Hallucinations (rewriting post-physical publication)

Chapter 38 - Distant Explosions

The second her thumb put pressure on that red button, I experienced the loudest sound I have ever heard in my entire life.

A blinding light hit my line of sight and I am unable to see or hear.

So this must be what it's like to be deaf-blind.

Wait, no. I can still hear.

There is a continuous ringing in my ears, changing pitches between high and low.

It's agonizing.

It's torture.

And then, the light is cut off by the largest amount of dust in the air I have ever seen.

Knowing I am still alive, I start to test out my limbs for any injuries.

I find nothing until I try stretching my leg out and I feel a sharp lightning bolt of pain stab through my right calf.

I wince from the sudden pain and slowly lower my leg back to the ground.

Even the slow movement of lowering my leg sends excruciating pain starting from my right hip to my right knee.

I know that something is wrong and hope that it is just a large bruise or cut from some fallen debris.

But, boy was I wrong.

By closer examination of my right leg, I see it's bent at an odd angle and I know from when my mom broke both bones in her left arm, that it's broken.

I slump back against the cold floor and instantly regret doing so.

I hit the back of my head against what I'm guessing is either a broken tile or a part of one of the waiting room chairs.

More pain shoots up and down the length of my leg and I feel warm, sticky blood start pumping out of my right palm.

Sure enough, a shard of glass from what used to be the window where the front desk lady would greet visitors or new patients, is now shattered.

Blood stains my shirt. One of the sleeves is torn.

My ponytail has come undone. The ponytail holder must have snapped when the bomb went off.

Fragments of broken, cracked glass surround the upper half of my body and I start to feel a stinging sensation on the upper part of my right cheek, right below my eye.

I gingerly bring my bleeding right palm to the right side of my face and test for blood on my still clean- but, not for long ring finger.

I take my hand away from my face and examine the finger.

It's got a small trickle of my blood running down the pad of my finger, making it's way down to the inside of my knuckle.

My entire body is blazing with pain and any movement I make only increases the intensity of it.

Then I remember there were other people around me when the explosion hit.

I must fight through the pain and search for as many survivors as possible.

Forget Lisa Ellias. Family and friends matter more.

I take in a deep breath and brace myself as best as I can due to the constant pain I am suffering from and I lift myself off of the tile floor, taking great care to not add any new pressure to my injured leg and I grab onto the first solid object I find and use what strength I have left in my arms to maneuver myself off of the floor.

This was the worst possible thing I could have chosen to do.

My arms immediately give out and I crash back onto the floor.