A child in the hospital is flashing back and forth from a strange realm. |
The soft blaring of a siren. The faint yelling of that boy by my side. The black that entered first my vision and then consumed my entire being, sending me into a world of cold sleep and welcoming darkness. And here I dwelt. Many a minute passing, confused and inevitably lonely. There was no light here, just a voice, and together we were suspended by this odd world. The voice said nothing and I said nothing, as there was nothing to say; we just sat in silence, side by side, quietly wondering. I smelt something from the real world in this place, and with some hesitation I was first to speak. "What is that smell?" I inquired my partner; the voice said nothing but I knew its responce. Smoke, it said, you smell smoke. I shook my head in disbelief but did not deny the answer. There was no fire, why did I smell smoke? It made no sense to me, but the voice stayed firm. Smoke. A wave hit me- a wave of power, rush of air- and my eyes were forced closed, my body under an immense pressure. When I could see again I was no longer in the realm of black, rather, I was back in a place of white and color. Before me was a blurred figure, his eyes locked firmly on mine, and below me a bed in which I laid. I felt no pain, but the red that stained the gown I'd been covered in suggested otherwise. My arms were pinned with IV's and I had lots of pads stuck to my body that were wired to a heart-monitor-looking machine. My left pointer finger was covered in plastic that glew at the tip whose purpose I was uncertain of. My right hand was being grasped by something strong, and as I looked over, my sharper vision was able to make out the blur. It was a boy... The boy from--!!! I tried to sit up, but his grip moved from my hand to my shoulders faster then I could complete the motion. Gently, he made me lie down again, removing his hands only when the back of my neck rested on the pillow. His thin, cold fingers slid over the skin of my neck as he brought his hand to my chin, making me look up at him. My shoulders relaxed a little bit at the feeling of something cool against my burning face. He must have seen this, because he smiled at me right after and kept his hands there was he spoke. "Your a miracle, you know that?" He asked but allowed me no time for an answer. Not that I could, as I didn't know what he meant. He bit his lip as though he'd remembered something and removed his hand, standing up straight and looking away. "Don't sit up." His tone had changed to cold, but I knew deep down that it was a caring demand. My reply was too muffled to be audible, but he seemed to know what I meant. I looked at him as though to question, and he returned my look as though he wasn't about to answer. He seemed uptight and concerned over something that I wasn't informed about, something that made him change from warm to cold. I wondered the why and the what, not once thinking of myself. I looked up at his sandy blond hair and the mouth that moved but made no sound, wondering how on earth he'd gotten so sweaty. I wasn't aware of how my vision was starting to go again until I saw the panic in his eyes. I heard beeping that was steadily getting softer but not once did I hear the boy's voice at that moment; I watched his reddening face and knew that he was shouting louder and louder, but the beeping of the monitor was all I heard. The rapid, mesmerizing beeps... Why, I thought. Was he so afraid I was leaving? I was just going to be away for a little while, right... Like... Last time... Of course, I knew the voice had said, Just a little while. I didn't wonder how it knew my thoughts, I just smiled excitedly. "I am alive." I said, feeling joy going through me. "I don't know what happened, but I had a bloody stomach... That boy, he... He saved me. I remember him, he saved me." The voice gave a silent responce. Where is the smell? It asked. For only a second I was confused, then as I watched the warping black before me turn to red flames, which were, as the voice was, silent. "A fire with no smoke or crackle?" I asked in return, but got no answer. I reached out my hand, feeling the intense heat against the palm of my hand. Warmth. I took a step forward, looking to walk towards the fire that was so strongly pulling me in. Before my foot hit the ground, however, I felt something holding my hand. It jerked me backwards, away from the fire. I resisted, confused and drawn to the fire's pull. "Please!" I heard the boy's voice dragging me to reality. "Please, no! Don't!" In the same manner as before things were ended as quickly as they started and I was slipped back into the world of light as though I had simply awoken from sleep. And there was the boy, his head on the bedside. His entire body was quivering as though he was cold- really, really, cold. I looked around at the room that was now in turmoil as though it had been filled with people just minutes ago and had not yet been cleaned, puzzled. Nobody was in there now but him and myself, and all I heard was the quiet sound of the boy sucking in his breath over and over again. Just to the side of my vision, I noted, there was something white upon my head that had a corner loose over my eye. I reached, grasping the somewhat cool blanket and brought it into my vision, noting the careless fold. I sat up, unfolding it. The boy shifted only a little because this time, I was faster then him. Opening the blanket I leaned over and laid it on his shoulders so it fell carefully over his back, ignoring the pain in my stomach. He looked up at me, both confused and admiring and scolding, all at once. Confusedly I laid back down, still staring into those eyes. "I...Told you. Lie down and...Stay-" He stopped himself, his eyes telling how he dreaded the potential meaning of what he was about to say. He looked down, allowing water to drop down onto the bedsheet. "-No, nevermind. Just, please. Don't do... That, again." His voice was derived of any calm or bravery but somehow, still kind. I felt my eyelids drooping a little under their own wieght. "You aren't cold anymore." I heard my own voice sound above his low tones, which ceased when he heard me. He smiled in a lonely fashion. "Yes... Cold." He wiped his eyes on his sleeves, the blanket still thrown over his shoulders. "That's what I was, cold." His eyes lost some sheen as thought appeared to engulf him. He looked like he was lost, and still very worried. It was then he asked me a question I didn't really understand. "Can you... Are you... By some chance..." He muttered something that I recognized as my name; I nodded to him. "Tell me... What do you remember of your life?" I opened my mouth as the answer evaded me, then blinked, and closed up again. "Not much... That you saved me..." I whispered. (Not done. Repeat: NOT, NOT, NOT, NOT DONE. I made the mistake of giving a friend of mine the rough draft and I've yet to get it back. xX; ) |