Life: Chapter One

Lexi POV

----Three days later----

Wow, I thought, that was the best sleep I've had in years.

I laid there with my eyes closed and listened. I did this every morning before I got up; it was almost ritualistic now.

Listening in the morning relaxed me and prepared for the day ahead, however this morning I couldn't hear much over the whirring and beeping of machines.

I managed to block them out, but it didn't matter, there was nothing else to hear.

This was weird because normally there are lots of things to listen to like the birds that have nested on the far corner of the roof or the snores of my team mates.

So I settled for listening to the methodical beeps of the machines which I sensed were about 2m to my left.

Not long after I began listening to the machines, I realised one of them was beeping in time with my heart.

'Weird,' I thought but I still didn't open my eyes.

The door clicked open and shut allowing a wave of assorted sounds to enter the room.

I concentrated hard on the new heartbeats in the room, trying to recognise them.

The first heartbeat was regular and mechanical yet real. This was Techs.

The second heartbeat was so fast it sounded like a constant hum, but easily discernable from the whirring machines that surrounded me. This heartbeat belonged to Rev.

"I don't get it," said Tech obviously confused, "she should've woken up by now."

Poor Tech, he doesn't take kindly to getting things wrong.

Still, I was just sleeping. No big deal.

"Her-vital-are-all-perfect-and-her-brain-function-is-normal-are-you-sure-you-gave-her-the-antidote-to-the-sleeping-draught?" checked Rev sounding slightly nervous. I didn't blame him, Tech has been known to lose it if something doesn't work the way it's designed to, especially if it involves one of us. In other words Tech takes his work far too seriously.

Hold up.

Antidote, sleeping draught, vitals, brain function?? What the?

Suddenly the closeness of the beeping machine made sense.

I was in the medi-centre!

I sat bolt upright in the bed, my eyes wide in a combination of shock and fear.

Why was I here, what happened, were my team mates ok and why was I here were the questions running through my head.

"Oowww!" I moaned as my head began to throb violently. I sank back into the bed slowly and silently.

Tech turned to Rev and asked him to go and get the pain relievers and let the rest of the team know I was finally awake.

How long had I been out for? I wondered to myself.

Rev sped out of the room.

"How do you feel?" inquired Tech.

"Great, brilliant, never better!" I replied sarcastically, Tech smiled, "but why am I here? And why does my head hurt so bad?"

You know it is really quite amazing how someone can go from happy and relieved to shocked and worried in a matter of seconds.

Techs smile vanished so quickly that it was as if it had never been there at all. It was immediately replaced with a look of concern.

"You don't remember do you?" he sighed, indicating that he had expected that I might not remember but had hoped otherwise.

I stared back at him blankly. I mean, really, what was I supposed to remember?

I closed my eyes and tried to remember something, anything.

Nothing.

"Do you remember anything from the mission" Tech asked trying to make out that it was just a routine question but I heard the hope that laced his voice. It wasn't much but it was there; detectable courtesy of my super hearing.

It was as though the word mission was the key to unlocking the memories that had thus far evaded me.

Everything came flooding back in a tidal wave of images.

I was kidnapped. Trinity's abysmal flirting. The team came to help me. Ace. My powerful brain blast. Blackness. I sat up really slowly, my eyes as wide as dinner plates from shock at what had transpired.

"How long was I out? Is everyone else ok?" I said hurriedly, and then I groaned trying my best to ignore the pain that had just returned with renewed intensity.

Not easy.

Tech breathed a sigh of relief and started to answer me but then Rev zoomed in and stole his thunder.

"3-whole-days!!-everyone-is-fine-but-we-have-been-sooo-worried-about-you-especially-Ace-he-hasn't-been-outside-his-room-since-we-returned-from-our-mission-to-get-you-back-and" Rev didn't get to finish because Tech had grabbed his beak and shot him meaningful look which seemed to say 'what did we talk about?'

I was worried.

"He hasn't been out of his room!! Why didn't someone make him? Has he eaten at all? . . . Oh no!" I said as the truth hit me.

Ace blamed himself for what had happened to me because he was the one who told me to perform the brain blast.

Tech and Rev waited anxiously for my next move.

"I have to go and talk to him" I said getting out of bed.

As soon I as stood up, my head throbbed painfully.

I sat back down on the edge of the bed.

"Can I have the Panadol now please?" I asked trying to disguise my pain.

Tech walked over to me, put one hand on my shoulder and offered the pain relievers with the other.

"It can wait" he said softly.

"No, it can't," I said as I looked him in the eyes and pleaded with him to understand, "He needs me."

I didn't need to verify who 'he' was. Everyone in the room knew who I meant.

Rev and Tech looked at me strangely, emphasising my point. I felt myself blushing which was easily noticeable against my golden fur.

I took a deep breath, "He needs me to tell him it's not his fault!"

Tech and Rev exchanged looks.

"Her-vitals-are-fine-and-her-brain-is functioning-well" said Rev as if reassuring Tech that I would be fine.

"Ok," said Tech, his brow furrowed in concern, "you can go, but take it easy I don't want to go through this a second time."

I smirked, "Yes sir," I said, saluting at the same time. Trust him to say something like that.

Tech gave a short laugh which sounded more like a bark than anything else, but I knew he appreciated the joke even if he was still a little worried.

"Get outta here" he smiled waving me off.

I took two panadol and walked slowly, and painfully, out of the medi-centre with one hand out to the side for balance and the other on my head.