Hindsight

Resurgence

Slowly, she pried her swollen eyes open. Pain; tremendous pain radiated through her throbbing skull, her left eye was sealed shut and her mouth was gagged. She struggled to move her arms and legs, only to realise that they were tied to the posts of the bed that she was lying on.

"Help!" she muffled through the cloth. Each agonising breath she took was all too much to keep her afloat.

The last thing she recalled was walking towards her silver Tesla at the parking lot in her office building. Remembering how she had craved for a relaxing bath after the day she had with her whiny patients. But in a split second, just like that, everything went blank.

Suddenly, the door flung open and a stream of bright light filled the room. A tall, dark figure stood in the middle of the doorway. Chills ran down her spine, she screamed but her body refused to make a sound. Tears ran down her face and her shoulders shook with each silent sob. She didn't want to die. Not today. Not like this.

"Oh finally! You're awake!"

Thrashing her tied arms and legs, she attempted to escape.

He laughed at the silliness of her actions. He knew she wouldn't stand a chance. Not with him. He can't wait to watch in glee as she took her dying breath.

"Don't worry, sweetheart." she felt the bed sank as he sat beside her, caressing her blonde locks.
Shutting her eyes tightly, she felt the sharp tip of a knife against her throat.
"Look at me, Erin!" he ordered. A sting was felt across her cheek and he climbed on top of her.

Erin?

Her mind was scrambled into pieces. He must have mistaken her for someone else. Erin.

When she still didn't comply with his demand, he forcefully yanked her eyelids open with his large hands. "It won't be long now...Since you help people for a living...let me return the favour..."

She kicked and screamed, begging her assailant to have mercy on her but to no avail. She was so absorbed in trying to get free that she didn't notice the knife he was now clutching in his hand after he took his time in violating her.

Instantly, he yanked her head back and drag the cool, sharp blade across her neck.

Right to left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm deeply sorry, Detective Halstead. Your eyesight will most likely never be restored."

The echo of Dr. Scavo's, the on-call neurologist, voice still rang in Jay's ears. Nothing was a hundred percent but the blindness was still definitive. However, the doctors still sounded optimistic to him or they could've just been playing him for a fool.

"The increased pressure to your skull caused by the head injuries you've sustained seized the blood circulation to your optic nerves. This, as a result, stopped your brain from receiving messages from your eyes. In your case, Detective, it is so severe that it has led to complete blindness."

From perfect eyesight to complete blindness. From 20/20 vision to rendered disabled. From an Army Ranger with highly proficient close quarters combat and a meticulous sniper to being visually impaired.

"The MRI shows severe damages to your occipital lobe due to the force of the trauma, seizing blood supply to your optic nerve."

It was nearly unlikely for a man to fully regain his sight after such accident. A false hope of twenty percent was what the doctors had explained. But that is only after undergoing countless, a dozen more, surgeries and that still isn't conclusive. Even then, death could still be the answer.