Chapter 17
PHOENIX
When Rin awoke, her mouth was dry, and her abdomen ached fiercely.
Half asleep, with her eyes still closed, she reached down to touch her lower stomach.
Her fingertips shifted against soft cotton.
Something tugged at her arm as she moved it.
She pressed down, and the pain made her hiss.
She groaned weakly, head turning until her cheek pressed against a pillow. It hurt. She hurt.
Each breath hit her chapped lips hotly, making her feel suffocated. Her tongue wetted her bottom lip, and the corners of her mouth felt dry and cracked, as if they’d been held open.
Rin’s fingers curled against fabric—a blanket? She tried to open her eyes, but they were crusted together, stuck. She tried to lift her head, but her neck wouldn’t cooperate.
She gave another weak, pained moan, feeling like she should be scared. She should see where she was. She had to get out of here. Not safe, not safe. The words pounded in her heart, not like her heartbeat, though, because her heart felt calm. Too calm.
After much struggle, she finally got her lids to crack, and the bright light made her whimper. Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, trailing up her temples from how she lay. One trickled across the bridge of her nose wetly.
She forced her eyes to stay open and acclimate. All she could make out were shimmering soft specks from her tears.
When she could finally focus, all she saw was still white. It took her too long in her addled, dazed state of mind to realize that was because everything around her was white. The brightness of it burned her eyes. Her gaze swung around the room as she took it in.
White walls, a sterile table beside her with nothing on it, a pole at her bedside which had a clear bag of fluid, an IV line connecting to her arm, tugging sharply as she moved.
The sheets were white. She shoved the stiff sheet down, palms landing on the soft cotton fabric that covered her.
It was white, too, and plain. Her bare legs brushed against each other beneath the sheets.
She wore a simple slip. And no underwear.
Rin began to hyperventilate. Her mind still struggled to keep up.
Everything was too bright, too scary. She was so scared.
Yet her heart remained calm as she tried to swing her legs over the side of the bed.
Her upper half fell against the sheets, and she saw the plain white pillow she’d been resting on. Her fingers curled in the end.
A soft beep made her stiffen, and her hair hung around her face as she half-leaned over the bed, one leg out from under the sheets, the other tangled beneath. She kept her grip on the pillow as she slowly looked up as a door hissed open.
She saw a brief flash of a hallway beyond as a doctor stepped inside. A surgical mask covered her nose and mouth; above it, thin brows arched over deep blue eyes. Her hair was a mix of grey and brown, tied at the back of her nape.
She looked at Rin briefly, then her eyes flicked down to a sleek tablet in her hands—the only thing that was dark in this room.
"Oh my, you’re not supposed to be awake yet," said the doctor. With one hand, she straightened her lab coat, the other clicking off the tablet as she dropped her arm to her side. She walked over to the bed, and from the way Rin was partly lying down, her head dropped, as she stared at the woman’s shoes—plain white sneakers.
She had a flash of sneakers, dirty soles, and half-undone laces, covered in blood.
Rin whimpered in fear as the woman touched her shoulders and forced her to lie back on the bed. Her touch was neither soft nor firm.
Rin was still gripping the pillow, and her head lay flat without it.
She stared up at the woman as she waved a keycard over the table by the bed, then a drawer unlocked, sliding open to reveal glass bottles of liquid, syringes, and gloves.
She lifted a glass bottle and a syringe, eyes sliding to Rin as she fit the needle at the top of the vial and slowly withdrew the contents within.
Rin mustered every bit of energy she could with her heavy mind. She swung the pillow up until it hit the side of the woman’s head. The vial fell to the ground and shattered.
The pillow fell on top of the glass with a muted thud.
The woman tsked. "That was too strenuous for your current state.
You are still healing. You sustained many injuries after the earthquake.
" She spoke too quickly for Rin’s mind to keep up.
She lifted the full syringe. "And your body is still healing after your procedure.
You burned through the sedative far too quickly. No matter."
Rin struggled to sit up, but the woman easily kept her down with a firm hand on her shoulder, forcing her to lie flat against the bed.
"Where… am I?" Rin whispered, voice barely audible.
The woman shoved Rin’s hair to the side. She felt the prick of the needle against the side of her neck, and then it slid into her body. The woman pressed down on the plunger, and Rin tried to struggle, but it was a losing battle. The effects were instantaneous.
The woman released her, and Rin stayed staring up at the ceiling. It was so bright she could see her reflection staring down upon her.
"We need you somnolent," came the woman’s voice. "Don’t worry, the next time you wake up, you should not feel such pain."
Rin felt hands on her abdomen, then cool air as her cotton slip was pushed above her hips. She was bare beneath, and was too out of it to care as the woman touched a thick bandage wrapped around her middle, just under her navel. She would have groaned in pain, but her lips couldn’t move anymore.
"Healing well. That’s good." The woman’s voice grew thinner to Rin’s ears. "You should be ready within the week."
The next time she woke up, she was not alone; though, she sensed it had been many days.
Voices murmured over her.
"She’s awake. Should I increase the sedative so she won’t try to hit you with a pillow again, Dr. Mercer?"
"No," came a woman’s voice. Something about her tone was familiar. Rin blinked sluggishly. "Any more, and she’ll be effectively unconscious. We need her to remain responsive and able to understand us."
A face came into focus above Rin. She knew this woman. The memories were slow to arrive. Her head shifted against the pillow.
A soft beep filled the room. "Your heart rate is spiking.
" The woman stared off at something. "That is good. You’re coming out of your anesthetic.
We were worried about having to keep you sedated for much longer.
You should still feel sluggish, and your limbs will not cooperate. This is all normal—not to worry."
Rin’s lips struggled to form words. The woman watched patiently. Finally, Rin was able to push something out. "Where am I? Who are you?"
The woman’s eyes crinkled. A mask covered her mouth, but Rin thought she might be smiling. "I am Dr. Mercer. I was tasked with seeing to your recovery after your injuries." She held up her hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
Rin’s eyes watered. "Four?" Her voice was weak.
Dr. Mercer lowered her hand. "Very good." She turned to her companion. "Vision is intact. Write that down in her file. Mrs. Blackfall will want to know."
Blackfall.
Rin began to struggle. The beeping in the room grew. "No, no—"
Dr. Mercer hovered over her. "Vesperin, can you hear me? It is fine. Calm down. If you do not calm down, we will have to administer more sedative." Her tone was even and loud.
And the words were utterly useless in soothing Rin.
Dr. Mercer sighed and waved her hand. Rin saw a man, wearing a lab coat and a face mask, too. He looked younger, maybe the same age as Rin. His eyes briefly found hers before he injected a liquid into her IV port.
It mingled with whatever else they’d been giving her, and against her will, she sagged back against the bed.
"It is a low dose, meant to calm. You will not fall asleep. In the last week, we have had to sedate you far more often than I am comfortable with." Dr. Mercer straightened her coat. "We are here to check your sutures and the incision site."
Rin suddenly realized she was bare below the waist again.
The doctor prodded her abdomen, and Rin groaned weakly. She was sore, but it was not as bad as it had been, she realized distantly. This was not the first time she’d woken up.
Dr. Mercer’s voice faded in and out as she spoke with the other man. Finally, she rolled Rin’s cotton gown back over her legs, covering her.
Rin was cold. She trembled faintly.
She heard a masculine curse. "…interacting negatively with the low dose of Somnocept. We need something to stabilize her vitals. Mrs. Blackfall will have us thrown out of the airlock if she dies."
"She will not die!" Dr. Mercer’s voice echoed in the nearly empty room.
It was growing harder for Rin to focus. Her teeth clicked together.
Her elbow was lifted, then turned. She felt a prick as a needle entered her. Slowly, her shaking ceased. She was still cold.
"There," Dr. Mercer sighed. "Tobias, go page Mrs. Blackfall."
"Already?" Tobias asked.
"She is ready. Her vitals are perfect. She is healing well. Thanks to the advanced regenerative techniques, she will be well enough to perform by tomorrow." There was something urgent in Dr. Mercer’s voice.
"That is good," said Tobias. "We don’t have many more guards to spare. They’ve all been ripped apart trying to keep the Phoenix contained." Footsteps retreated, then a hiss as the door opened and closed.
Dr. Mercer hovered over Rin. "Rest now. Your body is slowly coming down from a slight overdose. You have lost weight in the last week. I miscalculated the dose. Everything else is looking well. If you feel any lingering discomfort, it will pass."
Rin was simply trying to breathe. She barely heard the woman’s words. She tried to shift onto her side and curl up, wrapping her arms around herself. It made something in her stomach tug, and she choked out a gasp. What did they do to her?