Chapter 9 - The Awakening
It happened on a rainy Thursday morning, exactly one month after Lily had walked through the ER doors.
Lily was asleep in the chair next to the bed, her hand lightly resting on top of her mother's. The rhythmic hiss of the ventilator was the only sound in the room.
Suddenly, Eleanor's finger twitched. Then, a slow, deep breath that didn't match the machine's rhythm.
Lily's eyes fluttered open. She looked down at their joined hands. Eleanor's fingers were weakly curling around Lily's small palm.
"Mommy?" Lily gasped, jumping to her feet.
Eleanor's eyelids fluttered. They were heavy, fighting against the bright fluorescent lights of the room. Slowly, painfully, they opened. Her eyes darted around the room in a blind panic, her heart monitor spiking. She tried to sit up, a muffled cry escaping around the breathing tube. She was still in the farmhouse in her mind. The monster was still coming.
"Mommy, no! It's okay! We're safe!" Lily cried, pressing her face close to Eleanor's. "Look at me! It's Lily!"
Eleanor’s panicked eyes finally locked onto her daughter's face. The terror in them slowly melted into utter, overwhelming relief. Tears spilled down the sides of her face, soaking into the pillow. She couldn't speak, but she squeezed Lily's hand with every ounce of strength she had left.
Nurses rushed in, followed closely by Dr. Evans. As they carefully removed the breathing tube, Arthur and Margaret rushed into the room.
When Eleanor saw her parents, she let out a broken, raspy sob. "I'm sorry," she croaked. "I'm so sorry."
"Shh, my darling," Margaret wept, wrapping her arms around her daughter's fragile shoulders. "We have you. We have all of you. You're never going back there."
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Eleanor looked frantically at Lily. "The babies...?"
"They're big, Mommy," Lily beamed, her smile lighting up the room for the first time in her life. "They're right down the hall."
