Stop. Don’t go. Don’t do this. Run. Hide. Please.
The thoughts kept floating in my head, even when I had no idea what I was and what was going on with the world. Surrounded by pain, cold and desperation, I knew there was something I had to do, someone I must save and protect, but any complicated thought slipped away the moment before I caught it.
After I almost went crazy from hearing those words, again and again, begging, urging, commanding me to act, I managed to open my eyes. The pain and nausea seemed to only intensify as I stared at the blurry ceiling and waited for my brain to catch up. Once my mind cleared enough to remember who I was and what had happened, I tried to sit up.
Pain like no other exploded in my side, forcing me onto my back with a groan so loud, I thought people could hear me at the end of the world. Colors flooded my vision and the cold inside my body turned into a burning — a searing, hot fire that was a mix of anger, sorrow and utter hate.