I step into the room the doctor indicates and I lay Sailor on the bed. Two doctors and a team of nurses swarm around her shouting instructions and fixing things to her body. One of the nurses tries to usher me out of the room, but not before I see that her shaking is becoming a violent jerking motion, almost like a convulsion, and that her veins are showing through her skin. Red bumps are starting to form around the tattoo, and the gem still glows brightly. Mortals can’t see Sailor’s tattoo or the gem, which right now, I’m not sure is a good thing, because the doctors can see her other symptoms and they could jump to any conclusion without the full picture. If I try to tell them though, they’ll just think I’m a nut job.
The door closes and I’m left out in the hallway. I’m not convinced it’s a doctor Sailor needs, and I send Nexus another message asking her to come to the hospital. I can’t stand the thought of Sailor like this and her not getting the help she needs.
Nexus arrives in seconds. She pulls me into her arms, and it’s only then I realize that my body is shaking too. I let her hold me for a second, and then I pull away.
“Nexus, what’s going on? This is more than a warning,” I say.
Nexus nods and gives me a grave stare.
“Someone has figured out where the first Soul Gem is and they’re trying to separate it from her body. That kind of separation could kill her. She’s stronger than they are; they aren’t strong enough to take the gem, but if they keep assaulting her like this, then she’s going to weaken. We need to be even more careful now, Rye.”
I shake my head, unable to take it all in.
“You have to do something. It’s you she needs, not a doctor. The humans have no idea what they’re up against.”
“Not yet. I can’t just barge in there and take over,” Nexus says.
“Bullshit! You can enchant yourself…be invisible. She’s fucking dying in there, Nexus,” I say, trying desperately to make her understand.
“Rye, listen to me. You have to calm down. I know how much she means to you, but we have to be sensible about this. We don’t know who is watching or how much they know. Not to mention Sunday. If he’s still in her head and we break that connection somehow, they could both end up dying.”
I don’t get chance to reply as Sailor screams my name loud enough for me to hear it through the closed door. I reach for the door instantly.
“Rye…” Nexus cautions me, but I shake my head and go in.
Sailor is still writhing around, clearly in pain. Her veins are so prominent now it’s as though her skin has become see-through. One doctor has a blood pressure cuff on her arm and a thermometer in her ear. The other one is attaching an IV line. None of that is going to save her.
“What the fuck is going on here? Why aren’t you giving her anything for the pain?” I demand.
The doctors just stare at me, their faces showing their fear as I stand glowering at them. One of them takes a half step towards me, although he doesn’t seem to know what he’s going to do when he reaches me, judging by his lost expression.
“It’s okay, Doctor. That’s her boyfriend,” Adam says.
I didn’t even notice him and Raven huddled in a corner, their faces tearstained as they watch on, as useless as I am.
“It’s him she’s calling for,” Raven adds when the doctors don’t look entirely convinced by Adam’s words.
I am still standing in the doorway, trying to process the scene before me, when the doctor speaks quietly. Raven’s comment seems to have convinced the doctors I’m not some crazed lunatic here to harm Sailor. Or them. Unless they let her die. Then I’ll fucking harm them.
“The IV line has a painkiller going through it,” he says.
I nod. At least that’s something.
“Rye? Where are you?” Sailor calls from the bed.
Her words snap me out of the paralysis that struck me when I saw her lying there so helpless, and I run to the side of the bed and take her hand in mine. One of the doctors is protesting, but I ignore him.
“Sailor? Can you hear me? I’m right here,” I whisper into her ear.
Her body stops shaking almost as though she hears me. I look up in surprise and catch the doctors looking at me with awe. One of them nods to me to carry on, and I lean back down to whisper in Sailor’s ear, momentarily forgetting about everything around us. There’s only me and her in the world right now, and that’s enough for me.
“Sailor, you have to come back to me. Please. I can’t do this without you. Come back to me. I… I love you.”
Her eyes fly open and she turns her head towards me. She gives me a sleepy smile and squeezes my hand. Her voice is quiet, exhausted, and raspy as she speaks, but I don’t care. All I care about is that she’s back with me.
“It’s about time.” She smiles.
CHAPTER FIVE: WHAT DREAMS MAY TELL
I keep my eyes fixed firmly on Sailor’s. I wouldn’t be able to look away from her now even if I wanted to. I can see the love I feel for her reflected back to me in her eyes. It feels like hours that we just stare into each other’s eyes, lost in each other, but in reality, it can’t be more than a moment of two before Adam and Raven come to stand at the other side of Sailor’s bed.
“Oh my God, Biscuit, you gave us quite a scare there,” Adam says, half laughing and half crying as he hugs Sailor.
Tears run down Raven’s
