Kurt kept his eyes closed. Maybe if his eyes stayed closed long enough, he would fall asleep. And if he fell asleep, he would wake up and this would all be a bad dream. But Kurt couldn't sleep, not with the voices.
"Do you think he's okay? Check that heart rate, Ella."
"Pretty steady. But breathing's slow. Think we need more oxygen?"
"Yes, put an oxygen mask on him. But careful, his lips are very swollen. Don't cause damage."
"Right."
Those voices pounded in Kurt's ears, an incessant whine that kept him from any kind of respite. He could just see flashing lights through his eyelids, could hear a distant siren, could just feel the vehicle moving. Kurt knew, in a very detached way, that he was in an ambulance. That something serious had happened, and Kurt was right in the middle of it.
But it was all too much. Kurt stopped thinking about it all, and let the pain and shock and confusion together drag him into blackness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Somewhere above all of the black, things changed. The lights went out, the siren ceased, and the ambulance's motion morphed into a calm, soft surface. Kurt let his mind uncloud itself. When it was done, he tried to sit up, to clear everything.
But two things happened then. One, every part of Kurt started screaming, registering the intense pain that seemed to be always lurking, waiting to strike. Two, Kurt was not successful in sitting up. He was restrained, restricted from moving. It felt like he was tied to something. Kurt finally gave in, and opened his eyes.
The room was white, Kurt noticed first. All white, with no break in the colourless theme. It was blank and clean and generic, not Kurt's room at all. And that was when the panic began.
Where am I?
What am I doing here?
Kurt couldn't comprehend what had happened, what train of events could have possibly led to this. He was somewhere unfamiliar, in pain and tied to something soft. A bed, maybe?
It was almost an hour before Kurt got answers. Until then, he stayed in silent panic, unable to express his feelings in any way. Somehow, Kurt couldn't speak any more. Something was wrong with his lips, they felt strange and numb. And his voice wouldn't work.
When the nurse came in, Kurt mentally sighed in relief. Would this nurse tell him what was going on?
Wait, nurse? Does that mean I'm in a hospital?
"Kurt Hummel?" The nurse asked, checking her clipboard. Kurt almost rolled his eyes. How was he supposed to respond? He couldn't move or talk.
"I think you might be a bit confused," the nurse said softly. "So I'm going to tell you everything I know about what happened. You are in the hospital right now. The reason you're restrained is because you've broken a lot of bones, and they need to stay still to be repaired. If you want to know, I have a list of the exact injuries you have suffered."
When the nurse met no resistance, she began. "Both of your legs are broken, one of them badly so. Your left arm is also broken, and your left wrist. Six ribs have been fractured, two in more than one place. You've also sustained mild blood loss, and many superficial cuts and bruises. Your lips are severely swollen, and there's a possibility that you suffered a head injury."
Kurt's eyes widened in shock. Had he been through all of that? How was he even alive? And what had caused such a long and grim list?
That was when it all came flooding back. A string of poisonous memories that would never quite leave Kurt, even at his happiest moments.
