by Ashley Nemer
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
She opened her mouth, trying to speak. Nothing came out; her eyes were showing her panic. Turning her head, she saw she was hooked up to an IV. Taking a moment for her skin to feel her clothing, she realized she had nothing on from the waist down. Her eyes shot back to the man’s, narrowing. She felt her face flush at the realization he must have stripped her. She started trying to move, but felt a rush of an extraordinary amount of pain. Alec realized she was starting to panic. He placed his left hand on her right shoulder. “Please calm down. I really am not going to hurt you.”
Alec took his fingers and placed them on her wrist checking for her pulse rate. “Your pulse is much stronger than it was. This is a good sign.” He checked the dressings on her arms then turned and left. She watched him, unsure of what had happened. Why wasn’t she home if she was saved? Was he good or bad? She watched him come back in the room with gauze and what looked to be ointment. Alec sat on the edge of the bed, his body facing hers. She looked into his eyes and didn’t see evil, but she still didn’t trust him. Watching his hands move to her arms and removing the dressings, her eyes got wide when she saw all of her stitches. Looking from her arms to him frantically, she tried to make noise.
“Please calm down, I’ll explain everything. I used to be an EMT in the military, so I have had training on taking care of the injured. I stitched up your wounds and dressed them. I’ve been tending you for about 24 hours. I started giving you blood about four hours ago when your pulse didn’t raise over time.” He noticed her eyes dilate in fear. “Don’t worry; I know you are one of the Algula.” Her heart slowed down and she closed her eyes in relief. “I have given you, so far, one pint of my blood. I will be replacing this bag when I am done tending to all of the wounds. Hopefully tomorrow you will feel like yourself again.”
She slowly breathed in and out, absorbing everything. His blood, she didn’t know how she felt about that. She thought she should just be grateful he’d saved her life. She watched him work methodically. His touch was light, and he wasn’t hurting her. He switched to the other arm and repeated the steps. Finishing up on her arm, Alec looked to her chest. “I need to work on the wound that is across your chest. May I please move the shirt?” Nikole slowly blinked, understanding that if he was going to attack her, he would have already.
He slowly lifted her up and pulled the tee shirt, making sure to keep the covers over her body. Nikole was nervous about exposing herself to him. Granted, she realized if he wanted to take advantage of her, he had plenty of opportunity to do so. The edge of the tee grazed up her back. She could feel the chill passing her skin as the cool air of the room touched it. He took his left hand and pulled the covers around her body, covering her as he pulled the shirt over her right shoulder exposing the wound. Laying her back down, he tended to the dressing. He never took his eyes off of the wound. She watched him, his demeanor. Once he was finished, he returned her arm to the sleeve and slowly lowered the shirt back down. He helped her adjust back into the bed, making sure she was comfortable.
“I suppose you want to know what happened and how you ended up with me.” Nikole nodded her head slowly, it hurt to move her muscles, but she was relieved that she still maintained some control. He kept talking, not even looking at her but putting away his supplies. “The people who took you captive were using my building, and when I saw they were trespassing, I went to investigate. That’s when I heard your screaming. I went to see what they were doing and I found you in the bloodiest state imaginable.” He stood up and went to retrieve the second pint of blood. Coming back into the room he swapped the empty blood bag for the full one and hooked it up to the IV.
“I took them out one by one. The one who was torturing you put up the biggest fight. He gave me the cut right here.” Alec pointed to his cheek, showing her the scar that was starting to form. “When they were dead, I got a blanket, wrapped you in it because your body was naked, and brought you back to my place. You were unconscious for the time you were with me. I gave you the blood I had in storage when I thought you were going to die. I hope that your wounds will be tolerable tomorrow. After two pints of my blood and rest, you should be able to start to move.” He looked down at her, lying there helpless and trusting. “I wish I knew your name. Then I could notify your family that you are okay.”
Alec moved the chair he was sleeping in closer to the bed so he could sit and give her some space. “Do you want to see if you can do any motor skills?” Again, she gave a slow nod of approval. Taking her right hand in his, he asked her, “Okay can you move your fingers?” Nikole focused on her hand, willing her fingers to move while praying to her inner self that she wasn’t damaged forever. She looked at him desperately; she couldn’t tell if they moved. “Come on, you can do it, move them.”
Nikole felt the tears start. She couldn’t move her fingers. He watched her eyes as she blinked and tears started to travel down her cheeks. He realized she couldn’t move. He put her hand back in the bed. “It’s okay; they will move tomorrow. Why don’t you go back to sleep? The blood will heal you faster if you’re asleep.” Looking into her tear filled eyes; he could feel her pain, the sadness she was expressing. “Get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a better day.” He turned out the light and sat back in his chair, hoping she slept.
Nikole looked up at the ceiling, small shimmers of light flickering off it from the other room. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep. Her mind raced, reliving the experience. What was it she heard before Hamza came in; Dominic and Derrik were akhs? A thought popped into her mind, Adara. Dominic knew where she lived. Oh dear Gods, what if he went after her next? She had to fix herself. She couldn’t stay like this forever. She had to warn someone. “ZAYN! ZAYN, HEAR ME! PLEASE GODS, PLEASE!!!” Over and over she screamed his name. Nothing, no response.
Opening her mouth to speak, nothing but air came out. She couldn’t even call out for help. She could feel the pillow she was laying on start to dampen from her tears. She laid there crying for an hour, wearing herself out enough to finally sleep. She just couldn’t understand why this man, Alec, would take care of her and risk his life to save her if he didn’t know who she was.
Getting out of his chair Alec checked on Nikole to make sure she was asleep. When he noticed that her crying had stopped, he made his way into the kitchen to pour himself a drink. He would wake her up tomorrow, hopefully after a better night’s sleep. The blood her body had received would have rejuvenated enough that she could start to move. That way he could get her out of here and back home.