SWNOVELS Chapter 9: Panicked Awakening
Hannibal moaned as the darkness lightened once again. His senses began knitting back together as coherent memories slowly oozed back into his consciousness along with a low painful throbbing in his head. The first thing he realized was he lay once again on the Healing Machine’s treatment table beneath him along with the pleasant warmth and music of the Healer’s healing beam. Next, muffled murmurs of several voices reached his ears that slowly resolved into several familiar voices, including a distinctly draken-like one and a deep rumbling feline voice.
“He’s coming out of it,” Josephine’s voice declared. “Hannibal...Hannibal, can you hear me?” All other voices quieted down after Josephine spoke.
Hannibal moaned and shook his head side to side as his eyelids fluttered briefly. Josephine’s voice first sounded distant...muffled. In moments as reality coalesced around him, her voice became clear. It was just above him and filled with both concern and relief. His hand came up, rubbing his eyes and head. He winced upon touching his forehead, which was very sensitive when touched it. “Ugh...where am I? What happened,” he asked softly, still somewhat confused about his location, “My head is throbbing like a toothache.” Pulling his hand away, he focused on it, seeing his fingers smudged with blood that he moments later felt oozing from his forehead. “Why am I bleeding? What happened?” he asked with some confusion. Suddenly, all his memories snapped into place with great rapidity causing him to shriek, his eyes opening wide in a fearful panic, and bolting upright in full locomotion, trying to jump off the table again and run for the exit. Josephine instantly restrained him with all four of her arms and her physical size in a bear hug, keeping him on the treatment table as the light beam from the Healing Machine’s crystal suddenly brightened while a sedating, soothing musical harmony filled the chamber. The machine registered Hannibal’s distress and moved to calm him down with its healing beam as Josephine restrained him.
“Calm down, Hannibal,” Josephine pleaded softly with intense concern, “Please, calm down! It’s over. There’s nothing here to hurt you.” Her words reached him, causing him to calm down enough to stop struggling, which allowed the Healing Machine’s treatment beam to calm his pounding heart and breathing to a safer level.
Looking her in the eye, Hannibal broke into soft sobs, laying his head against Josephine’s chest as she held him gently but firmly. After a few moments, he composed himself and said in a shaken tone, “Thank you, Jo. I think I’m okay now. You can let me go.”
“You’re welcome, Hannibal,” Josephine replied with a motherly but concerned smile as she gently laid him back down on the treatment table. “But you need to lie back down and let the Healer finish repairing your concussion.”
“Concussion,” Hannibal asked, “How’d I get a concussion? Is that why my forehead is bleeding?”
“Yes; it seems you woke screaming in terror and bolted from the Healer in a panic,” Josephine stated, “We heard your scream as we approached the Healer. I haven’t heard you scream like that since the sex floor, so we came running. When we got here, you were lying on the floor over there out cold. It seems you woke in an irrational fright and didn’t see the wall when you ran into it. You hit the wall, and then you hit the floor. Look there, you can still see the blood on the wall where your head hit it. As soon as we saw your condition, I put you back on the table and we’ve been watching over you ever since.”
Hannibal looked to where Josephine pointed and saw the small bloody smear on the wall near the entrance to the Healing Chamber. “Damn,” he cursed softly. “I must have been plum out of my mind to have hit and left blood like that. However, it does explain this throbbing headache. How long have I been out?”
“About an hour,” Josephine reported, gently laying Hannibal back down on the treatment table. “I’m surprised you came to so quickly, but from what I can see with my scans, the Healer is rapidly repairing the damage with the cranial swelling almost completely gone now.”
“That’s good,” Hannibal murmured, further relaxing in the Healer’s healing beam. “The headache is almost gone now, even though there’s just a bit of annoying throbbing still present.”
“It should go away by time the Healer finishes,” Josephine said, standing up. “I’m going to check the control console to see how much longer the machine needs to work on you.”
“Go ahead, Jo,” Hannibal replied with a relaxing warm smile. “I’m not going anywhere right now anyway, at least not until I get my mind around what just happened. It’s so fucked up I’m still trying to piece it together.”
“Don’t worry with that right now,” Josephine cautioned as she checked the readings on the control panel. “Just relax until the Healer is done with you. Ah, the machine should be done with you in about five minutes. It’s already cycling down. Until then, don’t give it another thought.”
“Heh, that’s easy for you to say,” Hannibal chided mildly. “You weren’t swallowed by a sentient sandstorm in one of the most evil locations on the planet in your dreams, or was it really a dream? Damn it, I just don’t know. It’s so messed up I’m going to have to tell it pretty damned quick so it won’t drive me mad, and believe me. I know what going bat-shit crazy feels like from that shit that Tsasthoagguah poisoned me with.”
“Are you sure you want to tell it so quickly?” Josephine asked, returning to his side. “Whatever you dreamed of has shaken you to core; I can sense it.”
“I have to,” Hannibal insisted, “This dream...or nightmare is on the level of the premonition nightmare I had of being turned forcibly into a woman before I ever entered this savage underworld. That nightmare became a cruel brutal reality that still makes my blood run cold when I remember it. If I don’t share it, it will drive me insane, and I’ve had enough of that already.”
“That you have,” Josephine agreed in a motherly manner as she gently patted his hand. “All I’m suggesting is that you take a few minutes to relax and gather your thoughts before you tell us.”
“I can do that,” Hannibal replied with a sober smile. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Josephine chimed with a smile.
Samantha approached Hannibal and Josephine, guiding Leila in her wheel chair. Draco walked up with Serge, both of them being sure to give Hannibal plenty of space. Samantha grabbed onto Hannibal’s hand and looked him in the eye asking, “Are you all right, Hannibal? I’ve heard many a scream of pain and terror, including the death cries of many friends and enemies, but what I heard from you truly frightened me. It sounded like someone was ripping the very soul out of you. What happened?”
“Don’t pester him with questions right now, Miss Tora,” Draco scolded mildly, “Give him a few moments to gather himself. Something very evil happened to him that he may still be dealing with. Let’s give him some space to put the pieces together.”
“I agree,” Leila purred, rolling herself over to Hannibal next to Samantha, positioning herself beside to Hannibal’s head. “We have no idea what evil has hit him again. He’s always getting clobbered without warning by the Enemy like this. Let him calm down and compose himself. All we need to do is be here for him.” She reached out and touched Hannibal on his shoulder. “We’re here for you, milord,” she purred. “You don’t have to handle this alone.”
“She’s right,” Serge rumbled, moving up beside Draco, looking down at Hannibal. “We’re here to help when you need us.”
“Amen to that,” Josephine chimed wholeheartedly.
Only then did Hannibal realize Draco, Leila, Samantha, and Serge where gathered around him. Tears of gratitude rolled down his cheeks. Grasping Samantha’s hand with amazing strength and looking her in the eye, he choked out emotionally, “Thank you, Sam. You don’t know what that means to me. That goes for the rest of you too. I’ve finally come to realize I’m no longer alone...not anymore.”
“Took you long enough to figure that out, stupid,” Selina chided sarcastically with a seriously concerned look on her face as she walked up to Hannibal as he lay on the treatment table. “How many times do I have to tell you not to mess with the Dark Powers without me?” Josephine yielded her position at Hannibal’s side to Selina as she stopped beside Hannibal, grabbing his hand and looking down with a bit of consternation. “You’ve got to be more careful, my prince,” she insisted with just a hint of anger in her tone, “I was just about finished with my recharge when I felt and heard your psychic scream. The last time I felt you do something like that was when we were dragged into the Sacred Circle of Eternity. Something happened to you just now just like there where I couldn’t see it, but I definitely felt the aftermath of it. You have to stop doing that. I cannot take much more of it.”
Looking up into Selina’s angry but concerned face, Hannibal sighed, saying, “I’m so sorry, princess, but I had no control over what just happened. Wait, you didn’t see it?”
“No, Hannibal,” Selina replied soberly, “It was just like what happened when that black lightning separated us in the Sacred Circle. Only this time, I wasn’t knocked out and I could feel an active intelligence blocking whatever you were experiencing.”
“Did you feel any malice associated with this intelligence?” Draco asked bluntly, “I believe it’s important we know this.”
“No,” Selina stated, glancing up at Draco, “I sensed no malevolence with the intelligence. It merely blocked me from experiencing what Hannibal did. This isn’t the first time this has happened. I suspect it may have been the Lord Himself doing it to keep me from getting the full brunt of what was hitting Hannibal. After all, we are telepathically fused to the core. I can feel, sense, and see everything that Hannibal experiences and vice versa. It’s both a blessing and a curse, if you know what I mean.”
“I do,” Draco rumbled thoughtfully, “It can be a great burden to be tethered in such a way to your soul mate. Did this intelligence indicate why it was blocking you from seeing what Beowulf endured?”
“Not really,” Selina admitted, “The only thing I sensed from the entity is that I was not meant to experience what Hannibal did firsthand. However, it did indicate everything would be okay, which I know now is true.” A troubled sigh escaped her lips.
“That’s good to hear,” Draco replied with a guttural rumble. “But we still need to know what it is that he saw and why you were blocked from seeing it firsthand.”
“I intend to find that out right now,” Selina answered, eyeing Hannibal with a demanding look, “Well Hannibal; don’t you think it’s time to tell us what happened, and don’t tell me you don’t know. You know damned well what it was. Just tell us plainly. We can take it.”
Hannibal again sighed as he sat up, pulling on Selina’s hand to rise. Shifting so his legs dangled over the edge of the treatment table, he rubbed his face with a forlorn, sober look that reflected his fear. “Okay,” he told Selina and everyone present. “The event seems to have coalesced enough for me to tell it now, but I think it may be better to tell it to everyone at one time so I don’t have to repeat myself. Jo, can you spread the word that I want all the leaders gathered atop the Tower in twenty minutes? Make sure Enoch, Nemesis, Tau, and Assad are present with the other leaders. I shall summon Aeolus, Argus, and Tethys. They need to hear this too. When everyone is present, I will explain what I endured just now, and then share what happened in Poseidia at the Sacred Circle. It’s something everyone needs to hear. Will that do, princess?”
“Yes, my prince,” Selina replied softly, gently touching her forehead to his before kissing him briefly. “That’ll do.”
Hannibal’s belly rumbled so loudly he couldn’t hide it. “Geeze,” he said, chuckling with a bit of blush crossing his face. “My belly thinks my throat is cut. I’d better get a snack first otherwise my beast of a stomach may do something drastic.”
Laughter erupted from everyone present. “That sounds like a good idea,” Draco declared after chuckling. “Getting something to eat first will help your mind focus so you can give us a clear picture of what you want to share with us.”
“Sounds like a plan, my friend,” Hannibal agreed. “Jo, make it forty-five minutes, okay?”
“No problem,” Josephine answered, “I’ve already contacted Nemesis with our comm-link and he’s gathering the leaders as I speak. Exactly where on the roof do you want to meet?”
“On the east side overlooking the water,” Hannibal instructed. “For some reason, that side of the Tower has a calming effect on my mind that I can’t explain. Meet me there.”
“Right,” Josephine stated, “I’ll see you there.” With that, she walked out of the Healing Chamber.
“Well, I’m first going to the kitchen,” Hannibal stated, dropping off the treatment table to his feet. “You’re all welcome to join me.”
“I’m coming,” Selina chimed, “I’m pretty hungry myself. What we did in Poseidia left me famished.”
“I’m coming too,” Samantha chimed. “I’d like to see more of this amazing place.”
In moments, Draco, Serge, and Leila agreed to accompany Hannibal, allowing him to be their defacto tour guide. “Then let’s go,” Hannibal chimed with a chuckle. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep my stomach from eating the rest of me.” Those present again laughed at his dark humor, following him out of the Healing Chamber.