Jace gave a single, very slight nod before straightening his head again. Leave it to mom to be waiting by his bed with the TV off. Most people would want the entertainment. Not her, though. She was probably nose deep in some book. She brought her tablet reader everywhere with her, saving her printed books for at home.
What he couldn’t quite figure out was why he was here. Or why he felt like he’d been run over by a truck.
His mind raced to fill in the blanks as his mom pressed a button near his head. She exchanged excited chatter with the tinny voice on the other end, and he winced. Did they really have to be so loud?
“What . . . happened?” he asked when she hung up.
Mom pressed her lips together. “You were attacked. Do you . . . remember any of it?”
Teeth.
Blood.
Growling.
Jace squeezed his eyes closed against the barrage of fragments. “Kind of?”
“And he’s up,” came a cheerful voice from the door. Jace’s eyes flew open.
A nurse entered the room, smiling as she set down a foam cup and a plastic spoon on a moveable tray. “That was quite the scare you gave us. Here are some ice chips to help with that thirst. But make sure you don’t overdo it.” She turned to Jace’s mom. “I’ve contacted the doctor. He’s on his way.”
“Thank you,” Mom said, returning the nurse’s smile.
The nurse made some adjustments to the machines, most notably turning off the beeping noise. But it was the scent coming from her that caught his attention—a floral smell that clashed horribly with the sterile smell of the . . . hospital room. That’s where he was.
The pieces were falling into place, albeit slowly. Worse, he kept becoming distracted by the sensations around him, which seemed to teeter between normal and overwhelming.
The nurse finished and left, assuring them the doctor would be in soon.
Mom sighed as she sat back in her chair, rubbing a hand over her face. “You don’t know how glad I am that beeping is off. I needed to hear it, though, at least while you were still...” Her eyes glistened as they took in every inch of his face.
Jace grimaced. He must look a sight.
She smiled again, wiping at her eyes. “But you’re awake now, and that’s all that matters.” She grabbed the cup and spoon, guiding a piece into Jace’s mouth.
“Awake and finally out of the woods,” came a new voice, as a young man came in, presumably the doctor. “Must be the full moon. Nice to finally meet you, Jace. How are you feeling?”
Jace chuckled, then coughed, losing his ice, groaning as a dull ache spread through him. “Ow,” he said when his pinging pain receptors finally calmed down.
Mom grabbed the piece of ice and threw it in the sink in the corner of the room.
“I don’t doubt it,” the doctor continued. “Broken arm, multiple bites and lacerations. Do you remember what attacked you?”
He’d seen fur. Dark. Teeth and claws. Jace blinked. “A . . . grizzly?”
His mom gasped, nearly dropping the next ice chip she’d retrieved from the cup.
“Two of them, I’m assuming,” the doctor said, checking the bandaging. “You’re healing up nicely, if I do say so myself.”
Jace furrowed his brows, then wished he hadn’t. But that didn’t sound right. No, there was brown fur, but something smaller, something gray . . . “A wolf.”
“Pardon?” the doctor said.
“Not two bears. There was a wolf, too.”
The doctor’s brows arched. “Just one?”
“Yeah.” Jace closed his eyes, but the images kept coming.
Bite.
Snarl.
Crunch.
Pop!
“It’s okay, bud. You’re safe now.”
Jace realized he was breathing hard. He gave the doctor a slight nod, making a conscious effort to slow himself down.
“Anything else you can remember?”
“I . . . don’t know. It’s a blur.”
The doctor pressed some spot, and Jace winced. “It’s to be expected. The mind has ways of insulating itself against trauma. You’re doing really good, though. If you keep this up, you’ll be able to go home in a few days.”
“A few days?”
Mom sniffled, the chip of ice rattling on the spoon, a couple drops spilling onto the sheets.
The doctor nodded. “We’ll just want to keep an eye on you to make sure everything continues to improve. How do you feel?”
Only a few days? After being attacked by those monsters?
“I—” Jace closed his eyes against the barrage of senses that had just turned up full volume. The rattle of metal. Squeaky wheels rumbling across a smooth, hard floor. The scent of sweat and urine and sterilized bags full of saline solution.
“You okay there, buddy?”
Jace winced at the sound of the doctor’s voice. Why was he yelling?
And then it all stopped. Jace squeezed one eye open, then the other.
“What happened?” the doctor asked, shining a light in Jace’s eyes.
“It all just . . .” He wanted to make his hand open in an exploding motion, but his fingers decided to twitch in an awkward manner instead. “I think I might have a migraine,” he concluded.
The doctor looked at his paperwork. “Hmmm. I’ll have the nurse bring you some medication to treat that. Make sure to let her know if your migraine continues or gets worse.”
Jace nodded, and his mom smiled, though it didn’t quite reach her worried eyes.
“It’s probably nothing,” Jace said, trying to make her feel better.
The doctor nodded as he brought his focus back to Jace. “Probably, but we can’t be too careful. Do you have any more questions before I go fill the park authorities in on what you’ve told me?”
“Is . . . Do you really think I’ll be able to go home so soon?”
Mom looked to the doctor, but she didn’t look to be seeking an answer so much as sharing a concern.
Jace wasn’t sure what they were holding back. “I just broke my arm, my lung collapsed—”
“Jace, you’ve been here two weeks already,” Mom said, laying her hand on his.
Two weeks? He’d been unconscious for two weeks?
The doctor shook his head, looking back at the chart. “No collapsed lung, and the rest is healing fine. We’ll check to make sure there’s no brain damage, but otherwise—”
“Are you sure my lung wasn’t collapsed?” Jace asked, looking between the doctor and his mom.
“Not to worry. You’re definitely on the mend. Now try to get some rest.”
The door closed softly as the doctor left, but Jace couldn’t shake off his concern. He clearly remembered wheezing and coughing, the tightness in his chest.
That awful popping sensation.
“Jace, honey, are you okay?”
Jace took a moment before looking at his mom. “Yeah. I think so. I’m just . . . confused.”
“You heard the doctor. It’ll all come back when you’re ready.”
Jace gave his mom his best half-smile, which seemed to at least placate her for the moment.
She sat back and sighed again. “Oh!” she said, bolting upright. “I should let your father know you’re up.”