Alice Isn't Well (Death Herself Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

wince as she felt a second injection, and then a third. Taking a deep breath, she told herself she could open her eyes if she just took a moment to gather all her strength, and finally – as she heard more voices swimming all around her head – she decided to count to three and then try again.
    One.
    Two.
    She paused. Everything went black for a moment, and she felt her whole body become lighter.
    Three.
    Sitting up suddenly, she opened her eyes and found that she was now in a large, dark room, with a patch of moonlight falling through the nearby window, casting shadows on a brick wall opposite. Looking around, she saw to her surprise that she was on an old metal bed, and that there were other such beds nearby, as if she was in some kind of dormitory. As soon as she turned to look to one side, she felt a sharp, sore pain running across her chest and up to her face, and she realized she must have passed out at some point and been brought to the dormitory to recover.
    She waited.
    Silence.
    A moment later, over on the next bed, someone shifted under the covers.
    “Hello?” Wendy whispered. Her lips were dry and cracked, and she felt fresh skin tearing a little at the edges. In fact, as each second passed, the nerves in her body seemed to be waking more and more, bringing fresh appreciation of the pain she was feeling and of the injuries she'd suffered. She looked around, and as her eyes adjusted to the darkness she realized there were lots of other beds in the dormitory, each with someone under the sheets, and she began to make out the sound of lots of people breathing, some of them even snoring.
    She paused.
    In the distance, she could hear a faint engine noise. Planes, most likely, passing over the city either on their way to bomb the Germans or on their way back.
    Like the plane that crashed.
    For a moment, her mind's eye saw the burning plane again, its flames filling the night sky, and she remembered the dancing orange glow that had seemed to rush out of the inferno. The image quickly faded, however, and she found herself in the dark dormitory again.
    Slowly, and with a little pain, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and took a moment to catch her breath before getting to her feet. She felt stiff and sore, but she was determined to find out where she was and to get home as soon as possible, back to her mother, who she figured must be very worried about her by now. Limping heavily on her right leg, she made her way past the next bed and into the aisle that ran along the center of the room, and finally she began to slowly, carefully head toward the door at the far end, under which a sliver of light could be seen. As she got closer, she sped up a little, despite the pain.
    Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder.
    “And where do you think you're going?” a woman asked, her voice filled with a soft Irish lilt.
    Spinning round, Wendy looked up and saw a friendly face smiling at her, framed by a nun's habit.
    “You should be in bed,” the nun told her. “There's absolutely no reason for a lovely little lady such as yourself to be up and about at this hour. It's barely even three in the morning.”
    “Where's my mother?” Wendy asked.
    “Your -” The nun paused, with a hint of concern in her eyes. “It's Wendy, isn't it? Well, Wendy, you'll be seeing Mother Superior in the morning, and until then you have to stay in bed and get some rest.”
    “Where's my mother?” Wendy asked again. “She wasn't home when the plane hit, she was at the hospital, so where is she now? I want to see her!”
    “I...” The nun paused. “I can't tell you that, sweetheart. It's not my place.”
    “Why not?”
    “I just can't. Mother Superior -”
    “Why can't you tell me now ?” Wendy asked, trying not to panic. She'd never spent a night away from home, not ever in her whole life.
    “Sshh,” the nun replied, putting a finger to her lips, “if you don't keep your voice down, you'll wake all the other little girls, and