introducing: mr. dark, broody, kind of cute

My eyes snap open. The ground sways under me, and there’s a hand in my hair—I’m in a car. As my eyes adjusts, I catch Liz’s frantic features.

“Liz?” I murmur, but my tongue feels like it’s made of wool.

The car veers to a side and my stomach flips. God, what is going on? Liz’s grip around my shoulder tightens. “Hang in there, Hav.”

“I don’t feel so good.” The driver makes another sharp turn and I wince as the world spins. I focus on the window, on the blurred together trees and buildings, on the cloud-dotted sky.

“We’re almost there, a little while longer.” Liz squeezes my hand. Her dark brows knot together, and her lips purse. “I kept calling you and you wouldn’t respond. Went back to your house and you were out cold.”

“I-” The car stops, cutting me off. What had happened after she’d fallen asleep?

Liz practically kicks the taxi door down when it rolls to a stop and picks me up in a single motion, sprinting towards the glass doors of the hospital. She’s got me in her arms, bridal style, struggling to keep me from slipping out of her grasp.

Liz yells something at the counter staff, and they reply back, but all I hear is: mwuh fwuh fuh buhmwuh.

The hospital lights are harsh, blinding, until they begin to dim.

“Liz?” My voice is nothing but a hiss, a squeak amongst the din of the hospital.

Then the lights fade out, and the noise dies.

*

The room stings with the smell of disinfectant.

My back prickles with heat and she turns in her bed.

Except I can’t. “What the-”

There’s a gasp somewhere above. “The patient’s awake. Hello? Do you know where you are? What year is this? What’s your name? Can you see me?”

My eyes snap open, dry and sore. There’s a man standing over me, giving me a very concerned frown. “My name is Haven Younge.”

The man beams and nods the way a therapist would to a particularly stubborn child who just uttered their first word. When I don’t continue, his frown returns.

Adjusting his thick-rimmed glasses, the man cocks his head to a side with a birdlike curiosity.

My head itches. I raise my hand to scratch it, and-“What the hell?”

I’ve been tied down. Both my hands. And after an experimental tug, I realise my feet are bound too. I jerk against the restraints and they chafe at my wrists.

My vision blurs again and the last thing I see is that stupid man bending over me, shining a torchlight on my face.

[“...might not make it.”]

[“...don’t...seen before...antivenom.”]

[“...animal? Fish?” ]

Flames eat away at my mind and I’m screaming, except the voices keep going, like they don’t hear me.

[“...dying…”]

They’re talking about me. My head throbs, the pain rising up and crashing down, wave by wave.

A door opens, closes, and still I can’t find the energy to open my eyes. A hand pats mine. “Your parents are coming. Hang in there, Haven. You have to fight this.”

Fight what?

Every word I want to say sticks in my throat and I’m falling into a dark void. Minutes stretch to hours, and I don’t stop falling.

I never stop falling.

*

The next time I open my eyes, I might as well be closing them. It’s that dark.

“Hello?” Talking is like dragging knives across the inside of my throat.

There’s a growl near the door, and the hair on the back of my neck stands. The growl comes again, low and guttural.

Something’s in the hospital room with me. Something strange, and loud, and big.

My brain might be fuzzy, but I’m still not dumb enough to say hello again. Instead I lay, silent, still, frozen with fear and the overwhelming urge to pee.

The growl comes again, this time a lot louder and closer than before. I turn my hands quick, only to realise they’re no longer restrained. I almost consider running, but it’s not like there’s anywhere to go at this point.

There is a call button somewhere on the hospital bed, though. I’m smart enough to know that. My fingers fumble across rough plastic, scratchy bedsheets, a dozen buttons, but I have no idea which is the one.

I can hear my heartbeat, and whatever is in here with me can probably hear it too. It pounds my eardrums and my chest, sinfully loud in the darkness.

[Help me. Anyone. Please.]

The growling comes closer, closer, and my fingers scrabble to press every button on the console, because screw it.

An overhead light clicks on and there’s the face of a panther, jowls dripping with blood and eyes of wild forest, an untamed beast.

I scream, and the monster lunges.

The lights click off and something slams into me. I grab something soft and punch hard. Hit one to Haven!

There’s a crunch! and a grunt. Taking advantage of its pain, I kick out and my leg connects with a pained cry. That’s hit two, bitch.

The creature falls to the floor with a muffled, heavy thump.

I press wildly at the buttons and the light switches on again. Out of my sight, the creature is still on the floor, moaning. My hand curls into a fist as I peer over the guardrail, just in case the thing decides it wants round two.

All I hear is a quiet, “Fuck,” and the creature stands.

It’s not a creature.

The hooded boy has one hand over his nose, and another over his crotch. He leans against the wall, propping himself up.

“I-who are you?” Something unknots in me when I realise he’s harmless.

The boy doesn’t reply, touching his nose gingerly. His slender fingers come away shining wet and he grabs tissues from my bedside table, pressing it to his nose. The orange study light illuminates a dark, viscous liquid that drips sluggishly off his hand.

“I’m sorry, do you punch everyone you meet?” The boy finally addresses me, his eyebrows dropping into a frown.

“Only people who jump me in the dark.” I watch him as he wipes his nose. “Are you okay?”

Which is kind of dumb, because he’s bleeding.

“I’m fine.” Oh, surprise! “I think you broke it.”

Obviously, the kid’s definition of “fine” is different from mine.

“Who are you?” I ask.

“I’m Rain.” Rain offers a half smile but it must hurt, because it disappears almost immediately.

I frown. “Were you growling? Earlier on?”

“You were probably hallucinating. Look, I know I’m a mess now—sorry-” he pauses to wrench another bunch of tissues from the box and smush it to his nose, “and you probably think I’m going to murder you or something, but I need you to listen.” The boy crushes the bloody tissues in his fist.

“Your nose-”

“Is healed. Like I said, I need you to listen. You’ve been bitten by a snake, and you’ve been on the brink of death since. The snake has a gene-mutating poison, which means you’ve probably developed powers. We call it Anathem. Congratulations on your new powers! Unfortunately, there’s a person out there trying to kill all of us, and now they’re onto you. I’m here to tell you we can protect you at your request, or you can choose to join us to fight.” Rain’s face is grim, his angular features shadowed by his hood.

My mind is reeling? Anathem? Fight? “What if I choose neither?”

Rain’s jaw drops. “What?”

“I said, what if I tell you to screw off right now?” I cross my arms. Because honestly, who’s going to take some random, shady, teen seriously? Even if he is, I’ll admit it, kind of cute.

Rain blinks and takes a step back. “Are you serious? I mean-”

The handle of the hospital room door creaks.

Rain curses. With one last look at me, he turns to the window, wrenches it open and jumps out right as the door opens.

“Are you okay?” The nurse scuttles over. “You pressed the call button.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I think I pressed it by accident.” I fake a yawn and lie down.

It works. “I won’t disturb you further, then.” The nurse exits the room.

The moment the clack of her pumps fade away, I scramble out of bed. Favouring my injured ankle, I hobble over to the window and look out.

I’m twenty floors above hard cement.

And there’s no boy in sight.

___________________________

AAA thank you guys so much for reading! this is one of my first novels ever and i'm so happy with how it's going, please please leave comments so i get to incorporate them in later chapters <3 you guys are the absolute best, happy reading!