SWNOVELS Chapter A voice?
I heard the explosion, I was launched somewhere. I don’t know where though, I couldn’t feel anything, my eyes wouldn’t open, but I could hear. I could hear ringing noise but I didn’t know if I was breathing, probably not. I laid there, feeling nothing wasn’t so bad… Then I could hear screaming, it sounded like Jessica, then a second voice came through; Elizabeth… They were both screaming my name, were they trying to find me? Was there a reason they couldn’t? Maybe I was covered in something…
They eventual found me, well at least Jessica did; she was crying. “Red! Oh my god! Red! Can you hear me?!” I couldn’t talk.”
Elizabeth came up. “She’s not breathing!” I guess that answers my question then. “There’s so much blood! Jessica what do we do!?”
I’m not sure what happened immediately after, what I heard became garbled and I couldn’t understand what anyone was saying. I was standing in darkness, it was warm again; comfortable. This feeling was pleasant, was it death? Death shouldn’t be pleasant, maybe it was something else… Was I dead?
I heard a voice, I didn’t know what it was though… “Self-sacrifice, honorable.”
That was all it said, I tried calling to it but nothing came out… Maybe I wasn’t dead, but dying… Could I even survive that? Even if I did survive I doubt I had hands anymore, I couldn’t do anything anyways. For some reason, death didn’t seem so bad. I wouldn’t have to worry about pain anymore, I wouldn’t be in there way as well. I finally did something to help them and guess I was content with that…
Except I woke up. Everything hurt, it wasn’t unbearable but it had me whimpering as soon as I woke up.
I couldn’t see, someone heard me and ran over. “hey, hey! Sh~, it’ll be ok. Making noises will only cause it to hurt more.” I didn’t know who it was, her voice was calming though. “You’re Jessica’s sister, right? Don’t answer that, you are.” She touched my face, I couldn’t feel her skin but I felt the pressure… I was covered in bandages. There was a tingly feeling and I the pain faded a little bit. “I can help ease the pain, but please stay calm. I’m a medic from base three, we finally mounted a force and came to help…”
Could I even talk if I tried? “W-Where?” I couldn’t I was barely able to get that word out.
She seemed concerned. “Sh~ Please, I asked you not to talk. You’re really hurt… You’re at base three right now. Jessica and Elizabeth are here to. The ones who attacked have fled, you did a good job. You critically injured their commander, unfortunately they got away though.” So, he was still alive… I don’t imagine he had any intentions to leave us alone then. I wondered how long until he would be back, or were we going to him next? “You’re going to feel tired, it would be best for you to try and sleep.” I had a cold sensation move throughout my body, she didn’t lie I was feeling tired… I didn’t have the energy to fight it though.
I didn’t know how long it was, I woke up. I was sitting up in a bed, I didn’t have the bandages on me. I was too scared to look at my hands, I refused to look down… Why did they have the bed angled upwards? Maybe they were keeping my head elevated. I guess it didn’t matter, I looked to my left. A window, I saw trees, and the birds… I was at base three then. I tried moving, I could feel a splint on my right arm… It felt like I had a wrist, I sucked up my fear and looked down… I saw my arms, and hands… They were covered in bandages though and my right one had a splint at the wrist… How did I have them? I tried moving my finger, they were tender but I could feel them… It was actually rather difficult, it felt like my hand was being strained to move them… I tried moving my elbow, that wasn’t tiring.
I noticed there was a remote type thing next to me, it had a button labeled call. It was to the left of me, it was a struggle but I managed to grasp it. I pushed the button. A few minutes later a nurse came in, rather surprised.
She froze for a second… “Oh, I thought the button was malfunctioning! I’m sorry I’ll be right back!” She walked off rather quickly.
A few minutes later a doctor came in smiling. “Ah! You’re awake!” He was cheerful… It felt strange. “Your sister will be very happy to hear this! How are you feeling?”
I was confused mostly. “Confused… I thought I was going to die, then I wake and have hands… I don’t really understand what’s happening right now.”
He kept the cheerful expression. “Understandable, I’m sure you’ve been through a lot… It’s been four months since base one was attacked. It’s still undergoing repairs so your sister is here. We’re at base three.” I was right about being at base three then. “If you’ll give me some time I can inform your sister that you’re awake, I’m sure she’d like to see you.” He walked out… I was hungry.
In between the time Jessica came and when the doctor left nurses came in pulled out those tubes that keep you making a mess in your sleep… It was embarrassing. That experience was over, again; I’ve been through that to many times now… It wasn’t too long after the nurses left. I heard loud tromping noises, whatever it was they were moving quickly; almost running. The door barged open, my life flashed before my eyes. I saw Jessica run into the room and tackle me. she grabbed me and we flew off the bed.
I didn’t have an IV in my arm but that still hurt. “OW OW OW! JESSICA STOP! OW!”
She was hugging me tightly. “Oh no you’re going to suffer through this for worrying me like that!” She was squeezing me tightly, it hurt but I didn’t feel like she was going to break anything… Not that it’d be hard for her to do…
She eventually let go and helped me up onto the bed, then she smacked me. “OW! What was that for!?”
She crossed her arms. “Don’t you ever pull a stunt like that again! I thought I lost you, and you had Elizabeth crying for days!”
I was irritated now. “Did you need to nearly crush me, and then smack me to say that!?”
She stepped back, it was like she was surprised. “When did you start being able to bark?”
Bark? What did she mean? “What…? Bark?”
She sighed. “Never mind, it’s the first time I’ve seen you stand up to anyone in a while… It might just be the fact it’s been four months since we’ve talked… It’s been a little lonely without having you’re air headed self around.”
She just insulted me. “Heeeeeyyy! I’m not that much of an air head!” She laughed, then she patted my head… It felt nice… “Jessica, I have a question.”
She seemed a little confused. “What is it?” She pulled out a water and started drinking it.
I was wondering if I died… I don’t know, I just felt like I did. “Did I die?”
She started choking and spit the water on the floor, she coughed for a few seconds. “W-Why are you asking me this!?”
It was a simple question, I don’t see why it was so hard to answer… “I don’t know… I remember hearing you and Elizabeth screaming and then it was dark for a while…”
She looked down… “Right, for us it’s been four months. You’ve been asleep so I’m sure it’s still fresh in your mind… Yes, you did, your heart stopped three times on the way to base three. The only reason you made it was because of Emilia.”
Emilia? “Who’s Emilia?”
Jessica smiled. “She works here, how about we go see her?”
I wanted to but wasn’t to sure. “Ok… Is it okay for me to walk around?” Jessica nodded. I went to stand up and felt dizzy, Jessica put her hand on my shoulder and held me steady. We started walking. We weren’t going very fast… For some reason, I felt relief… and Joy.