Chapter 7; Awake

"Sir, are you okay?" Alice kept on repeating .

Though Lance was in a deep sleep, her voice managed to seep into his sleep state, weaving through the layers of his dreams like a gentle melody. The sound of her words wrapped around him, pulling him from the depths of slumber. He could feel her presence.

As her voice continued, it became clearer, breaking through the barriers of his unconscious mind. He stirred slightly, the edges of his dreams blurring as he tried to grasp the reality of her words. Was she calling him? There was a sense of urgency in her tone that piqued his curiosity, urging him to awaken.

Lance slowly opened his eyes, but everything around him was a bit blurry, making him feel disoriented. He instinctively closed them again, hoping to shake off the fog that clouded his mind. However, realization began to dawn on him, a flicker of awareness breaking through the haze. With determination, he snapped his eyes back open, pushing through the ache that pulsed in his head. As he focused, he started to take in his surroundings, trying to make sense of where he was.

The room felt unfamiliar, it wasn't his room back home nor the hotel room he booked here in new York so where was he? He thought. Just then, his gaze fell in the direction of the edge of the bed, and he noticed a figure standing there. As he squinted, he realized it was a woman, and she was wearing a nurse's uniform. The sight registered in his mind, and he thought, 'A nurse? Why would I need a nurse?'

When he didn't recognize where he was, he expected that maybe one of his several enemies had finally gotten a hold on him ,but seeing as it wasn't so, he felt immensely relieved.

Confusion washed over him instantly replacing the relief he felt earlier, and he mustered the strength to speak, his voice hoarse. "Who are you?" he asked, trying to piece together the fragments of his memory. He looked back around the room suspiciously, taking in the sterile environment, the white walls, and the faint smell of antiseptic. His heart raced as he turned to her, searching her face for answers. 

"My name is Alice," she replied, her voice steady but laced with a hint of nervousness. He could see her fidgeting slightly, her fingers twisting the hem of her uniform as if trying to find comfort in the fabric. "I am the nurse on duty, here to take care of you. 

Her reassuring tone provided a small comfort, but questions still swirled in Lance's mind as he tried to understand what was happening.

Lance narrowed his eyes, still feeling a sense of unease. "Where am I?" he asked, his tone sharper than he intended. He could sense that she was nervous around him, her body language betraying her calm facade. She took a small step back, as if his intensity was overwhelming her. 

"You're in a recovery room," she explained, her voice wavering ever so slightly. "You were brought in after... an incident." The way she hesitated made his stomach twist with anxiety. He could tell there was more to the story, and he needed to know what had happened to him. 

As he searched her eyes for reassurance, he felt the weight of uncertainty pressing down on him. The room felt like a puzzle, and he was determined to piece together the missing parts, even if it meant unraveling the mystery of his own situation.

He looked at her intently waiting for her to elaborate more and giving him a nod of her head, signalling to him that she understood the message he was trying to convey through his eyes, she did

"You were shot . Several times at that you bled so much we barely managed to save you " she slowly said ,so he could process it in .

He seemed to think for a moment, his brows furrowing as he searched through his memories. Then, suddenly, a look of realization washed over his face, as if a light had been switched on in his mind. It was as if the fog that had clouded his thoughts began to lift, and he could almost hear the pieces of the puzzle clicking into place. 

Anger flashed across his features as he muttered .

"Those darn sardaunas"