Command Me To Be Well [Completed]

16 - Cat in the box

I wake up two days later in the hospital wing.

My vision is still blurred. I only see colors and contrasts, but no shapes. I'm on painkillers and sedatives, but still I perceive the world around me as a hostile place. It's attacking me with painful lights and sharp voices.

My brain is refusing to cooperate too. Even the easiest thoughts feel as if I was trying to solve a complex equation in a foreign language.

I fall back asleep in a few minutes.

The next time I wake up, Timur is sitting by my bed.

He seems much older than his real age. He probably wasn't allowed to spend the last few days resting. Of course not, he had things to do. He's the commander now.

The last thought causes a scary tightness in my chest. But I smile at Timur, and he smiles back.

"Good morning, Madame. You've been unconscious for a few days. But don't worry, you'll recover fully in no time. At least that's what the medical team said."

I still can't sit up, and I see and hear everything as if I was underwater, but I don't doubt them.

"I will," I croak. My voice is weak and raspy. Barely audible.

"You need to hurry, Madame." Timur grins at me.

"What?" I whisper. "Did we fail to eliminate all of them? Are there—?"

"No, Madame," he says, taking my hand. "The Wasps are gone. All of them. We were thorough, even after you passed out, trust me. It's not that."

He pauses for a second. I'm too weak to ask questions, I only blink.

"People need you," he says. "They are coming out of the underground shelters, trying to carry on with their lives. They are still euphoric, but they'll face some inevitable problems soon. Reorganization won't be easy at all."

"The Council?" I murmur.

"They need you too. They had their inaugural session, only to decide that they can't make any significant decisions without you. Your presence is essential, in other words."

"What the fuck," I sigh, closing my eyes. It's too exhausting just to think about them and their neverending blabbering.

"They are like a bunch of lost children without you." He laughs. "As much as you hate to hear it, you're not just the single remaining Seer in the world, but now you're also the savior of humanity."

My face contorts in a grimace of pain hearing his last few words.

"Sorry," he mumbles. "That was stupid of me."

I open my eyes in an instant, as tiresome as it feels. I want to see his face. Because what I hear in his voice, is something suspicious. A deep emotional disturbance. I don't need my skills to detect it, because he simply sounds much more conflicted than what I'd expect from a man, who's obviously in mourning, just like me.

"What?" I whisper.

He closes his eyes as if he could close me out that easily.

"You're deeply worried about something," I inform him, trying to sound like a human, and not like a newborn kitten. "Tell me."

"I can't." He shrugs. "I have nothing to tell."

I roll my eyes. It feels easier than to speak.

"Your recovery is our main priority now," he goes on. "Go back to sleep, Madame. And rest assured, everything's in order."

I'd really like to inquire further, but I don't have the strength. I faint.

My next awakening is a happy one. I feel good as new. As long as I don't notice the IV in my arm. Which means I've been out for more than an entire day again.