Page 106 of Depraved

Neon.

“Oh, my God.” It was her. It was really her. It was really, really her.

“Neon?” I moved closer, but dear God, Onyx was right. I couldn’t have pictured the sight in front of me.

I gasped. “Neon?” The part of her face that wasn’t wrapped with bandages was a grotesque blue-black frame of bruises. Round, open sores with what looked like burnt flesh covered her cheek, all the way down her neck. “Jesus. Neon?”

Her one eye opened, swollen and bruised, while the other was covered with bandages. “Hey, Swan Lake.” Her voice was soft, like she was exhausted.

I placed my hand in front of my mouth. “Neon?”

“Yeah. I don’t look exactly myself, do I?”

“Oh, my God.” It was all I could say before I rushed to her side, my hands hovering over her, shaking, wanting to touch her, but not sure where. “It’s really you?”

“Yup.” She moved, then cringed, and the movement of her hand caught my eye. Bandages stained with blood were wrapped around her fingers, and it was obvious one was missing.

“Jesus.” I snapped my gaze to Granite. “What the hell did they do to her?”

He didn’t say a word. All he did was stand there, watching me while I soaked up the horror of the sight in front of me.

Neon’s small frame was covered in white sheets, and I hardly recognized her. A catheter bag hung from the side of the bed, halfway filled with urine. Suddenly, I wanted to search every part of her body to see every wound. I wanted to know exactly what the hell happened to her.

“Neon, what did they do to you?”

She tried to move but groaned, and Ink almost knocked me out of the way to help her. Gently, he removed the sheet as he helped her ease up a bit on her pillow. Her right arm was wrapped in a cast from shoulder to wrist, bent at the elbow.

“Jesus Christ. Neon?”

“It’s okay, Swan Lake. They didn’t do anything I couldn’t handle.” Her voice quivered, and I knew she was trying to be brave, but failed miserably.

She groaned out in pain as Ink tried to help her move.

I rushed around the bed to the other side. “She needs to lay on her back with that arm in a cast.” I reached out to help when Ink grabbed my hand.

“Stop.”

“What? I want to help.”

His pained expression almost slammed me to the ground. “She can’t lie on her back, Alyx.”

“What? Why?” I glanced down at her, and that was when I saw the bandages on her back. “What is this?”

Onyx stepped in next to me. “She has third-degree burns on her back, Alyx.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“They burned⁠—”

“Onyx, no,” Neon snapped, her voice soft yet stern. “Shut the fuck up, would you?”

I cut my gaze from Onyx to Ink. “Will someone tell me what the fuck those monsters did to her?”

“Swan Lake, stop.” Neon’s voice was almost a whisper. “It’s not important.”

I rounded the bed again, wanting to see her face. “What do you mean, it’s not important? Jesus, Neon.”

Her eye closed for a few seconds and opened again. “I’m fine. Doc, here, is working his magic. The shit he’s giving me ain’t making me feel a thing. I’m okay.”