It always hit him at the strangest times. He did things so differently now. Even the simple things like dressing were different now. His whole life had changed. As he buttoned his shirt he saw the scars on his hand. The scars went on up his arm, and spread across his chest. And those were just the scars on the outside. Strapping on his prosthetic leg, he thought about that day.
He had been at Slappy's when Sue and Bobby had gotten there. Heard her voice calling to him. When he had turned towards them, he had seen it coming. Wanted to tell them. But it was too fast. The truck slammed into the building as he stood by helpless. He remembered realizing the gravity of the situation. Not thinking of his own safety, he had ran towards the front of the restaurant. Remembering the young girl and her mother that had been sitting nearest the kitchen. But he never got to them. The explosion throwing him back on the ground as the searing pain washed over the right half of his body. He felt as if he was on fire. Desiring to move, he had squirmed under a weight that seemed to be pushing him down, but it was useless. There was nothing he could do. There was little else he remembered until he woke up in the hospital. Then he remembered the pain. Both physically and emotionally. Realizing that they couldn't save his leg. Finding out about his friends. It had all been too much. The depression that had engulfed him had been nearly more than he could survive. When his fiancé had decided it was too much for her to handle, he had nearly killed himself. Probably would have if he had not still been in the hospital, under constant supervision. Somehow though, he had made it. Made it to the two year anniversary.
Anniversary? What a word to describe this day. Anniversary was a word you used for happy occasions, like the day you were married. It seemed it was inappropriate to use that word for the day that the world came to a stop. The day a man that he considered as close as a brother left the world. That moment in time he became half a man. No, anniversary was not the right word. But then, he couldn't think of a correct word for this moment.
Surveying himself in the mirror, he was surprised by what he saw. With his suit on, he almost looked like the Myles Leland the third that had lived before that fateful day. Only the scars on his hand visible. Until he looked into his eyes. Those eyes were still haunted by the images of that day. Empty eyes. That is the way he would describe what he saw staring back at him. Somehow, even after two years, he felt like he was going to wake up. Bobby would be there to harass him about something. Using some Aussie slang that Myles would have to decipher. He would still be working as a field agent in DC. Soon, he would wake up and his world would be right again. He just had to wake up.