My Silver Mate

Awake

[Samara]

Beep. Beep. Beep. The sound was annoying, and I couldn’t understand where it was coming from or what it was. Beep. Beep. Beep. I frowned as I tried to place the sound. That was when the smell hit me. It was strange and rather strong. The smell of disinfectant and cleaning chemicals. It reminded me of a hospital. Wait. Was I in the hospital? I slowly blinked open my eyes and stared up at the stark white ceiling.

“What the…?” the machine to my left told me that, yes, I was in the hospital, but I couldn’t remember why. Had something happened? As I tried to sit up, a wave of unbelievable pain rushed through me, and I moaned. I looked around and the whole room was white. Not only that, but I was definitely in a hospital room. I once again tried to sit up as I grunted through the pain. What the hell had happened to me? The last thing I remembered was…the camp sight. “He-hello?” I called out and my voice was hoarse as my throat was dry. I spotted a glass next to me on the side table, but it was empty. The door was closed but the second door stood slightly ajar, and I could see a basin. I was parched. I wanted water. “Hello?” I called out a bit louder and this time I heard footsteps as someone approached. The door opened and a nurse poked her head in.

“You are awake!” she exclaimed with a bright smile. She hurried into the room and within seconds I was carefully helped to sit up and a glass of water placed in my hand. I greedily drank from the glass until it was done.

“Why? What?” I asked, but she shook her head.

“Don’t speak, I’ll get the doctor,” she said before she hurried out of the room. Moments later, she returned with the doctor and another man. I didn’t recognize either of them.

“I’m so glad to see that you are awake,” the doctor stated, and the only reason that I knew he was the doctor was because of his white coat. “We are just going to check all your vitals before we talk to you, ok?” I nodded at that and almost immediately he and the nurse sprang into action. I was probed and prodded but eventually, the doctor seemed satisfied. The other man had simply stood to the one side as he waited. What I hadn’t expected was for the doctor and nurse to leave me alone with the man.

“What is your name?” the man asked.

“Samara,” I said, slightly confused.

“Hello Samara, my name is Evan Abrahams,” he said, and I frowned. His name meant nothing to me, all I wanted to know was what the hell had happened. “What is the last thing you remember?” he then asked.

“I remember being at the camp sight,” I said, and he nodded. “I remember setting up camp…oh, and we went swimming,”

“What else do you remember?”

“I remember…” I tried to think back but it was a bit blurry. “I think we had dinner…I can't remember exactly…what happened to me?” I decided to ask. It was pointless asking me to remember something when I clearly had no idea.

“Well…judging by the time frame, we believe that you had probably gotten up in the middle of the night to relieve yourself and…unfortunately you were attacked,” he explained, and my eyes went wide.

“Attacked?” I whispered in shock.

“Yes, attacked. We brought you here…because you weren’t attacked by just an ordinary animal,” he went on and I frowned. What the hell was he talking about? I could tell that he was getting ready to tell me when the door suddenly opened.

“Alpha…we have a bit of a situation,” the man said, and I scoffed. Alpha? What was this? Who were these people?

“My apologies, Samara…I will be back shortly,” Evan said before he hurried out of the room with the other man. He had left me alone with my thoughts and I chuckled. What did he mean that I had been attacked but not by an ordinary animal? What was he talking about? And why had that man called him Alpha? Was he some sort of leader? Thinking made my head hurt, so I stopped as I leaned back against the soft pillow and closed my eyes. I was already feeling so much better, but I was still confused. Why hadn’t the doctor spoken to me about my diagnosis? Was it something serious? My eyes opened as I looked down at myself. I spotted a few bandages, but nothing seemed broken.

“What the hell is going on here?” I wondered aloud. However, I wasn’t left alone for very long because then the nurse returned, and this time she carried a tray, which she placed on the side table.

“Would you like to use the bathroom?” she asked. I was tempted to demand she tell me what was going on, but I somehow knew it would be pointless.

“Sure,” I said. The nurse helped me out of bed, which was a lot easier than I had expected. She left me alone in the bathroom and I simply looked around. A normal bathroom, with a bath, basin, and toilet. Nothing special, typically a hospital-style bathroom. I used the toilet, washed my hands, and drank some more water before I opened the door. The nurse was now gone, but Evan was back.

“I see Nurse Michelle has brought you something to eat,” he said. I carefully climbed back into the bed, and he set the tray on the little trolley thing and pushed it in front of me. “You eat while I talk,” he suggested, and I shrugged as I stared at the food on the tray. I don’t know why, but I was taken aback by the sight of a cheeseburger, a side of fries, and a small bowl of coleslaw. Was this typical hospital food? I didn’t think so.