The late afternoon light filtered through the blinds of Unity Health Hospital, casting thin stripes of gold across the white tile floors.
The building stood on the outskirts of Hillview City, surrounded by pine trees that whispered in the wind, a place designed to be peaceful, to be healing, to be forgotten by those who did not need its services. But inside, the air was thick with the smell of antiseptic and the low hum of fluorescent lights, and the peace that the architects had tried to create was nowhere to be found.
Fiona had not yet regained consciousness.
She lay in a private room at the end of the hallway, her body wrapped in bandages, her face pale against the white pillow.
Machines beeped softly beside her, monitoring her heartbeat, her breathing, the slow process of her body repairing itself. She had been unconscious for hours, drifting through dreams that none of her comrades could see, calling out a name that made Loid's blood boil every time he heard it.
Yuuta.
