Come in out of the rain ...

Greetings once more fellow Inkers!

For this week’s Indie Ink Challenge I thought I’d continue the story I started last week as Kurt (who is now THE MAN) issued me a prompt I could sink my teeth into this week – which you can find at the end of the story. I challenged femmefauxpas with one of my favourite quotes. I can’t wait to see how it’s handled.

Miracles?! What the hell was the doctor talking about? I listened for as long as I could, interrupting whenever he strayed off the point, getting over excited, spitting out scientific terminology that my brain couldn’t handle. The female doctor grew more and more concerned as the layman’s expression on my face gradually turned to one of complete shock. She could see what he was telling me was beginning to sink in, I couldn’t fathom what I was hearing, and I was even less equipped to deal with knowing that I was no longer ‘normal’. It was round about the moment when he alluded to needing more tests for some kind of cryogenic procedure to preserve potentially damaged tissue which caused me freak out. The speed at which I leapt off the bed and dove straight past the two of them through the double doors was, inhuman. My body felt revived, new, and at the same time alien and somehow not totally under my control. 

I burst out into a long brightly lit hallway that went on for quite a distance unlike any conventional hospital hallway that I’d ever seen. Behind me both doctors were scrambling for the doors and as they came through, I dug my bare feet into the floor, cracking a tile or two – I think – and sprinted off as fast as I could. It was like a jet taking off. A gust of wind kicked up, filling my ears and confused me momentarily because there weren’t any windows to be seen, and after a moment I discovered I was running fast enough to create a kind of slipstream. Posters and papers that were pinned to walls ripped themselves from their places, open doors slammed shut as I sped past. I looked back to see a whirlwind of paper and dust in my wake. I had run for only a few seconds and covered the entire length of the hallway, the two doctors; somewhere in the distance moving forwards but not getting any closer.

It seemed as though I was the only patient they had, and they were the only doctors present. The place was deserted like a doomsday aftermath, without the apocalyptic mess and chaos that went with it. I’d stopped at a wall with a hallway to either side, both dimly lit. Only one seemed to lead to daylight that illuminated the rectangular shape of a closed door. I didn’t waste any time making a decision. 

A dull overcast canvas greeted me as I nearly yanked the steel reinforced exit off its hinges accidentally. I was running on adrenalin mostly, or at least that’s what I assumed. Rain pelted the street, cars roared past spraying water left and right and I gulped down the scenery like a person dying of thirst. I had come out under what looked like a railway bridge. There was no indication that there was a hospital in the vicinity. I turned to see a massive wall behind me and only the door I’d come through – what the hell! In either direction were miles and miles of motorway and no indication of where here was. My body felt like it was working independently of my brain and I began moving slowly at first then faster and faster until I was keeping pace with cars hurtling along the road. Regaining a little control, I found the nearest bank leading off the tarmac and ran up a grassy hill, up and over, until I was in a field. I wanted to stop but something carried me forward, my legs pounding the earth so hard and fast that I tore a track into the earth. Minutes later I was standing in a town I barely recognised, possibly a place I’d driven through once or twice before and never committed to memory, but I was here and I felt a strong attachment to the place in spite of myself. How many miles I’d come wasn’t clear, yet I wasn’t tired either. 

People were walking up and down a busy street full of cafes, restaurants and bistros. Those without umbrellas huddled under awnings, and in an attempt to blend in, I did the same. I was the only person under a pink canvas outside what appeared to be someone’s front door hidden between all the shops and businesses. In my red jumpsuit I felt about as different as anyone could feel. Everyone seemed to be dressed for the weather except for me. But I was different. The doctor had said it himself; his colleague had worn a troubled look that I found hard to wipe from my mind. I could see her face as clear as if she were right in front of me. She’d brought me in with the paramedics after the accident. Shouldn’t I be dead? Or at the very least, feel like I should be? I just felt, strange ... better ... altered. 

As I looked down at myself, at my hands, I barely registered a muffled sound behind me which must have been a door opening. Before I was given the opportunity to turn around, two very strong hands gripped my shoulders and pulled me into the doorway spinning me around. The speed jogged my vision and it didn’t settle before something hard hit me square in the temple. As I began to fall over, slipping out of consciousness, my vision cleared for a split second and I saw what I thought was a little girl.

Kurt's prompt was: I huddled under the building's awning to wait out the rain. Thanks Kurt - you're AWESOME!