Chapter 1: Alive

When Kris woke up, it was quiet. No voices, no music. This time she truly felt as though she were waking up.

Of course she was.

Her eyes opened, and then closed. She was still tired and disoriented but it felt good to be able to blink.

“Philips, Philips! She’s awake!” someone called out.

She tried but Kris could not lift her body to look around her or even turn her head to follow the voice, which had now gone silent. Not wanting to slip back into the timeless blackness, she lay still, reserving her energy.

A moment later, another voice said, “Talk to her. It will sort of be like the last time we did this.” A female she didn’t know, Kris reasoned, as she heard a door open and click shut. Her eyes fluttered open once more. This time she tried to move her eyes to take in more of her surroundings.

Warm colors on the walls and ceiling, stylish light fixtures. After a moment, she tried tilting her head to the side and succeeded. There were plush chairs placed in the room, a coffee bar and small refrigerator. It had several trappings of a hotel suite, but some things just stuck out and didn’t make sense to her.

The medical equipment was an odd addition. An IV drip bag hung on a stand beside her bed. She followed the clear tube from the solution bag down to where it was connected in her arm! Was she in a hospital?

As she began to panic, the machines by her bedside started to beep. “Where am I?”

When the young man sitting in her room realized she was speaking out loud, he jumped up and rushed to her side. “Relax. You’re safe.”

It took a moment for her to compose herself. She closed her eyes, counted to ten and told herself to take it easy. She wasn’t in any pain so she couldn’t be too bad. She turned her eyes to the man again.

He wasn’t very young, but he wasn’t old either. His light brown, almost dirty blond hair was cut short, close to his head. Straight dark eyebrows were planted on a broad forehead above sharp blue eyes. His mouth was twisted in a half smile at the moment but she thought it suited him. He was actually quite good looking.

“Hello,” she said curiosity and interest reflecting in her gaze.

“Hey, darling. How are you feeling?”

She grimaced, “Exhausted.” Though she’d just woken up, it felt as though she’d just run a marathon. Everything felt strained and she felt weak. In the back of her mind she questioned the way he had addressed her. Darling?

His smile was sympathetic.

“Where am I?”

“You’re in a medical rest facility.”

“Are you a medic?”

The guy didn’t respond to that question. Instead he helped her by introducing himself. “I’m Reese Bodley.”

She took more than a moment to respond. What was her name? Tina? No. Kristi? Yes.

“I am Kristina Hawkins. Kris or Kristi for short.” Never Tina.

Bodley grinned, but he was quiet, his gentle expression observing her patiently. He only spoke again when she remained silent for some time, her eyes warily surveying her surroundings, vivid emotions crossing her face in succession. “What’s wrong?”

“I have the feeling I know you very well. I also have the feeling that I shouldn’t have forgotten your name or face in the first place.” Her face tightened with pain. “There’s more coming back to me.”

“What is it Kristi?” Reese leaned forward with sudden urgency.

“I… got into an accident.” With a shaky hand she touched the side of her head. “Was it a bad car crash?” she breathed with fear, tears inexplicably filling her eyes. “There were men who-”

She felt Reese’s warm hand on hers. As her vision began to blur again she could hear the machines beep with increasing speed. She knew Reese was there to comfort her but the panic was too strong. Her chest began to hurt and she felt her throat constrict. Before she could say anything, she slipped into blackness once more.

Reese stayed with her until the nurses urged him to go home.

“Good morning!”

“Hi.” Kris looked at the young woman who had just spoken to her.

“I am Carnerie Maisen. I’ll be your physio.”

“Oh.”

“P-Q-R-S!” she grinned. “Welcome back to the land of the alive and living!”

“How long have I been asleep?” Kristina asked, more than a little groggy, as she looked around. This place was familiar. Not the medical rest center. This was more like her space.

“You have been asleep for a while.”

“When did I leave the medical rest center?”

“When you woke up of course.” Carnerie’s brow rose.

“Of course,” Kris murmured. “I’m supposed to remember this place, aren’t I?”

Her companion paused. “You don’t remember? You’ve forgotten again?”

“What am I supposed to remember?” Kris was getting impatient. “What do you mean by ‘again’?”

Carnerie’s speckled blue eyes narrowed with worry. “Never mind that for now.” Injecting cheer into her expression she said, “How about a bath, fresh clothes and some food?”

Kris sat there silently, praying she wasn’t going crazy. The girl was clearly avoiding answering her questions and there were some serious gaps in her memory.

“Okay,” she finally said. Pushing the bed cover aside, she made to get out bed. Carnerie Maisen approached her to help her. “It’s okay. I can do it alone.”

The strangest sensation overcame her as she placed her feet on the ground and tried to stand up. Weakness. She barely felt the carpet underneath her feet. Before it all registered, she fell forward.

Carnerie had been holding her breath in those moments of realization dawning on Kristina, but she couldn’t help but laugh at her friend, who was staring at her legs obviously bewildered. She could almost read her thoughts. What’s going on?

She wasn’t normally in the habit of laughing at invalids but it was an opportune moment to release some tension. The past few days had been trying. She hadn’t considered that Kris would forget her and it hurt… being able to laugh was something she didn’t take for granted.

Reese heard laughter from Kris’s room and stuck his head in. He didn’t expect to see Kris on the floor, looking dismayed while his sister looked on roaring with laughter, her almost-raven hair bouncing with every peal. When he realized what must have happened, he couldn’t help but join in.

When the chuckles had subsided from the both of them, Kris spoke. “Would someone like to explain why I can’t use my legs… my memory is more than cloudy.”

She wasn’t mad that they had laughed at her. She just wanted to know what was happening to her and why she was in this house instead of with her parents, which is the last place she remembered being before the hospital. Kristina fought back the panic and fear that reached across her chest like the eager tentacles of an octopus, waiting to constrict her.

“You have been in bed for quite some time and you haven’t gotten much exercise lately. It’s natural.”

She hid her anxiety behind a coolly curious expression. “Why’s that?”

“Remember the crash?” he prompted gently.

Oh.

Had it been that bad? Her head throbbed a bit as she made a conscious effort to go back to the night she had swerved off the road. She remembered flashing lights and jarring impact.

Out loud she said, “Yeah, I remember the crash.”

She recalled her birthday party and taking a drive and having to veer off the road and then waking up in the hospital. She clearly didn’t remember everything, but it was a logical explanation for the memory loss and the lack of mobility in her legs. Was she permanently crippled? She grimaced, not wanting to relive the experience any further. She was already going through enough in the present.

“Kris, are you alright?” Carnerie asked.

She nodded, not prepared for the answers she may uncover if she began to ask more questions. She looked at the girl who was peering into her face with concern. “I think so.”

“Let’s get you cleaned up and we’ll go have lunch.”

“Lunch?” Kris said as Reese left the room. “Someone is going to have to tell me how time is moving.”

“When you’re ready girl, we’ll tell you everything we can.”

Kris wondered if she would ever be completely ready.