Tethered To You

Prologue

The pain was almost too much to bare. The darkness had enveloped me as my eyes refused to open. It felt as if a tone of bricks had fallen on top of me refusing me the luxury of breathing. I felt myself drifting closer to unconsciousness.

I could hear the faint sounds of police sirens getting louder and louder as I tried to open my eyes. I had to figure out what the hell was going on. Why my head felt like it was about to explode. Why I was struggling to inhale any form of air. Why everything hurt so much that I couldn't even move a finger.

I could barely keep my heavy eyelids open when I did manage to pry them apart and for a moment, all I saw was bright white light. The white light dispersed into more colors, morphing into shapes, figures of people, cars and ambulances along with firetrucks. However, my attention was stuck the orange glow of fire from my peripheral vision.

I couldn't move even if I wanted to. I felt so tired and just laid there as I watched the blurry figures of what I assumed were fire fighters in red, at war with the powerful orange glow that didn't want to be silenced. It wanted to speak up, speak louder, spread its message and create a larger army.

I didn't notice people touching me, shaking me to command  my attention nor did I hear them call out and speak to me asking me questions that I didn't care to answer. A hand blocked my view of the orange glow and moved back and forth as if it was saying hi to me, it was quickly followed by a concerned face of a man with brown short hair who looked like he was in his mid 30s. His lips were moving as if he was saying something but my brain couldn't digest anything at the moment so I just stared back. He called out to his friends and seconds later I was lifted off the hard ground onto a stretcher by two men with similar concerned looks.

I tilted my head to the side to continue looking at the orange glow but my eyes caught on to another stretcher a few feet away from me with another person laying in top of it, covered by a white cloth. The cloth covered every inch of the body, even concealing the face.

I wanted to scream. To shout. To call out for someone. But I just laid there feeling drained, about to accept defeat and allow the darkness to embrace me again. Besides, who's name would I call out when I can't even remember my own?