Light travels faster than sound. I saw the flash before I heard the boom. And then heat, and then screaming, and then darkness, and then silence.
Beep...Beep...Beep...
I awoke to the sound of a beeping, which is never the nicest noise to wake to. I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt so heavy, and I just felt so sleepy. I gave in to the tide pulling me downwards into nothingness.
Beep...Beep...Beep...
I awoke to the beeping sound for a second time, but this time voices accompanied it. I heard fragments of conversation. 'Heart rate stable...radial fracture...internal damage...still not regaining consciousness...miracle he survived...'
This time I found I could open my eyes. The world around me spun for a few moments but my vision soon cleared and I recognised the room I was in, the ZAFT infirmary. The beeping sound was a heart monitor beside me, showing a heartbeat I assumed was mine. But how did I get here? What am I doing here? I tried to remember, but the last thing that came to me was being at the shooting range and then...
The explosion. My eyes shot wide as the memory came rushing back. What the hell had happened there? Everything was normal and then...Boom. I thought about Miguel and Dearka, who were there with me. What had happened to them? Were they okay?
I tried to sit up, but that was a mistake. Pain laced through my body at even that small movement, and I found that I couldn't move my left arm at all. What happened to me? I must have caught the attention of the nurse, because she came rushing over then. She called over her shoulder to the doctor, and said that I was awake now. The doctor walked over, glanced at my heart rate monitor (which was now beeping much more rapidly) and shot me an icy look.
"You shouldn't try to move in your condition," she said flatly, and then wrote something down on her clipboard.
"Please," my voice was croaky and it hurt to talk, but there were things I needed to know. "What happened? Where are Dearka and Miguel? Are they okay?"
The doctor's expression softened. "I don't actually know what happened, or what caused the explosion. That's still under investigation, although they suspect that it was a planted bomb." Someone planted a bomb? But why? "As for the friends you mentioned, they're both fine, only minor injuries. They are the ones that brought you here, actually. They pulled you out of the wreckage."
This surprised me. I didn't think that Dearka would just leave me for dead, but to actually risk his life to pull me out of the rubble. I was extremely grateful to him.
"You, however," added the doctor, "not so minor. You have a fractured elbow, some shrapnel wounds to your shoulder and back and some internal bleeding. And from where you were found, it's a miracle you didn't die from smoke inhalation, too." The doctor smiled, "I guess you're a fighter." Well, at least that explained the feeling that my insides had been in a blender.
There was a buzz from the intercom at the door, meaning someone wanted to get in. The nurse went and answered the door, and to my surprise it was Commander Le Creuset. After a few words with the doctor, he came and stood by my bedside.
"How are you feeling, Athrun?" I got the feeling that the question was rhetorical. He wouldn't care how I was feeling. "I heard you were caught right in the middle of the bomb blast. I hope this doesn't affect you for too long. You would be a real asset to my team, Athrun. Can you still shoot?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," I replied. "I only broke my left elbow. I'm right-handed."
He smiled, but it wasn't a friendly one. "That's good to hear. So, has anyone told you what happened yet?"
"No, sir. I only just woke up." I was dying to find out what this whole thing was about.
"Well, it might interest you to know that we believe this was an earth forces attack." To shocked to say anything, I remained silent. "Yes, apparently they have someone on the inside. The bomb on the shooting range was only a diversion." This too shocked me into silence. A diversion? For what? "While everybody panicked when the bomb exploded, the earth forces agent hacked into our computer network and downloaded classified files. It is believed that they have now seen a glimpse of our latest military strategy."
"That's...I mean..." I was speechless.
"Yes, I know," said Le Creuset. "Whoever it was must be incredibly skilled at computer programming, and in so deep that they wouldn't even be a suspect. But, you will be happy to know, they were careless. Our computer logs show that a certain student used the pyro-lab just before some explosive materials went missing, and the same student used their ID tag to enter the operations room immediately after the bomb went off." That, at least, was good news. If anyone could get to the bottom of this, it's Le Creuset. "Would you like to know who our suspect is?" He smiled as though taunting me. I nodded.
"Nicol Amalfi."