Chapter 62 Rebirth
*****EJ’s perspective*****
I felt it the moment Zeus shifted back to me. He was still here, but barely. We talked for a few minutes and said our goodbyes. And then he was gone. Mary and Taylor came in and used the healing spell again. They whispered something I didn’t quite hear and then left.
A few moments later, Scarlett came in. I could feel her holding my hand. She was crying. She prayed for me and then spoke to me. She apologized again. Telling me it was all her fault. I wanted to tell her it wasn’t her fault at all, but couldn’t. Then she revealed her secret. I was the first person she told. While I was somewhat stunned by the news, it didn’t really come as a shock. I had always known there was something about her she wasn’t telling us. I just figured she would tell us when she was ready. Until recently, she had always been the quiet one, a wallflower of sorts. I tried to get her to open up a few times before all of this happened but she was content to be alone, or so it seemed.
After a while, my mom came in. She held my other hand. Scarlett apologized to her as well. Mom told her she didn’t need to apologize and I agreed with her, not that they could hear me. Scarlett revealed her secret to Mom. Mom was surprised. They spoke for a while and then Mom let go of my hand. After a few minutes she took it again.
I felt my fingers twitch and my eyelids flutter. Was I waking up? I hoped I was. But then that was it. It stopped and I was still stuck in my head.
“Max, can you do anything?” I asked.
“Sorry, I’m stuck, too,” he said.
“How much longer are we going to be stuck?”
“I don’t know, EJ. Mary told Taylor that we were all healed after Zeus shifted back to you. She was confused why you didn’t wake up.”
“That’s what they were whispering about?”
“Yes.” Max replied. I heard someone enter the room.
“Is he going to wake up soon?” Mom asked. “His eyes fluttered and his hands were twitching.” I stopped talking to Max when I heard my mother speaking to someone.
“Could have just been muscle spasms, but we will run some tests,” the doctor said.
“He’s moving again,” Scarlett said.
“Let me take a look,” replied the doctor. He opened one eye and shined a light in it, then he did the same with my other eye. “His pupils are responsive, that’s a good sign.” He pulled the sheet from over my legs. Then he ran something sharp down my leg and poked my big toe with it. I felt my toe wiggle a little. “He has a pain response, another good sign. I will have him sent for an MRI and a head CT.” I heard him flipping through some papers.
“Thank you, doctor,” Mom said. And I heard the doctor leave the room. Mom and Scarlett grabbed my hands again.
They began talking about all the things we would do when I woke up. They were actually making a schedule, what the, no, no, no. I wish I could speak. Okay so some of it sounds fun. Oh, good Dad walked in.
“Is he…awake yet?” He hesitantly asked.
“Not yet, but he has moved a little. The doctor is going to run some tests. But we are hopeful he will wake soon,” Mom said.
“That’s good. I’m going to take the twins home so they can get some sleep, I’ll bring them back in the morning. Call me if anything changes.”
“Tell the boys I love them and I’ll see them in the morning. And I will call if anything changes. I love you,” Mom said.
“Love you, too, Strix. See you in the morning.” And he left. By the sounds of it, everyone is back home now. How long have I been in this coma? I know it has been at least a week, has it been longer?
“Strix, if you want to get some sleep, I’ll wake you if anything changes.”
“Thanks, Scar. I think I might get some sleep tonight.”
She kissed my forehead and went to the other side of the room. I’m guessing that there was a couch there or something. I decided to get some sleep, too.
I was awoken by the nurses when they came to get me. They were taking me for my CT scan from what I could hear. And then for my MRI.
They put me on a cold table. It began to move. I could tell from the change in the light that my head was in the machine. The table stopped moving. The machine came on and I just laid there, not that I could move anyway. When they were done, the table moved my head out of the machine. They moved me back to my bed and wheeled me to the next room. This room was colder. They put me on another table and strapped my head in. Then the table began to move. It stopped a minute later. The machine came on. It was louder than the CT machine. It made such awful noises. Then it happened.
My eyes opened. I could move my hands and wiggle my toes.
“Stop moving,” came a voice. “Wait, are you awake?”
“I think so,” I said. My voice was back. I could speak. “I am awake!” They turned off the machine and moved me out of it.
“We’ll get the doctor,” said one of the technicians. The other one brought me some water.
The doctor came in. “Glad to see you awake, EJ. How are you feeling?” He asked.
“I feel fine. How long was I out for?”
“A little over a week, we will need to run some tests to make sure everything is good, but for now, you can go back to your room.”
“Thanks, it’ll be good to finally tell Scarlett it’s not her fault.”
They put me back on my bed and wheeled me back to my room.
As soon as I got back to my room, I whispered to Scarlett not to wake Mom. Then I told her it was not her fault. I was being reckless when I attacked the Blood King. I didn’t follow the protocol I had set forth and so the blame is mine alone. I told her she could have been killed if she had helped. We hugged and cried for a little while, it woke Mom. She got up and ran to me. She hugged us both and cried with us. Then she called Dad. It was about four o’clock now. Still dark outside, but Dad wouldn’t mind this call.