Volume I - Episode 75 Where: Cologne, Germany When: 21 days after E-Day, 10:23 am Beep...beep...beep... Krystal slept. She was back in the Russian hospital room. Her body was crippled with pain, her legs a shattered mess after the car accident near Gorod Drevnih. Beep...beep...beep... The machine that monitored her vital functions beeped incessantly next to her bed. She had a vague recollection of an orderly tapping her arm and slipping a needle deep into her wrist. During the night, a doctor had seated beside her bed and informed her (in broken English) that her legs were... No. She was not in a hospital bed in Russia. She was in her uncle's apartment in Cologne. It was the day after Jack and Klaudia had arrived on her doorstep. Their introduction had been followed by much talking and a lot of drinking. A lot of drinking. Is that why I feel so terrible? She opened her eyes, and immediately regretted it. Her head throbbed. The room spun slowly around her. The walls moved lazily in and out. In and out. In and out. She struggled hard to resist the urge to throw up. "Don't puke," Jack said. He was sitting on a chair next to her bed, watching her intently. He didn't look well himself. His skin was dry and sickly pale. Large red bags hung under both his eyes. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. "Big Jack," she said. The words were barely a whisper. But they took so much energy to say. "I feel like crap." "Don't puke," he said again. "Just relax. Let it settle." Let it settle? What did that mean? "Christ," she said. "How much did we drink last night?" Jack said nothing. He glanced at his watch. "What time is it? How long was I asleep?" Jack didn't answer. Instead, he took a damp cloth from a bucket by his feet and pressed it against her forehead. It was soothing. Slowly, the feeling of nausea subsided. "How long, Big Jack?" she asked again. It was another long while before Jack answered. "Eight days." First published: Thursday, 26 April 2012 Credits: Finn head morph and texture by Phoenix1966 Casey body morph by Thorne and Sarsa Fable Hair by Aery SoulRaiver top by Ravenhair Supervisor For Raiver by Boundless Bad Attitude by Capsces and LittleFox The Hitchhiker by mytilus The Apartment by Stringy Rendered in DAZ Studio 4 Pro Composited and postwork in Photoshop CS5 Extended