Disclaimer: Count your blessings, little man…
Prologue
It was everywhere, coating everything it touched in sticky, red fluid. It crept out of places too small to hold a source; spreading, always seeking untouched places to contaminate.
He'd never been upset by the sight of blood, he saw it nearly everyday. But this was wrong. There shouldn't be this much. Too many people had to have been hurt for this. So many more than were there. No one could fit in a space that small. He tried to move, to figure out what had happened, but something was holding him in place, suspending him between one sense of reality and the next.
Struggling, pain shot up his arm, making him yelp. Slowly, he tried again, determined. Determination doesn't stop pain. Gritting his teeth, he settled for simply trying to look around. He couldn't see much; whatever was pinning him down was also blocking a substantial portion of the light. The edges of his sight began to blur, adding to the problem. Closing said eyes, he tried to even out his now panicked breathing.
As his breath regulated, he realized how tired he was. Bone-deep exhaustion was threatening to consume the remaining consciousness as he struggled to the surface once more. Forcing his eye open, he looked around desperately, breath becoming uneven once more.
"Is anyone under here?" a voice called from beyond the encroaching void.
"Yes," he rasped, praying to be heard. "Yes."
"Tom, over here." He'd been found. Thank God. Reluctantly, brown eyes slide closed. He was gone.
TBC
A/N: Ever notice how every ambulance crew seems to have a guy named Tom? Oh well. So yeah, here's the prologue. Some kind of sign would be loved.