Chapter 42 The Mind Trap
Liam POV
When our brains finally recovered from the absolute shock of her words, Daniel quickly stepped closer to the edge of the cot. "Are you okay, Sera?" he asked, his voice incredibly tense as he stared down at her blank face.
Sera looked up at him slowly, her face completely blank. There was no warmth in her eyes anymore. "Yes, I am physically fine," she replied, Her voice turned cold enough to make my stomach tighten. "But I do not know what happened, where we are, or what I am doing here."
I stepped forward immediately, a heavy wave of dread washing over my chest as I watched her blink blankly. I looked directly into her empty eyes, searching desperately for any sign that this was a cruel trick. "Do you really not remember what happened, or what is going on right now?" I demanded softly.
Before she could answer, Daniel suddenly cut in, his voice sharp with frustration. He looked like he was finally losing his patience. Leaning forward slightly, he pointed at the blood covering parts of her uniform.
"If you cannot remember anything, then whose blood was covering your uniform when we found you?" he questioned aggressively.
Sera opened her mouth to speak, her lips parting as if she were about to reveal something crucial about the ridge. Before a single word could escape her throat, the camp doctor entered the tent with a sharp frown. "I explicitly told you boys not to disturb them or cause them any stress right now," she scolded loudly.
I didn't waste a single second arguing, immediately grabbing the doctor's arm and dragging her outside the tent. Daniel followed closely behind us, slamming the canvas flap shut to give us complete privacy from the other students. "What happened to her in those woods?" Daniel demanded the moment we were standing under the camp lights.
He crossed his arms tightly over his chest, his breathing heavy as he gestured back toward the closed tent. "She is acting completely out of character, doing as if she has totally lost her brain or something." The doctor sighed heavily, adjusting her clipboard as she looked at our pale, frantic expressions.
"The severe shock from the incident has triggered a sudden case of acute anemia in her system," the doctor explained seriously. "Her blood pressure dropped instantly, which explains her extreme paleness and the temporary memory loss she is experiencing. However, her vitals are stable, and she will fully recover in a few days once she rests."
With those final words, she walked away from our side, leaving us alone with our dark thoughts.
………..
The low, steady hum of the vehicle's engine did nothing to calm the storm in my chest the following afternoon. We were inside the vehicle going back to the house because the school had completely cancelled the trip. The entire atmosphere was thick with a heavy silence that made it incredibly difficult to breathe normally.
I shifted slightly in my seat, my eyes drifting toward the window where Elena sat pressed against the glass. Ever since she woke up in the medical tent this morning, she had not said anything to anyone till now. I stared at her rigid profile, still completely consumed by the thoughts of what had happened yesterday.
The sudden stopping of the vehicle brought the car to a halt, jarring me out of my deep thoughts. I looked up and realized we were finally in front of our house. I reached down to grab my bag, preparing to do the same for Elena's luggage to help her.
I was about to reach across the seat when she suddenly grabbed her own bag, which completely surprised me. She did not wait for me or even glance in my direction for a single second. She immediately stepped out of the vehicle and started walking toward the restaurant entrance.
I quickened my steps across the pavement, desperately trying to close the widening distance between us. "Elena, are you okay?" I asked fast, my voice laced with a deep worry that I could no longer hide. She completely ignored my question, refusing to reply as she reached the door.
I reached past her shoulder and pushed the door open, stepping into the warmth of the building first. The moment the door swung inward, Grandma came to her front and stood directly in our path. She opened her arms widely, her face instantly lighting up with a mixture of relief and intense anxiety.
"Oh my goodness, you are finally back home!" Grandma exclaimed, starting to greet us and bombard us with questions. "What happened out there at the camp, and why did they cancel the trip so suddenly?" She held Elena's shoulders tightly, searching her face for any signs of injury.
"Grandma, I am completely fine, they just cancelled it because of a wild animal scare," Elena answered smoothly. I completely froze in absolute shock, my heart skipping a beat as I stared at her with wide eyes. That was the very first voice I had heard from her since yesterday's disaster.
I swallowed hard and stepped forward, trying to break the sudden intensity that was building up in the room. "Grandma, am I completely invisible to you right now?" I asked with a small, teasing pout.
Grandma turned to me and used her hand to hit my chest playfully, a warm smile instantly breaking across her face.
We all let out a collective laugh, the heavy tension from the trip lifting from our shoulders for just a brief second. Before my brain could even fully process the happy moment, someone suddenly came to our side from the shadows. A loud, ecstatic shout of my name echoed through the empty restaurant, catching me completely off guard.
Two arms wrapped tightly around my neck, slamming hard into my chest in a fierce hug. My mind completely stalled out, my eyes widening in absolute shock as I looked down at the person. "How come you are here?" I gasped out in sheer disbelief. "Am I having a dream?"