Station 126

3: Line of Work

I wake up, but keep my eyes closed. I can smell the hospital scent, and hear people milling around, but I can't sense the bright light that's usually on in the hospital.

I slowly open my eyes. It's dark. I hate waking up to light, and TK knows it. The only light coming into the room is from the hallway outside, and through the closed blinds. I look to my right to see TK is sitting on the couch, his head resting on his hand. I look closer to see his chest rising and falling steadily, telling me that he's asleep.

"TK." I try to say.

My throat is parched, and it hurts to talk. I have no idea how long I was out, but I know it wasn't just two hours, like the clock on the wall tells me.

"TK." I whisper, louder this time.

TK jolts awake, and runs over to me.

"Lia!" he exclaims.

I wince as my head pounds.

"Please don't scream." I whisper.

"Sorry," he says sheepishly.

"How long was I out?" I ask.

"Five days."

No wonder I feel so hungry.

I open my mouth to say something else, but that's when the numbness disappears and I feel the pain. Tears prick my eyes as it starts hurting everywhere.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" TK asks, worried.

"It hurts." I whisper. "It hurts TK."

"Hang on, I'll go get the doctor."

He runs out of the room, hitting the lights on his way out. I cry silently to myself. I can't move my right leg, and taking a breath hurts too.

A few moments later, TK rushes in with a young woman.

"Liara, it's good to see you awake." the woman says. "I'm Doctor Johnson."

"Hi." I say, trying to smile, but it hurts.

"Where does it hurt?" she asks.

"Everywhere." I whisper.

"Okay, we'll have you back on painkillers. You were in a coma, so we didn't have to numb your pain. In fact, we were hoping the pain would wake you up. But, now that you're back with us, I'm sure you'll need the help," she says.

"How bad is it?" I ask, bracing myself for the worst.

"Well, you have minor, second-degree burns, and some cuts and bruises, along with some bruised ribs." I let out a small sigh of relief at her words.

"So not bad?" I ask hopefully.

"Unfortunately, that's the good part." Dr. Johnson says. "Your leg was practically sliced open, and you broke it too. The good part is that your cut is healing quickly, but your bones will take time."

I squeeze my eyes shut. "Shit." I curse, remembering that I broke my leg to get out from under the rubble.

"I'm still not sure how your leg broke the way it did." Dr. Johnson tells me. "I've never seen anything like it. It was almost as if someone twisted your bone."

"I broke it." I tell her.

"What?"

"My leg, it-it was stuck under some rubble, and the only way to avoid being buried alive was to break my leg."

"Ah, so you twisted it?"

"Yes."

"Well, survival skills kicked in, didn't they?" she asks. "You must have felt it after, because you had passed out from the pain. You went into a coma from the blood loss."