Kill Me, My Love

Chapter 12

"Hospital"

She regained consciousness a few times. Each time it hurt unbearably. Lina could hear the sounds of her own breathing, not deep and slow, but rather fragmented and wheezy. Her body was completely icy.

Gradually, the darkness began to dissipate, and she felt the room around her. And there were some people. There were many of them. They were saying something, but she couldn't make out the words. For a moment, she saw a figure next to her. The girl's eyes were closed, but she could still see it. She just couldn't discern whether it was a man or a woman. The figure stayed nearby for a very long time. Then it doubled. Transformed into its own reflection.

After a while, the two figures moved away and started to amusingly wave their arms, as if they were swatting away annoying flies.

Finally, Lina began to hear and opened her eyes.

A device was beeping monotonously. Bright white light flooded the room. She was in an unfamiliar white room. The wall beside the girl was covered with various illustrations on how to provide first aid, and a lamp glowed above her head. Lina lay on a hard bed with rails, her arms entangled in some transparent tubes, and a strange contraption was attached under her nose.

Sam and Nathan were standing by the window, arguing loudly.

– Why didn’t I know about this? How long were you planning to keep it hidden?

– I only found out right before the mission, I thought they had told you too, – the light one justified himself.

– They didn’t tell me! – fumed the dark one. – And what now? How do they even know this will work...

– They have a theory.

– A theory? So Lina has been suffering for years over some "theory"? – exclaimed Samael.

It was obvious he was barely restraining himself from smashing Nathan’s face in.

– Nothing is mentioned about this in the scripture.

– To hell with the scripture. And her scars! Did you see them? Hundreds of damned scars. Is this how they were looking for a way out of the situation? Experimenting? Didn’t anyone care that she was in pain? It didn’t matter to anyone!!!

– Obviously not.

– Shit, this crosses all boundaries.

– Guys... – Lina weakly spoke up.

Their shouting hurt her head, and she wanted them to stop.

– Lina, – the dark one immediately rushed to her bedside. – How are you feeling?

– My head is buzzing... What happened?

She couldn't remember how she ended up in this white room, and when she tried to recall, her brain immediately protested, filling her temples with annoying pain.

– You were hit by a truck, – he whispered with a pained voice. – I was looking for Nathan and didn’t even notice when you ran onto the road. It’s all my fault.

– What about Nathan... What happened to him?

– That idiot... He...

– I'm the fool, Lina, – the light one said. – I had a fight with someone important to me. Everything lost its meaning then. I wrecked my own home, and then I decided to get drunk... The mission didn’t matter anymore after Demien said what he said...

It was difficult for the man to speak each word; he looked just as haggard as he did when the girl saw him.

– Why am I alive? – she suddenly realized through the fog in her head.

– It's complicated to explain, – Sam replied.

– Why? – Lina tried to sit up, but the dizziness intensified, and the dark one gently laid her back on the pillows.

– You need to lie still. At least for a few more hours.

– Samael, what’s going on? – she panicked.

For some reason, she felt that his answer would not please her. Not at all.

– It turns out you’re not just different, you’re special. – For a moment, the man was silent, then continued. – You’re kind of immortal, or something like that. When the ambulance arrived, your heart almost stopped, and the injuries were not compatible with life. The doctors declared you dead, and then everything changed. You started to heal. Gradually coming back to life and recovering. Within a few hours, you were as good as new. Just the scars remain, just more...

The girl froze, not even breathing. She lowered her eyes, looking at the body beneath the sheet. Her scars, there were so many. Now it was clear where they came from...

– So this means the order...

– Yes, the order learned about this peculiarity shortly after your birth, – Nathaniel said. – Of course, they planned to kill you right away and finally rid themselves of the horrible duty. But their attempts were unsuccessful. They killed you – you healed and revived. And so hundreds of times... Then they realized they couldn’t get rid of you so easily. That's when they had a theory that you could only be killed at the moment of gaining power. They believe you'll be vulnerable during those seconds.

Lina silently absorbed what was said... Hundreds of times she had been killed. What kind of madness does it take to ruthlessly torture an infant, again and again, in different ways?

– But why does my head hurt so much?

– I think the healing ability doesn't free you from physical sensations, – Sam replied.

– Got it, – the girl whispered. – And the doctors, how did they react to this?

– Let's just say they were stunned, so we had to make them forget everything. As soon as you feel normal, we’ll leave here.

– Leave? Where to? – Lina asked in a colorless voice.

– Perhaps we’ll continue the journey, – Nathaniel responded. – From what you’ve learned, nothing changes...

– Everything changes because of this! – Sam shouted.

There was so much blind hatred in his gaze... It could probably burn an entire continent to ashes.

– Here we go again, – the light one wearily sat down in a chair.

– Yes, again. And stop acting like the righteous one. We got into this situation because of your love troubles. So, your winged one ditched you, and what? Immediately suffer? Get drunk? Disappear? All the elders were in an uproar... We were looking for you!

– He didn’t ditch me...

– What did he do? – Samael hissed with hatred.

– We were never together; it was only in my dreams. Now he’s completely shattered them. And so the meaning of returning to Elysium has vanished...

– Well, that’s it. Consider yourself no longer part of the mission. As for me and Lina... We'll handle everything ourselves, – said Samael. – You are free to go.

– Your arguments aren't doing me any good, – the girl interjected. – You can at least step outside for a few minutes.

The dark one gloomily glanced at the light one and eventually nodded slowly.

– Alright, we’ll go out.

After that, the men reluctantly left the room, and Lina was left alone.

She was confused. The information had stunned her. The realization was the last straw, and under the influence of her emotions, the girl quietly cried. She wept for her parents, cried for her cruel childhood, for the cold and hatred that accompanied her day by day. She mourned for her life, which would soon be cut short. She so wanted to be an ordinary girl! Not one who brings death to the whole world. But a regular student, worried about boys, outfits, belly rolls, and trendy magazines. The order had stripped her of everything, made her a submissive slave, a sheep that meekly walked to slaughter. They had even robbed her of the chance to receive a name...

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