Chapter 59: Hospital
"Once you’ve been through hell, there’s no turning back".
The first sensation he felt as he regained consciousness was that of cold. A biting, penetrating, almost violent cold. His body lay on a hard, cold, uneven surface. It took him several seconds to realize that it was the damp asphalt of a Paris street.
Isaac slowly opened his eyes, groaning under the pain that radiated from every part of his battered body. He saw the dark sky above him, timid stars barely visible between the clouds, and then felt the light rain falling on his face. He tried to sit up, but his left arm didn’t respond, as if paralyzed by pain.
A hoarse groan escaped his throat as he rolled with difficulty onto his side, coughing violently to clear his lungs filled with dust and blood. He was a few yards from the portal, or rather, what was left of it: now totally extinguished, reduced to a blackened metal structure, steaming in the rain.
His gaze shifted to the side, and he caught sight of his team-mates slumped beside him.
Erika lay on the floor, leaning against a wall, breathing heavily but still conscious. She was holding Maëlle, whose chest was barely heaving. Jonah sat a little further away, motionless, staring at her trembling hands, his eyes wide with astonishment. Rémi and Leïla lay side by side, unconscious but breathing.
They had survived. Barely, but they had survived.
Isaac gritted his teeth and struggled to his feet, staggering like a drunkard to Erika and Maëlle. His body screamed with every movement, but he held on, driven by a cold, implacable determination.
- Erika..." he murmured, his hoarse voice barely audible. Is she breathing?
Erika slowly lifted her head towards him, silent tears streaming down her face covered in dust and blood.
- She’s alive... but barely. We’ve got to get her to hospital right away. She won’t last long without care...