CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
I come to.
Well, that’s a relief. I half expected the afterlife, but I doubt this is it. I can hear familiar voices arguing in the distance—not something I’d expect after passing on.
I open my eyes. The hospital room is too bright, so I shut them again.
“Guys,” Felix says. “I think she woke up.”
I attempt Project Open Eyes once more. The faces of Ariel, Kit, Felix, Itzel, and Valerian are all within sneezing distance from my face, and all are speaking at the same time.
“You’re okay.” My voice is hoarse as I force out the words. “I was wor—”
“Here.” Valerian grabs a glass of water from a table by my bed and places the straw sticking out of it into my mouth.
I take a small sip.
My throat feels better, and I realize I have an IV in my arm, along with tubes in other
