15

Zadie begins to wake from the darkness she had fallen asleep in. She opens her eyes, slowly looking around the room she now lays in. The only light source radiates off the closed blinds to her left. Zadie steadily sits up, regretting it immediately; her head is spinning. Zadie puts a hand to her head, trying to balance herself.

A couple minutes pass, and her balance becomes normal.

There’s a strange tugging at her right wrist. She gazes down; some sort of tube is attached to her. The line leads to some sort of metal stick with wheels that carries an empty bag of blood.

Having read many books over the years, she concludes that an IV has been placed on her wrist.

“What’s taking him so long? It’s been over an hour.” A female voice demands. No one else resides in the room with Zadie, meaning she must be somewhere else close by.

“Maybe he ran into trouble, mom. You know how dangerous it is out there.” Cody’s voice replies.