far from reality [ONGOING]

prologue

Blood.

Her vision was awash with crimson. The metallic scent filled her nostrils.

She attempted to speak but could only manage a gasp. Hands and arms restrained her, voices yelled at her, but she heard nothing except the frantic pounding of her own heart.

The chaotic rush of people running and screaming to escape blurred in her wide, bloodshot, tear-filled eyes.

She heard a sound, like someone struggling to catch their breath, and then realized it was her own. Screams echoed in her ears—a raw, guttural cry filled with excruciating pain.

Whose scream was that?

Why did her throat feel so raw?

A warm, thick liquid, disturbingly familiar, trickled down her shin, and she realized she was now kneeling. A pool of warm blood formed beneath her knees, blood from someone she knew.

Countless questions from unfamiliar voices bombarded her, but she was overwhelmed. All sounds became muffled, drowned out by the deafening roar of her own raw scream, silenced only by the pounding of her heart.

She tried to concentrate on her surroundings but failed, her eyes overwhelmed by the frantic movement around her. She couldn't grasp what was happening; each passing second blurred together, similar to the haze she often felt after a long study session.

Her eyes finally refocused when she saw more rescuers rushing by with a stretcher.

At that moment, she became aware that she was seated on the floor, held back by two policemen gripping her shoulders.

She watched as the rescuers she had noticed earlier moved ahead, carefully placing bodies onto the stretcher. The scene was filled with whispers, screams, and cries, overwhelming her senses.

These two policemen were irritating her. Couldn't they see she knew the deceased? Didn't they realize she wanted to go with the rescuers? Couldn't they understand she wasn't up for questioning? They were really pissing her off!

She faintly heard the sound of an ambulance receding from the school building exit.

Unable to remember how or when it happened, she found herself under the sympathetic gazes of the two policemen. One agreed to take her to the hospital, essentially trailing the ambulance.

Her body moved on autopilot, her bloodied hands clutching her father's cold palm as the stretcher moved. People stared with arched brows in surprise and wonder, while others looked on with brows furrowed in pain and pity at the kid whose white blouse was too red for a uniform.

A blouse they recognized as belonging to a middle school student.

She had never believed in any deities, but at that moment, she prayed fervently to anything in the heavens to let her dad survive this.

God, please.

She promised to become the most religious person her friends had ever known if her father survived. She would believe and preach something she had refused to accept since childhood.

Warm tears blurred her vision, finally escaping and tracing down her cheeks as someone touched her shoulder, informing her that visitors weren't permitted in the emergency room.

Her breathing was ragged and uneven as she watched the double doors close automatically. Her knees gave way, causing her to slide down the wall.

She begged, her palms tightly intertwined. As she closed her eyes, a few questions entered her mind. Why was she praying for something that might not exist? For something that might not even be happening? Is this real? Is she dreaming?