Violet’s eyes slowly opened and she was met with a sterile white room. She groaned and tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in her side made her wince. She turned to see a head with dreadlocks resting on the bed next to her leg, the rest of the head’s body was supported by a chair.

As she tried to make sense of what was happening, a nurse noticed that she was awake and approached her bedside.

The nurse studied Violet with a serious expression, her pen hovering over a clipboard. “You suffered quite the trauma, Ms. Weaver,” she said. “Any idea how that happened?”

Violet hesitated, her initial instinct was to keep ranks and not offer any information to the authority figure. But then she realized that she didn’t really remember much of what had happened.

“My memory’s kinda fuzzy,” she admitted with a shrug. “Sorry.”

The nurse nodded, not surprised by Violet’s answer. “It’s common for trauma victims to have trouble remembering the events leading up to their injury,” she said. “Don’t worry, we’ll do our best to piece it together. In the meantime, just focus on recovering.”

The nurse leaned over and tapped the forehead of the snoozing dreadlocks. Violet’s mind fog tried to clear and was partially successful. She thought she remembered who those dreads belonged to—Trace Bingham, if her memory wasn’t completely fucked. She’d handed Violet an electrolyte cup and shot the shit with her before yesterday’s training went to hell and back, and back to hell again. She recalled the one-on-ones, and then two-on-ones, and then the three-on-ones, and maybe even more at one point, but her recollection of the previous day went hazy right around that point. From there until here it was just snippets. She’d gone to her room, tired and beaten up and then passed out and woke up here. Or was that all?

The eerie vision of someone’s darkened face floating above her own came unbidden and then just as quickly left her mind again. Like trying to hold sanitation gel in water, the harder she squeezed, the faster it slipped through her fingers.

The nurse gave a few final finger taps on Trace’s head as the woman stirred to consciousness with a look of slight embarrassment that one gets when they realize everyone else in the room is staring at them.

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“How is she?” Trace asked the nurse, her voice groggy.

“See for yourself.”

Violet offered a weak smile.

“Hey there,” Trace said. “Thought you were half dead when I stumbled across you last night. Face was so swollen, I didn’t even know it was you until after I got you here.”

The nurse nodded. “It’s a good thing you did, too…no telling what might have happened if her head trauma had gone untreated.”

“How bad a shape am I in?” Violet asked.

The nurse’s expression grew serious. “I won’t lie, you were touch and go for a while, thought you mighta been in a coma for a minute, but after a long night, you’re out of the woods now.”

Violet nodded and started shuffling her way off the bed.

“Woah! Hold up there, sister!” The nurse held up her hand like she was a security officer trying to apprehend a suspect. “You’re out of the woods, but you’re still in the wilderness… You need to stay put until you’re cleared by the doc to return to duty.”

Violet shook her head, straining to leave still. “I’ve got training in the morning—can’t miss it.” She gave Trace a wink. “Techniques and skills to learn…all dat non-cheating stuff.”

Trace raised her eyebrows and smiled. “Better listen to da med staff on this one, sugar plum.”

“Sugar plum?” Violet asked with some false shade behind it.

The dreadlocked woman shrugged. “Thought princess was a bit over the top…”

Violet laughed and then tried to stop immediately as the pain in her ribs made her want to die. “You know what? Maybe you’re right…a few extra hours of IV and sleep won’t hurt.”

“Dat’s da spirit!” Trace said. “Now you’re thinking like a proper government employee.”

The nurse helped Violet get herself comfortable, back on the bed. She gently covered her with a thin blanket and then turned to Trace. “Now, will you please go home?”

Trace appeared hesitant and then she softened. “You’ll take good care of her?”

“I’ll be right here the whole night through,” the nurse promised.

“You okay with that?” Trace nodded toward Violet. But Violet was already snoring lightly.