Carry the Day

Chapter 1: Out of Here

"I'm sorry. We couldn't save it."

Six words that made my whole world crumble. What would I do without it? It was a vital part of my life after all; It always had been.

I looked down at the white blanket covering my left leg. I looked at the stump that was left of my right leg. It was gone. All the way from the knee down. I couldn't feel it anymore. A part of me was lost forever.

My hands clenched into fists around the white fabric and a pathetic sob escaped my lips. My shoulders shook as silent tears streamed down my face and onto the sheets. "Leave." I whispered. 

I heard the doctors leave the room, sliding the door shut behind them. I let myself fall down onto my back, staring up at the perfectly white ceiling. A numb feeling spread through my entire body as my tears dried up. What was going to happen now? How would I be able to play volleyball without my leg?

My eyes fluttured shut from exhaustion. My mind was too tired to even think of it. Darkness took over and my body shut down.

* * * * *

My eyes opened to the small ray of sunlight that shone through my window. I sat up in my bed and looked down to see one and a half leg. I sighed and swung my leg over the side of the bed. I pressed a button on the side of the bed and waited while I stared out of the window. The brightly colored flag with stars and stripes was seen blowing in the wind.

The door to my room creaked as it opened. A nurse walked inside and smiled brightly at me. She opened the curtains fully and opened the window. A light summer breeze picked up a few strands of my white hair and the sweet scent of roses invaded my noistrils. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the silence of the early morning.

The nurse walked up to me and asked in English, "Are you ready for the big day?" She bent down to grab the prosthetic leg that laid under my bed. She crouched down and grabbed the stump of my right leg. 

Determination filled me at her words. I was going to pass that test and finally get out of here. I composed myself and answered in English, "Whatever." Glancing back out the window, I heard the birds start to chirp.

The nurse sighed and shook her head as she secured the construction to my leg. "Honestly, Akira. A bit more enthusiasm wouldn't hurt." she told me. She put her hands on her hips as she stared down at me.

I stared up at her, blankly. Raising an eyebrow, my lips twitched up into a small smirk. "We both know I'll pass this test and finally get out of here." I said. I grabbed her outstretched hand and slowly stood up. I moved my leg back and forth a bit, getting used to the feeling again before slowly putting all my weight on it.

"We will miss your attitude the most, Akira." the nurse said. She laughed a bit as she let go of my hand.

I gave her a smirk and walked towards my closet. "I'll be down in a second." I said. I heard the door open and close, indicating the nurse had left. Opening the door of my closet, a variety of colors and shapes greeted me. After a few seconds I decided to just change into jean shorts and a white top, tying a blue-plaid shirt around my waist, placing my silver locket around my neck.

The journey from my room to the first floor took me about ten minutes, thanks to the unbelievably slow elevator. I walked into the cafetaria and waltzed straight to the front of the line to get my breakfast. Nobody even tried to stop me from jumping the queue as I grabbed some eggs and bacon with a piece of toast.

I walked to a lone table in the center of the cafetaria and sat down. I munched on my food as I thought back to my life before the accident. It was so easy back then, no worries at all. That was around 2 years ago. I had to finish my middle school studies here in America. It was the only place where I could complete my rehabilitation in all rest and peace.

I stood up from my table, throwing my leftovers away and walking to the training room. When I entered, I saw Dr. Anderson and a few other people stand together. One of the men looked up when he saw me and smiled, waving me over. The others looked up and did the same when they noticed I was there.

Standing in front of them, I introduced myself to the unknown men before turning to Dr. Anderson. "So, what's this test?" I asked him. I placed a hand on my hip and rose an eyebrow at him.

He laughed a bit and showed me his clipboard. "You'll be walking on the treadmill for several minutes on different paces. Then we'll have you do some jumping and lastly, we will calculate based on the results how far you can go with volleyball." he told me.

My eyes lit up at his words and I immediately turned around, walking to the treadmill. The men followed me and stood beside the treadmill. "These men are here as a second opinion for me. Don't mind them and just--" Dr. Anderson said.

I rolled my eyes at how many times I'd heard that. "Just do your best." I said. I kissed the silver locket around my neck as I started walking. The pace was slow, so it was easy for me to keep up. I yawned and looked in the mirror, zoning out. I was only snapped out of my daze when the treadmill suddenly went faster and faster. Quickly picking up my pace, I glared at Dr. Anderson, who was watching me with amusement.

Sweat formed on my forehead as I felt my stamina run out after 15 minutes of continuous running. Finally, the treadmill went slower and came to a stop. I bent over and put my hands on my knees. I panted heavily, trying to get as much air into my lungs as possible. 

"Let's go to the next test; Jumping." Dr. Anderson said. He walked towards a small trampoline in the corner of the room and motioned for me to step on it. 

A scowl formed on my face as I stepped on top of the trampoline. I was still tired from running, but these people seemed to love tiring me out. I started jumping, though not very high. When I tried going higher, A pain shot through my leg. I let out a hiss of pain and stopped jumping. 

Dr. Anderson wrote something on his clipboard. "Well," he said. "You passed the test, but it seems like your stamina is the highest out of all, same goes for your power. Your jumping and speed aren't exactly the best right now, so I'd recommend not jumping or running around too much while playing." he said.

I bit my lip to keep myself from snapping. "How can I become a player when I can't even jump or run. Let alone be the best!" I said. My voice was low and filled with venom. I stepped off the trampoline and stormed out of the training room, going back up to my room. 

Once I arrived at my room, I slammed the door shut behind me and punched the wall beside it. A surge of pain shot through my hand and a red liquid dropped to the floor, but I didn't even care at that point. I sat down on my bed and buried my face in my hands, taking deep breaths to try and calm myself down.

Finally, I found my heartbeat to be back to normal and my breathing slowly evening out. I stood up again and grabbed my trunk from under my bed. I put it on the bed and opened it. Then I went around my room, collecting my things. 

After I was done, I closed it and zipped it up. I closed my eyes, a small smirk appearing on my face. 'Let's get out of here.'  

Hello, my dearest readers. This is my second book and I do hope I've gotten a bit better. I deleted my last book because it was simply very badly written and mary-sueish. I hope this one is better and at least less sueish. 

Thank you for reading and please leave a comment. Constructive critism is always welcome. (BTW, excuse my poor English at times)