AN I'm not even going to bother trying to feed you an excuse as to why I haven't posted a new chapter recently, I'm just going to give it to you and hope you all haven't lost hope on the story. This may be the last chapter. I'm happy with the length, but I'm not quite sure if I want to leave it here or not. Who knows, if you guys want it, I may just do a sequel :3
Oh, I also give you full permission to beat me with scalding rocks for making you wait so long.
I know I was asked not to make this too cliché, but it, ya kow, kinda happened...I started typing, and this is what happened. I'm so sorry, that it kind of is, but like I said, it just happened.
DISCLAIMER You know I don't own...
A haze hung over her eyes and she felt numb all over. A consistant beeping echoed in her left ear and her skin felt stretched by the needles pressed into her. She fought the blessed darkness that had consumed her recent life; she had to know where she was. This place wasn't dark like those previous had been. It didn't reek of mold, nor did it smell damp. Instead, it felt safe, as though the entire world were protecting her.
She was confused. The last she remembered, those horrible gleaming eyes, the flashing yellow teeth. The tiny pricks, the skin peeling from her muscles. The horrible smell of carion, drifting from the open mouths of those terrifying little creatures. But she was helpless the fight them off, the fatigue of the anethasia the man had inserted in her veins setting her free. But what had happened? If this was the afterlife, she didn't want to stay. Not with that beeping, the too clean smell, the raspy cloth covering her, the strong grip on her right hand.
Fighting the haze, she began the slow process of lifting her hand, the other adding extra weight. The dose of morphine covered the initial shock of pain that shot through her body, leaving her unaware. But as she continued to lift, unconciously ignoring the paroxysm sweeping over her in waves, it shot through her again, causing her to gasp aloud. The body beside her shot to his feet, his hand gripping her's tighter. His hair was rumpled, his eyes blood-shot, but it was Auggie. The ECG rocketed, her heart race increasing. She could feel the cuts of her face splitting, but her hand gripped his as tight as she could. She knew he could feel the change, however slight, because his face broke from the frightened man to the joyous man.
"Annie? You're awake?" She could hear the sleep riding his voice, and she moved her hand to twine her fingers with his. "Mhm," she was heavy with drowsiness, the short two-syllable sound the only thing she could provide. Perhaps he could sense her exhaustion, for he sat back down, squeezing her fingers. She could hear the smile in his voice when he spoke again, the words growing closer with each letter. "Sleep, dear. I'll be here when you wake, Anne," and his lips pressed to her forehead before the drugs took her under once more.
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Panic coursed through her veins when she woke again. Auggie had lied to her. Here she was, awake, and he was no where in the room. Her hand was cold without his; it felt almost naked. He was the last person she figured would lie to her, and he had. The ECG kicked to life again, her pace jumping up to the high nineties. A nurse scurried into the room, quick to check on her patient. Her hands wavered over her, but Annie drew back. She didn't need help, nor did she want it. All she wanted was Auggie, but he had lied to her.
And then, he was in the room, a warm cup of coffee in his hand. He froze as the quick beeping registered in his mind, and his hand shot out with anxiety, searching for something to lead him to her bed. "Annie? Annie, what's wrong," he didn't know if she was awake or not, but he spoke anyway, fear lacing his words. She hadn't flat-lined, but this could very well be just as bad. "Annie," distress coated his speech, her breath hitching. "Aug," her voice was low, just above a whisper, but she knew he had heard. His shoulders dropped several inches with relief and his movements became less jerky and hurried.
His fear cleared, he reached her bedside in seconds, his hand now searching for hers. The beeping slowed quickly, leaving the nurse no excuse to stay. He listened for the soft shuffling of the nursing shoes to quiet, leaving them alone once again in the room. "So, are you going to tell me what happened just now?" Her hand shook in his. He brought his other up to clutch it, encasing the one he held between both of her, his coffee forgotten on the bedside table. "You weren't here when I woke up..." her voice trailed off and guilt took him over. "Annie, I'm sorry, I just went for a cup of coffee. If I'd known you were going to wake again so soon, I wouldn't have left. I expected you to be out longer, it's only been a few hours." His fingers squeezed her's in apology once more, his sightless eyes desperately searching for her face. In response, she merely gripped his had tighter and drew it closer to herself. In turn, he moved closer as well.
"It was horrible, Auggie. I was so scared..." He knew immediately what she was talking about, and he moved from his postition in the chair to the bed, hands still gripping hers as he sat facing her. "Annie, you don't have to talk about this now. All you need to do is get better, you-" "No, Auggie, I have to tell someone now. It'll drive me crazy if I don't.
I didn't want you in my ear, not with us fighting. Maybe if I hadn't been mad at you then none of this would have happened. I don't know what came over me, honestly, I was just so angry," she paused long enough to hiccup and draw in a shaky, sniffling breath. "Everything was going so well at first, and then I was jumped leaving my hotel room. I hadn't even finished closing the door. Next thing I know, theres a cloth bag over my head and I'm fighting for air. When I woke up, I was tied to a chair, blindfolded, and, well..." She trailed off again, disentangling her hand from his. The warmth was gone for just a few seconds before she was lifting one to her face. Gingerly, she touched the tips of his fingers to the scabbed cuts along her face, stiffling a gasp at the touch. He cringed, but didn't move his hand from her face. "Next thing I know, I wake up with my hands tied together and my ankles tied together, and I'm sliding all around in the back of a van. Then there was this guy, this horrible man standing at the end of the van. He slung me over his shoulder, bounced me around, and reopened my cuts," she pulled his other hand towards her ribs, biting her bottom lip as his fingers ghosted over the throbbing wounds. "Then I passed out again. I woke up again...t-tie-tied to a b-bed." Her voice had dropped to a whisper, and even with his super-human hearing, he had to shift closer to hear her. His hands moved from her wounds to grasp her hands again. They had grown clammy in his absence. She was hiccuping again, crying too hard to continue.
Tied to a bed... Horror flashed briefly in his amaurotic eyes before his arms scooped under her back. He pulled her close, instinct telling him she needed the close contact of a friend. Her arms snaked around his waist automatically, hugging him as tightly as she could. As grapefruit flushed through his nose, he fleetingly thought how great it would be to keep her there forever. August Anderson, now is not the time to think such things. Annie needs you now, but not in the same ways you need her. Buck up, stop being so greedy, and help your best friend. He drew her closer as his arms tightened, offering her the security she so desperately wanted. "A-and then he brought in the r-r-ats," her lips moved against the cloth of his tee shirt. He shuddered as she did. In her short time at the Agency, she had experienced more horrific events than most senior agents combined. It wasn't something he wished on anybody, especially Anne Walker.
"Annie, I know this can't suffice at all for what you've went through, but I'm here. Anything you need, anything at all, you just tell me. If you want me to fly to China to get you Chinese food, I'll do it. You want an elephant, I'll buy it. Just say the word and its yours." She was silent the entire time he spoke, and for a second he thought she had fallen asleep. Then she shifted oh so slightly, turning her face into his neck. "Thanks Aug, I owe you one."