Page 14 of Jase

“You don’t. Please.”

Weakly, I peeled at the tape just outside of the contraption inches from my wrist. It was a chore, but I managed to get it unwrapped. My entire body jumped at the sight as I peeled back the gauze. All down my arm there was black stitching poking out just above the skin. Gouges from the cat were sewn up, some in a straight line, while other lacerations were jagged and puckered. I was bruised from my fingertips to the sleeve, and the colors spanned from yellow to a dark purple. The site was such a shock, I couldn’t stop myself from heaving. Screams filled my ears, and images flickered like a movie in hyper-speed. I barely even felt the warmth pool in my lap as I continued to gag.

If this was one arm, how was the rest of my body?

I couldn’t imagine. I wasn’t thinking straight. I wasn’t even here right now.

“Oh, shit. Hold on, girl. Hold on.” Beeping and voices echoed in my ears, but all I saw were headlights. They were blinding me. No…I was blinding myself as I stared into them. The man. When had the stranger put me in the car? I didn’t remember getting in. Only the light, then darkness. Then…being lifted and put down outside the store.

“Kody…Kody…It’s going to be okay now. No one will ever hurt you again. I promise. I’m going to keep you safe. Kody, look at me.”

“Yeah, hurry, she’s sick. She’s not okay. She’s freaking out!”

Tiffany brushed back my hair, and I couldn’t stop the way my body suddenly reacted to her contact. I ripped my hand free, shaking so violently that I was sure I was going to be sick again. My throat, it was on fire. Acid. All I tasted was bile.

“Shh. It’s okay. I got you. I’m here. You’re okay now.”

“Did they find him? Did they find David?”

“David?” Tiffany’s eyes went round. “You know his name?”

The door burst open, but I couldn’t focus on the doctor and nurse who rushed in.

“I…just remembered. Did they find him? I…” I scanned the strangers in the room, feeling the walls shift around me. I wanted to go home. I didn’t know these people. I needed to run. To leave. To do anything but be here. What if he found me? What if he came back because I was set free?

Time seemed to stop as I tried scouring my thoughts. Movement by my side had me screaming out in terror. The nurse was doing something. Taking orders from the doctor? Why was I free? Hadn’t the man who bought me wanted to kill me? Isn’t that why I’d been taken from the dungeon?

“Kody, my name is Doctor Landers. I’m stepping in to check you real quick.”

But I was already swinging my good hand in her direction. “Don’t touch me. Stop!”

“Nurse Linda, over there, is giving you something to calm you. I just need to make sure you’re okay.”

Calm? Yes. I needed to calm, but I couldn’t stop the hysteria as the doctor took hold of my free arm and stepped in to check me. Despite starting to get heavy, I managed to break free, but what I was doing, I didn’t understand. I patted the air in an odd rhythm as I searched for words. As I searched for some sort of sanity in the abyss of screams and cries. Nothing came but the questions and sobs.

“I want to go home. I—Cops. Is the police here? Where am I? I don’t know where I am. What hospital is this?Tiffany.”

The guttural cry of her name had me reaching out for her even more desperately. I wasn’t just afraid; I was terrified. This was all too fast, too soon. How long had I been here? How many times had I woken up in the hospital? A few, but not for maybe a few minutes at a time.

“It’s okay, honey. I’m here. Look at me. I’m here.”

“Ms. Marshall. Kody. Do you feel the medicine kicking in? Do you feel the calm I was talking about?”

My head turned to the doctor and nurse while my breaths slowed from the panicked state. Both were now reaching out touching me, listening to my heart, checking my broken hand and refastening the gauze on my arm. Everything was slowing, and I was getting heavy.

“That’s better. Yes?”

“Yes.”

My voice sounded far away. Time. It stretched out as the two continued to talk and work. When one disappeared, it was as though I blinked, and she’d returned. “Kody, I need you to listen to me. Your blanket and gown are soiled. You threw up on yourself. We need to change you. I have clean ones here.” The doctor lifted the folded, blue material, taking a step to the bed.

“The cops, are they here? Can he find me?”

The doctor got on one side as the nurse came to the other. The blankets were pulled down giving me a view of my bandaged thighs. Both began to unsnap the fastenings at my shoulders, continuing to talk as they worked to get me clean.

“There’s an officer just outside your door. You’re safe now.”

“You’re sure? He’s not going to leave?”