Chapter 9 – Mystery
Chapter 9 – Mystery
"H-Hnng..."
A groan escaped Zane's throat as his eyelids fluttered open. A blinding white light pierced through the fog of his mind, forcing him to squint. His head pulsed with a dull, rhythmic throb—like someone pounding a hammer against his skull—and every inch of his body screamed in agony.
He winced. His limbs were heavy, as though someone had tied weights to them. A warm blanket was draped over him, but the stiffness beneath it told him he was thoroughly bandaged.
"Where... am I?" he muttered, his voice dry and hoarse.
The room was sterile white. The sharp scent of disinfectant lingered in the air. It only took a few seconds for the fog in his mind to clear enough to remember. The infirmary. He had dragged himself here after the beating, bloodied and broken.
'Right... I made it to the infirmary. Then I must've blacked out.'
He tried to sit up, but a searing pain in his ribs made him freeze halfway. He gritted his teeth, reluctantly letting himself fall back against the pillow.
'At least she didn't send me to the hospital... That would've ruined everything.'
There was no time for rest or recovery. If he missed his injection ticket, everything—everything he'd worked for, bled for—would be gone. No second chances. No exceptions. Even lying on the brink of collapse, that truth rang loudest in his mind.
"What time is it...?" he coughed out, his throat bone-dry.