My dreams are hazy. There are monsters everywhere, and the sky is falling. I can't move, or think. Everything hurts, even though it shouldn't be able to hurt me here.
The monsters surround me, snarling, snapping, biting, clawing at me. I can feel them tearing into my skin, ripping me open and devouring everything inside of me until all that's left are bones and scraps of flesh.
But I'm not dying.
Instead, I wake up to the sensation of something soft under my body, a bed maybe? Maybe. Something like that. Something that is definitely not the cold hard ground. My body aches, and it feels like my skin has been rubbed raw by sandpaper or acid. Everything is sore and tender.
I blink, and look around me.
I'm in...
An unfamiliar room.
It's natural, rocky and a little claustrophobic, but bright. A little damp.
And...
How did I get here?
Where am I? This isn't my home.
I sit up, and immediately regret doing so. Pain shoots through my body as if I'd been stabbed with knives. I bite back a cry, clenching my teeth together.
A hand touches my arm gently.
"Hey, be careful."
Mia. That's her voice.
She's sitting on the edge of the bed beside me. Her eyes are filled with worry, concern.
"...You need to lie back down." She says, and her voice shakes a little.
"...Why?" I ask.
"You're injured."
Injured.
I.
Was.
But.
"...How?" I mumble. I feel fuzzy. Dizzy. Confused.
I'm.
Why am I here, wherever here is?
"Those beasts attacked you. Do you remember?"
"I...." I pause.
The memories slowly trickle back in.
Hestia.
I immediately shove myself up, ignoring the pain. "Hestia-!"
"--Is right over there! Shh! She's sleeping."
Mia points, and I turn to see Hestia.
Hestia.
On another bed nearby, curled up under blankets, sleeping soundly.
Hestia is.
Here.
"Safe...?" I whisper, turning back to Mia, tears already streaming down my face.
I know the answer.
If we're here.
If I can't hear the howling then we...
Made it.
"Yes. She's fine, Sarah, relax." Mia pats my shoulder.
"...You're safe too." She murmurs, quieter. Her eyes are wide. There are tears in them too, though she seems to be trying to hide it from me.
"Relax. Relax. Everyone's okay."
"...Eric?" I whisper.
"He's okay. We made it."
Her hand shakes as she reaches up to smooth a strand of hair from my face. "It's...you two were hurt worst." She says, her voice still unsteady. "It...I'm so glad you're awake."
I'm...
Surprised that I am.
I peek under the blankets, in a bit of unearned bravery.
Rather than bandages or mangled legs though it's just....
Skin.
With red splotches all over it.
Bruised and discolored, like a healing wound.
"I'm..."
How.
"They've got...really good medicine." Her laugh holds all the stress that I feel, like a rattling marble in glass. It's thin, brittle. Unstable.
I sink down to the bed again.
So.
That's what happened. That's why I'm awake. And...
"Still hurts though..."
Mia laughs. She's trying not to sob. She wipes at her eyes with the heel of her hand.
"Yeah, it's...weird, isn't it?" Her voice wobbles.
Well.
Ivan did say that we probably wouldn't die if we ran, didn't he? Something like that. He must have known about their healing equipment. That it's good enough to bring us back from the brink of death.
It's.
Not comforting, really.
Because it just makes me think.
That they can keep sending us into situations that would kill us.
And still keep us.
Like we're all just.
Disposable toys, or tools.
That's not a pleasant thought at all.
I shiver and tug my blanket up. It's a thin one. It does nothing for the chill I feel in my chest. "How long have we...been out?"
"Almost two weeks now."
That long?
Maybe the medicine isn't as miraculous as I thought.
...Or maybe my injuries were much worse than I remember.
"Has Hestia...been up at all...?"
"She has. She wasn't as injured." Mia explains. She glances at the other girl.
She looks back at me.
"...Where is Eric?"
Sarah blinks, as if she didn't expect that question, and then gives another, more mirthful laugh.
"He's asleep. We've been taking turns."
Taking turns to watch me and Hestia.
Right.
That's.
Yeah.
I swallow, feeling guilty.
"I...should let you get to sleep too."
"Oh, no. I slept just a couple hours ago."
...I can see the bags under her eyes though. She looks awful.
But I'm not about to argue. She doesn't look like she has any intention of budging anyway.
I take a breath, then sigh.
"...What happened...?"
Mia sighs and shakes her head. "They were waiting in the caves. I...had a feeling they might be. It's why they had us sleep here first, before taking us to the forest."
So...
Eric hadn't been right about his guess that the beasts would stop chasing once we left the forest. The real answer was the caves...?
"They shot weapons in the air once the bulk of us made it and the beasts scattered. After that, they sent out medics to collect the injured." She pauses. Her lips thin and press together tightly.
"...They've been feeding us and tending to our injuries since then."
I nod. So...
"No one died...?"
She blinks slowly and shakes her head. "I. Don't know. I didn't see anyone die but...I don't know who was here so..." She looks down. "...It doesn't matter right now, I suppose."
"Right..."
No.
She's right. We don't know if anyone died or not. There's probably no way to know if the aliens don't tell us unless we go back and look for ourselves, or at least question the other survivors.
But...
I don't like either of those plans.
"...So they've. Been taking care of us...?"
Mia smiles, though it's a tight smile, and she nods. "Yeah. But. We've been watching you anyway. You know. Just in case."
Just in case the aliens aren't really helping.
I'm glad to know we're all on the same page here.
"...Thank you."
She shakes her head. "Don't thank me. I should have done more than just run." Mia mutters.
She looks down, and her hands twist together. "I should have stayed behind with you and Hestia. I'm. Sorry. Really. If I hadn't just ran ahead, maybe you wouldn't have-"
"--You and Eric were the ones who led us back to the caves, though."
I reach out to touch her arm. It's not easy to move, and it hurts, but I manage anyway.
I don't want to be the reason Mia's weighed down by guilt.
Especially when she didn't do anything wrong.
"If you hadn't done that, we'd have had no idea where to run and...maybe none of us would be here."
She's quiet a moment.
Her smile wobbles.
"Thank you. For saying so. But..." She looks at me. "It was still wrong. To just run ahead and leave you and Hestia behind."
"It's okay." I summon a smile. "Guess we just. Know who'll win in a race."
She snorts.
"Yeah." Her tone is dry. "...A good way of putting it."
I nod. A little weakly, because I don't know what to say anymore, and my eyes are already starting to droop. I guess the exhaustion hasn't completely left my system yet.
"Right."
Mia pats my arm. "...You should go back to sleep." She says, and her voice is gentle. "I'll wake you up if anyone comes, or if you start having any trouble." Her smile wavers. "...You look really pale, and you've been sweating."
I blink.
"...Okay." I murmur.
It's hard to argue, especially since she's right about the sweating and the paleness.
Still...
I look over at Hestia, who's sleeping peacefully.
"...She rescued me."
"From the beast?"
"...Yeah. That. I..."
...She's.
Much stronger than I've been giving her credit for.