“Goodbye, my love …” Despite being unconscious, Dustin heard a familiar voice speaking to him. He wanted to open his eyes, but he couldn’t no matter how hard he tried. It felt like his body had fallen into a bottomless pit and was still falling.
Fear and despair washed over him in the dark world. He didn’t know how long he’d been in this state. A year? Ten? Or maybe even a hundred?
Just as Dustin was about to break down, he saw a burst of light in the distance.
Like a drowning man yearning for air, he swam desperately toward the source of the light. He got
closer and closer until the light engulfed him.
Suddenly, Dustin woke up on the hospital bed with a gasp. Air filled his lungs, and his heart
began picking up pace.
It felt as if he had been reborn.
He took a moment to check himself and realized that the poison had miraculously disappeared
from his body!
Although he felt slightly weak, his life was no longer in danger.
“Mr. Rhys, you’re finally awake. I thought you would not make it,” someone said tiredly.
Dustin looked up to see Linden by the bed. Sweat beaded the older man’s forehead as he panted
exhaustedly.
“So you were the one who saved me. Thank you so much!” Dustin frantically thanked Linden.
It was nearly impossible to neutralize the poison in his body, so Linden must have gone through a
lot to bring Dustin back to life.
“It’s nothing. I only had to use my energy. You should be thanking the person next to you instead.” Linden sighed.
“Beside me?” Puzzled, Dustin turned his head.
On the bed next to his lay a beautiful but lifeless woman whose breathing was so faint her chest barely moved. She looked just like a corpse.
“Natasha?” Stunned, Dustin sprung up in horror.
He threw himself toward her and began checking her weak pulse. She was so weak she was nearly dead.
Dustin tried channeling his true energy to her, but all her organs remained unresponsive. He
touched her once supple and smooth skin, but it was icy cold and stiff.
“How could this be? What happened?” Dustin was terrified.
He couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her.
Despite all the medical textbooks he has read, he has never seen a condition like hers, much less
know how to treat it.
It felt like Natasha was already dead.
“Dr. Watkins, what happened to her?” Dustin spun his head around panickedly.
“Well, she turned this way because she tried to save you.” With a sigh, Linden began telling Dustin the whole story.
