Pyro

Tribus - (Expergo)

I force my eyes open.

The vehicle has stopped, and I hear the doors of the SUV being open and shut — just like my eyes. Open and shut. Open and shut.

The world around me spins faster and faster, reaching dizzying speeds, forcing me to close my eyes again.

~

A startled gasp leaves my lips as I feel myself being shifted. Blinking rapidly and gasping for air, I realize that there was a crowd of Humans surrounding me, talking in hushed voices, hunching over my body. A web of arms grab and hold me, and I shriek for their forgiveness, for them to let me go, but all that leaves my lips are shallow breaths. In, out.

I think I hear waves crashing — almost as if we are on a beach, but my eyes fail to focus on any one thing, and I can't be certain of our location.

Another wave of dizziness washes over me, blurring the world around me once again. Lights and colors smeared together, and the piercing ring in my ears is giving me a headache. My stomach coils up, nearly retching, and the hands keep grabbing at me, holding me down.

I attempt jerk my body to get away from the Humans that were holding me captive, to bite and kick and thrash to free myself, quickly realizing how futile it all was. My legs are cuffed together, as are my hands.

Another wave of nausea hits me like a sickening blow to the stomach, and once again, I succumb to the darkness.

~

The lights in the room are blinding, bringing me back to my senses. I blink a few times, my heart racing in my chest as I regain consciousness. I can still feel the effects of the tranquilizer weighing my body down like cement, rendering me incapable of movement.

As I slowly begin to regain feeling in my limbs, I wiggled my fingers and my toes, shooting upwards into a seated position, gasping for air. Straps restrict my movement, keeping me pinned to the bed.

Examining my surroundings, I come to the realization that I'm in what seems like a small hospital room. The walls are painted a faded mint color, peeling in many places. I see that my jacket has been removed, revealing the thin, white, scar-like markings, exposing me for who I am.

A plethora of tubes and medical equipment wrap around my arms like snakes, tenacious in their grasp. With the acceleration of my heart comes the irritating beeping of a heart monitor. My eyes trace the tubes back to their source — hooking up to screens and various equipment mounted on the wall directly above my head.

Stretching my arms against the straps that fastened my limbs to the bed, I realize that they are loose enough to allow me to squeeze my hands out of them. I pull my hands out of straps, and with a bit of work, I free both of my legs from the restraints, and look down at the tubes that are connected to my arms. There is a small horizontal laceration on my left wrist, already scabbed over.

They're trying to poison me with whatever they're injecting me with, I think initially, bringing my hand up to scratch the tip of my nose. I freeze when my finger bumps into a plastic mask, covering my mouth and my nose. My eyes widen with sudden realization.

An oxygen mask. An actual oxygen mask!

I inhale deeply, shocked, rejoicing at the sudden awareness of this fact. I inhale, exhale, and inhale again, in complete disbelief — my lungs are completely full with oxygen. A small laugh bubbles past my lips — actual oxygen! For the first time in years, I have adequate oxygen to satisfy my lungs!

I quickly look up, searching for the source of the tube that is supplying me with oxygen, reveling in the heat my body provided me with — something I haven't felt in ages.