Darkness Girl: Trickster God

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Broken Girl

Regan's eyes fluttered open. She was lying on a bed made with crisp white sheets. A summer breeze drifted in through the open window next to her and moved across the muslin curtains like water. The earthy scent of cut grass spilled in from outside and mixed with the musty smell of mothballs and old carpet. She could hear voices outside her room, muffled by the heavy wood of the door. 

'Can I see her now?' 

'She's not ready yet.' 

'I'm the one who found her!' 

'She'd not a lost kitten, Eva.' 

'Was it Gareth? Did he hurt her?' 

There was a pause and Regan heard the floorboards creak. 

'She's opened her eyes a couple of times, but I couldn't get her to tell me her name or where she comes from. She talks sometimes, but I don't think she's talking to me.' 

'Maybe she's crazy. That sounds like a crazy person.' 

'I don't think she's crazy, just...' Regan heard the girl pause as she searched for the right word. 'Damaged.' 

As Regan slowly came to, she felt a deep, throbbing pain in her stomach. Her right hand felt numb. She pulled it from the sheets and saw that it had been neatly splinted and bandaged. She pulled herself into a sitting position with difficulty and propped herself up against the head of the bed. She could feel heavy bandages around her midsection. 

The room looked like it had been someone's study at one point and had since been converted into a storeroom. There was a majestic oak desk in one corner that was almost buried in cardboard boxes, and there were deep indents in the cream carpet where heavy pieces of furniture had once stood. In the centre of the room was a burnished metal medical trolley that held an array of surgical implements. 

Regan gripped her stomach and looked down. Someone had dressed her in a set of short sleeved pyjamas. They were pastel yellow and had pictures of ducks on them. 

The doorknob twisted and the dark haired girl from the beach came in holding a bundle of clothes. She looked at Regan with large, serious eyes. 

'I'm surprised you're awake already,' she said. 'My money was on next week at the earliest.' 

'You're the one who stitched me back together?' 

'You could at least try to sound grateful,' said the girl. 'I know what I'm doing. I've almost finished my training as a combat medic, and I've already been on three missions.' 

'Your gold medal is on it's way.' 

Regan moved around until her legs were hanging over the edge of the bed. There was a neatly wrapped bandage around her thigh that gave off a faint smell of antiseptic. 

'You really shouldn't be moving around.' 

Regan placed her feet on the floor and tried to push herself up, but her legs felt like loose ropes. The moment she started to put weight on them they began to fold and collapse. She slid unceremoniously down the side of the bed until she was on her knees. 

The girl placed the bundle of clothes in her arms on a small bedside table. She lifted Regan up by her armpits and helped her back into bed. 

'I can tell you're going to be a difficult patient,' she said. 'I'm Sarafina, in case you were wondering who saved your life.' 

'I wasn't. I'm not staying long enough for it to matter.' 

'How about you focus on being able to stand before you think about running out the door.'