The Road to Nowhere

Chapter 52: Vague

Chapter 52

My eyes feel heavy. I try to open them but it feels like someone attached five pound weights to each eyelash. My body feels numb, but I don't know if it's because I'm barely conscious or if it's because my body is shaking so violently.

Cold. That's another sensation that seems to be torturing me. I can feel the hair standing up on my arms, the pricking so intense that they could grow into a fur coat if they wanted to.

Shame. An emotion I feel because I know in the back of my mind that I'm completely naked. The thought makes my mind cramp up. But the thought that truly scares me down to my core is: If I'm naked, then who undressed me?

Exposure. I know I'm not alone. I can feel people's presences around me. My body trembles in fear when they get too close. I can't cover myself; my wrists are attached to something. The feeling of helplessness radiates through me, not because I'm naked, but because I can't do anything about it.

Darkness. It's what I see. But, the sensation of bright light hits my covered pupils every few seconds. The exposure causing my eyes to squeeze in pain. I try to move my head away, but the light never dies. A wave of dizziness comes over me as my head rolls to the left by itself.

I'm moving. Someone's moving me.

Ringing. A high pitch rattles my brain. I feel like my ears are bleeding. My skull thumping consistently against the hard surface I'm on causes my head to ache. It almost feels like falling asleep on the window of a bus, the knocking sound deep and alarming.

My shaking suddenly stops, and I can figure out that it wasn't my body convulsing, but the thing that's moving me. I can feel my numbing limbs slowly fill back up with blood.

Then I feel hands. No amount of adjectives could describe how disturbed I become when I feel the clammy skin trace mine.

My wrists and ankles become free of their restraints, and suddenly I lift up into the air. I try with all my strength to open my eyes, but my delirious state forbids me of that curtsy. The eyelids flutter open, only to be snapped shut when a bright white light pummels down from above.

The sensation that overtook my body as I was being put down was the same as riding a rollercoaster. My stomach jumps into my throat, painful butterflies fill my body, and my muscles tense up.

I can feel the heat from the light above. You would think it would be comforting since I'm freezing, but it does the opposite. It causes my skin to feel like it's sizzling, almost like my flesh is cooking. My senses are in overdrive, and I'm not sure if I'm really getting burned, but it sure feels like it.

After a harrowing couple minutes that seem like hours, a sharpness in my left forearm forms, by my wrist. It feels like I'm being punctured by a knife. The pain climbs up to my shoulder instantly, causing me to squirm. The warmth of my blood oozes across my skin, and drips down the side of my arm.

But, what hurts the most is when the cold chunky metal touches the left side of my chest. It pierces my skin so hard that I think my ribs break. The oxygen escapes my lungs as fast as a popping ballon. I try to breathe, but the agony is so strong that my lungs are afraid to take in anything.

The same sensation happens again on the right side. The pain more excruciating than the last.

"Hold her still." I hear. It's the only thing I've been able to comprehend this entire time. Everything else has been muffled, like I have padding covering my ears.

My chest fills to its capacity, but I haven't been able to breathe. I'm still gasping for air, and none of it is entering my lungs.

Wait. It's not air filling my chest, it's liquid.

My thoughts go into a frenzy. I can't possibly be drowning. How is this happening?

I'm going to die.

I'm going to die!

Help! Someone help me!

Snarls. Those horrid, monstrous sounds are the last thing I hear before succumbing back into unconsciousness.

Infected. . .

My eyes open in complete hysteria. All I see is darkness. My skin is drenched in sweat, so much so that my hair is sticking to my face. My feverish body feels claustrophobic, but my mind pushes that aside because the dryness of my mouth makes every swallow feel like nails slicing down my esophagus.

It was just a dream.

It was just a dream.

It had to be just a dream.

I sit up. Desperately, I move my hands around the blanket to look for any sign of comfort. My anxiety grows when I find that I'm the only one in the bed.

"Summer? Where are you?" I whisper.