Rest
Dominique woke to a blinding white light and a pounding headache.
Disoriented, she tries to make sense of her surroundings, struggling to get up. Eyes focus in on aged wood and a dingy cross front and center with Jesus looking down at her in pity.
"Vaas," she croaks out, her throat screaming for water.
"Vaas," she tries again. The only response is a few birds chirping in the distance.
Clutching the leg of a pew, she hoists herself up, only to fall flat on her stomach when she takes a step, shocks of unbearable pain shooting through her legs.
"Vaas! Vaas!" she starts to cry out, crawling to the open doors.
She lands on red dirt and patches of grass, rolling onto her back for the sun to glare in her face.
"Vaas," She whispers, before losing consciousness.
"…Father, I don't know how she managed…"
"…Gave her enough morphine to kill a full-grown elephant…"
"…Strap her to the bed in my chambers…"
Dominique calls out, but her voice is gone. Gone was the harsh sun cooking her skin, gone was the smell of earth, gone were the splinters eating into her flesh. Her body is strapped down and floating, floating in a haze of greens and browns, fickle temperatures and smells that vaguely remind her of the man who'd up and left her for dead. She drifted off to a memory of her father tucking her in at night, another memory of a happy birthday text from Anika in a time that feels so far away. She hears a lullaby, taste the refreshing cool of ice cold water and thanks every god she knew for such a blessing. She says thank you more times than she could remember until her tongue goes numb and she greets darkness with a smile.
"…That's it. Open your eyes. There you go…"
She comes to.
A man in a vicar suit greets her, sitting on the back of a chair, large hands wiping the sweat from her brow.
"You'd been out for six days. By the grace of God we managed to keep you alive."
"Where am I?" Dominique asks. She jerks her body upright, only to slam back into the mattress, the springs groaning at the movement.
"You're in my office." He answers.
"Who are you?" she asks.
"I'm Father Ezekiel. You have a lot of questions, and I'll answer them in time. Right now, you need to rest."
"Why can't I get up?" Dominique bucks and twists against the restraints, but it only makes it tighter.
"Let me go. I wanna get out of here right now…"
"That wouldn't be a smart idea I'll promise you that. You just survived a poisoning, which caused damage to your spinal cord and legs."
"What are you saying?"
"You might…you might not be able to walk again."
"This is a joke. There's no way…"
"I wish it was, my dear. That poison has been in your system for days, worsening the effects. The damage you took? You're lucky to be alive."
"This…no, no, no…" Dominique breaks down in tears.
"Your body is going to go through the motions ridding the rest of the toxins from your body. We did the best we could giving you an antidote, but recovery is the hard part. You need to rest."
"How will I get around? I…I can't be of use if I can't walk! I'm a sitting duck!"
"That's something you'll need to figure out on your own. Vaas just told us…"
"Where is Vaas. Where is he?"
"He's off doing whatever it is he does."
"So…he dumped me off on you guys."
"He saved your life. He took you to us because he knew we had experience with that Fever Lily."
"Why? Why did he do this?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. He said it was a debt he owed you."
"Bullshit. Why miss out on a chance to get rid of me?"
"I've known Vaas since he was a young boy. The things he does makes sense to no one but him. I'll keep you safe for as long as I can, however," Father Ezekiel narrows his eyes, "I don't do this for free."
"For the love of God, I'm a hostage, miles away from home. Whatever money I had Vaas and his crew stole it." Dominique yelled, banging her head against the pillows. Father Ezekiel holds her down by her shoulders, his grip warning her to control herself.
"I don't want your money. I want answers."
"What do you want to know? I will tell you everything, I just want this fucking nightmare to end."
"Vaas. Who is he to you?"
"He's my captor. He kidnapped me and my friends and kept us here on this island. I just want to go home." Dominique sobs, "I just want to go home."
"You ever killed anyone?"
"No."
"How long have you been on this island?"
"I don't know."
"You know anything about Gaston and his crew."
"I just know Vaas wants them gone and they harmed my friend Mike."
"What is your name?"
"Dominique. Dominique Price." Dominique sniffles.
"You to be trusted, Dominique?"
"I just want to go home, Father. What reason do I have to cross you, a man of God at that?"
Father Ezekiel cracks a smirk.
He rises from the chair, pats the bed Dominique lies on and says, "I'll see you soon."
AN: Thank you so much for your patience and showing love to my story! I know this chapter is a long time coming, but I thank you so much for reading! Thank you!