Waking Other Lives

Where was I? My feet were not even on the ground, and it was dark, again. Was I flying with Seth’s dragon in the Land of Dragoon? Had I not left the universe, had something gone wrong? But, it didn’t make sense, I had completed the mission, the golden dragon had assured me of it. Was I dreaming all of this, or was I simply trying to get out of the coma which had me in its clutches?

I was certainly not on earth, I was floating in empty space, there was nothing around me. I had no control over my actions, my arms and legs dangling like appendages on my body. Oh, wait, it was worse, I was moving towards something, I saw in panic. Holy shit, what was that glowing thing in the darkness, like a hollow mass of pure bright light? I was gravitating towards it, the vortex in the center of this dark space, wanting to suck me in. I struggled to get away, and resist the force, but it was as if I was paralyzed, my body turned into a rag doll. What was going on, holy crap, what the hell was happening to me?

“Stop it,” I shouted, watching it all happen in slow motion, but unable to stop it. “Hello, Rawonia’s heart? The golden dragon? The mother dragon? The heart? The Goddess? I addressed all the names I knew about her, shrieking in fear, begging for help as the light slowly pulled me in. “No!” I cried out, “Please, no,” I yelled as I found myself inside the vortex, being pulled in, it was as if my body was taken by a huge sweeping tornado, and I was spinning around and around in it, until it finally petered, and I was falling, my body haphazardly thrown on the dirt floor. Ouch, I would bruise all over. Dirt floor? Where in the blazes was I?

This was a small enclosed room, the walls painted in dirty white color, with a small bare bed, and a toilet in the corner. I was beginning to freak out, it was a miracle I had not passed out from sheer shock. There was a brass door, and I tried to open it. It was locked, but there was no key hole on it. I banged on the door. “Hello, get me out of here,” I screamed.

This was one of those moments I always mocked in movie scenes, the kidnapped girl banging on the door, asking to be let out. Hello? I always wanted to ask, “Did you really think the kidnapper would release you from your prison just because you asked nicely?” An, yet here I was, doing the exact same thing. My logic had all deserted me, it was pure sheer terror that was dictating my moves. I knew nothing; who had me, or why, completely escaped my understanding. Was this the trap of Rawonia’s heart, had she lured me into this? Were all the things I knew or thought about her completely wrong, was it her, and not Abby, the villain in all of this? If that was the case, I was so going to kill her, I would not die without taking her with me.

But, first things first, how was I going to get out of here, wherever this place was?

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Seth’s (POV)

I heard so many voices talking right beside me, my head was splitting, and they wouldn’t stop their meaningless chatter. I tried to speak, but it was too much of a hassle, so I stopped. Instead, I moved my hand to wave them off.

“He is awake, call the doctor” a female said, her words hurried.

“This is a miracle, both of them awake. Only one remaining in the coma, and that is to be expected,” said an overly excited male voice.

It took me a few minutes to understand I was the subject of their talk. When I moved my eyes, forcing my eyelids to lift up, which felt like a ton, they were all leaning towards my face, looking at me like I was an alien from outer space.

“Who are you?” I croaked, my voice rusty, like an unused tool. It felt as if I had not used my voice for hours, days even.

“I’m Doctor Hastings, these are the nurses who took care of you when you were in a coma, let me introduce them to you. This is Ms. Liu”, he said pointing at a petite black haired Asian origin girl. “And, this is Mrs. Stamm,” he said, showing a middle aged tall blonde woman with a sincere smile.

“Coma, I was in a coma?” I muttered in shock.

“Yes, ” the doctor replied. “You are too lucky to be alive even. Your body was found with two other victims of a house shooting. We thought you were dead, but then miraculously you all started breathing at the same time, but then relapsed into a coma. You’ve been in a coma for months now. We were about to take you off life support next week, this is a miracle, a miracle indeed.”

And, then I sprang up in bed, my forehead suddenly loaded with drops of perspiration, my stomach sick with fear and horror. Just like that, I remembered everything, the shooting where it all started, the universe of Rawonia where I was the Prince of Drakons, the explosion, the land of Dragoon, the magic night I spent with Sierra when I had turned into a human, just gazing at her, my hands exploring her alluring beauty. And then the final explosion, the volcanic mountain erupting, the universe disappearing, the ultimate destruction. This was all crazy, how could I have lived through all that? But most importantly, where was my kitten, the girl I loved, the one person who’d always been at the center of everything?

“Sierra, where is she?” I asked, trying to get out of bed.

“Whoa, Seth. Your name is Seth, right? Just relax. She is fine,” the older nurse said, trying to tuck me back inside the covers like a little boy.

“Where is she, I need to see her,” I yelled, my whole body shaking with worry. What if something had happened to her, what if she hadn’t made it? What would I do then?

“Where is she?” I yelled, getting out bed, pushing everyone out of my way.

“She is fine, I’ll bring her to you,” the doctor said. “Don’t you believe me, you are one suspicious fellow, you know. You should be careful, you just got out of a coma,” he laughed heartily. When he saw that I was far from being amused, he placed a serious expression on his face. “Don’t worry Seth, she was the first one to awake, ” he said, lifting his glasses which had fallen down his nose.

Doctor Hasting nodded his head to the young nurse who left the room.

“And, the grandma?” I asked.

“She is still in a coma unfortunately,” the older nurse explained, regretfully. “She is, of course, older. But, miracles do happen, and we are now more hopeful than ever,” she added immediately.

That was bad. Really bad, Sierra would be shaken. But, first things first, my priority was seeing Sierra alive, and, only then, would I deal with her psychology.

I was getting impatient, real impatient, minutes dragging like hours. My heart was beating anxiously, would I snap and tear them apart if they were hiding something from me? Would I change into my dragon form right here, right now? Phasing into my dragon form was no problem in Rawonia, and it was my constant state in the Land of Dragoon, yet here I had been completely oblivious to it all. So, I didn’t know if I could, I just hoped it wouldn’t come to any of that, and I would see her right in front of me within a few seconds.

“Screw this,” I snapped finally unable to bear it any longer. I took the doctor by his collar. “Where is Sierra? What have you done with her?” I bellowed, I would beat the hell out of him, at the very least that’s what I would do, if he didn’t give me some answers soon.

“She is here, Sierra is here,” the young nurse shouted, trying to appeal to my sanity when she saw me choking the doctor. “I brought her, see?” she said.

I looked at the nurse, and took in the girl standing next to her, while still clutching the damn collar. My fingers slowly released their hold, my legs shaking as I walked towards her, the woman who meant so much to me, my mate, my love. My Sierra.

“Seth,” she said, large droplets falling from her face, wetting the hospital gown she was wearing. “Seth, you are awake,” she said, and then ran to me.