Stolen Hearts: Chapter 19

I was never a morning person, but on this occasion I woke up feeling even more groggy than usual. My eyes didn't want to open, as if someone had put lead weights on my eyelids, while my entire body tingled with an oddly numb sensation that begged me to slide back into the land of dreams.

The bright light drifting through my eyelids didn't let me. I groaned, bringing an arm down on my bed to sit up, only to hiss as an incredible amount of pain, sharp and searing, shot through the right side of my body the moment I put pressure on my right limb.

A rapid, shrill beeping noise emerged from somewhere beside me as I let my body fall back down on the bed, taking the strain off of my arm. I sighed in relief as the pain almost immediately went away as I did, fading within a matter of seconds and disappearing as if it was never there in the first place. The shrill beeping from beside me slowly faded away, replaced instead by something much more steady and solid.

Wondering what was making the noise, I slowly opened my eyes. I was immediately blinded by bright white lights shining directly into my retina from above and hissed, automatically bringing my hand up in front of my eyes to shield them, only to freeze as I took in what had become of my right arm.

Or what little I could see of it anyway. Rough white gauze sat where my smooth, pink skin normally was. There was so much of it wrapped around my arm that it looked more like one of the puffy pastries I would put up for display in my bakery than anything resembling a human arm, only the tops of my fingers visible through the thick wrapping.

As I wondered what was going on, the memories of the heist-gone-wrong rushed back to me all at once. Stealing the dust, getting trapped underground with that beast and nearly dying and most importantly, absorbing the dust and the effects that came with its use.

The cast was starting to make a lot more sense, as were my surroundings as I looked around. I was clearly in a hospital. Sterile, white cabinets and walls surrounded me, various medical instruments and medicine bottles sitting in various places around the room. Beside me, the origin of the beeping was made obvious as a heart monitor displayed my vitals, several wires extending from it and running underneath my hospital gown.

“Well I guess I’m not dead…” I said quietly as I sat up, much more slowly this time, and looked back down at my arm, “Though I’m not sure how I still have this.”

The effects of the dust had been utterly brutal from what my foggy memories told me, and it was honestly a wonder that my arm was even still attached with how badly it was burned. The miracles of modern medicine, I suppose.

The power that had put it in this state was gone but… not completely. I frowned. I could feel it still. Remnants of the power sitting in the back of my mind as if it was waiting for something. Or doing something.

Slightly concerned, I closed my eyes, trying to pull the feeling of the energy inside of me into focus and failing almost immediately. The effects of whatever the dust had done to me were still there, completely ruining any kind of concentration I might have had. I couldn’t even feel my semblance.

I laid my head back down, giving up in the endeavor. Whatever the power was doing didn’t matter now and I doubted it was malicious anyway. Though it may have been partially responsible for putting me in this state, it was also the only thing that allowed me to survive the grimm and even make it to the hospital in the first place, instead of dying right there in that cave.

My lips tightened as I remembered the fight. The fear and desperation that I had felt facing down my inevitable end and the hope that had overcome it once I had taken in the dust’s power. I clenched my eyes shut, calming my racing heart as I recalled the malice in that thing’s eyes even as it died. It was gone. I killed it. Even if it took all of my power and more to achieve the feat.

Now, more than ever, I was glad I hadn’t become a hunter. I don’t think my heart could take it.

I opened my eyes and looked over as the door to my room suddenly opened, a rather short woman of ample build making her way inside. Her eyes widened as she saw me and an almost-silent gasp escaped her mouth, “Oh my!” She said, moving much faster as she made her way over to my side, “You’re up already? We brought you off the medication this morning, but you still shouldn’t have been up until tomorrow afternoon at least.”

She looked me over, checking the injection points of the tubes that were sending whatever fluid was in the IV into my bloodstream and humming, before looking up at me and giving me a sunny smile.

“Looks like some of those burns have healed up nicely.” She said, gesturing to somewhere on the right side of me, “They’ll still scar, but they probably won’t be nearly as bad as before.”

Slightly confused, I brought my non-bandaged hand up, running it along the side of my face and my neck. The skin there felt glossy, as if I had gotten a really bad wax burn which probably wasn’t far from the truth. It seemed like that final blast of fire I had created had some splashback and had burned my face and neck. Not much of it from what I could feel, but certainly enough to be noticeable.

“Honestly, it’s quite amazing that the burns healed so fast.” The nurse commented as she stepped away, moving towards the cabinets, “They were second-degree and pretty deep as well. Normally they would need at least a week to heal completely, even with aura! But you did it in just a few days!”

“I’ve always healed fast.” I said, looking down at my arm with a slight smile, “It’s been that way since I was a kid.”

“I’ll say!” The nurse agreed with me, grabbing a clipboard from a nearby counter and looking it over, “Even with the surgery, you shouldn’t be able to move that arm just yet but look at you go.” She looked over the clipboard and gave me a wink, “Looks like you’re one lucky young lady.”

I chuckled lightly, though it was as lethargic as I still felt, “I wouldn’t say that. If I was lucky, I wouldn’t be in the situation to begin with.” I said, rubbing my cast.

“Well that’s one way of looking at it.” The nurse agreed easily as she placed the clipboard on a cart with a bunch of other tools, “But the way I look at it myself, some things are inevitable. No amount of luck is going to get you out of them so you just have to do your best to roll with the punches. The luck part comes after everything’s already said and done.”

I mused about what she said as she rolled the cart over to the side of my bed, “Anyways, that’s enough of my rambling. I’ve always been told I’m a bit of a jabbermouth, sorry about that.” She apologized with an easy smile, “Now, since you’re awake, I’m going to run some non-intrusive tests so that we can get a better look at what’s going on inside of you now that your body’s processing things somewhat normally.”

“No needles, right?” I asked, only slightly joking.

She chuckled, grabbing a stethoscope from the cart and placing it around her ears, “No, honey. No needles. Just blood-pressure monitors and reflex hammers. Though even if I were going to use a needle, I doubt you would be able to feel it.” She commented idly, making me raise a brow, “With all of the drugs running through your system, I doubt you even feel the skin grafts.”

I thought I was feeling oddly out of it…

I glanced down at my arm, wondering just how much I would be hurting right now if I wasn’t currently on a cocktail of medical drugs. I probably really shouldn’t even be conscious right now, huh?

“Heh.” I chuckled as a thought crossed my mind. Even a few months ago, the idea of being sent to the hospital for anything more than a routine checkup would have been more than enough to give me an anxiety attack as I wondered how I would be able to recoup my losses. Now though, the thought had barely crossed my mind.

It was strange how much things had changed in such a short time.

“Alright, let’s get started. Unbandaged arm, please?”

~~~

The checkup wasn’t the quickest I had had but thanks to the nurse’s apparent need for conversation, it felt like it flew by in no time. Apart from all of the burns and the broken ribs and fingers, I was apparently in good health.

So, you know, not in good health at all actually.

I looked over as the nurse finished putting her implements away, remembering something, “Hey, do you have my scroll?”

“It’s on the table next to you, honey.” She answered without looking my way. I looked over and lo and behold, there it was. Just sitting there in plain view. How had I not noticed it before?

“These drugs must be making me loopier than I thought.” I said as I reached out to grab it, pulling it into my lap with some difficulty. A cursory inspection revealed that the battery was low but still had power, though the scroll itself was shut off. A firm press on the side fixed that easily, the Schnee company logo flashing to life on the transparent screen.

As I waited for the scroll to power on completely, the nurse stood up from the chair that she had planted herself in, dusting herself off and turning to the door, “Alright, I think we’re done for now. I’ll be back in the early morning to check on you again, alright?”

I nodded, “Sounds good to me.” I said, still waiting for my scroll to turn on.

As the nurse approached the door, something suddenly crossed my mind. A flash of red on a stone floor zipping through my mind and bringing with it anxiety and worry. Henry. Henry was alive when I had started fighting the grimm. What had happened to him.

It shouldn’t have concerned me so much, especially considering he was technically a witness to the fact that I was there. Misa had specifically told us to leave the researchers alone, and one more among the dozens already dead shouldn’t mean anything to me, especially not considering the fact

But I had to know, “Oh, uh, excuse me,” I called out before she could open the door. She looked back at me, curiosity written all over her face, “Was there another person admitted with me?” I asked, trying to keep the slight desperation out of my tone, “A redhead named Henry? He probably would have had a head wound of some sort?”

The nurse was clearly confused, causing my heart to sink, before her face suddenly shifted in recognition, “Oh, him!” A reassuring smile crossed her face, “He had a cracked skull and some brain swelling but that went down almost immediately after we began treating it. His memory of the incident might be a little damaged, but he should be up and about in a week or two.”

I smiled in relief, a weight lifting itself from my shoulders, “Oh, that’s good. I was… worried.”

She smiled understandingly, “It’s fine, sweetie, I understand. Since you were admitted to the hospital together, you are more than welcome to visit him once he recovers if you would like to.”’

I gave her a small smile, “I might just do that.”

Despite my words, I knew that it probably wouldn’t be a good idea. If Henry’s memory of the incident and my presence there might actually be damaged, then it would probably be best if I didn’t do anything to trigger it again. Him knowing what I looked like meant that he would be able to place me there, and if he was asked about it, he had no reason to lie and say I wasn’t.

For the sake of the mission and my cover, I would have to leave him alone and hope that he didn’t remember what I looked like or thought I had died as well. It was for the best.

Oblivious to my thoughts, the nurse opened the door, pausing just before she stepped out into the hall and turning back to look at me, “Oh, I almost forgot. Your caretakers came by and picked up your things while you were still under. They asked to be notified when you woke up so they could come visit. If everything goes well, you might be able to leave with them as early as tomorrow evening!”

My caretakers? She must mean Misa, or maybe Arun.

“That sounds great.” I smiled at her as my scroll finally powered on, “Thank you for the checkup. I’m sorry if I took time out of your schedule to make you do it.”

She laughed at my words, “Oh honey, you’re the most pleasant interaction, patient or otherwise, that I’ve had all day. Don’t worry about a thing. Rest up now.”

With those words, she left, leaving me alone with only the beeping of my heart monitor to keep me company. I couldn’t help but smile at the woman’s cheery demeanor, “She must be super popular around her.” I mused, before turning my eyes down to my scroll.

My smile immediately faded away at what I saw, instead replaced with a look of wide-eyed shock at what was currently on my screen. Apparently while I was out, Ruby had wanted to get into contact with me very badly. Six missed calls and over two dozen unread texts badly.

I stared at the screen with wide eyes, taking in just how badly I had worried my girlfriend, and only two words came to mind.

“Oh shit.”