It was if a jackhammer had been through his head.
That was the only way Rook could describe how he felt upon waking up.
His waking was slow and painful, but soon became less painful after he felt the short scratch. He felt something being injected into him, but that was the least of his worries; it felt like part of him was missing.
Like part of him was gone. And that terrified him.
It overruled the pain before he had even been injected, and was instead replaced with something cold and metallic. He could feel his senses return to him one by one; first hearing, then touch, smell and finally taste.
But he couldn’t see.
He panicked, bolting upright only to be pushed back down again by warm fabric and skin. Rook felt the bed shift, as a hand soothingly caressed his cheek. “Breathe, Alexander.”
Rook’s breathing slowed to a steadier pace, Knifejaw’s voice soothing and calm. His heart hammered in his chest, the sound of it filling his ears.
That only stressed him out more.
Rook let out a cry, a mixture of confusion, pain and panic. He felt a wave of fear wash over him once again, as Knifejaw tried to soothe him. It was helpful, but not enough.
He could hear the low buzz of machinery as Callisto’s voice suddenly broke through. “Rook… Rook! You’re awake!”
He could barely open his mouth, let alone speak. He just pondered how long he’s been out for as a result. The sudden sound of keys being pressed – typing – bound through his ears, and how sweet they were; it was rather relaxing. He let out a quiet whimper now, the noise produced by him reduced. He felt the heat of Knifejaw’s hand fade away.
“Rook, you’ll be able to see any second now.”
A couple of moments later, he could see blurriness in one eye. Two blurred figures loomed over him, as he was suddenly blinded.
“Relax Rook, it’s just a flashlight.” It didn’t do much to ease him, however.
Someone was inspecting him with a makeshift flashlight, whilst the other gently pet his hand now. The two figures began to become more and more clear until…
The mysterious man stood behind them.
Rook shrieked, forcing himself upright as he tried to throw fists, being pinned by both women. He missed Callisto’s head by bare millimetres and Knifejaw had anticipated something like that to happen.
He felt another hand land on him, soft yet warmer than Knifejaw’s. He saw a figure close in on him, so he shut his eye that could see.
He then felt two gentle arms wrap around him in a caring manner. He originally tensed, but eased just after. “Alexander, you’re okay. I’m here, nobody is gonna hurt you when I’m here.”
Knifejaw’s voice remained gentle and soft as Rook opened his eye again, only to see the world was no longer a blurred mess and returned in full colour. The only words Rook spoke were whimpers. “I just saw- he was there…”
Knifejaw nodded, and Callisto carefully chose her words. She was rather hesitant to speak, but saw that Rook needed to hear this. “I’ve dealt with him, don’t you worry.”
She almost spat it out, as if she had chewed something horrible. “Wh-why can I only see through one eye?”
His voice spoke how difficult this was for him, how uneasy he was and how afraid all at once. Knifejaw cooed at him, her delicate fingers running over his cheek now.
“Just you wait, I have a surprise.”
ns 15.158.61.20da2
