Part 58 (2/2)

Her body drifted aimlessly, slowly spinning over and over but not fast enough to make her feel ill. She had no real sensation of which way was up, anyhow. Her limbs felt numb. She couldn't hear anything. She couldn't see anything.

It was almost like being in some sort of sensory deprivation tank.

My eyes are open, she thought. And yet I can't see anything around me. There's no way to penetrate the inky black darkness that surrounds me.

She tried stopping herself and spinning in the opposite direction, but it didn't work. In some ways, she thought she was like an orbiting planet, powered by the gravitational force of some unseen sun far off in the outer reaches of her galactic mind.

Is this what I did to myself? she wondered. Had she taxed her system so far and to such a great extent that she had just switched off? The truck explosion, the day of trekking, being ambushed, nearly being drowned and having to swim both herself and Jenny to safety prior to another long hike. Had it all simply been too much?

One thing felt certain, wherever she was, she didn't feel tired any longer. This place, this quiet refuge, may have been some sort of resting point for her to come to when things got truly bad.

Annja smiled, or at least she thought she smiled. It's good to know I at least have this.

She wondered how long it would take to fully recuperate her strength. How long had she been floating here? Had she been gone for hours or, when she woke up, would she find that only minutes had pa.s.sed since she fell to the ground back on the side trail by the hotel?

A thought occurred to her and she didn't like it. What if she didn't wake up? What if she was like the sword, trapped beyond the reach of normal life in some weird other dimension? What if no one could get her back?

Was it possible that she was dead?

She took a breath and felt her lungs expand and then contract. So far so good. She tried flexing her limbs, but they were so numb she couldn't tell if they were moving or not.

This is weird, she thought. And then she quickly mocked herself for being a master of the understatement.

If I'm supposed to stay here until I'm rested, then what in the world are Jenny and Joey thinking right now? She imagined Jenny freaking, trying to figure out what was wrong. Annja felt a small measure of relief that both of them had seen the sword. If they hadn't, they might just think Annja was dead and have her carted off to the morgue for an autopsy.

This is probably the only time it was good they saw the sword, she thought. Any other time, pulling it out for the world to see isn't.

”Annja!”

From somewhere off in the distance, Annja heard the voice. And then something jolted her awake and it sounded like a huge roar in her ears. She winced and clamped her eyes shut. When she opened them again-

Jenny's face hovered over hers. ”Annja!”

”All right, all right, take it easy, will you?” Annja tried to sit up but found her body was still somewhat like jelly.

”Easy, Annja.” Joey's voice sounded in her ear, but much softer than Jenny's. She felt his arms under her back and then she was propped up into a sitting position. Joey looked at her. ”You okay?”

”I think so.”

”Jesus,” Jenny said, ”you scared the h.e.l.l out of us.”

”Out of you,” Joey corrected. ”I knew she'd be okay.”

”Oh, sure you did, you big liar.” Jenny stooped closer to Annja. ”What happened to you?”

Annja shook her head. ”I don't know. I was looking at the hotel and then I tried to take another step and I just couldn't do it. I went down and kept going straight into...I don't know where.”

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