and it said (continuation of prologue)

..her organs seem to be fine..

..coma...unlikely...

..permanent arm damage-

my eyes flicker open and dart around the room. my entire body aches and i feel like i'm being pressed down by a ton of bricks.

"miss neste! how good of you to be awake. how do you feel?" a voice chimes in, its tone swimming with relief. it hurts to turn my head but i do, and meet eyes with an older woman in scrubs.

i blink roughly and open my mouth to speak but my voice is scruffy and damaged.

"where-?" i try to scrape out, but instead a hoarse choke pushes its way through. my lungs feel clogged with smoke still, somehow. the nurse pushes her squeaky little cart forward and hands me a glass of water.

i don't realize how thirsty i am until the cold liquid fills my mouth and soothes my insides.

my lungs feel slightly cleaner, so i try again.

"where am i? and brigita?" i ask, now intelligible. it still burns to speak, but i ignore it.

"you're in the hospital, love. you and miss radulovi."

so brigita’s ok?

i shake my head, feeling a slight metallic sensation tingling through my mouth and the edge of my tongue. it takes me a minute to realize i’ve been biting down on my tongue so hard i’ve drawn blood.

my body moves on its own and i watch my arm try to reach out. the nurse rushes and takes my hand gently as my entire left side jolts in pain and i feel a few tears drip down my cheeks.

“is she okay? i need brigita,” i muster through broken sobs. she looks at me sadly and shakes her head and i freeze up.

“love, you’re too weak right now. brigita is as well, so rest. once she feels a bit better i’ll bring her in.”

this woman frustrates me. the fake sweetness lacing her words makes me almost physically sick, but that might be the painkillers. she's avoiding the question.

"is. she. okay?" i try again, in an impatient pleading voice. i'm desperate to know she's still alive.

the nurse -- i make out the name flora -- slowly looks at the floor and for a moment i see only raw emotion twisting across her eyes rather than the monochromatic gaze of a nurse.

i fear the worst.

"mercedes, dear, she's alive."

oh thank the lord-

"but she's permanently paralyzed from the waist down."

Author Notes: how did i do? let me know if you have any ideas <3

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