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Chapter 6

Alisha stirred uncomfortably despite the haze in her head. Her chest vibrated with each breath sending waves of pain to her brain that refused to organize ideas. If being dead felt, she didn’t understand why so many people chose that path; living didn’t hurt so much.

She moved her fingers heavily and caressed the soft fabric beneath her touch. The warmth it provided was comforting and spread beneath her stiff body. The thought of being surrounded by silk inside a coffin filled her with panic and suddenly cleared her daze. No, she wasn’t dead yet. With all the effort she could, she forced her eyelids open. The light from the window blinded her, closing them again.

She blinked slowly getting used to her surroundings. At least she wasn’t in the grave box. The ceiling that towered above her was decorated in Victorian style with every detail taken care of to the minimum, too variegated for the classical style she was used to. With a grimace she slowly sat up as she grinded every muscle, bone and joint. She needed to know where she was.

She sat up on the huge bed dappled with the sun’s rays filtering through the large covered windows, which adorned the walls. The old-fashioned décor and the large, sophisticated furniture that matched perfectly brought back a strange nostalgia that had no explanation. He had never been in that place, nor did any of it seem familiar to him, but for some reason, deep inside, it caught his attention.

He rubbed his chest to push away that uncomfortable feeling, when the memories of the attack came back to his mind and he began to tremble. She touched her chest again remembering the pain she suffered when the bullet went through her and the hot liquid soaked her, but, to her surprise, she found no wound. Only her blouse torn to the level of her navel and the remains of dried b***d.

She lifted her head and shook it. She couldn’t be going crazy. She had been wounded, she was sure of that, but and where was the wound. She still had the sensation of broken skin, but from the hole, not even the sun. She smiled sideways in disbelief…. She was going crazy.

She looked around again and the doubts bloomed even more, at last, what had happened, why she was there and where Cristian was. Moving across the bed she reached the edge and lowered her feet to the cold mosaic tile floor. He used the chair to the side to help him sit up. Under her palm she felt the warm seat, as if someone had just been there.

Another wave of pain shot through her, all at once, dropping to her knees and stifling a cry of pain. She gritted her teeth as it passed and oxygen reached her lungs again. She gasped crawling back onto the bed as her elbow twisted involuntarily in an unnatural motion and returning to its previous state. Alisha looked at the change with terrified eyes. Tears were beginning to form in them as the colors began to warp around her. She fell backwards crawling across the carpet as her fingernails became entangled between the fabric. She waved her hands frantically to free them, but froze as she watched the skin give way exposing long, curved claws.

She sobbed in panic, not understanding what was happening, as another wave of pain swept through her and she lost consciousness.