UNHOLY DESIRE

DEIRDRE POV

Muffled voices, footsteps echoing, and the revolting scent of antiseptic wafted into my nostrils, pulling me out of my slumber.

Swallowing back the nausea that rose, my teeth gritted, and I attempted to pry my eyes that seemed to be glued together. I succeeded, wincing as the bright light flashed into them.

Snapping my eyes shut immediately, I opened them again, squinting.

My gaze stayed fixated on the chandelier, currently swaying slowly. The wind drifted into the room through a crack in the window, rustling the ugly brown curtains.

The walls of the room were painted in weird brown and blue colors, and a large cross sign was at the far corner of the room.

The room itself was large, yet ugly, and I wasn’t the only one in it. There were several beds in the room, the exact one I was laid in, and I saw some were empty while some were occupied.

I didn’t recognize the room, and from what I could tell, I was in the hospital. I remembered Matteo saying he would take me to one, but that didn’t assure me.

“Matteo?” I called, turning my head to search for him.

Groaning as my head pounded due to the movement, I still tried to sit up.

“Matteo,” I called out again.

This time, I received a prompt response.

“Here, sweetheart,” Matteo said from behind me.

He took three long strides towards me and sat in the chair just beside my bed. Gripping my hands, he placed his palm on my forehead.

“How are you feeling?” He asked, a frown etched on his face.

“Where are we?” I asked him.

“A clinic,” He said.

“We found a village,” He added as I frowned.

By the we, I was sure he meant Vottorio. I hadn’t seen him anyway.

“I feel awful,” I whispered.

“You’ll get better,” Matteo assured. “The doctor mentioned the flu had been around for a few days now. I guess you caught it during Thanksgiving since some of the villagers were in it, too.”

I nodded, shutting my eyes briefly and opening them.

“You need to rest,” He said.

“What about you?” I asked him. He looked dishevelled, his hair stuck in all directions, and dark circles were underneath his eyelids.

“I’ll be fine. You need to recover as soon as you can,” He said.

“You don’t look fine,” I murmured. “You should rest.”

Matteo shook his head, chuckling slightly. “You should worry about yourself, Cara. I am the last person you should think about right now. Besides, I am doing all that I can to get us out of here.”ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

That I was sure of, he definitely was working too hard to get us out of the damned situation we were in. I was grateful, though.

“Matteo,” Vittorio called.

He smiled when he reached my bedside, “How are you feeling, Deirdre?”

“I’m fine,” I murmured.

“You gave us quite a scare back there,” Vittorio said.

I raised my brows at him, waiting for him to explain, but he shrugged.

“Your husband almost bit my head, and the doctor’s off thinking you died. Even when we told him you were breathing, he threatened to blow down the place if he didn’t revive you,” Vittorio said.

That sounded like what Matteo would do. I glanced back at him to see him watching Vittorio with narrowed eyes.

“Do you have news for me?” He asked Vittorio.

“Yes,” Vittorio said, turning serious. “I think you need to see this.”

Matteo stood to his feet, leaned into me, grazing his lips on my cheeks, and whispered, “I’ll be right back.”

As he straightened, I nodded and gripped his hand, “Don’t stay out long.”

“I won’t,” Matteo flashed me a small smile before turning to Vittorio, “Come on.”

“Don’t die, Deirdre. I am not ready to have my skin as a museum exhibit,” Vittorio let out and, at the same time, dodged a swat from Matteo.

I giggled, shaking my head and then regretting it again.

When both left, I felt suddenly lonely. It wasn’t as if I could leave the spot I was in, even if I wished. I doubted I could stand myself.

I stayed in bed, staring at the ceiling and counting sheep in my mind until my eyes grew heavy.

“Mrs Ferrari,” A voice said, pulling me out of my drowsiness.

Frowning, I blinked several times, clearing the haze in my eyes as I tried to focus on who was before me.

A middle-aged, pudgy man with a receding hairline stood before me. He had a glass perched on the bridge of his round nose, and he peered at the clipboard with him.

“Deirdre Ferrari,” He said.

I was tempted to say it was Deirdre O’Sullivan, but I doubted there was a need for that. Matteo must have told him I was a Ferrari.

“I am,” I murmured.

“You came down with the ViraGrip, and it’s a good thing your husband got you here on time before it could get any worse. We’ve had a number of casualties the few days it happened.” The doctor said.

“ViraGrip?” I murmured. It was my first time hearing such. And it sounded like some deadly epidemic.

“It’s very common on this Island, and I am Doctor Feris,” He said.

“And it barely happens in the real world except, well, when an untreated patient leaves here by chance and gets into the real world, then it will get spread faster. But that’s very unlikely.”

“By chance?” I asked. He had used the word unlikely, too.

“Yes, by chance,” He said, placing the clipboard with him on a nearby stand. “I am going to check your vitals to ensure they are working fine and not collapsing.”

Doctor Ferris got to work, examining my sensitivity to light and well, checking my other vitals.

“Your husband threatened to have my head,” He chuckled. “He seems like an important man in the society, and I don’t want to get on his bad side.”

“You look perfect,” He said. “Perhaps a little more rest will bring you back in shape.”

“When you said unlikely and by chance, what do you mean?” I asked as he gripped his clipboard.

For a brief seconds, I thought he wouldn’t respond to my question as he stared at me.

Then he said, “By default, this Island isn’t on the map. It’s a nowhere place in the world, and when I say that, it means no one is coming for you. Or anyone else stuck on this island.”

But Leslie had said otherwise. Although it was hard, they had come eventually, yet she had refused to go.

“I was born here, Deirdre. So, I know things.” He said.

“So, we won’t be going back to our world?” I asked him again.

“You won’t. Well, unless a miracle happens. You might want to start getting comfortable.” He finished, walking towards the door.

“Getting comfortable?” I snorted. Kendall was in another world, and he advised me to get comfortable.

“I’d rather sooner throw myself inside the damned ocean than get comfortable,” I murmured, sitting up on the bed.

There was no way I was going to sit and get comfortable while my daughter longed for me in the real world.