Never Again

Chapter Seven

I open my eyes and am greeted with blinding lights. Clamping them shut, I moan. I hear this buzzing noise, so I open eyes again and find an unfamiliar woman talking. She seems to be directing her words towards me but I do not register her. Looking around, I see numerous people running this way and that, with words being barked out of uniformed men and women. The stark blackness of the night is cut by red and blue lights flashing so quickly that I feel nauseated. Bile rises as soon as I lean over to let it out. Someone begins to rub my back and I flash back to how he would always do that.

"Matty." I swing my legs around and stand up, but am hit with such a powerful head-rush, I crumble back down. The woman puts her arms around me.

"Woah there, hunny-" I brush her hands away.

"I am not your hunny," I spit. I take a deep breath and stand up, a little slower this time. I take a step forward but am held back; looking behind me I see that I am hooked up to machines, random wires are connected to my arms. "What the hell?" I frantically pull them out, gasping from the quick pain it caused. The woman tries to get me back down onto the bed but I push her down and run. I hear her call after me but I wave her off. Glancing around, I see five different ambulances. My heart jumps at the thought of my Matty ever being in one of those. I quicken my pace, passing members of Pacific Rimmers. Most are already bandaged up, but some still need help. Rushing to a man lying on a gurney, I try and ask for help, but am push aside before I can. The paramedics work on the man as I walk away, frantically searching for my finance.

"Hello? Hello, has anyone seen my finance?" I run into people, begging for their help, but am pushed aside again. "Has, has anyone seen him? Matty, Matthew Williams? He's around six foot, blond hair and, and..." My eyes catch something. "And bl... blue eyes..." I see a rather large group of EMT's gathered at one ambulance, which is strangely farther away from the other ones. I spy tuffs of blond hair and my heart pounds in fear. "No..." I whisper. Slowly making my way to the gurney, my heart beating faster and faster with each step, I stumble my way to the paramedics. They don't notice me until I begin to make my way through then. They shout out protests but I ignore them. One man tried to hold me back, but I elbow him in the gut and he lets go. I reach the gurney and am hit with a brick wall: Matty, my beloved Matty, is lying there. Looking at him, I let the tears fall and the whimpers escape my trembling mouth.

"M-Matty..." His skin is tainted a blue-ish color, and his bodyb is covered in lacerations from head to toe, most of them still uncleaned. His shirt is missing, and in place are defibrillators, which have left painful-looking paddle burns. Raking my vison ever further upward, my stomach wrenches: his eyes were closed, lips pale and ajar, and his once blond hair is now matted with blood. "Oh my God!" I rush forward but find a pair of strong arms holding me back. "What? What, no!" He begins to move me back.

"Miss, I'm sorry, but you need to let the medics work." I look back over and see Matty being jumpstarted like a car.

"NO, no! I'm his fiancé, I have to stay! I-I'm family, I have to stay!" I scream, kicking and flailing around.

"We're losing him again!" I freeze, my voice lost. I hear a man being ordered to start heart compressions' I see him push on Matty's chest but suddenly hear this loud beep.

"What, what's going on?" I yell, trying to see. I push around but am still held back. "This is getting ridiculous, I just want-"

"Hold!" The sound of the defibrillators being rubbed together fills the air. I force my way through the crowd and upon reaching him, my breath stops. "Time of death: July twenty-fourth, eight thirty-four p.m." My heart drops into my stomach and I feel myself getting sick. I try to speak but all that comes out is whispered mewling. The doctor comes over to apologize I presume, but I crumple to the floor. Voices sound but all I can hear is the never-ending ringing in my ears. Someone snaps their fingers in front of my eyes to get my attention but I can't seem to focus. I glance behind the woman and look at the blur of my finance's dead body and suddenly can't seem to catch my breath. I begin to cough uncontrollably, as if my lungs just won't inflate. The woman leaves and is replaced by a professional-looking man who gently forces me to lie down. My eyelids begin to droop as a mask is placed over my mouth. Feeling a blast of cool air, the last thing I see is the starless night sky above me.