EPILOGUS


SHE WAS VAGUELY AWARE of consciousness creeping in to intrude on her rest. The first thing she registered was the significant lack of warmth. Her mind swirled and shifted slightly, remembering that she had fallen asleep next to Minho. Cassandra really hoped that he had just gotten up to get more food.

Her limbs felt heavy, sedated, as if she was enveloped in a thick cloud. She felt her awareness starting to recede back into that dark void of sleep, but there was something- a kind of prodding that kept nagging at the back of her mind. She realised it had been the reason that she had woken up in the first place.

It was a familiar sensation and she reached out mentally for that link, attempting to reconnect with their shared cognition. She could feel his presence, like a lingering soft embrace on her skin. Of course it would have been Thomas who forgot how to use his telepathy. He probably thought everything that they had gone through was just a dream.

"Can you hear me?" his voice whispered softly.

"You're gonna have to speak up," she managed to laugh in reply.

"What about now?" he tried again, gaining more confidence in his ability.

"Honestly, Thomas, did you hit your head or something?"

There was a pause, and Cassandra felt her awareness seeping back to the forefront of her mind. She could smell ammonia and disinfectant, a sterile scent that seemed to wash over her olfactory sense. There was brightness on the other side of her eyelids, threatening to break through. She wriggled her toes, not remembering having put on some socks. Thomas stirred in her mind, his presence seemingly disturbed by something.

"It's not Thomas."

She froze.

Disbelief coursed through her system, and she frowned deeply in confusion. She could feel her brain whirring back to life, and she noticed the marked difference immediately. It was so striking; she would have felt it instantly if she hadn't been so muddled with lethargy.

"Cassie."

She tore her eyes open, ignoring the sting in her retinas at the flood of intense light that surrounded her. There was nothing, an endless arena of pure white that seemed to stretch on forever. When her sight adjusted to the change, she could make out the smooth spongy material of the floor beneath her, buttoned indentations lining its surface in large squares.

Cassandra shot upright, her back pressing into the wall as she took everything in at once. An empty white room, covered completely in padding, with a bright light high above in the ceiling. Her clothes had been changed- a plain shirt and pants that blended in with everything else.

She reached out again, felt his presence still there. Waiting.

"Minho?!"

He chuckled.

"The one and only, baby."