Dekka 2

Chapter 17

17. Spill.

The next thing that I become conscious of is that the heat has gone, or at least that it is fading. It is now little more than the pleasant warmth that I first became aware of. My sweating has stopped but I can feel the agony of so many burns. The right side of my face and my left hand hurt the most. For once I am glad that I cannot see for I know the damage especially to my palm must be extensive.

I can move back into a crouch now. I will have to turn round to face the other way so my right hand can be my support instead of my left. It is awkward but I eventually manage to turn myself in a half circle.

I guess that I stay squatted against the wall for a while before deciding to set off around the room in search of what have now become my regular supplies. It is strange going in the opposite direction. I think that this is the first time I have gone this way, at least for a good while.

Moving is painful, especially for the backs of my knees and the bottoms of my feet. The skin that has been seared by the heat is rubbing, probably blistering, and the bottoms of my feet must be in almost as bad a way as my left palm from the burning hot floor.

It is a slow trip around the room. This experience with the heat has weakened me more than anything else I have been through. My head is swimming in the darkness. If it wasn't for the wall I wouldn't be able to move at all.

When I locate the bottle of water I slump against the side of the cell and try to take a sip. My hands don't want to turn the top. They shake with the effort. And when the top does come off of the bottle I drop it and hear it roll away.

I reach out with one hand then the other to grope around on the floor. There is really no point. I have already heard it roll away in the blackness and the idea that I can just reach out and find it is ridiculous. I try to find it anyway.

Bad mistake! I fall sideways onto my face, the open bottle tips sideways and nearly empties itself onto the floor. I can't right myself. I don't know which direction is up and while I flounder around the remaining water trickles onto the floor.

I want to thump my hands and kick my feet in frustration. I want to cry and scream and shout. I want to do all these things but end up just laying there, cheek to concrete and head spinning until I finally drift into blackness again.