Page 88 of Rescuing Mia
Fragmented memories flash through my mind, jagged pieces of a nightmare I can’t fully grasp.
I was onSerenity.
Heavy boots pounded over the polished wood of the deck.
Men in black tactical gear, faces hidden behind masks, corralled passengers and crew with brutal efficiency, cutting through the crowd like a pack of wolves, weapons at the ready.
Coming for me.
Rough hands on my arms.
A sickening lurch as I was thrown over the railing.
And then, nothing.
Nothing but icy cold, burning in my lungs, and darkness closing in around me.
My eyes flutter open, and the world comes into focus, full of dark shapes and muted colors that slowly coalesce into a nightmarish reality. I blink, trying to clear the haze from my vision, and that’s when I see him.
Rigel.
He leans over me, his face etched with concern, his eyes sharp with an intensity I’ve never seen before. He cradles me against his chest, and the heat of his body seeps into my chilled skin, chasing away the bone-deep cold that settles in my veins.
Water plasters my hair against my face and neck. Rivulets run down my back like icy fingers slithering down my spine.
My clothes cling to me, a constricting second skin that offers no warmth or comfort. The cold seeps into my very core, settling deep in my bones until every breath is a struggle, every movement a battle against the relentless shivers that wrack my frame.
I float in sensation.
Every sound is amplified.
Every whispered word magnified.
The engine roar thrums through my body, a pulsing vibration that rattles my teeth and echoes in my skull. The slap of the waves against the hull is a sharp staccato, a relentless rhythm that pounds in time with the throbbing in my head.
Voices swirl around me, urgent and intense. They pierce through the fog that shrouds my mind, snippets of conversation that drift in and out of focus.
“...hypothermic...need to get her warm...”
“...Red Phoenix...after her...”
“...Rigel...what the hell...”
Rigel.
His name is a lifeline.
A tether to reality.
I cling to it.
To the warmth of his body.
To the strength of his arms wrapped protectively around me.
I try to open my eyes, to speak, to move, but my body refuses to cooperate. My eyelids are heavy, weighed down by the leaden exhaustion that seeps through my veins. My lips are numb, my tongue a useless lump of clay in my mouth.
I’m trapped in my own body, a prisoner in my own skin.