The rain got heavier in the middle of the night, and I jolted awake when thunder cracked across the sky like a whip.
When I turned on my side, I realized with a start that there was someone lying down beside me.
Before I could release a scream, a hand shot out to grab mine and then came a man’s soothing voice. “Calm down. It’s me.”
My chest heaved as I tried to recover from my shock. “Ashton, what are you…” I trailed off.
His unexpected presence had brought scared the daylights out of me, but gradually, I regained my bearings and furrowed my brows. Shouldn’t he be with Rachel now? Why is he here?
I pursed my lips and uttered icily, “What are you doing here?”
His lips remained sealed, seemingly having no intention to answer me. Right then, another clap of thunder boomed overhead, and I flinched closer to him. However, he didn’t seem to notice the subtle movement as he stuffed a pair of earplugs into my ears.
My surroundings instantly became quiet and for a while, I merely stared blankly at him in the dark.
Throughout it all, he didn’t utter a single word. Instead, he hugged me and coaxed me to sleep by gently patting my back.
I was really sleepy, to begin with, I gradually dozed off in his arms and slept through the entire night.
The sky was already bright when I woke up the next day, and the morning air was slightly humid due to the heavy rain from the previous night.
Subconsciously looking to my side, I felt slightly incredulous when I found the space empty.
That man really comes and goes like the wind. I would’ve thought I hallucinated everything if not for the earplugs still stuck in my ears!
Putting aside those thoughts, I registered the headache pulsing behind my temples. Hence, even after waking up for a while, I remained in the same position. When Nora came into my tent and saw me lying down with my eyes open, she paused briefly and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
I shook my head and parted my lips to answer. “My head… hurts.” My throat was so dry I could barely say more than two words.
Crap. I think I may be down with a fever.
Nora’s brows knitted together upon hearing my scratchy voice. Upon touching my forehead with the back of her hand, she exclaimed, “You’re burning up!”
Then, she rushed out in a haste and spoke to someone. “We should pack our things right now and go back to A City. Scarlett is down with a high fever!”
I wanted to say something, but my throat hurt too badly.
Ashton walked into the tent and scanned my face with his ominous eyes. Then, a frown appeared between his brows when he touched my forehead. “Jesus, you’re burning!”
Nora trailed in after him and suggested, “Mr. Fuller, you should take her to the base to see a doctor first. There’s a clinic over there.”
Ashton nodded and picked me up. By then, my head was buzzing with a pounding headache. I knew that nothing I said would make a difference, so I simply went along with their decision.
Subsequently, Ashton brought me straight to the base while the others followed behind.
Due to my headache, I fell asleep again after getting into the car. My body felt light, as though I was floating in the air.
My body temperature fluctuated as I drifted in and out of consciousness, and I was plagued by an unending stream of nightmares, unable to break out of them.
In my semi-conscious state, I vaguely saw someone standing beside me. When Ashton’s face came into view, I reached out to grab him, but my fingers just couldn’t seem to touch him.
I was on the verge of breaking down after several failed attempts. As my emotions spiraled out of control, I began to cry.
Suddenly, I felt him hugging me. Then, the muffled sound of his voice reached my ears, but I couldn’t figure out what he was saying.
The feeling of not being able to communicate with the outside world was horrible. After a few tries, I realized that I couldn’t open my mouth, let alone speak. Hence, I chose to give up altogether.
Thereafter, I plunged deeper into my dreams. Some were horrifying, while others were beautiful, but most were indistinct. One thing they had in a common was that they felt like things I had personally experienced.
In fact, many of those scenarios and emotions felt so tangible that I couldn’t differentiate between dream and reality anymore.
This torment lasted a long time. When I finally opened my eyes, it was to see everything white. I’m in a hospital ward.
My mind gradually registered the pain and dryness in my throat. I shifted slightly, trying to get up to drink some water.
But my whole body was extremely sore.
“She’s awake. Scarlett’s awake!” Nora’s familiar voice rang from nearby.
She ran over to the bed and grabbed my hand emotionally. “Oh God, you’re finally awake. You almost scared me to death these few days!”
I opened my mouth to speak, but try as I might, I couldn’t make a single sound. Left without a choice, I pointed at the cup.
She immediately got the hint and queried, “You want some water?”
When I nodded, she reached out for the cup, but someone beat her to it. Both of us glanced over in unison to see that it was Ashton.
Nora gave me a knowing smile before getting up to step aside.
Ashton sat next to me and supported me up from the bed to lean against his shoulder before bringing the cup to my lips.
My thirst was unbearable, so although I could feel the buried emotions within me threatening to surface, I ignored it and drank a few sips of water from the cup.
Even after my throat felt better, Ashton still kept his arms around me as he asked, “Do you want more?”
I shook my head and replied with much difficulty, “Thank… you.”
His mouth tightened visibly, but he didn’t comment. Then, he placed the cup on the bedside table and glanced at Nora. “We need to call the doctor over to check on her.”
