That light...
My eyes twitched as they started to open on its own. I blinked a few more times in quick succession subconsciously, but the piercing rays still strained my vision. I shifted my head slightly that seemed to be feel like they were cushioned, scanning my surroundings trying to figure out where I was. Soon enough, my view began to clear, and I found myself on a bed, with an abnormal amount of pure white surrounding me. I moved my right arm, only to feel a sharp sting in my hand. A needle? A tube? I quickly followed the tube's path and met its end when I saw a bag of transparent fluids that was hanged on a stand. An IV drip? I'm in a hospital? What happened?
My body was completely sore and I could barely lift my own head up. Regardless, I carefully tried to haul myself up with my left hand, which was free from random syringes and needles so that I was in a seated position. I rolled my head and shoulders and stretched my free arm trying to ease the soreness of my body. A quick shot of pain suddenly hit my head. Instinctively, I rubbed my forehead in small clockwise circles to alleviate the unexpected pain.
A flash of memories began to appear, but each frame appeared for only a split second and I was unable to even comprehend any of them. What is this?
I then saw a pair of lips, which lingered a little longer than all the other frames that sped through my head. It moved in a very slow, but seemingly articulate motion, as if it was trying to say something to be, but I couldn't hear anything.
At that point, I did not have a single recollection of what happened before I ended up in this hospital ward. All I remembered was that everything went bloodshot scarlet...
I heard the door slide open and saw a doctor emerge. The doctor eyes quickly widened as he saw me, as if he was surprised that I woke up. Immediately, he closed the door and ran away. I raised an eyebrow slightly in utter confusion. Just as I rolled my eyes in response, the door quickly opened again, this time with the same doctor and a few nurses came in.
"And I thought you were a hopeless case," one of the nurses commented, whilst adjusting and checking my tubes.
"Good to know you have finally woken up," the doctor added, flashing a quick grin and a thumbs up. "You were in a coma for three months. Actually, you recovered faster than expected,"
"Still...three months..." I muttered under my breath. Three fucking months. What on earth had actually happened? Was it that bad to the point I was knocked unconscious for three months? I asked the doctor to see if I could get more information.
"To be honest, even I don't have a clue," the doctor pursed his lips. "All I know was a female who seemed to your friend carrying your body begging me to save you. She didn't give me any details, but then again I was in too much of a shock to even ask her for any. You were in a critical state and was on the brink of death I'll just say that."
"Female friend?" I questioned again, who could it be? Only three or so names popped into my head. "Who?"
"I think her name was...Layla? Does that ring a bell?"
Layla? That girl chucking knives and swinging that bisento and sword around in traditional Japanese clothing was the one that saved me? I mean, she was also an incredibly good friend of mine, but her blunt and flirtatious attitude didn't give off the feeling that she would do something remotely like that.
"Well, I've also contacted Layla just then and told her that you were awake." The doctor started again, walking around in circles. "I think she's going to come soon. In the meantime, I've checked your condition...While it is okay, however since you have not moved at all for the past three months, you'll have to undergo rehabilitation to restore some of your movement."
Wonderful. That's basically another month of being stuck in an hospital. I'm going to hate this.
After the doctor left to check up on another patient in the same sector, I was still left with far too many questions. The doctor clearly didn't help, but I couldn't blame him for that since he didn't know my friend group very well anyway. He would have never understand the endless drama and shitstorms that happened within our group.
Suddenly, I heard the door click open again. This time, it was Layla that peeked through the door. She quickly closed the door behind her with a press of the button next to the door frame, and came over towards me, and smiled softly.
"You're awake, huh..." Layla replied, brushing her side fringe slightly with her hands that were manicured immaculately. "Good to know...a certain someone will be happy to hear that. At least I hope so."
A certain someone? Then I quickly realised who she was talking about.
"Elena..." I mumbled, looking down at my hands and the white sheets that were draped over my body.
"Correct." Layla's voice was unchanging, but I could tell that she knew that name would struck a nerve.
Elena. My best friend that I have known for almost 2 decades, when we were late in our toddler years. To many, she was cold like the glaciers, nearly emotionless yet a focused and calculating woman capable of turning the tides of many wars and battles around just as soldiers were losing all hope. But to her, that's just another day, in that she never celebrated her victories, nor did she ever go into despair when defeated. Rather than shouting out orders, Elena merely spoke them in a very soft and articulate, yet authoritative and no-nonsense tone. That was enough for soldiers to fear but greatly respect her. But her own magical power? Unimaginably high.
Yet, there were people that sneered and criticised her. While Elena held a very high position in the Galactic Military, as well as being an aristocrat, during her time in the lower ranks, she had, and still have, a habit of completely disrespecting her superiors, and often disobeyed orders that she deemed inefficient or that are "pile of bullshit". Hence, she would often go on her own and dealt with things her way, and thus resulted her nearly kicked out of the military several times because of it, even though at times her strategies actually helped secure victory.
Nevertheless, to me, Elena was someone that I held dear. Even though she acted in the same away as she did to everyone else -- cold, unamused and somewhat distant -- I knew what was really going on in her head. While we didn't have telepathic powers, since we have known each other for so damn long, we pretty much knew how each other's brain worked. And surprisingly more often than not, we were able to predict each other's decisions and what each other's next sentence would be, word for word.
And I'm also one of the very few people that knew the 'old' Elena.
"Where is she?" I found myself asking.
And that's when Layla's pleased demeanour changed into a tense expression. "I - more like we - don't know."
"What?" I obviously didn't understand what she meant by that sentence.
Layla's expression became more and more uncomfortable. "I don't know how to explain this..." She took a deep breath and was incredibly hesitant, something completely out of her character. Oh no...
"Let's just say, Elena's missing. Literally no one has seen her for the past three months. She disappeared after th--"
She interrupted herself and her face began to form a concerned expression as she studied my face. "Skylar?" Layla asked, showing a tint of confusion. "Are you okay?"
I began to feel a some sort of warmth beginning to trickle down my face. Darker shades of white began to appear in unorganised yet crisp spots on my sheets. I felt my cheek and was greeted with a very damp sensation. Before I knew it, tears had already began to flow down my face and I was bawling my eyes out.
"NO FUCKING SHIT I'M NOT FUCKING OKAY!" I yelled, bashing my left hand on the railings of my bed with so much force that the metal bars bent downwards. I didn't even react to the pain that went though my hand afterwards from that jolt of movement. "I don't even want to hear any more...She's probably dead isn't she?"
Layla shook her head, although it wasn't as if she was denying my theory. "You've always been quick to conclusions."
I exhaled out of my nose in an attempt to calm myself down from all the sudden information. Nevertheless, I felt rage and heat boiling inside my stomach, looking at her with sheer anger. "HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?! SHE'S DEAD! I KNOW IT! THERE'S NO WAY SHE COULD'VE GONE MISSING FOR THREE MONTHS WITHOUT A SINGLE FUCKING TRACE!"
More teardrops began to fall like rushing waterfalls as I continued to be a crying mess. My best friend is gone. No one has seen her for three months.
The only person I truly ever felt a connection. Gone.
Layla sighed and leaned in front of me, glaring at me. Instinctively I threw out my hand and lashed out in an attempted to slap her face away, but she was quick to grab it by the wrist. She stared at me, and shook her head again.
"You know..." She tilted her head up for a few seconds and glanced at the ceiling, before sticking her tongue out inside her cheek. "I've known of a man who was brave and optimistic. While others gave up if they knew they were fighting a losing battle, he on the other hand would continue to fight, never once raising a white flag. He held onto hope and determination, and defied many people's expectations. But that man clearly isn't you. You're defeated."
I winced, biting my bottom lip as I felt the brutal words piercing my heart. I began to take deep breaths, and felt the tears beginning to dry up on my reddening cheeks. I looked at Layla, dead in her eyes, before sternly responding "No...I'm not defeated."
She got up again, placing her right hand on her hip and looked down at me. She clearly wasn't convinced. But regardless, Layla continued "Well then...prove it."
"But how?" I immediately asked, my voice still shaking from the tears that were starting to dry up on my cheeks. "I'm still gonna be stuck in the hospital for another month."
"Do you really think you'll be stuck here for a month?" Layla quickly scanned my body while crossing her arms in a nonchalant fashion, before raising a brow. "Take a look at your left crook on your elbow."
I diverted my attention to that area of my arm. At first, I couldn't see anything unusual, but as I stared closer, I notice a very microscopic wound. "I just see a small speck...Is it really that significant?"
Layla gazed at me again with her usual elegant and chic stare, before moving her heart-shaped lips again. "The doctors mentioned something about you recovering faster than usual. Now if it wasn't for--"
She cuts herself off, and covers her mouth with her drooping sleeves, as if to stop herself from blurting out secrets, and mutters something under her breath that I cannot hear out correctly. Shaking her head lightly, she regains her composure within a few seconds.
"Anyway, " she clears her throat in quick successions, "I was trying to say that you'll heal back up to optimum health in no time."
"And you are sure about that?" I tilt my brow up to show my doubts.
"I am sure," Layla brushes off her shoulders, "trust me on that at least won't you?"
She giggled a little. "I have an idea as to where Elena is."
Reaching into her sleeves, Layla pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to me. " Don't open it yet." She warned just as I was about to reach for the edges. "You need to get out of here first. There's no needles stuck into you right?"
She scanned me like a statue on display in a museum, and it felt so invasive it made my skin crawl a little. As if trying to reassure me awkwardly, Layla spoke to me in a soft and secretive voice, "I'll bust you outta here tonight, I'll take the consequences for you."
I raised my eyebrow in doubt. "You doubt my abilities?" Layla scoffed, crossing her arms and stared down at me with her fox-like eyes. To be fair, I never doubted her abilities for even a second. She was not only nimble, but also stealthy - important traits for any assassin or spy. In fact, it wasn't her abilities that I doubted. It was whether as to if Elena wanted to see me again that I doubted. I found myself massaging my temples lightly with my fingers again due to my indecisiveness.
"Hm." Layla looked at me again like I was a test subject, before walking towards the window and gazed outside. Her face was completely neutral, and I couldn't figure out what she was thinking. Sometimes I wished I had mind-reading powers, but I'm not that one in a billion unfortunately. "Why would she save you if she hated you?"
"And even then, are you gonna let other people dictate your choices?" Layla came up to me again, before offering one of her slender hands to me.
