Domino

3 Survival

Pain racked her body as she fought her eyelids open against the almost overbearing desire to keep them closed, to remain motionless and try to allow unconsciousness to take hold once more. 

A rising sensation of anger and frustration developed in her chest, almost giving her the impetus to force her limbs into action and correct her present crumpled state against the damp, cold brickwork of the tunnel wall. The sense of anger began to give way to a growing panic as she found herself trapped, but in the recesses of her mind there was a much greater concern growing. She had no idea how she'd arrived in this state, nor who she was for that matter. 

These uncertainties fostered the rising panic within her, forcing her to wiggle and try to pry herself free but her efforts were frustrated, partly due to the agony coursing through her nervous system as she tried to use her right arm, but also due to the amount of rubble and debris which was piled upon her prone form, as well as liberally scattered about the immediate vicinity.

She had a good notion that her arm was most probably broken, so for the moment desisted in her attempts to push against the ground with it. Every signal she was receiving demonstrated that she was in bad shape, but at the very least she could still claim to be alive. 

A sudden bright light caused her to flinch as best she could, pressing her eyelids shut against the sudden harsh glare which cast upon her from an unknown source, the brightness of the artificial illumination piercing the darkness of the tunnel and stabbing at her retinas.

Someone was here, and maybe that someone was looking for her. Maybe she was part of a group? Whoever they were, she had to draw their attention and hopefully they'd help her out. 

"Hello...?" she managed to croak out after some moments of considerable effort, her voice breaking and feeble with the obvious strain. "Hello...? Is there... someone there?" She called out again, this time in a slightly louder voice, gaining strength as she did her best to try and control the waves of pain and nausea ebbing and flowing over her consciousness. The involuntary coughing that followed her efforts brought fresh spasms of pain to course though her body, almost forcing her to cry out in agony.

"Sir! I've found one!" A voice shouted from somewhere nearby.

She fought to open her eyelids once more, suffering the harsh glare as she tried her best to focus on the shapes which seemed to be approaching her position.

"One girl sir, looks in pretty bad shape too," the voice continued to report, quite obviously from the nearest blur which she could make out.

"Alive?" Another voice replied from somewhere behind the looming blur, this time a softer feminine voice but with a tinge of sadness edging into her tone. "Damn, I was hoping for a cut and dry, in and out reconnaissance job. Now there's going to be extra paperwork and reports, probably an investigation. Okay Glyn, well don't just stand there, dig her out of all that rubble and let's get her back to base."

She could feel the weight of the debris piled on her beginning to lessen as hands shifted chunks of masonry and brickwork, then the sensation of being lifted away from the floor as another wave of intense agony flooded through her body. This time it was too intense for her to fight against, only a faint moan emitting from her with unconsciousness following swiftly behind, consuming her and she slumped into oblivion.

"...and the left leg too, I think that if the nano-bots can't repair the damage, then it may be best to remove the damaged area..."

She heard the words, albeit they seemed to swim around inside her head as she listened to the kindly tone of the man speaking, her eyelids fluttering open slowly as her eyes became accustomed to the lighting levels.