Hello everybody and welcome back to another addition of 'Taryn Gets Her Butt Kicked and Doesn't Know Why'. In this weeks episode, my memory decided to go against me. Nothing made any sense anymore. First was the boy. I felt like I should know him but I couldn't place who he was. Topping that was the fact that I had this random ugly scar across half my face. It still ached as if it had been inflicted recently yet I had no memory of it.
The only clear memory I had was of a woman, only a little older than me. Stunningly beautiful yet cold. She was telling me something important. Something about saving the world. Everytime I thought about her though, I became irrationally angry. I didn't know what that meant, but if her words were true, I had to find her.
That would be my first step. After that, I'd find the boy again and try to sort out all these feelings. Maybe he would have some answers. At the very least, it was pretty clear he knew who I was. He could tell me who I was. Sure, I knew my name. But knowing your name and knowing who you are are two very different things. Believe me, I should know.
Before I could do any of that though, I'd have to deal with the problem staring me in the face. I didn't know a lot about anatomy but I was pretty sure you weren't supposed to be able to see the inside of your leg from the outside. I could barely look at it without losing any food I had left in my stomach. (And that was another thing. When was the last time I ate? I was freaking starving!)
How does one even treat a wound like that? Blood dripped down my cheek letting me know the scar had opened up again. That explosion had done a number on my body.
My magic wasn't going to work. Whether it was from my weakened state, or because I was trying to heal myself instead of someone else, I wasn't sure. Either way, it picked a bad time to conk out on me.
I grit my teeth and pulled myself to my feet using a tree as support. I bit back a scream as my leg nearly gave out under my weight.
Standing was hard enough let alone walking. Finding help was going to prove difficult. If I could even find any help.
My eyes clouded over with tears as I tried to get my bearings on where I was. What used to be the house stood several feet away. After the explosion, I'd sought refuge in the trees back behind his yard. So I knew where I was. Great. That didn't help me much because I had no idea where 'here' was.
"Come on, Taryn." I chided myself. "Quit complaining and just go. No one else can do this for you."
With the help of my own self motivation, I began the difficult, painful, hobbling trek back down the street.
I'm not sure how, but I managed to stay on my feet long enough to get to town. I was expecting to have half the town's attention considering I was leaving a nice little trail of blood everywhere I went and I could barely keep my feet under me. A few people gave me weird looks. Some did a double take as I shuffled past, but no one offered help and I was too stubborn to ask.
I found the emergency medical entrance by a stroke of luck. The last thing I remember was passing out at the front door. The next thing I new, I was in a hospital robe, lying on the uncomfortable hospital bed with a beeping monitor next to my head.
I groaned and rubbed my eyes, trying to get them back into focus. I'd always hated hospitals. They freaked me out. Placing your life in someone else's hands and allowing them to do who knows what to your body? No thanks. (I think it's pretty obvious I have some trust issues)
I pushed myself up into a seated position with a pained grunt. Just then, the door to my room opened and a nurse quietly padded inside. Her dark, greying hair was pulled up into a neat bun on top her head. A stethoscope hung around her tiny neck. She was engrossed in reading her clipboard and didn't notice me right away. I was twice her size. I decided I'd be able to take her on if she tried anything, which made me feel a little better.
She looked up and gasped, nearly dropping her clipboard. "You're awake."
"Well, aren't we observant." I motioned around the room. "Since I'm awake now, which you so kindly pointed out, does it mean I get to leave this overly sterile prison now?"
She checked her clipboard again. "Not for a few more days I'm afraid. You've suffered a serious injury to both your right leg and the back of your head. We'll need to monitor your condition to make sure no permanent damage was inflicted."
"Permanent means you can't fix it, right?" I asked.
She frowned, "yes?"
I smiled and yanked the I.V from my arm, earning a surprised gasp from the tiny woman. "Good, then I can leave."
"What? No. I just told you-"
"That you need to monitor my condition to make sure nothing's permanently damaged. Tell me this -" I paused long enough to read her name tag, "Norma. If you can't do anything about any permanent damage anyway, what would be the point of me staying? Seems to me I'm sorta screwed whether I stay here or not. And I'd rather not."
"But the doctor insists!"
"Yeah? Well the doctor can shove his opinions up his -"
"Welcome back to the world of the living." The door burst open and a young man strode in. Just like Norma, he was dressed in scrubs. Except he wore a white doctors coat over his. He wasn't wearing a stethoscope and his eyes were a bit more fierce than the nurse's. Him I might have a bit harder of a time getting past if I were to try and leave.
"I'm guessing you're the doc?"
He nodded with a warm smile.
"How long have I been here?"
"You've been in a comatose state for nearly five days."
My jaw hit the floor. "Five days? Crap. I need to leave."
He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but you're not going anywhere."
I looked up to meet his eyes which weren't as warm and welcoming as his smile. "I don't have a choice. The deadline is tonight."
"What deadline?"
"Never mind. The point remains that I need to get out of here. From what I gathered from my dear friend, Norma, over here, other than a few flesh wounds I'm fine. I've dealt with flesh wounds before. I can do it again. Besides, five days is plenty of time for me to heal. I'll be fine from here, thank you."
"No." The doctor's tone was much firmer this time, leaving no room for argument. "You're my patient. It is my job to make sure you're alright, and frankly, I'm not entirely sure you are. You've suffered multiple injuries to your head. Not all of them are recent and not all of them are flesh wounds. In fact, I'd go as far to say that someone has messed with your brain before. I need to keep you here long enough to monitor your mental stability."
"You think I'm crazy." I breathed a humorless laugh.
"I did not say that."
"You implied it."
"Even so, if you are unstable, it appears as though it is not your fault."
I pulled myself up onto my knees and leaned in closer to his face. My voice was low as I said, "Buddy, I'm way past crazy. The things I've lived through, the things I've seen. Heck, the things I've done would be enough to drive anyone mad. But believe me when I say, I'm not the one you have to worry about. At least I still have a sense of humanity left inside my body. See, the people I'm after? The people who 'made me crazy', they don't care what happens to anyone. If you're unlucky enough to cross their path, your life is over. But of course, you'd already know that. Wouldn't you?"
His steely gaze never left mine. He was stubborn. "I don't believe I know what you're talking about."
"I think you do. Iris may have wiped my memory, but I'm not stupid. I've seen you around the base before. I know you work for her. You just want to keep me here so I can't run away because you're all worried my memory will come back to me, which it is. You've already guessed that though haven't you? See, I remember a lot of things. I remember the Ingramen sisters and their dear brother. I remember the stupid little curse and everyone's lives that it ruined. I remember the hell I lived through. You know what else I remember? I remember the army I have behind me of all the people you guys screwed over. So yes, you should be scared. It seems the coma allowed my brain some time to heal as well. That's what you're really concerned about, isn't it? You don't want to 'monitor' my condition. You want to keep it from getting better."
Norma looked like I'd slapped her across the face. "We're a hospital! Our main priority is our patients' health. We would never do anything to jeopardize that. Especially not Doctor Crowner."
"Yeah?" I turned to her with skepticism. "And how long have you known Mr. Crowner? When did he start working here? How many patients has he helped?"
She opened her mouth to answer but faltered. Her face blanked once she realized she didn't have any answers to my questions. Almost in slow motion, she turned to the doctor.
Crowner kept his eyes on me. I had to force myself to keep from shrinking away from his icy stare. "Already you know too much. Iris said your condition would be unstable. That explosion seems to have messed with some of the work I've put so much effort into completing. I will say it once more. You are not to leave this room without your doctor's permission."
I smirked up at his arrogant expression. "Watch me."
It had taken a while, but August had finally found out where Taryn was. A Jane Doe had been admitted to the local hospital the same day as the explosion. Either Taryn had been hurt badly enough that she'd sought out the help on her own, or she'd been found by someone else and taken in. Because heaven knows she would never go to a hospital of her own free will.
August wanted push the nurse along as she led him down the halls to Taryn's room. She was moving so slowly. He was so focused on moving faster, he wasn't watching where he was walking. August bumped against someone's arm, causing them to drop their paperwork on the floor. He threw a quick apology over his shoulder but didn't stop to help.
For a brief second, August caught the man looking at him. He was young but he was clearly a doctor. His eyes were wide and he seemed to recognize August. It looked as though he'd seen a ghost. That wasn't good. August had never seen that man before, but if he knew August it meant he worked for Iris. Which meant Taryn was in danger even here. He had to get her out.
"Here you are, Mr. Walsh. Your fiancé's room is right here. She has suffered a few severe head injuries so if she lacks some memories, do not be offended. It is not her fault." The nurse told him with a friendly smile.
August nodded his thanks, almost forgetting to respond to the fake name he'd given her and quickly slipped into the room. He was a more than a little disappointed, but not at all surprised to find the room empty. The window was open. Sheets and blankets had been tied together and thrown out the window after being attached to the bed. She'd been smart enough to figure out she wasn't safe. She'd left. A part of August was relieved. At least she was safe for now, though what her medical condition was, he wasn't sure. Hopefully it wouldn't cause any problems for her out there.
He was also upset that he'd apparently just missed her. If he'd just come a bit sooner he could have been there to help her.
There was no point in complaining about it now. It was done. He'd just have to find some other way to find her. For now, he would help her as much as he could. August quickly pulled the blankets back inside and untied them. He made the bed and made sure everything was in place. He even stuffed a few pillows under the blankets to hopefully keep them off her trail for a little while longer.
After that, he left. He didn't see the strange doctor or the nurse who'd helped him again. He was grateful for that. There would have been too many questions if he had. For now, it was best that he left the hospital unnoticed.
Unfortunately, now that Taryn was on the loose again, it meant she might find her way back to Iris and Isis on her own. Who knows what they had done to her. Chord and Dixie were already out searching. August hadn't told them about finding her at the hospital. He would fill them in now. At least they had a starting point now. She'd been here, and if Chord was good about it, he could probably pick up some sort of trail (the perks of being a bloodthirsty wolf for so long).
"Excuse me! Young man! Wait."
August turned to find the nurse who'd helped him earlier racing after him. She stopped a few feet away from him. She looked nervous but she kept eyeing him suspiciously.
"Dr. Crowner knew you." She said, finally breaking the awkward silence.
"Who?" August frowned. "I don't know any Dr. Crowner. Sorry." He turned to leave but she stopped him.
"You're August. Aren't you?"
August froze. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When a stranger knew your name, it was never a good thing. Taryn had taught him that. He slowly turned back to face her so his back wasn't to her anymore. If she was going to attack, he'd rather know about it.
Her breath hitched and she looked ready to cry. The strangest thing was, she didn't appear to want to attack him. A certain sadness lingered behind her dark eyes. She was shorter than August, but not by much. Her hands kept reaching up to pull at her short cropped dark hair.
"Do I know you?" August questioned.
She quickly shook her head. "No. You wouldn't know me. Not anymore."
August scoffed. "Ok? What's that supposed to mean? How do you know me?"
"I'm sorry. I should have introduced myself." She wiped a tear from her eye and smiled up at him.
August decided he'd rather face down Iris than the weird crying lady.
"My name is Sam. Taryn found me a while ago. I had to come when I heard she'd been admitted here."
August took a threatening step toward her when he heard Taryn's name. "What did you do to her?"
Sam held up her hands to keep him back. "I helped her leave. She's long gone by now. I sent her to the safe house for now until she has time to finish recovering."
"Safe house? What safe house? She's gone there alone?"
"Relax, August. I'm not going to harm her. We're here to help her." Sam reassured him.
He wasn't completely reassured. "Who's we?"
Sam hesitated. "I can't tell you that."
"Why not?"
"You'd tear my head off if I did and I'd like to live long enough to actually get to know my son."
The breath was knocked from his lungs and he nearly collapsed. What had she said? Had he heard her correctly? Was she really -? It wasn't possible. Was it?
She smiled nervously and studied her feet. "Look, we can talk about this later. It's not safe here. Head to the safe house." She handed him a slip of paper with a map scribbled down on it. "We'll answer all your questions there. Bring Chord and Dixie with you. We're going to need all the help we can get."
"Help with what?" August breathed. His voice no longer seemed to function properly.
She raised an eyebrow. "Saving the world of course."
I'm so excited to finally be back and writing Taryn's story again! It's gonna be great! :D I absolutely love writing Taryn's character. She's so sarcastic and fun to write. It's just great XD Thank you to everyone who's read any and/or all of it so far! I love ya all!
