When Given a Lemon

Part 25

They try to move me in the fabric sheet and the jarring sensation is too much to bear, making me flail my hurting limbs to get away from it. The sheet I'm carried in suddenly lurches sharply to one side and several hands grab at me as I start to slide off. I feel their grips imprinted vice-like into me.

Then a shadow passes over with a snap of sharp pain and the world goes dark.

I'm lost in the void of nothing for a long time, floating through the murkiness until I realize I can't breathe and can't swim. I gasp in panic, belatedly aware that I can't breathe underwater, until it dawns on me that my lungs are filling with air and I can breathe. Recognizing this must be a dream I slip down deeper into the dark void once again where not even my dreams exist.

I come to and all I hear is the sound of screaming.

It's echoing off the rocks, mixing with the gusting wind and harsh murmurs of other people. It's not coming from me this time but I am not sure from who it emanates, or whether it's one or many. Everything is still a haze, spinning around in my head and I'm having trouble lining up my thoughts.

As I blink things more into focus, I see that my view is of the sky above and tips of the trees off to one side of me as if I am wedged at an angle.

It looks quiet and tranquil, clashing with the din around me. Slow wispy clouds pass silently above, eggshell blue with spots of cotton. Here and there a high overhead branch waves in my view, greeting me with its early growth.

The wind blows a loch of my hair into my eyes but I can't brush it away despite my best efforts. I try again and both agitation and panic start to fill my belly when I realize that my arms won't move! The feeling builds, as I try again and again to move them but they won't budge, making bile rise up my throat when I can't pull free. Even in my upset, I am somewhat relieved to find that I can feel my fists clench at my sides.

“Hey, hey! Hey, Keenah! Look at me, can you see me?” I try to turn my head but it hurts even more to move my neck now. Instead they pop themself into view, a worried Lemon along with some other woman. “You're on a stretcher. We've tied you into it as a precaution so you don't fall off again next time we move you.”

“Move me?” What do they mean? Why am I on a stretcher?! I'd like to say I can move myself but I can't even properly lift my head up to argue.

“We're about to.” The lady cut in, stepping in front of Lemon. Not being able to see them makes the panic rise again; what if it's still not safe here and they disappear, never to be seen again?! The irrational thought fills my head. I try to crane my neck but she places her hand on my forehead, holding me there. I don't know her. Watching her push her way in like this then touch me without so much as an explanation makes me wish she'd go away.

My eyes must be telling because only a moment later a soft reassurance can be heard.

“It's okay, Keenah. She's a medic.” Lemon’s voice soothed from behind her shoulder. “She's going to help you. We're about to head back to camp so you can get treated, okay?”

“We'll unstrap you once we are safely out of these woods.” she promised. “We just don't want you to fall out and hurt anything more, alright?”

“Am I hurt? What part of me is hurt? What happened to me?” I have no memory of being injured. That thing had gone after Saiya and Denyel, not me.

A ringing in my ears intermittently blocks out the screaming in the background, also making it harder to discern the medic's words. Whether she had answered me or I had just imagined it, I cannot be sure. I'm trying to stay calm but things keep getting hot and the ringing is rising in pitch.