Defying Gravity [BEING EDITED!]

1

For two days I lay in the alley, stark naked, covered in a ratty blanket and dying. It was cold. I shivered. I fell in and out of consciousness over and over. The sound of sirens reached my ears on numerous occasions and I found myself trying to cry out, trying desperately to call attention to myself but only meek little whimpers escaped my mouth. I probably sounded like an abandoned puppy. I think that's why they found me. I think they thought I was a puppy.

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"Shiloh, I think there's something down there!"

"Oh c'mon Adelaide. You're always hearing things. Let's just go."

"Ugh. I really hear something this time."

"Yeah right."

"Ugh, fine if you won't stop to look then I'll go look by myself."

She turned from him and walled into the dark alley without a care about the possible dangers that may be lurking ahead and with a determined look on her face.

Shiloh ran after her and caught her by the arm.

"Adelaide! You can't just walk into pitch black alleys like it's nothing! You don't know what could be there waiting for you!"

"If you're so scared then come with me.... Scaredy-cat."

"I'm not scared. Just worried about your safety."

"Whatever." She pulled her arm from him, pulled out a mini flashlight and walked deeper into the alley pointing it from side to side.

Shiloh reluctantly followed producing a flashlight of his own. "Are you sure there's even anything here?"

"Yes now shut-up and listen."

When the flashlight passed me I found myself blinded momentarily and then when I could see again I tried to say something. Anything to get them to notice that I was there. But I was steadily becoming weaker and it sounded again like a small animal was in the alley instead of a human that was inching closer and closer to death with every passing moment.

"Adelaide, I think there's something over there."

He pointed his flashlight in my direction.

Again I found myself blinded when the light met my eyes.

The Adelaide gasped. "Shiloh, it's a person!"

"Oh my god." He crouched next to me. "Are you okay?

I trembled with fear. I couldn't help it. My tormenter had caused this deep fear of men to develop and I hadn't known until that moment.

"Adelaide she's trembling."

"Shiloh can you call 911? I'm going to try talk to her."

"Okay." He stood up and walked a few paces away from me.

She walked over and sat next to me while the boy she kept calling Shiloh pulled out his phone and dialed an ambulance.

"I'm Adelaide. That's my Brother Shiloh. We want to help you. Are you okay?"

I shook my head. I was no where near okay.

"Okay, well Shiloh and I are going to get you help okay?"

I nodded. Then glanced to where Shiloh was on the phone a few steps away and trembled once more.

"Hey, it's okay. We aren't going to leave you." Adelaide spoke softly to me.

I nodded once more but had trouble shutting out the fear and trembled once more.

Adelaide gave me a look of concern. "What's wrong?"

I pointed in Shiloh's direction as a tear escaped.

"Are you afraid of my brother?"

I nodded.

"Why? What happened to you. I don't mean to make you feel worse but you look as if you've been to hell and back."

I took a deep breath. "H-he hurt me. He hu-" I broke into a fit of congestion. My throat was dry. Now the quiet of my tone made more sense to myself.

"Oh! Wait I have a bottle of water in my bag. You can have it. I think it will help." She pulled her bag around off her back and pulled a large water bottle from it and handed it to me.

I took it eagerly and drained it. But in the process of grabbing the bottle I shifted the blanket exposing my bare skin.

Adelaide's mouth fell and she immediately pulled her shirt off and handed it to me. I tried to protest but then saw she was wearing another underneath it and quietly accepted it. But I quickly discovered I didn't have strength enough to sit up properly or to pull it over my head. Adelaide hurried to help. When she helped me to sit up I grunted in painful agony and she immediately started apologizing. I simply told her to keep going. I felt better once part of me was covered, the shirt was large on me and covered quite a bit. But still I was uncomfortable. Still I was exposed from the waist down. At that moment the weight of everything came crashing down on me and finally I found myself sobbing. Adelaide immediately dropped to the dirty ground next to me and tried to comfort me. At that point though she became quite fuzzy and I found myself fading from consciousness. The last thing I heard was the sirens as the world went black.

I woke to find myself in the hospital with lights everywhere blinding me. I inhaled to find was impossible and I choked. There was an intrinsically sterile smell in the air mixed with rubber and I wrinkled my nose. And the beeping, oh the beeping! I had never heard anything quite so irritating