Splattered Paint - Dan Howell

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

My body was paralyzed, every limb numb and unresponsive. Fortunately the pain in my body had subsided due to the numbness but my head throbbed terribly, and made my eyes water.
The sounds of cars and civilisation at the end of the alleyway were taunting me, I knew if I could get my body to move, it would only be a matter of minutes before I would be seen and helped, saved from my misery and desperation.

With that thought lingering in my mind, I persuaded myself to progress. I forced my left eye open first, adjusting to the brightness before letting my right eye flutter open afterwards.

I lay against the brick alleyway wall, facing the opposite wall which was, to no surprise, covered in graffiti. I tried moving my arm to identify the liquid that dripped down my forehead and cheek that I was sure was blood, but the pain in my ribs stopped me so I sat listening to the sounds of London.

Nobody will ever find me if I die here, and if they do, I will be a rotting corpse.

But I was so close, and with the amount of determination I had built up, and to the horror of my body, I stood up. However, it didn’t go as smoothly as planned. My body made revolting cracking noises, and the tears were streaming down my face from the unbearable pain. I struggled to balance and I had to hold the wall beside me at all times, if I were to let go, I would have fallen again and god knows how painful that would have been.

My vision blurred and head continued to pound and occasionally shake my vision, but after a few minutes of assuring myself the pain would subside, I had succeeded and was finally standing. Slowly, step by step, I inched my way through the alleyway, hands holding the wall for support. I hadn’t noticed that I was crying until I was a few metres from the end. Partially because I was just about to be free, but most likely from all the pain I was enduring.

Light began to sting my vision as the sounds of cars became louder and clearer, and my heart fluttered at the small tastes of freedom. With one last step I was now in the hands of society, blinded from the light after spending what felt like forever in the dark alleyway.  My head throbbed so painfully that I fell to the ground and a quiet whimper escaped my dry lips. I heard the first voices of people between gasps, and a gentle hand was placed on my arm for comfort and reassurance that I was in safe hands. I smiled internally and heard one particular voice quite clearly.

“Don’t worry love, the ambulance is on its way. Everything is going to be just fine, just hang in there” I didn’t care that it was a complete stranger. I just knew I was safe, I would be okay.