Chapter 1: Loss
Mistgun Friday 3rd of May:
All I could see was a thick multicolured haze swirling with disfigured shapes.
"Is this a dream?" I thought as I tried to focus my eyes.
A sharp, high pitched scream pierced through the air and stabbed into my ears. It was then followed by the sudden feeling of my heart being wrenched out of my chest and a short rush of air... my vision went black... and there was silence.
I sit upright gasping for air. Taking a moment, I study the bright white walls, cringing a little at the glare of the harsh light from the windows on my left. After spotting the heart moniter at my bedside, the realisation finally hit me; this was a hospital room.
Yanking the I.V. drip out of my left arm with my right hand, I leapt to my feet... only to instantly regret it and sit back down onto the soft, springy mattress.
"Crap my head hurts" I said to myself out loud. It was good to see I could still speak after... after...whatever happened to me.
"Why the hell am I here?" Was the one of the questions bouncing around in my head, doing no favors for the resident headache.
My hands reached upwards to hold my head as if to still the throb; but as soon as I touched my head, I felt cloth.
"Oh, a bandage." My brain registered dumbly.
At that moment a nurse walked in from a door in the far right corner. She glanced at me, looked towards the clock on the opposite wall and suddenly did a double take. She dumped the tray she was holding on to the trolley at the end of my bed and hurried out of the room.
I heard the shout of "Doctor!" in an urgent tone from the corridor. It was as if the nurse wasn't sure what to do.
The nurse walked briskly back in to the room with a doctor trailing not far behind her, a look of suprise etched onto his face.
"Quickly!" he said looking sideways at the nurse. "Go send a message informing Director Freon that he's awake". The nurse ran out once again.
He then walked over to me and pushed me firmly but gently back down into lying position by my shoulders down on to the bed.
"You need to rest Sir, you've been banged up pretty badly and you need to spend time resting so that your body can heal".
"Huh?" I asked confused, looking down on myself for the first time since waking up. I was in my underwear and had bandages and plasters criss-crossing all over my body.
"Where are my clothes?"
"Ah, well for now eat and drink a little" he said gesturing towards the tray.
'I'll be back later with something loose that won't aggravate your injuries".