at the top of her head, her attention was caught by a young woman dressed in white who entered the room. At the sight of Alison, she smiled cheerfully and approached the bed on which the girl was lying.
- How are you doing today? We were worried about you.
The girl furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head slightly to look at her.
- How did I get here? The last thing I remember was an accident in a place where I shouldn't be.
The nurse looked at her strangely, but then immediately smiled in a friendly way.
- You are very lucky because a young man found you unconscious. If it hadn't been for him, it would have been terrible for you. You could have bled out with the leg wound you suffered in the accident. You lost a lot of blood," she declared, and the brunette again furrowed her eyebrows and uncovered the bedclothes to look at the leg. Indeed. There was a bandage carefully wrapped on her thigh. But how could that be? She was sure she hadn't been injured that badly in the accident. After all, she could walk, and with such a serious wound, she wouldn't have moved.
- Was I unconscious for a long time? - She asked, and the woman shook her head in response. - Or do you know who the man who saved me was?
She hoped it was the man she had met in the forest. Her heart went crazy at the sight of him, even though she didn't know him. Where did he come from, and what happened to the boy who warned her not to go deeper into the forest?
- All I know is that he is a handsome man who really cared about you.
- And did he say where exactly he found me? - She was puzzled by the fact of what really happened.
- Yes, on the main road leading to the town. Don't you remember where the accident took place? - asked the puzzled woman, to which the girl nodded uncertainly. How is it possible that he found her on the main road if the accident happened in that place? - Are you all right? - She asked, seeing Alison's worried face.
- Yes, of course," the girl replied. The nurse wrote something down on a piece of paper and informed her that a doctor should come soon. She left the room, and the brunette comfortably rested her head on a pillow.
Something was wrong. How did she end up on the main road, and where did the wound on her thigh come from? After all, she remembered perfectly well that her legs were healthy.
*
The doctor examined Alison and recommended that she stay in the hospital for a few days. She had nothing to talk about, so whether she wanted to or not, she had to suffocate in four walls. The grandparents visited their granddaughter the same day, reliving her condition. She convinced them not to call her parents because then a war would break out in general and her mother would accuse her grandparents for the whole accident, yet they were not to blame.
The first night in the hospital was a nightmare. She didn't know what was happening to her, but at two in the morning she was awakened by strange murmurs. Terrified, she slipped her head out from under the covers and looked around the room where no one was present. For a moment, she thought it was the nurse, but she was all alone and the light was off.
She wondered if it were her imagination playing tricks on her after all the experiences she had recently had, or was something bad actually happening?
Although the doctor had restricted the girl from getting out of bed, she was unable to lie idle when disturbing noises came from the bathroom. Disregarding the doctor's prohibition, she rose from the bed and stood up, resting her weight on her healthy leg. Although she tried to be careful with the sick one, the wound was making its presence known. With her teeth clenched, she moved bravely, dragging the drip behind her. She opened the door to the bathroom and, before stepping inside, put her hand in and brushed the wall to find the switch. A bright light flashed in the room, and she squinted, carefully examining every corner, but saw nothing disturbing.
All too soon, she breathed a sigh of relief as the light unexpectedly went out, at which point she panicked. Out of fear, she forgot about the wound and shifted all her weight to her sick leg. She thought she would not be able to stand from the pain. Breathing heavily and trying to get the sharp wound under control, she walked out of the dark bathroom and screamed as she saw a shadow flash before her eyes, disappearing near the door leading into the hallway. Trying to calm herself, she opened it and looked out. The upstairs was dark. No nurse, no doctor.
Alison's attention was again drawn to a shadow that disappeared at the end of the dark corridor. Due to the pain in her leg, she couldn't go out, so she let it go this time.
Through curiosity, she had already ended up in the hospital anyway.
She wanted to return to the normal life she had led before coming to this town.
She closed the door and turned around to go back to bed; however, she wasn't able to do so, as a vase of artificial flowers fell from the cabinet. Likewise, she was so frightened that she didn't control her screaming, so she woke up half the hospital. Moments later, a nurse appeared along with a doctor, who helped Alison into bed. The woman picked up the china shards, and the man took a close look at the girl.
- What happened? - He asked, so she lied to him that while getting up to go to the bathroom she snagged a vase and, forgetting about the wound, shifted all her weight to her sick leg.
The doctor unwound the bandage, and Alison was able to get her first look at the wound she suffered in the accident. It didn't look good and had to be stitched up. But how did it happen? She could have sworn that her legs were fine before she passed out.
- Fortunately, nothing happened, so I'll replace the bandage, and then you'll go to sleep, okay? - He asked, so the girl nodded.
Things were happening to her that did not allow her to sleep peacefully. She was afraid to squint for fear that something bad would happen again.
*
She had to get up to go to the bathroom, so being careful of her sick leg, she managed to get to the door. She opened it and turned on the light. Alison's attention was caught by a mirror with blood-red writing on it. At first, she blinked her eyelids, taking it for an image of sleeplessness, but was horrified when she finally realized that it was not a figment of her imagination. There was a lipstick lying on the sink, which certainly did not belong to her.
Could it be that the nurse had picked up on the prank?
" Now you will suffer for the punishment we suffered in the past. "
- I warned you, Alison. - She heard the voice and only then, in the reflection of the mirror, did she notice that someone was standing behind her. Surprised, she turned around and opened her mouth when she saw the brunet she had met more than once on that road. He glanced at her, stopping his gaze on her injured leg. He snorted under his breath and crossed his arms over his chest, then glanced at the mirror hanging behind Alison, where the threat was displayed. - You allowed this to happen yourself. They were just waiting to get out of there. Another mistake you made. Bravo, Alison.
- What are you talking about? - She whispered, not understanding what exactly he meant. - And where did you come from? I always met you on that road.
- I have nothing to do there anymore, thanks to you. You screwed up completely. After all, I shouted for you to leave. Why couldn't you listen to me?
- Why do you resent me for something I don't understand? Do you think I did all this deliberately? I just wanted to know the truth, and you would rather not explain anything to me, so stop blaming me! - She raised her voice, and the brunet snorted under his breath again.
- Do you know what will happen now? All hell will break loose on earth. Your blood made you release them from there, Alison - he said it so seriously that for a moment, she felt freezing chills on her body.
- My blood? - She asked terrified, looking at the wound in her leg.
- Yes, they did this to you. More precisely, he," he stated, and the brunette raised her head and fixed her gaze on him.
- He? - she repeated.
- Someone who already tried to destroy you once," he replied. - I am Henry, and from now on, I am the only person who can help you.