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Everything turns to slow motion.
Tina’s body jerks backwards and I feel her blood spatter across my face. Her face shows a mixture of shock and pain. Within seconds she’s lying unconscious in a pool of blood.
Tina’s a bleeder.
She’s going to bleed out.
I kick Omarr in the lower back. He howls again, rolls to his back, aims and shoots the gun again. I feel the bullet hit me but I want him dead so badly the pain doesn’t even register. Pure adrenalin courses through my veins. My vision starts to fade out and I fight hard to keep my eyes open. I stumble forward, take the gun from his shaking hands and shoot him in the forehead. I watch as the light fades from Omarr’s eyes. I feel a moment of intense satisfaction followed by the hollowness of dread.
I stagger forward and fall into the huge pool of blood next to Tina’s body.
I’m so sorry, T. I would give my life for yours.
I see darkness and shadows form over our bodies. Hands are all over us.
As I lay next to Tina, I take her limp hand and think if this were going to be the way I died, at least I was in the hands of someone I loved.
My vision fades to black.
***
I wake with a start.
I can’t see! And I’m being smothered!
Reaching up with my weak arms, I feel around and pull at what’s covering my eyes. I take them off and look at them.
Eye patches?
What am I? A freakin’ pirate?!
I try to swallow but something blocks my throat.
I start to panic. I can’t breathe.
A shrill beeping pierces my ears and I moan into the obstruction in my throat.
I’m frightened!
Tears fill my eyes, I begin to shake and silently sob.
“Hush, dearie, hush. It’s alright now, girlie. You’re just disorientated. Open your eyes for me, honey. ”
I calm slightly at the sound of a smooth voice. I open my eyes and it takes a while to focus.
I see an older, round nurse at my hospital bedside.
She smiles and tells me, “I’ve been waiting a long time for you to show me those pretty eyes of yours. ”
I’m so confused.
How did I get here? What happened?
I make the sign for choking and my nurse chuckles. She says, “Yes, you have a tube in your throat. I can get that out for you now but you’ll be sore so try not to speak. ” She walks out of my room and comes back a few minutes later with another older woman. The woman smiles big and says, “Dear me, you gave us a real fright, Valentina. There were times we thought you wouldn’t make it. You lost a lot of blood. We did four blood transfusions. How are you feeling?”
Ahh, I have a tube in my throat, doctor, and I don’t know sign language.
I make the sign for choking again and the doctor touches her forehead and chuckles, “How about we get the tube out and then you answer me?” I nod and she smiles.
