Call me Luna

4 - Get out

The pain in my head is overwhelming. With a moan I throw my arm over my eyes, giving up on the idea to open them. I just know it is going to be too painful. Even something as insignificant as turning my head flushes a fresh wave of pain through me.

Vaguely I can hear water running and people whispering. In a sense, the noises feel familiar, but also incredibly strange. Are these normal morning noises or … then I remember.

“Holy sh*t,” I moan and pry my eyes open, struggling to get up.

“No, no,” a soothing female voice whispers and I am gently pushed back against the pillows. “You are safe, please relax.”

“Where am I?” I croak as I gratefully close my eyes again. Maybe I am in a hospital. Maybe I am dead. That must be it because the voice is sweet, comforting, and reassuring. Like an angel. Wait, shouldn’t I be without pain when I am dead? Then I must be in a hospital.

“You are in the clinic,” the angelic voice confirms my suspicions. “You had quite a fall. How do you feel?”

“Like decapitation is the only solution for this headache,” I complain and pull myself into a fetal position.

“Here,” the nurse laughs softly as she helps me to sit up. “This will most likely make you sleepy again, but at least it will kill the pain.”

Eagerly I take the glass of water and two pills without question. I do not care if she poisons or kills me. Few things can be worse than this headache. I sigh as I lay down after I took the pills.

“Thank you,” I whisper. “What’s your name?”

“Cora,” she answers softly as she pulls the blanket over my shoulder. “What’s yours?”

“I’m … I’m,” my tongue feels thick in my mouth, and nothing wants to function as it should. Then the sweet release of sleep takes over.

The Hunters

Emmet takes out his binoculars and scours the area. He focuses on the village in the distance. Frowning he looks back at his map and then at his GPS. How is this possible? According to the map, this village should not be here. It should be miles away. He does have the right coordinates according to his GPS. And according to GPS and the map, this should all be wood.

“Son of a b*tch,” he murmurs and shakes his head. Now a lot of things are making sense. For years they have been suspecting that there is a pack in the woods after one was killed five years ago, but they were unsuccessful in finding them. Now he knows why. The pack has altered the maps. The devil alone knows how they have managed it, but they did. He guesses that everything is possible if you know the right people, but still. It is impressive.

He takes out a pen and after verifying the coordinates, he draws in the new location of the village. Even if he does not find her, this will impress The Boss enough to keep him alive.

Eagerly he digs his phone out of his pocket to contact Felix, but almost instantly decides against it. Screw him! He is taking the credit for this and nobody else.

Emmet puts the map and everything else in his backpack. He takes out his crossbow and starts walking to the village.

The Clinic

A faint buzzing sound is the first thing that I register when I finally get back to the land of the living. I open my eyes and just focus on my surroundings. The ever-so-uninteresting colors of white and green confirm that I am still in the clinic. The persistent buzzing is coming from outside my room, and I guess its origin is from the nurse’s station.

I need a bathroom … badly. Cautiously I sit up, making sure that I will not collapse or that my headache will not return. Whatever Cora gave me worked like a charm. The pain is gone, it is just the fog that needs to clear. Slowly I put one foot on the floor and then the other, holding on to the bed, securing my balance. Satisfied that I can stand by myself, I shuffle one foot forward, then the other. I let go of the bed and walk two steps before the dizziness attacks me viciously.

“Oh, sh*t,” I mumble as I crash helplessly to the floor.

“What in the world?” Cora storms in and sees me on the floor. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I smile self-consciously. “Whatever you gave me, broke my legs.”

“It is only Tramacet,” she sighs as she carefully helps me out. “You’re just weak after your ordeal.”

“My ordeal?” I frown at Cora as I cling to her arms to keep myself upright. I have not told anyone what happened to me. How could she possibly know?

“Tripping over a log and bumping your head against a rock, remember?” Worried Cora looks at me. “Maybe I should get the doctor to check on you.”

“No, I remember,” I smile weakly as the two of us shuffle towards the bathroom. “I just didn’t figure being clumsy could qualify as an ordeal.”

“Do you need help getting on the toilet?” Cora asks as she places my hands on the railing by the wall for support.

“I hope not,” I grin, clinging to the last of my dignity.

“I’ll wait outside,” Cora nods and pulls the door close behind her.

With a lot of moaning and groaning, I finally manage to sit on the toilet. I sigh in relief. But the feeling does not last long. Wave after wave of memory flushes over me. Waking up in captivity. Escaping, the wolves, the naked man. I look at my hands, expecting to see a couple of nasty cuts, but there is nothing. Intensely I look at my feet. After running through the woods, they should be a bloody mess, but they are fine. I look at my hands again. I could have sworn I cut myself breaking free. I did, I did cut myself. I remember taking a dirty rag to stop the bleeding. What in the hell is happening to me?

“Are you still okay?” Cora interrupts my thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m coming,” I shout back as I pull myself up and flush the toilet. Immediately Cora is by my side and supports me as I wash my hands and am led back to bed.

“Here are some people that would like to speak with you, if you are up for it?” Cora examines me with her eyes, and I know she is trying to figure out if I am really as okay as I claim to be.

“Why would they want to talk to me?” I frown suspiciously at her as I make myself comfortable under the blankets.

“Well, what would you do if you find an unconscious girl in the woods?” Cora smiles at me.

“Fine,” I agree, feeling a bit more relaxed. It makes sense. I have not told anybody about being kidn*pped. Well, I think I was kidn*pped. In any case, I have not told anyone about it, so they cannot ask me either. I guess I should tell someone. The police, maybe? Would they even believe me? My own memories feel unimaginable, how could they possibly believe me? What if they decide that I am crazy and lock me up?

“Cora, what injuries do I have?” I look at her, the lack of cuts on my hands and feet still baffling me.

“Nothing severe,” she smiles comforting me. “A few scratches on your arms, legs, and feet that I presume happened when you wandered in the dark. And then of course the head wound. But it healed nicely.”

Completely muddled, I touch my head. It is tender, but I cannot feel anything indicating that I bumped my head.

“I do not feel anything,” I whisper, still investigating my scull.

“Head wounds heal fast. Besides, it wasn’t a gaping hole in your head.” Cora comes closer, a small frown settling between her eyes. “But there should be a hump or something.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I can feel the pain,” I smirk and stop her from looking at my injury.

“Well,” she smiles. “That will be gone soon enough. And the scratches were just that, scratches. No blood, so it’s gone already.”

I bite my bottom lip stopping myself from telling her about the missing cuts on my hands. Let us be honest. It was incredibly dark, and it is not like I really looked at it. Also, I had a pretty hard knock on the head. Maybe I am remembering things that did not happen.

“I promise you my muscles are disagreeing with you,” I joke, avoiding any more attention.

“I’ll let them know that you are ready to talk,” Cora smiles as she walks away.

“You are not leaving, are you?” Unreasonable panic settles in my stomach and desperately I look at her.

“I’ll be by your side the whole time if you want me to be,” she smiles.

“Please,” I beg. I do not know why, but I trust Cora. She is kind and I feel safe with her.

I lay back on the pillows and close my eyes. The headache is gone, but I still feel sleepy. I guess that is normal since I have no idea how much rest I had the previous night. And running through the woods will definitely count as burning energy.

I can hear Cora talking softly outside my room before the door opens and people enter. Reluctantly I open my eyes to look at my visitors. A smiling dark-haired man is standing next to me. The blond man next to him is looking at his phone and my breath hitches in my throat. It is him! The gorgeous naked man. He is here in my room. At least he has clothes on, but that does not stop the panic that is causing havoc with my insides.

“Get out,” I whisper hoarsely and frantically look around for Cora.

“We mean no harm,” the dark-haired man speaks as the blond looks sternly at Cora who is entering my room.

“Get out,” I pinch my eyes closed. Maybe they will disappear if I cannot see them. “Get out. Get out. Get out.”

“You heard her, get out,” Cora orders as she comes sits next to me. “Poor thing, you are shivering.”

Cora puts her arms around me and rubs my arm as I rock myself back and forth.