“Easy now, you silly pup! I want her to wake up too, but she ain’t your freakin’ toy... Come on, stop bitin’, I said! You’re cute, but you’re a pain in the butt, you know that?”
Eden slowly managed to open her eyes. The light blinded her for a second, so she closed them again. Then, she reopened them, more easily this time. She felt... heavy, and incredibly tired. Numb, even. She forced herself to breathe through her mouth and moved her head.
“Oh, shit! Eden? You up, honey?”
“...Jack?”
Eden wondered if she was dreaming. Would she have felt like this in a dream? Perhaps. She blinked and Jack was still right next to her, looking worried, his large body leaning forward. He was wearing a fuzzy white jacket over his colored overalls and had a blanket on his lap. He smiled, visibly relieved.
“It’s me, honey! Oh damn, I’m so happy to see your pretty eyes again!”
Eden moved her head, a bit unsure about everything. She was in a white-gray room, with what sounded like a lot going on around her, but most of it was in the distance. She could hear voices, but not what they were saying... She recognized the aseptic scent of a hospital first. She frowned and heard another bark.
She turned her head and spotted the puppy playing with her hand on the side of the bed, its little tail wagging. Bullet? Upon seeing the naughty pup, everything came back to her all at once. She felt and heard her own heartbeat accelerate through the beeping of some machine.
“Jack, how did you... and the pups... What happened?”
He sighed.
“Well, uh... that... crazy guy, Loir, he told us to go get him something from a room, and... well the lad must have known what he was doin’ cuz it turned out to be a safe room. So... the pups and I made it, along with the Italian boys that were with us...”
“...A-and Loir?”
Jack slowly shook his head.
“I think the poor lad knew he wouldn’t have the time, hun. When someone came to help us get out, everything around had been... blasted.”
Her heart sank. If Jack was there, she had hoped Loir had possibly made it too... Eden let out a faint sigh and looked at the pup playing with her hand. The other one was napping at the end of the bed, its round belly exposed without a care in the world. At least those three were fine... She tried to remember the previous events, but her memory was blurry as soon as she got to the Governor’s part. The sadness was still there, though, and rushed over her like a wave as soon as she remembered her lover. She knew Dante was gone. She didn’t even need to ask Jack, she just knew.
“So... How did it end?” she asked. “How am I here...?”
“Our Circé witchy babe got you out of there,” said Jack. “Believe it or not, the Core actually let the Zodiac drawback without a fuss! All their soldier robots were disabled and still are as of now. They withdrew all the Overcrafts from the Suburbs too, and let us use those the Edge had taken control of to carry the ones with minor injuries back home. So, pretty much everyone else was brought back here, to the general hospital. Never thought I’d ever get to put my feet here, to be honest. But apparently, the Core suspended all the medical fees as a token of goodwill, so everyone is getting healed and cared for, for free! Well, not that we trust the medical bots or what, but at least they are doin’ a decent job.”
“I see... Did anyone else...”
“Uh, a few people died, but no one that we know, I think... except for those unlucky lads who were blasted down south...”
“Oh my goodness, she’s up! Jack, you were supposed to call me!”
Eden turned her head again to see Circé rushing up to her. Her purple hair was braided over one shoulder, and she had changed into a surprisingly simple black kimono too. She went to the other side of the bed, grabbing Eden’s hand gently with her fingers and pushing the pup aside.
“She literally just woke up seconds ago, babe!” retorted Jack.
“How are you?” asked Circé, frowning a bit. “Does anywhere hurt? They gave you a bunch of anesthetics and some blood too...”
“I’m good. …You?”
“I’m alright. They stitched me up just fine, so I’m just hanging around to help... A lot of people needed a bed more than I did.”
She made a brief pause, looking a bit sorry.
“Eden... do you remember what... happened?”
“...Yeah,” nodded Eden.
She knew exactly what she was referring to with such a cautious expression. Circé looked terribly sorry and pressed her hand gently.
“...I’m so sorry.”
