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The smell of coffee wafted through the air while a soft wintery light danced across the bedroom floor. Olga sat on a chair next to my bed watching me while she sipped coffee. Having someone watch you sleep is a little on the creepy side, especially when you’re supposed to be dead.
“Liebchen, Du bist noch am Leben,” she cried.
I think she was going on about my still being alive. Clearly the woman had a thing for stating the obvious. I was obviously still alive, barely, but I was breathing and I could feel my heart beating, but the question was how.
Yeah, yeah. I know. The good Doctor’s machine probably had something to do with it. I’m sorry, I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time believing that you can bring someone back from the dead with that kind of damage to their body. It has to go against the laws of nature. I also don’t like the idea of being a reanimated corpse. I didn’t feel like a zombie, but I didn’t feel normal either.
It took a few moments for my brain to register that I was in abject agony. The pain was actually a relief. If I could feel that, then I wasn’t a walking corpse. I was still very much a human being. I was alive and breathing, with a beating heart. Zombies don’t have hearts that beat, do they?
With that realisation came the tears.
Olga handed me a tissue and made some sniffing noises of her own. She was shedding her own tears and patting my hand.
“You’re awake,” Sunil said as he strode into my bedroom.
“You people really have a gift for stating the obvious,” my voice croaked.
Sunil smiled, nodded, and swallowed something. I like to think he was trying not to cry.
“Ah! Fräulein,” Mannheim said walking in and looking very pleased with himself. “Are you experiencing any discomfort?” the Doctor asked as he checked my pulse.
“Everything hurts like a motherfucker,” I said.
“This is a good sign,” Mannheim said with a nod. “It will take a few more sessions before you are back on your feet, but we will get you up and running in no time.” He put my hand back on the bed and patted me on the shoulder in a paternal sort of way.
I looked at Sunil and then at Doctor Mannheim. “How am I still alive?”
“The chopper arrived, much to Kuznetsov’s frustration, he even tried to stop Kurt from landing it on his grounds but the other Patrons said that it was within Von Zimmer’s right to get you back to his territory and there was nothing he or Victoria could do about it.” Sunil spoke quickly and with great excitement. “We flew straight here and the Doctor performed a few scientific miracles. It’ll take a while, but your body should heal within the next few weeks and then we’ll get started on training you properly. I’ve got some new methods I want to try. I promise I won’t let you down again.”
I nodded. I didn’t know what to say or how I really felt.
“She needs her rest,” Von Zimmer said. He leaned against the doorframe. He wore a tailored three piece suit and looked the perfect gentleman as always.
The rest of them filed out of the room after patting my leg, or hand, or shoulder, offering me shy smiles and respectful nods to Von Zimmer.
“Thank you for saving me,” I said once the others had left.
He nodded as he walked towards me.
“I think there are times ahead where we will have to save each other’s lives many times. I will protect you and I hope you will do the same for me,” Von Zimmer said.
“I’ll try,” I said with more conviction than I felt.
“That is all I can ask. We shall try together.” He stuck his hand out for me to shake.
I took it and we shook hands.
“We have a deal,” he said with a smile.
After letting my hand go, he plunged his hand into his jacket pocket and fished out a small silver box and handed it over. It was wrapped with a thin ribbon and tied with a bow.
“What is this?” I asked
“It’s almost Christmas,” he said with a smile. “Please open it.”
I untied the ribbon with unsteady fingers and removed the small lid. Inside was a silver chain and sword pendant encrusted with rubies and diamonds dangling from it. It was beautiful. I was rendered speechless.
“Now you must get your strength back. There are interesting times ahead of us.” He smiled again and without asking me how I liked the gift, he turned and walked away.
Even though he stood straight and tall I couldn’t help but think he looked like a man with the world on his shoulders, a man who was preparing himself for war. A war he’d dragged me into. It was a war I was ill-equipped to fight and one I wasn’t sure I’d survive. But it was a war I was going to have to help him fight, whether I wanted to or not. My life was now completely intertwined with his. If he fell, so did I. I’d already died once, it wasn’t something I wanted to do again.
I took the necklace out of its box and put it on. The diamonds and rubies sparkled against my skin. As I snuggled back into my warm bed and fluffy pillows I made a silent promise to myself that no matter what happened next, I would survive.
I was going to fight!
And those fuckers who thought they could simply dispose of me without a second thought would get the biggest surprise of their lives. They’d pissed me off now and I was going to get them.
I drifted off to sleep with a smile on my lips and revenge on my mind.
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