Book One In The Ahh-Ness Of Things Series: April & Donnie were once inseparable, but now almost six years have passed since she left NYC. What if April O'Neil could set the record straight, once & for all! The only girl down enough to chill with the...
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"April...."
He softly spoke my name.
"...please."
His voice was gentle, friendly even, as it echoed in the air above me. I was in a bed, it was not my own.
The first thing I remember was the sense of urgency. The entirety of my being felt as if I was stuck, lying down. Fear gripping me. The total helplessness, as I had tried to pry my eyes open. I couldn't remember why I should be frightened, but I knew that I was somewhere strange and horrible. Even before I awoke, my teeth clenched; the pain in my head is so sharp I could imagine that it might be split open. I cried out, yet I wasn't certain my cry was audible; I so disoriented. As I attempted to sit up, that was when I saw him. I hadn't noticed at first; the looming figure sitting on the end of the bed. The exact same man from the TCRI building. I wasn't sure if he had been sitting there the whole time, I wasn't really sure how long I had been looking at him. Time seemed irrelevant, like it just came and went in intervals of accumulating pain, consciousness of only that pain & the desire to keep it at bay. Everything is spinning, everything compounded into only fleeting awareness; thoughts that flew away as fast as they landed. I tried to take a good breath & found I couldn't; it was if giant talons were ripping into my sides, crushing my ribs, constricting my lungs. It was then that I remembered my fear. My father. My father was some sort of monster; he was flying off with me! His face like a grotesque gargoyle; slobbering, hissing, snarling at me. His hands are the talons in my sides, they kept a hold of me, squeezing tighter until I felt something pop in my chest & hot, frantic nerves reacted in my back & right leg. Suddenly then, this dark presence; he sat at my feet on the end of the bed.
"April! April! It's okay, it's okay!" He took hold of me frantically. Reaching out to me, trying to subdue me, the blankets twisting around my legs as I drew back.
"April please, try to relax!" My terror seizing me so intensely, my mouth latched shut and I could only cry in gasps & wheezes. He pulled away, putting his hands up as if he himself were in fear, his expressionless face; a bone white slate, couldn't hide a feeling of despair. "About your head. You have a really bad concussion; I need you to relax." His voice wavered briefly & then became calm & firm. I could sense an air of genuine frustration & he was counting; his fingers on my wrist. I collapsed back onto the bed. I couldn't understand why I was stuck, I couldn't move my legs to run.
He slowly reached out to me again. Touching me lightly on my face. "April. I'm not going to hurt you. I need to help you, you need stitches. You have to keep you eyes closed. You have to relax."
The hell!? I wanted to scream. Close my eyes? How can I? Where the hell am I? Don't touch me! What did you do to me? The only sound at all that escaped my lungs as these exclamations raced through my mind, was a groan. This awareness, that I couldn't scream for help, left me frozen in horror & my right eye suddenly felt swollen as it welled up with burning tears. I looked up to his hand. I saw a small needle. His forearm was close to my forehead, as he reached over me. I saw a strange little tattoo, like a trident. He was leaning on me purposefully; letting his weight fall just enough to not hurt but just enough to lay pressure on my upper body. It was the side that was not injured; it was with intent, to turn my face to his, to move into control over my lack of mobility. He was holding me down. The realization that he was manipulating my extremities with such precision sent a chain reaction of instinct to escape throughout my body. I wrenched my weight away from him onto the side where all of my pain came from, comprehending only momentarily that he might not expect it. I knew it would hurt, I had to be free of him. I did not know how excruciating it would be & I instantly collapsed to the floor. I felt his hand pull me back to him, captive to my unknown injury & he was on the floor now, over me. As I looked up, I could see several figures staring down at me, but my mind was blank before I could determine their meaning.
