The first thing he saw when he woke up was a dim light in a sea of darkness. Where am I? He squinted, attempting to focus on the blurred red flicker above him, "Pizzeria di Angelo. Enter in front." Pizza? His head pounded away at his thoughts as if it was being attacked violently with a hammer. What happened? He closed his eyes. A flash of white, a high place, a hard fall.

A wince escaped his lips as he sat up, fresh pain bursting throughout his body. The chilly wind was eating him alive, and he had no protection other than a ragged white t-shirt that he did not remember owning. His back felt like a raging fire being consumed by blizzard. What is that? He could feel the trembling of his hand as it ran along his spine, searching for the source of the pain. The burning sensation ignited to a sharp peak when his fingers brushed over the skin between his shoulder blades. The man let out a yelp. He pulled his arm back into his line of sight, red liquid dripping across the spot of illuminated concrete in shimmering flecks. He couldn't stop himself from dry heaving.

It took him a moment to try to steady his breathing. I need to get up. Shaky limbs lifted him onto his feet, but his body fought in agonizing protest. Blackness took over his vision and his legs began to buckle under his weight. The ground desperately wanted to swallow him whole. He stumbled, reaching his hand out to grip anything that could keep him from crumbling back to the ground. Brick scraped roughly against his palm. He blinked, staring at the wall he was leaning on as it came in and out of focus. Meanwhile, his head continued its extreme game of ping pong.

The man hesitated before taking a second wobbly step, then another, and another. His feet tripped pathetically across the cracks of the ground. He made sure to keep his fingers against the wall, using its surface as a guide. Each step threatened to drag him back down to the floor, aching his bones. Several times he considered giving into temptation, he could just lie on the cool pavement and wait to bleed out. But something inside drove him to go further. He pulled his shirt tighter to his body and continued to make his way through the dark.

It took what felt like hours before the red sign was a nothing but a small speck behind him. The wall had disappeared from its place beneath his touch. Ahead was nothing but a void of darkness. His legs felt like jelly, ready to give way any minute. The pain had only gotten worse as he moved along. His head was light from what had to be a loss of blood. There was no way he was going to last much longer. I can't give up.

His muscles didn't share the same determination, he crashed to the ground, gashing the heels of his hands on rough pavement. His legs would not allow him to stand again. He lowered himself, settling with the fact that he would not be getting back up on his own. The nerves in his body yelled at him, telling him he should not have pushed himself so hard. He could feel a cold dampness nesting in his back, causing him to shiver where he lay.

I'm going to die.

Just as he felt life start to slip out of reach, two small lights appeared out of the darkness. Help. His voice refused to work. The lights were coming closer. Help me.They were moving toward him, fast. A soft rumble joining their motions. Please. He remained on the floor, brightness filling his eyes until all he could see was an intense white. I'm falling. The rumble got louder. He could feel his heart begin to speed up with the pace of the lights. I'm falling! I'm falling! What was left in his lungs came out in short, frantic breaths. The ground disappeared from under him. He tried to scream but it got lost somewhere in his throat. Catch me, I'm falling! The light blinded him, he squeezed his eyes shut.

A loud screech echoed through his ears, but his eyes stayed closed.

"Oh my god!" A door shut, "Are you okay?"

He couldn't bring himself to respond. The sound of footsteps crunched on the pavement, hastily making their way to him.

Warm fingers delicately rested on his shoulder, careful not to cause more damage to his broken body. "Sir?" The warmth traced down to his wrist testing for a pulse. He could hear the person sigh with relief.

His eyes dazedly fluttered open to study the figure leaning over him. The bright lights once again filled his vision, dimmer but still blinding. He could only make out the person's silhouette: a black outline tinged with a glint of gold.

"Can you hear me? What happened?" The person asked, fast, but surprisingly calm.

"I'm falling." He choked out, a barely audible whisper.

"You're not falling." The voice assured. "You're safe. I'll call 9-1-1. Everything will be okay."

"No." He strained, a scratchy sound just loud enough to hear. He wasn't sure why he was refusing, but something in his gut had instructed him to do so. What was 9-1-1 again?

"No? " The person inhaled a sharp breath. "But, they can help you. If I leave you here, you-you'll die!"

"No."

"But-"

"Please."

A nervous exhale came from above him, "Okay."

He felt his body being lifted slowly, hands gently trying to avoid tender spots. He groaned. It didn't matter where they touched, everywhere hurt.

"Sorry!" The person was carrying him. He kept his eyes closed, afraid of seeing the lights again, afraid of falling back to the hungry earth. "Please just, try to stay with me."

He groaned more.

"Can you talk to me?" They begged, softly lowering him until he was rested on something leathery. "I need you to try to stay awake."

"I fell." His hoarse voice responded as he cautiously opened his eyes once more, hoping that the light would no longer be awaiting him. It was not. The space was significantly darker, blending together in a dull haze. He could still make out his helper's shadow where they stood: flecks of gold and a sparkle of blue staring down at him. They moved, mumbling something that his messed up mind was unable to understand.

He tried to focus on their watching the person's actions, but his eye-lids began to take on the weight of lead, the loss of blood draining his energy. He wanted to stay awake, to see what this person would do, to survive for them; but his body had a different plan. The pain consumed him against his will.

The world went black.


AN:

If you were confused a bit this chapter, that was on purpose. You are only supposed to know as much as the character. Since he doesn't know how he got injured, his savior's name, or his own name, you don't really know those either. I think you can figure out who's who though

If you weren't confused this chapter, that's cool too.