Fight for Life

My shoulder throbbed, but that was a good sign. Sort of. It meant that rather than being dead, as I expected, I was alive. Still fighting, but probably in a whole lot of trouble. Even in my semi-lucid state, I could tell that the wound was infected. Who knew what kinds of bacteriological nasties that monster had laced on his hook?

"Mama, he's awake!"

I heard steps approach and felt a cool hand on my brow. "Toby? Can you hear me?"

Sure, hearing is easy. It's the only sense that doesn't require me to voluntarily move something.

Responding to what I heard, on the other hand... that takes a bit more effort.

I let out a low sound, somewhere between a grunt and a moan. The hand moved away and something cold and wet was put in its p