It was the dull throbbing in Dan's head which dragged him into consciousness. The world was too loud and Dan didn't want to open his eyes yet. A bright light was being shone onto his face and he shrunk back away from it. There were voices, too many to understand, and none of them familiar.

'Dan, are you awake? Can you hear me?' Someone said into his ear and he jumped. Dan? Was that his name? It must be, it seemed vaguely familiar. He tried to answer, but all that came out was a groan. His body was being poked and prodded, and he was becoming frustrated by this feeling of being trapped. Dan attempted to move his arm to swat the people away, but it was like a dead weight. With a great effort, he blinked his eyes open.

The shock of finding himself suspended above the floor made him cry out, and immediately there were soothing voices all around, telling him that it was ok, they would get him out soon. Trying to take in what he was seeing, he realised that he was looking down at the roof of a car, and that he was trapped by the car seat which was mangled around his body. He quickly squeezed his eyes shut again. The surrealism of the situation was making him feel dizzy and light-headed, although that may just be the blood rushing to his head. He couldn't remember how he had ended up here, or anything for that matter. The only thing he knew at that moment was that everything hurt and he needed to get out of there as soon as possible. He didn't even know his own name, although the person dabbing a cut on his forehead seemed convinced that it was Dan.

'What happened?' Dan managed to croak out, still afraid to reopen his eyes and face the situation.

'Well, no one knows for sure yet. You and your friend were in a car accident, your friend is at the hospital now and we'll soon have you out and on your way there. The ambulance is waiting but you're trapped so they're going to cut you out.' The man had a calming deep voice, but Dan's brain was fighting to keep up. Friend? What friend?

'My parents...' His voice broke before he could finish his sentence.

'Don't worry son, we've already called them. Your friend had their number. They'll be waiting for you at the hospital.' The man stopped dabbing his forehead. 'Now I'm going to leave you for a few minutes while they cut you out. Don't panic, just stay still and they'll have you out in no time.'

Before Dan had time to reply, he sensed the man crawling away from him, and then he was alone. There was a lot of shouting, and suddenly a loud buzzing noise started up. As it got louder and louder, Dan began to scream with terror. He didn't dare open his eyes for fear of seeing a giant chainsaw just feet from his head.

In the ambulance, Dan was trapped again by the neck brace and the straps which kept him pinned to the stretcher. The journey was a very bumpy ride, but he could barely feel it after all the painkillers he had been given. The same man rode with him and kept talking to him all the way, although Dan was only half listening. He had no idea where he was or where the nearest hospital was, all he could do was fight to keep himself awake. When they finally arrived, he was unloaded and whisked away in a flurry of paramedics. As his eyes slipped closed, there were electronic beeps and shouts all around him.

The sun was already high in the sky, somewhere behind the murky grey clouds, when Dan woke again. The throbbing in his head was still there although it was more subdued, more bearable. He forced his eyes open and allowed them to focus on the dull, off-white ceiling of the hospital ward. As he rolled his head to the left, a digital clock told him that it was 2:45pm. His breathing quickened as the feeling of being lost washed over him again. To calm himself down, he went over the facts in his mind, reminding himself that he knew at least a few things. He hadn't forgotten everything. His name was Dan. He was in hospital. He had been in a car accident with a friend. It was the middle of the afternoon. He was awake and breathing.

And that was it. That was all he knew. He still didn't feel calm, and became even more panicked when he found that he still couldn't get up.

'Help!' He called out, tears welling in his eyes again.

It was only a matter of seconds before a nurse arrived at his bedside. She smiled down at him kindly and checked a clipboard at the end of his bed. 'Hello there Dan. Good morning, or should I say, good afternoon.' Dan could see that she was trying to be friendly, but he was in no mood to chat right now.

'What day is it?' He blurted out. Out of all the questions in his head, why did he have to choose the least important?

She chuckled. 'It's Thursday the 15th of March 2013. The prime minister is David Cameron and we still don't have hover cars.'

Dan stared up at the woman, waiting for her to laugh and tell him what day it really was.

'Are you alright Dan? Do you need some more painkillers?' She peered down into his face in concern. He shook his head but before he could speak, there was a knock at the door. The nurse spun around and smiled at whoever was in the doorway. 'Yes, he's awake. You can see him now.'

She stepped back and took one last look at him before walking away. The next second, Dan was consumed in a tight hug which almost cut off his breathing.

'Daniel! Oh my boy, my precious boy...' His mother sobbed into his ear. The sound of awkward shuffling further away told Dan that his father was also in the room.

'Mum...' Dan mumbled, crushed under her weight, but she held onto him for a good few minutes before finally letting go and stepping back, wiping her eyes. Dan blinked and stared up at her. There was something different... something not quite right. Her hair... Dan was sure it had been shorter before... and a different colour. The more Dan thought about it, the more he became convinced that his mum had blonde hair, not this chocolate brown.

'Oh Daniel, we were so worried. I never thought something like this would happen to my beautiful boy. ' She hadn't torn her eyes from him yet, and it was making Dan uncomfortable. He wished he could just get up and show her that he was fine and that she didn't need to worry. He hated seeing her upset.

'I always knew he was bad news.' His father muttered in the corner, only just loud enough for Dan to hear. His mother spun around.

'Don't you dare, Michael. It wasn't his fault, it was an accident.' She snapped.

His father raised his eyebrows. 'He was driving, and yet it's our Dan in the hospital bed.'

'He would never have put Dan in danger and you know that. He already feels bad enough. Just leave it now.' She turned back to Dan and gave a weak smile. Dan was tired of trying to keep up. It felt like they were speaking another language. Who were they talking about?