Hey everyone!
Just as a forewarning, this is my first Skyland fic ever, so if there's inconsistencies or something wrong, I apologize :)
Well, I'm not very good in the way of intros or anything, so I guess just know that I don't own Skyland or the characters - just the fic.
-Denim!
Light trickled in through the slits in her eyes as she slowly, painfully opened them. Everything turned bright – too bright, too quickly, it felt as if her eyes were burning, on fire, and hot tears fell as she quickly shut them, surrounding herself in darkness once again. Her breathing staggered as her first conscious breath of air in god only knew how long entered her body, and the only thing she could register was the feeling of excruciating pain that shot through her shoulder and back as she attempted to move.
Pain. Everywhere, there was pain. Pain in her head as it pounded in time with her pulse, pain in her body, her arm – God, her arm. So intense was the pain in her arm, she almost couldn't feel it. She wished she couldn't feel it. She'd never been a slave to her pain before, never let it restrict her in any way, but this…never before had she felt such an overwhelming wave of nausea-inducing pain. Even the small breaths she'd limited herself to caused daggers to stab their way up her spine, neck, and down her arms. More tears spilled down her cheeks as she continued to wish, to pray, that it would all just end.
The pounding in her head only grew louder as voices sounded in her ears, dull, words muffled and lost in the steady, rhythmic assault on her brain. She tried to say something to them, anything to get their attention, but stopped when she faintly heard a voice next to her; a voice so soft over the noise in her brain that she barely recognized it. But she did recognize it, and for a slight second it gave her hope before she blacked out again.
Pale blue eyes inspected the trembling body lying on the table before him, watched the way her hand would clench spasmodically, how her jaw would tighten, how her leg twitched, toes curled, eyes squeezed tightly closed. He watched tears make wet trails down delicately curving cheeks, unbearable pain etched over every feature on the unconscious figure, and disappointment filled those blue eyes. He made sure to let it show.
"I told you," he said, not looking away from the table, "to have her done by now." He didn't have to look to know the man standing beside him was trembling nearly as bad as the woman on the table, and he secretly reveled in the terror his anger instilled in all of his subordinates.
"S-sir." Uneven breathing and a slight choking sound followed the simple word. "S-sir, we are t-trying, b-but-"
"But?" A dark undertone added itself to his voice, further startling the man who continued to stammer his way through his sentence.
"B-but the t-time limit – it's too sh-short to do what y-you are asking of us, C-commander."
"Eight months is not long enough for you?" he asked, finally turning to look at the white-coated man, annoyed by the way his hands gestured frantically through the air while he attempted to explain himself. "Is it really so beyond your abilities that it will take you even longer to complete this simple task?"
"S-sir! I-it's hardly s-simple, sir! Her body is-"
"I do not want excuses. I gave you specifications and a deadline, I want results!" He wished there was a desk or a wall nearby he could have slammed his fist onto to help prove his point to this bumbling idiot, but luck was not on his side, so he settled on clenching his fists and raising his voice. Almost as effective. "You have until the end of the month to get her functional, or there will be consequences!" He glared a moment longer, then looked back to the pale body on the table before leaving altogether.
Soon. He needed her soon, or he would surely go crazy.