Seventeen Seconds

No Color

I open up my eyes to discover the darkness that laid before me, but eventually it fades into color. How long have I been out? Days? Hours? Minutes? I don't know but all I can do is count down the time. 1..2..3..4..

Suddenly, Something latches onto my ankles and then my wrists; there is nothing I can do but struggle to escape. My body tighten as I feet the frigid metal underneath me. My hands are trying to find something to grasp onto. Panic reaches inside me, expanding, growing stronger and stronger. I quickly scanned my surroundings to see if there is anything familiar. I shut my eyes and continued counting down the time, hoping it'll go away, "5..6..7..8.." A cold sensation runs down my back and I shiver in response. There was buzzing next to my ear. It had crackling with a humming sound to it. It wasn't an unpleasant sound. My instinct was to scream but nothing came out.

A light pressure of weight on my mouth was released. I struggle to figure out what has been lifted. Then I realized, my breath is subsiding. Panic surges in once again. It's the oxygen mask. I need it. I'm struggling to take in each breath. I can't breath anymore. I'm going to die, I thought to myself, right here on this table. I breath in and out slowly. Trying to steady my breathing to help myself stay alive instead oxygen seeps out.

A bright light flashed, causing me to force open my eyes. Air rushes inside me. I breath in as much as I can.

I catch a glimpse of a man in a blue flimsy mask, who hovered over and screamed, "Clear!", a sharp but electrifying pain surged throughout my chest. I saw silhouettes rushing towards me. I heard clanking of the metal against metal. I felt two burning heat just above my lungs. I flinched as I am trying to count silently. "9..10..11.." Another spark of pain coursed through my veins. "12..13..14.." I can't handle this anymore. I am getting tired.. I am slowly adapting to the pain. I lay there as the pain is starting to feel like it is only tickling me. I count one last time, "..15..16..17.." I heard myself whisper one word. My last glimpse was a man looking at his watch. He said something but I didn't catch it. My last sound was the pounding of the glass. It sounded like an harmony. I mentally said goodbye to the world.

After awhile, the pain declines, slowly mending itself into darkness. I can't feel anything. Pain. A once powerful emotion is now gone. My arms and legs are frozen solid in place. The bright light fused into my memory. Soon, I start to forget the colors that were once there. I tried to squint, hoping that I'll see something , but all I see is pitch black... no more color.

"No!", a female voice wailed, "She's my granddaughter! Let me in." She pounded loudly against the glass as if she is trying to get attention. She looked strong enough to shatter it. An intern walked up to close the blinds, preventing her to witness the failure of keeping a loved one alive. The woman's tears were streaking down her cheek and she refuse to stop striking against the window. A figure looked at the watch and sighed,"Is someone going to call it?" A small voice spoke, "five seventeen p.m." Someone draped the cloth over the female body upon the metal slab. A woman in a similar coat asks, "Did anyone hear her say seventeen?" Everyone nodded in response. A tall, sleek, and manly silhouette in the white coat went up to the woman that previously hit the window. He tried to utter the painful words. His voice strained, "I'm Dr. Mattias. Your granddaughter had fought with all her power," He paused. The woman impatiently declared, "Just let me hear it. Goddamn it!" She grabbed Dr. Mattias's arm. He quickly looked up and whispered, "She passed away." The woman grabbed her chest and fell into a chair behind her. "I was supposed to die before her," Her face grew weary. Her hair looked more grayish than before. "How could I let this happen?" She took a long, deep, and audible breath. She solemnly looked up, seeing the doctor fiddling with his necklace that has a pendant shaped as a cross. She politely smiled, "Do you think she is in a better place?" Dr. Mattias took a seat next to her. "God promised her heaven. She is now in the most safest arms." He wiped away the tears that are falling down on her cheek. He whispered softly, "It will be alright." A person in a blue uniform politely but urgently asked for Dr. Mattias's assistance. He put his hand on the woman's knee and nodded. He got up and followed the person in the blue uniform.