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“Then you don’t belong to anybody,” he grits out between his teeth as he gives a violent shove forward, releasing my arms.
25
LUNA
Flashing, bright white lights is all I see. That’s all my senses pick up on before anything else. I feel nothing and can’t hear anything. I don’t think I’d even see this light if it wasn’t so bright, it’s as if it’s a right in my face. Where am I? Have I fallen into some state of nothingness?
But then I hear something. I can’t tell what it is, some kind of muffling sound. I try with all I have in me to grab onto it, to make sense of it. There’s more than one sound, there’s several mufflings, taking turns and sounding over each other at the same time.
I feel pain now… it starts simmering in my core, right near my diaphragm, and gets sharper and stronger as it spreads wider throughout my body at an unbearable speed. My mouth falls open and I cry out… but I have no voice. I still can’t see, but the muffles are getting louder, almost as fast as the pain is spreading. I don’t like it. I don’t like the muffling, I want it to stop. As if the owners of the sounds hear me, they get clearer as they get louder. Then there’s a pop in my ears, and the muffles become clear voices.
“Driver’s License and Military ID in her purse,” I hear a female voice say clinically. “Name is Luna Shane.”
“Luna?” I hear a deep male voice say cautiously, though loud and clear as a bright light shines in one eye and then the other. It hurts, though I barely feel it in comparison to everything else. My entire body feels like it’s threatening to shatter if I try and move the littlest bit.
My hearing seems to go in and out, either that, or I’m going in and out of consciousness.
“Luna?” I hear the man’s voice again.
Someone raises my shirt.
“Ow,” the miniscule word comes out on a sob as a warm tear slips out of the corner of my eye and down my jawline.
“She’s conscious. Receptive to pain,” another voice says.
“Severe bruising across ribcage and abdomen,” someone says with a hint of urgency underneath their voice.
“Cut it off.”
What?! What are they cutting? I panic for a moment before I feel light tugging moving gradually up the front of my shirt.
“She’s in bad shape,” another female voice utters, sounding regretful. “We should probably get the Red Cross to get ahold of her spouse so he can–”
“No…” the word escapes my lips in a drawn-out groan.
The only thing keeping me going is that you’re back there, safe. That my girl is back there thriving and waiting for me.
I hate that I can’t be there to protect what’s mine.
This will sink Kaleb. He’s barely treading water over there with all the things he’s going through. I need to be his beacon right now. He’ll go mad if he knew something happened to me without him here.
“She’s trying to speak. Luna? Luna? Do you know where you are?”
No… not really, but I don’t know anyone here… but obviously something horrible happened to me as I can’t see and don’t feel like I can move. My head hurts and my recollection is hazy but Carters’ name is strong at the forefront. He did this. The pain is dominating every cell in my body, and these people are acting urgent around me…
“E- emer… emerge,”
“Yes, Luna, you’re in the ER at St. Andrews,” the deep, authoritative voice chimes back in. “You’ve been through some trauma, but you’re safe now and we’re here to help you okay?”
“I… ohhh…” I wince again with more tears.
“She can barely speak, let’s get some morphine on board.”
“No,” I say, this time more firmly though it hurts my throat like hell. “No drugs,” is all I can choke out. “AA,” I add on feebly before letting out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding just to get those few words out. I’m not in AA, but letting them go ahead and think I am an addict that’s trying to stay clean is the best way to ensure they don’t pump me full of narcotics.
“No drugs, she’s AA,” someone interprets more clearly for me.
“Luna, are you sure?” Deep voice is back. “You’ve got some bad bruising and broken bones. Will you let us give you something for pain?”
