Not Alone

The sudden brightness of the light hurt her eyes so she squinted and closed them again, wincing from the pounding pain that throbbed in her skull, making her stomach churn with nausea. 

Actually, everything hurt.

And the fast but steady beeping noise did nothing to help.

Where was she?  Why did everything hurt so much?  Why did she feel like she was on fire?

She tried to put the pieces of her muddled and confused mind back together.  It seemed it was all just beyond her reach, but it was there she knew it, but it was like something was getting in the way of her figuring it out.

But all she could remember was darkness.  But not the kind of darkness she loved, the kind where she used to find beauty and comfort.  The darkness she remembered was an all-consuming abyss of pain and terror.

She tried to push that memory away, but it seemed to press on her chest, making it painful and hard to breathe. The existential terror was unfathomable and even though if she opened her eyes she would be blinded by fluorescent lighting, and she was no longer in such a horrifying place, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was still forever bound to it. 

That there was no escape.  No way out.

No way out.

No, no, no... whatever it was, wherever it was, she wasn’t there.  She was…here. Where was here?

She couldn’t open her eyes, the light hurt too much. She felt so hot she wondered if the light was actually white-hot fire. 

That was when she heard voices.  They were hard to understand at first, sounding distant and muffled like they were underwater, but as she became more aware they gradually became clearer, louder, like they were right beside her.  There was a sharp, panicked gasp and then a soothing, familiar voice, warm and gentle, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.  You were having another nightmare.”

“Oh,” said a soft, timid voice.  The speaker cleared her throat, “How long was I asleep?”

She sounded familiar, her voice like a melody.  But the voice also sounded like she was in distress which was just as upsetting as the confusion in her head and pain and fire in her body.  She fought to open her eyes and check on her but the light, the pounding in her head, a distant feeling like something in the back of her skull was clawing and scratching at her brain, so the moment the light hit her eyes she had to close them again. 

“Not long enough, I’m afraid.  I’m very worried about you, you’re so exhausted. I was hoping that now that Wednesday was improving, that the nightmares would slow down but they haven’t, have they?”

The younger-sounding voice broke into a sob, “No. I…it’s always the same but different. I keep seeing it, creeping back in and every time… I lose her.  I don’t save her.”

“But you did save her, dear.  And she is getting better.  Because of you.  When those horrible nightmares hit you, hold on to that fact. You saved her.”

“They feel so real that when I’m dreaming, I… it makes me doubt if the curse is really contained, what if it’s not?  And if it is… if we really did succeed…what if… what if it escapes?”

“We’re going to figure that out before it can if it can.  It might never get out,” the older woman soothed.

“And if we don’t?”

“We will.  We have to trust that we will.”

She wasn’t quite sure who they were or what exactly they were talking about, but she felt a strong desire to stand between the crying girl and whoever or whatever was causing such distress.  Both voices were so familiar, but who they were, who they meant to her was just beyond her reach and it frustrated her that she didn’t know, and worse that she was so weak and in so much pain she could barely move or open her eyes more than a sliver.

They went quiet for a moment it sounded like maybe they were hugging, like something was rubbing against fabric but it was getting harder to focus on the sounds around her.  Something in the back of her mind was trying to drag her under, back to that horrible place of absolute darkness and loneliness.

“And in this latest dream…in this one my mother was holding me back, keeping me from saving her…  Wednesday needs me!  I don’t want to leave,” she sobbed, “not now!”

“We don’t want you to go either…”

“She doesn’t understand, she won’t even listen!” the younger girl cried.  “I am fucking terrified, and she makes it about her! What if Laurel comes after her when she’s still so sick?  Or Magnuson?”

“We’ll protect her, you know we will.”

“I know but… last night she was begging us to get her out of this place, like she knew something bad was going to happen…she had a vision…what did she see? And is that why she wants to leave?”

“I know dear, and that worries me too,” the woman said. “But she’s still too sick to move. It’s dangerous to try and move her…”

“And it’s dangerous for her to stay!  If Gina, or any of them really, is one of Laurel’s followers…”

“We still don’t know that…”

“But what if?! And even if she’s not, what if…what if Wednesday doesn’t get better?  What if I leave and she relapses and then…. You said it yourself, I’m the key to her healing.”

“And I regret saying that,” the older woman replied, “that was a lot of pressure to put on you, and I am sorry.”

“But it’s the truth and we both know it.  Last night she was more like herself than she had been but the moment I left, panic attack.  I come back, she calmed down.  You said before the Ritual we had a unique bond – but I think the Ritual did something to us, I don’t know what but I can feel it...  She needs me and I… I need her,” the girl wasn’t crying as hard anymore but she could tell the girl was still crying. “And I only have two days before I have to leave!”

Listening to the news sent something heavy to settle deep in her stomach, the pressure that was on her chest seemed to press harder. This girl, though she couldn’t quite remember who she was, she was important to her, she couldn’t leave!  

She wanted to move or make a sound, something, anything to get their attention but couldn’t move. In fact, she could feel herself drifting under, everything hurt and she was so hot and dizzy and exhausted…she could feel the dark beckoning her, the clawing in the back of her mind seemingly pulling her down and that terrified her.  She shuddered, releasing the softest of moans that went unnoticed.

“I’m telling you, kidnapping is still an option!” a man’s voice chimed in.

The younger girl laughed, though she could still hear the tears in her voice, “As much as I think that would be fun, I don’t think that would be a good idea to get on my mom’s bad side.  She can be ruthless.”

“And so can we when necessary,” the man said, his tone shifting from playful to dark and dangerous.  Whoever he was, he meant it.

“Are you sure, Enid?” the woman asked very seriously.

Enid!!  That was the girl’s name!  How could she have forgotten her? 

She fought to open her eyes, make a sound something!  But something was pulling her back, and she fought it with what little strength she had. Whatever fire was burning her from the inside out was unbearable.

Something was wrong.

She felt like she was dying all over again.

Enid…

She wanted to cry out her name but could only release another soft groan.

“I’m sure,” Enid replied, “I don’t want to leave, but…”

Her voice trailed off and the older woman made a sound as though to reply but the sudden, cracking noise of a snap caught her attention. It sounded like it was coming from right beside her ear and she vaguely felt something resting on her right shoulder.

“Thing?  What is it?” There was a pause, “Oh, she’s waking up!”

She felt something soft take her hand, “Wednesday?” The girl – Enid– said.

Wait.  Wednesday. That was her name, right?  How did she forget her own name?  They were talking about her this whole time?

She groaned softly.

Why did everything hurt so much?  Why couldn’t she move?  Why couldn’t she think or remember?

She tried to speak but again couldn’t make a sound except a small whimper of pain.  Simply moving her lips took too much energy that she didn’t have.

“No, I think something’s wrong,” Enid sounded worried. “Wednesday, wake up!” she sounded urgent.

She felt something touch her face and then Enid gasped in alarm, “She’s burning up!  The screen says her fever is 102 but, it feels like it was before…maybe even worse!”

She felt another hand touch her forehead a hand on her wrist and the older woman gasped.  “Pugsley, get the nurse.”

“Wednesday?” Enid’s voice begged, “Are you with me?”

It seemed to take all her effort but Wednesday fought to open her eyes and was met by a sparkling set of blue eyes looking down at her. Enid had an aura about her that shone brightly, but it didn’t hurt like the other light did.  She wanted to stay focused on her but was so overcome with exhaustion that her eyes fluttered closed and she didn’t have the strength to open them again.

What was wrong with her?

She struggled to take a breath, it hurt her chest.  It was like there was a weight there, pressing down on her, like something was obstructing her airways.

She couldn’t breathe. She was drowning.

Somewhere in the dark abyss, the scratching in the back of her mind turned to a violent pounding and distant screaming that reverberated through her burning skull. 

A different voice seemed to echo through her head like a distant memory.

Sleep child, rest.  Heal. We’ve got work to do.

The voice, though it sounded hypnotically soothing, it terrified her.  She tried to focus on…on…the girl… Enid…but something was tugging at her consciousness. 

She didn’t want to go under, she was afraid of what she would find there in the dark depths of her mind.  Was it in her mind?  Or was the place with the painfully blinding light and Enid’s brilliant aura just a dream from which she was waking?

“Wednesday, stay with me,” Enid begged.

Whatever the case, if Enid was a dream she didn’t want to wake up, but if she wasn’t she didn’t want to sleep… She was scared, she couldn’t breathe, she was burning from the inside, the pounding and scratching in the back of her skull made her feel like her brain would burst…

Sleep, child….

No.  No… No!

She tried to speak but instead let out a soft, pained whimper as she tried to breathe, but simply taking in a fraction of air was taking away what little energy she had.

“You’re safe, Wednesday, you’re safe!” Enid assured her, desperate yet comforting.  “Please, stay with me!”

And then there was nothing.

~~W~F~A~~

The nothing was a mercy.  There was no pain or terror, but there was no Enid either. 

No way out…

No.

She was safe.  The….the….Girl…with the Rainbow Nails… what was her name?  Enid!  Enid said so.  She wouldn’t lie.

No way out.

Trap.  Trick. None of this was real she was still there.  Trapped. Trapped where? 

No, no, no, no…. She…the girl…the Girl of Love and Light… Enid…she promised she was safe.

Enid, Enid, Enid… she couldn’t forget her… Not again.

Maybe the thing she was afraid of, making her forget herself, clawing and scratching and pounding at the back of her mind, maybe it wasn’t real. 

She had escaped it, didn’t she?  The absolute dark was gone, the agony, the torture, the isolation and terror was over… wasn’t it?  She had a vague recollection of the smoke and fog clearing and seeing the beauty in the darkness again…was that even real?

Trap, trick…

No way out.

No!

She screamed the word but no sound came out. It was like she was drowning in hot water.  She fought, she kicked, she forced her way to the surface, even as she was forgetting why.

There was so much she couldn’t remember.  About herself, about her life, about the girl she used to be, about what happened to her. 

What happened to her?

She pushed her way through the dark, trying to focus and concentrate.  The answers were there she just needed to find a way to reach them.  She just needed….

“Enid…”

“Wednesday?”

The voice cut through the dark, soft, sweet and surprised.

She groaned, blinking her eyes open, squinting at the light. Her head hurt, her body hurt and she felt uncomfortably warm, but she no longer felt like she was on fire. 

“Enid,” she murmured, unable to recognize her own voice. Her throat felt like she swallowed a bunch of tiny needles and those needles were on fire.

Enid let out a relieved cry, “Don’t scare me like that.”

“’s wrong?”

She wiped her tears, “Do you remember where you are? What happened?”

She frowned as she tried to make sense of her surroundings, and what happened, but her head was too foggy and she felt oddly numb. One moment she was…drowning?  She was somewhere dark but now she was suddenly here.  Had she been dreaming?  Was she dreaming now?

This place was bright and made her head hurt and there was a persistent noise that seemed to beep in time with her heartbeat.  Was she in a hospital?  She vaguely remembered a knife… no, wait, an arrow?  And being lost in a dark forest, being pursued by… something evil and unseen, and though that part was vague she was gripped with a sudden pang of terror.  But she quietly told herself that that might’ve just been a horrible dream, though she couldn’t tell. 

She shook her head, “Sort of?  Not sure.”

“You’ve been very sick, and today your fever spiked worse than it had been when you got here and… we think someone...uh, I mean, there was a...um... malfunction with the monitors tracking your vitals, you nearly relapsed and if it weren’t for Thing… oh god we might not have noticed.  They had to intubate you again for a few hours…. But they drained the fluid building in your lungs, they stabilized you and your fever is still high, but not like before,” she said.  She wiped more tears from her eyes and forced a smile, “I’m just glad that you’re awake and remember me.”

She didn’t have the heart to tell her that all she had in that moment was her name and a vague sense that she was her salvation.  Maybe when the fog cleared, she would remember. Even though it seemed to make her head spin, she struggled to concentrate and find the memories that alluded her.

“I’m just… you scared me,” Enid said.

Despite her confusion and pain, Wednesday weakly reached for her, hating to see her so upset.  Enid took her hand with a soft smile, on the brink of tears.

“You…OK?” Wednesday asked, noticing faded scratches on her face and dark circles under her bloodshot blue eyes.  It was slowly coming back to her.  Enid… the girl beside her was her friend.  Her best friend.  She got those scratches saving her from… from… from what?

“I’m fine,” Enid said, “Don’t worry about me, OK?”

She vaguely remembered being in a dark forest and a terrifying creature…there was a red moon…no, that wasn’t right, the fog and smoke were so thick she couldn’t have seen the night sky when… something…it pursued her and broke her.  And then the gir—Enid, came to her aid.  Saved her.  But how or why was still something that she just couldn’t remember.

She moaned softly in pain, her whole body hurt. Trying to remember and orientate herself through these fragments of memories was painful and it hurt to breathe. It was like something invisible was gripping her chest, igniting an unspeakable terror within her and something in the back of her mind seemed to scratch and claw and pound against her skull.

The creature…the entity? or whatever it was had broken every bone in her body but… that couldn’t be right, she hurt everywhere but if all her bones had been broken then why…

“Wednesday?”

No the creature…thing…entity in the darkness put her back together just so it could break her again and again… It tortured her… it never stopped, it was never going to stop…

“No way out,” she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut as she could’ve sworn she saw blackened fog and smoke creeping into the room.

“Wednesday,” the girl – Enid– said sharply, “No.  You’re out, you’re safe.”

She saw other flashes of what she could only assume were memories, but they were like blurred photographs, and they seemed to steal her breath away.  Each snapshot of memories were connected with one common element, they were all shrouded in a dark, menacing cloud of fog and smoke.

There was a tall, menacing creature with large bug eyes, sharp claws and teeth, a tall, large man…a pilgrim?  A woman in red boots, unnatural red hair.  A tall boy whispering tauntingly in her ear.  A girl who looked like her but with white blonde hair offering to heal her for an unspoken price.  A nurse standing over her, smiling.  A man in a police uniform, roughly pinning Enid to the wall.  The same man looming over her.  The same nurse…doing something to her…Enid pinned to the wall… Blood everywhere…

“Breathe Wednesday!” Enid said, squeezing her hand, “Please.”

She tried, but it hurt.  There was a weight on her chest, pressing down on her, drowning her, asphyxiating her...  No, the smoke it was wrapping around her, threatening to consume her.  No, no… the fog and smoke was afraid of Enid and the brilliant aura she emitted.  The Girl of Love and Light – Enid repelled it.  She saved her.

Wait, she wasn’t in that dark forest, was she?  No, she wasn't.  She was in a… hospital?  She was…

“Breathe, you’re safe, OK?” Enid said, reaching for something, a silver chain with a black and silver pendant, and held it up in her line of sight, “See this?” Enid asked.  She nodded and Enid placed it so the chain wrapped loosely over both their interlocked hands, it felt unnaturally warm.  “You’re safe.”

Safe.  The smoke retreated but lingered in the corner of her eye. 

She was out. 

It was just her and Enid.

But danger still lurked. 

Danger for them both.

“G-get me out of here,” she whispered breathlessly, her head spinning. “I…can’t stay…here.”

“Why do you feel like you can’t stay?  You’re in such bad condition.  Did you um, maybe see something?  A vision?”

She tried to make sense of her question, but the truth was, she wasn’t sure.  Her memories were so scattered she was still trying to assemble the pieces and differentiate between what was real or a dream.  She just had a horrible feeling and had no idea where it came from but it was strong. 

“I don’t know.”

“Well, me and your parents and Pugsley are all working on it,” Enid assured her, “you’re still so sick, everyone is saying that it’s not safe to move you yet, but we’re trying to figure something out.”

She listened, confused and mesmerized, trying to recall the people she was talking about as she fought to catch her breath, each inhale a wheezy struggle that seemed to rattle her chest.  Though she was dizzy and disoriented, she focused on Enid’s brilliant aura, the warmth of Enid’s hand in hers, the silver chain and pendant holding them together and sensed something powerful between them that she couldn’t articulate even to herself, but it was comforting.

“But in the meantime, we’re doing everything in our power to protect you,” Enid continued.

Tears built in her eyes and she suddenly looked away. Something about that statement felt fundamentally wrong.  The girl she used to be… the girl she used to be could protect herself and would be ashamed of the girl she was now.  She was the one who did the protecting, she couldn’t remember her clearly, but it was something she just intrinsically knew. 

But this version she was now… who was that person?

She felt Enid squeeze her hand. 

“Just focus on getting better, OK?” Enid asked.

She nodded wearily, wanting to oblige despite the inexplicable fear pressing down on her and the powerful sense that something terrible was going to happen and she would be completely helpless to stop it. 

A tall, beautiful woman dressed in black with long black hair walked in and her eyes lit up at the sight of her.  She was very familiar and Wednesday tried to concentrate on the pieces of her scattered memories to identify her.

“My darling, Wednesday,” she said, moving gracefully towards her, placing her hand on her cheek, “It’s so good to see you awake again. You had us so worried.”

“Mother?” she guessed and when her smile widened it rushed back to her.  Her guess was correct.  She was her mother– how could she have forgotten her own mother, even for a moment?

“Yes, it’s me,” she said, glancing at Enid, her eyes briefly darting to their interlocked hands, bound by the silver chain, back to Enid and then at her once more.  “And your father and brother will be joining us shortly.”

She took a moment to process her words and then nodded. 

“How are you feeling?” she asked gently.

“Everything hurts,” she replied.

“Do you remember what happened?”

Wednesday furrowed her brow which made her head hurt. She did and didn’t.  How many of those flashes of fragmented memories were real or imagined?  They felt real, her body ached in a way that made her think maybe they were, but logically, if they were she should be dead. Her head ached and spun as she tried to make sense of it and provide the right answer.  She noticed the sling on her left arm and guessed, “Arrow.”

“Yes.”  Her mother’s voice was soft, and soothing, betraying both worry and relief. “Do you remember anything after that?”

She flinched as a sharp shooting pain seemed to pierce her skull like a knife, the clawing and scratching, though quiet was persistent and exacerbated the pain and dizziness. She remembered darkness, smoke and fog, pain, torture, pure isolation, the crippling terror of being absolutely alone in the endless darkness, and yet also not alone.  Pursued by something unseen, something that took pleasure in breaking her again and again and again...

Wednesday glanced back at Enid. 

She had saved her.

She got her out.

No way out…

She felt Enid squeeze her hand.

No…she was out.  She was out.

She weakly squeezed back, taking a painful and deep breath, trying to centre herself using Enid as an anchor.

 “Um… vaguely?” she wasn’t sure what else to say.  The little snippets she could remember that weren’t shrouded in endless darkness made little sense, like a movie playing out scenes in a random and incoherent order.  “It’s uh, um… a little jumbled.”

Her mother’s face fell slightly but then she smiled, “That’s all right, you’ve been through so much my darling, it will come to you.” She felt her forehead and let out a sigh of relief, “Still so warm, but not like before.” She gracefully moved to the other side of her, reaching into a black bag and pulling out a small jar. Wednesday tried to follow her with her eyes, but a sharp pain in her skull forced her to close them.

“Wednesday?” Enid sounded concerned.

“Light hurts,” she whispered. 

Enid made a soft sympathetic noise and then Wednesday felt something cold and damp on her forehead.  She flinched at first, but then relaxed, finding it soothing.  She fluttered her eyes open briefly to catch Enid gently gliding a damp cloth over her forehead. 

“Th-thank you,” she breathed letting out a relieved sigh as she closed her eyes again.

“Wednesday, I am going to look at your wound,” her mother said and she felt her fussing with her white gown and removing something sticky like tape from over her shoulder. 

“It looks better,” Enid said quietly.

“It does,” her mother said, “from all appearances, the infection is almost gone.  At least on the surface.”

Wednesday could hear the frown in her mother’s voice and she forced her eyes open a sliver, confused and watched her put on a nitrile glove and dip her fingers in the little jar.  “What’s that?” she asked softly.

“A poultice for your wound my darling, grandmamma’s recipe, do you remember?” 

She tried to remember but couldn’t, so she shook her head.

“It’s helping to treat your wound,” she explained, “and it’s working…” she sighed as she applied it to her injured shoulder.  It felt cold against her skin yet soothing. “Unfortunately, the infection runs too deep to heal you.  Right now, if it weren’t for the normie medicine…and this hospital…”

Wednesday frowned as her voice trailed off. “Mother?”

“They saved your life.  More than once. I understand you want to leave here…”

She nodded, wincing as it rattled her aching head. 

“And we are trying to figure something out, your father is talking to the hospital staff to try and make arrangements, but the problem is, you need the care they’re providing. If it weren’t for them, we would’ve lost you.”

Her mother’s voice was heavy and cracked a little and she blinked up at her, noticing her eyes watering with unshed tears.  Too exhausted and pained by the light she closed her eyes again, sighing, “Not safe here, mother.”  She felt Enid squeeze her hand.

 “You had a vision, didn’t you?” her mother asked.

Wednesday whimpered softly, “I don’t know.”  The brief fragments of memories that made no sense in her clouded mind flashed in her head and she sucked in a breath, terrified, not knowing if they were of the past, present, future or if they were even real. 

“It’s all right,” she said, “it’s all right if you don’t remember.”

“I… remember some things but… none of it… makes sense. It’s more of a feeling,” she said. And the whole situation didn’t seem right.  She was exhausted, the strain of trying to breathe when each breath was a painful struggle was taking its toll, “What… happened to me?  Why can’t I… remember?”

There was an overwhelming sense of wrong that everything was so jumbled in her head and trying to make sense of it hurt, and she was too weak to move and only vaguely understood why.  And the scratching and clawing in the back of her head, and the odd sense of something screaming, of being trapped, not just in her weak body but like maybe none of this was even real. 

Was she really here in the hospital?  Sick and injured but safe? But why didn’t it feel safe? She should be safe, right?

Or was she somewhere else?  Somewhere dark – not the beautiful comforting dark she loved but something endless and absolute where she was lost in an endless void, where there was nothing but agony and crippling loneliness and yet she was not alone – something lurked, hunting her, pursuing her, destroying her, putting her back together only to break her again and again and again….

“Breathe, Wednesday,” Enid said softly, cupping her soft hand over her cheek, cutting into the spiralling panic that brewed within her.

She glanced at Enid, leaning into her touch, ignoring the black smoke and fog that encroached upon the room from the corner of her eye, desperate to believe that it was nothing more than a hallucination.  Enid was like a beacon of light, keeping that kind of darkness at bay.  She was the only thing besides the pain and terror that felt real.

“I’m… broken, aren’t I?” she whispered softly.  There was so much she couldn’t remember but she knew, she knew that this quivering and weak emotional mess with scrambled memories, it wasn’t her.  “What… what’s wrong with me?”

“You’re sick and injured darling,” her mother said, “you’ve been through so much in such a short time…”

She frowned with confusion as it felt strangely like she had endured multiple lifetimes and yet… how long did they say had passed since she was hurt?  She remembered someone telling her but couldn’t remember who or what they said.

“…you need to be patient.  You’ve been running a high fever for weeks now and it’s understandably taken its toll on you,” her mother continued, gently massaging the medicine into her shoulder.  “I’m sure once you have a chance to heal it will come back to you.”

“You’re not…telling me something…” she said. 

“Darling, you’ve fought a battle much bigger than you realize – and when you’re better we will tell you everything you might not know.  You were hurt, badly, but not beyond repair, you just need to be patient and everything will be all right, you’re going to be fine,” her mother assured her, but something in her voice made her wonder who she was really trying to convince.

“Just…” she mumbled, struggling to stay awake, “get me out of here…”

The worst part is she wasn’t even sure if whatever intangible thing she was afraid of was even real.  But she could not shake the sense that whatever ordeal they faced wasn’t over, that there was more danger to come, not just for her but for Enid, for her family.  And she was completely helpless, too weak to move let alone defend herself or her family who would have to put themselves in danger to protect her, and she was too scrambled in the head to even articulate a proper warning.

In a way, the confusion was far worse than the pain and even the terror.  Maybe the overpowering fear that was wrapped tightly around her, the clawing and scratching in the back of her mind, and the faint whisper of a familiar voice that was not her own deep, deep, deep in her mind would not be so terrifying if she understood where it came from.  But it was taking a lot of her energy just to hold on to the few pieces of the puzzle in her head that she was able to put together.

“Your father is working on making arrangements, but in the meantime, you’re safe.  Your room is guarded, at least one of us has been with you at all times.  Anyone or anything tries to get to you, they have to go through us,” her mother promised.

“’s what… I’m afraid of…” she whispered, barely audible even to herself but as much as she wanted to, she didn’t have the energy to keep fighting to stay awake or make sense of the dread that she couldn’t articulate.   

 “Get some rest, Wednesday,” Enid said softly, “you need it.  We’ll be right here, we’ll be here when you wake, OK?”

“Promise?” she slurred groggily as the darkness and exhaustion pulled her further down.  She didn’t want to fall asleep, mostly because she was afraid that she wasn’t falling asleep, but waking up.

The last thing she felt was Enid’s soft hand in hers giving a light squeeze and a kiss on her forehead that she instinctively knew was from her mother.  She grabbed hold of their memory, desperate to not lose them again. 

Deep in her mind, she heard that voice that sounded like her but the voice was not her own.  It was urging her to rest.

Sleep child.  Rest, heal.  We’ve so much we have yet to do. 

The haunting voice was soothing and gentle, but it did not give her comfort – rather, the opposite, but she couldn’t resist the voice’s demands.

And then, once again, there was nothing.

She drifted in that nothing, lost with loneliness and dread as her only companions.  She repeated Enid’s name over and over, determined to never lose it again, reminding herself that she was real, and she was still with her.  Forcing herself to believe that she was safe.  That they all were safe.

But safety was never guaranteed.

She had no idea how much time had passed, but she found herself slowly inching toward consciousness and sensed that she was lying on something that was moving.  She heard voices, they sounded muffled and distant at first, but as she slowly became more aware, they became clearer.  The voices were familiar, but she couldn’t place them.  All she knew was that none of the voices belonged to Enid or her family.  She also sensed that she was no longer moving, but people were moving around her, they were… doing something to her.

Nothing felt right.  Where was Enid?  Who was there? What were they doing?

Despite still feeling heavy with extreme exhaustion that threatened to pull her back into the darkness she groaned softly, fighting her way to opening her eyes and making sense of what was happening.

“She’s waking up,” a man’s voice commented, and suddenly the movement and soft chatter stopped.

“Good,” a woman’s voice said gleefully, her voice was so familiar, but it was also nasally like she was congested, “Wednesday, wake up.”  She sounded amused and demanding, and then she felt a hand slap against her cheek, “Wake up.”

She fluttered her eyes open and saw a nurse who was removing the various leads and tubes attached to her body, and on one side of her a tall, bulky man and on the other side of her there was a woman wearing a blue surgical face mask with unnatural bottle red hair.  They were all familiar, but her foggy mind couldn’t place them, but the red hair…

She knew that red hair.

Her eyes widened as realization set in and just as she attempted to cry for help, the man roughly clamped his hand over her mouth. 

The redheaded woman leaned over her, pushed her thick-rimmed glasses up and though her nose and mouth were covered, she could see in her cold, hateful eyes that she was smiling, “Hello Wednesday.”