by A. R Sarker
Chapter Five: Reunion
My unwieldy eyelids began to unfasten from its weights. A side from the slight nausea and muddy vision I felt like I had the best sleep of my life. The first thing I noticed was my obscure surroundings, I had no clue where I was. All I could distinguish were the eerie pipes clanking from within the walls. The room was 6 by 8 feet and boarded in steel, the front was barred. But I could see the outside, there were jail cells aligned in straight rows. There were about four floors, and each cell had people in it. I started to worry about my friends, I didn't even know if Oan and Will made it out of the maze alive.
"You're awake I take it." I recognized that familiar voice.
"Cara? What are you doing here? What's happening to us?" I threw my blankets aside, then later realizing I was in a bed the entire time.
"If it isn't already obvious? we're in a jail cell."
"Yeah I knew that already. But why are we here."
"Well succeeding the test. The victors were all handcuffed and tranquilized, then the captains revealed the true nature of our training. This place isn't some kind of refugee or rebel camp at all. It's a brainwash facility meant to grow, harvest, and perfect soldiers for Alazarana!"
"What the hell! I knew there was something wrong with this place! What? what are we going to do now?" I inhaled a sharp breath as my chest widened, attempting to calm my nerves.
"Don't know. We're supposed to be shipped off to the next stage to be further brainwashed."
"Not on my watch." Sarals nose peaked from outside of the barred cage, jangling the poles.
"Saral, how'd you get out?" I exaggerated my leap from the bed, stunting onto the floor with both feet.
"No time to explain!" He ripped the bars from their core with ease. Throwing them lightly to the side in order prevent any attention. The lights were much dimmed so he was surprised when I plunged into his arms for a hug.
"Woah, Adam. What's gotten into you?"
"I've never been so happy to see you! I got worried that you and Viola didn't survive or something. Wait? where is she?" My face twirled the room searching for her.
"I didn't see her on the way here, I couldn't find Oan or Will either. Hope they're in one piece."
"I think I could assist with that!" Cara expressed. Her eyes slightly dilated as she stared into space. "We have a problem."
"Yeah and it's because you've just revealed your heretic nature." Saral asserted. "When were you going to tell us?"
"Um hello. I studied in the magical arcane arts, you should've connected the dots by now! The problem is that Viola is currently being experimented on. Oan and Will on the other hand are about to be shipped off?now!"
"This sounds like a job for Hercules and sea-cucumber boy!"
"Sea-cucumber-what?" A blank expression suffused across Cara's face.
"We're going to have to split up." Saral shot his hand into the air. "I vote the heretic goes alone." He made direct contemptive eye contact with Cara.
"This heretic can take both of you on with my hands and legs severed."
"That could be arranged?" He suggested.
"Enough!" I interrupted their heated conversation. "Cara, since you're a real witch I think you'd be more than capable of taking care of yourself. Since apparently you could take us on with severed limbs, then I'm sure you'll be able to take on an army!" Her sassy lips crumpled, protruding excessively. Eyebrows arched irritably and nose flared sharply. "Consider it done. But first, let's release ourselves from these rags." Our clothes returned to the original uniforms that we had early on. "Follow me. We won't be able to just stroll through the halls like it's no one's business." We had to display cautiousness and stealth as we snuck through the faintly lit jail house. As we passed by I couldn't help but feel sorrow for those in the cells. The situation could've been reversed, with me stuck behind those bars. So without telling anyone I had decided that if there is a chance then I'd release all of them. Saral continuously kept bumping into objects and into us. Strangely there wasn't a single guard in sight, then Cara paused in place.
"Wait. It's unusual that there is no security of any sort. Unless? kushif!" From the darkness, red lasers transpired end to end, crisscrossing in our way. "So this is why there are no guards, it's because of these things. It seems like if we touch it, then it'll burn us to a crisp." The lasers were not only deadly but they were also mobile. "They seem unpredictable, their movements also seem rather random." She stood in deep thought, rubbing her chin with her two fingers. "There! That will be our way out." She directed our vision to an air vent, "Let's go!" Cara carefully lifted the air with her magic, quietly. One by one we climbed into it, not one of us made a sound. We stealthily crawled in the cramped vents. Cara was in the front, I was in the middle, and Saral was in the rear.
"How much longer? Actually where are we going?" Saral whined as we shuffled pass the air ducts. "It's so damn cramped in here!"
"Stop complaining!" Cara roared. "We're going to the control room. If we want to find out exactly where they are and how to get there, we'll need to go there first!"
The clumps of dust and dirt made it difficult to breath. Every time I inhaled I was sure I had swallowed several balls of dust. The vents became more suffocating as we got closer to our destination. There was barely room for me to crawl with my elbows and knees. Finally we arrived to the end and Cara carefully lifted up the cover to the vent. Before exiting the vent I noticed the various television screens displaying different sections of the building. There were two men, laying back onto their rolling chairs. Cara and Saral stealthily snuck behind them like a leopard going for the kill. They quickly dropped dead after they twisted their necks. Cara sat on one of the rolling chairs and began searching for our friends via the computer.
"Found them! Will and Oan are going to be soon transported to stage two! Shit we need to hurry." She rolls away from the screen. "We need to think of a plan ASAP!" Suddenly I had a brain blast like it was sent from the Creator himself.
"I know what to do!" I yanked the remaining chair and rolled to the screen. Below the screen were various buttons that do various different things. There were no manuals or labels, except for one. An enormous big red button, labeled "release", sat proudly at the edge of the control board. My first instinct was to press it. My eyes hurtled to the screen, waiting for a reaction. All the jail cells unlocked, releasing the confused prisoners.
Cara held a microphone in her hand while banging the top to see if it was working. "This microphone should allow us to be heard throughout the building." She gave it to me expecting that I'd be the one to talk. I held it near my mouth, reminiscing all those times I failed in speeches during high school. "Attention prisoners and whoever else is listening. We've high jacked this place and now we're in control! My fellow prisoners? no? my fellow victors, as I speak our dear friends are being transported onto an aircraft ready to be shipped off like produce. If we combine our strength then together?we'll be able save them!" Saral began pushing random buttons that surprisingly began opening every locked door around the entire building. "If you didn't know already, this place is not a rebel camp or anything of that sort. They were trying to brainwash into mindless slaves for Alazarana. They pit us against each other to divide us, but now we must unite so that we may see another day. If you want to see your friends again? if you want freedom then join us because this is not a rebellion. This is war!" From the screens we could see all the prisoners scattering around every building, assaulting guards and raiding every room. They began to spread like wildfire, catching flame onto whoever stand in their way.
"I spelled the door, so nothing and no one can get through." Cara happily said as she perched on the side of the chair. She gravitates herself towards the computer screen. The wheels on the chair annoyingly squeaked as they spun. "Got it," she vigorously types on the keyboard. "Viola is in Zone 1 Sector Z. From the looks of it sector Z is the area 51 in this building. So it's heavily guarded, we'll have to be prepared for anything! I don't think we'l
l have to worry about Will or Oan anymore, they've paused all transportation out of this area. Soon the freed prisoners should sack them."
"Damn why did the one person that we know have to be in the most dangerous portion of the building? Couldn't she just be locked in a five star hotel or something?" Saral complained.
"Maybe they figured out about her abilities." I said. "She can control people just by looking at them, it would seem like her abilities would contribute to the brainwashing process."
"Heretic! Lead the way to the enchantress." Saral commanded, as he looked up to air vent. He retreated his attention back at Cara, waiting for a reply.
"Oh now you ask the heretic to help?" Cara silently glared with a displeasing look.
"Obviously! Now use your juju, voodoo, or whatever you call it to lead us to Viola!"
"Say the magic word then I'll do it." She leaned her head waiting for her ear to be caressed by the soothing word that everyone loves to hear, "please."
"Okay. Do it now!" He again commanded.
I tugged Cara's sleeve to give her a word of advice. "Those are the closest words to please that you'll get. Take or leave it."
She nodded her head in discontent. "I would force you to say them but we're on a time crunch at the moment." She drags the chair below the vent and clambered on to it. "This way boys. I don't want to see anyone staring at me on the way up."
"Ew, I have better things to stare at then your heretic no ass. Like Adam's ass." Saral commented. From the bottom of my heart I was hoping to the Creator that he was joking. Cara just gave her usual stare of disapproval as she lifted herself into the vent.
Saral bowed ever so gracefully as if he were meeting the Queen of Sheba. "After you." He jested.
"Not after your previous remark. You can go first!" I threw him into the vent then followed him after. Our crawling gave off obvious bangs, and at the same time I was questioning as to how exactly it was carrying all three of us. Unfortunately, I jinxed myself. The air duct came tumbling down, smashing into the hard throbbing ground.
"Goddamn I didn't expect that to happen." Cara stroked her painful bumped head. She carried her tormented back, stretching it, popping her bones as she twisted her body left to right.
'You know that fall wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Saral laughed with joy.
"That's because you fell on me fatass!" His bum was suffocating me, simultaneously piercing my ribs with his buns of steel. Saral hopped off and leaned over laughably.
"Booty took your breath away, huh?" It would've been funny if I weren't crying manly tears from my potential internal hemorrhage. "Cheer up. You've got that resourceful healing ability remember?" The rejoining of my cracked bones were more apparent than Saral's stupidity. "Ew, sounds like your bones are making a baby."
"Shut the hell up and help me up!" He jerked my arm with his incredible strength almost dislocating my arm. "Calm down! I'm a human not your man part. Don't jerk me so hard!"
"I apologies for pulling your whole grain noodle arm too hard. Didn't realize you were so?delicate."
Cara popped her head in the middle of the conversation. "Sorry to butt into your marital problems but we have a person's life at stake!" We assembled our focus and scouted through the building. We could hear the stampede of riots almost like we were in the center of it. Trembling blasts shook the entire building. It sounded like guards were retaliating, and they weren't holding anything back. But our rebellion had a natural advantage, if they killed them then they'd lose successful test subjects. So I had confidence that we were partially safe, at least from death. From the right, there were noticeable dings, like an elevator changing levels. We sheltered behind nearby corners, lingering till the elevator opened. A band of guards with green access cards flew through the elevator doors. They held their guns like trophies, scouring their surroundings, assuring that there were no hostiles in the vicinity. Without noticing us, they marched across the narrow white halls. Cara had previously used her magic to slip a green access card out of one of the guard's jacket pocket. She hovered the card over the scanner, allowing us access to the lower levels, specifically Sector Z. We huddled in the elevator, surprisingly there was a catchy tune playing inside as it dropped from level to level. Amusingly, Saral sung to the rhythm of the tune, swaying his hips to the beat. There were only a few more levels for the elevator to pass and we were just hoping that nothing would go wrong. Again, I jinxed myself. The elevator began to quiver then it froze in place. We were only a few floors away from Sector Z and time was of the essence. Cara propelled away a portion of the ceiling so that we could climb out. From the top, we could see the string that holds the elevator. It held the elevator like it was saving its life, we jumped to the edge of the surrounding four cornered walls. There were a bunch of tiny ladders scattered all the way down that made it easier to climb down.
"What else could go wrong? I swear the universe must have a vendetta against us!" Saral grumped as he hopped down the ladder. I was sure the universe didn't have a vendetta against them rather it had it against me. So far everything I've said or rather thought, has been jinxed. I know why it had a problem against me, it's because of that one day I accidently ran over a squirrel with my car. It's not like I did it on purpose!
"Perhaps. It is rather strange that every plan we've had thus far has been sabotaged. It could just be a coincidence." Cara remarked as she balanced herself against the wall while approaching the next ladder. "Perchance there could be a greater power at work."
"Like the manufactures of this crappy building!"
"I was referring to something even greater than that, Saral."
"The electricity company?"
"No you dimwit! The Creator! Perhaps he does not will us to go any further!"
"Pshh that's a load of rubbish. Ya'know there's no greater power, it's just faulty wiring!"
"Really guys?" My head steamed with annoyance. "You're going to have a religious debate at a time like this? Can't you save it for a more appropriate time? Anyways we've made it to the bottom so no more bickering from here on out."
Saral jammed his fingers into the center of the locked elevator door. Isolating the two metal parts far enough so each of us could slide through.
"This is not Sector Z! Honestly, I have no idea where we are!" Cara squealed. She quickly hid behind me because of the creepy environment. Electrical wires hung from the top of the busted ceiling. Whatever remained of the lights, were flickering repulsively with an electronic buzzing noise. Tables and other appliances were knocked over right beside split test tubes and syringes. Laying on the reoccurring checkered floor.
"Damn whoever was here earlier must have had quite the party." Saral jested as we walked deeper into the creepy area. "This isn't even the place where Viola is held in."
"Or is it." Cara gave an assuring glance. "I can feel her presence nearby. But it's not the only one."
Cara led on, racing through the subverted obstacles. Hopping over the soon visible trail of corpses. Finally halting to a solid wall, blocking possibly the only way to get to our friend.
"Stand aside children, let daddy show you how it's done." Saral rolled his shoulders preparing to break down the wall.
"Wait!" I guarded the wall with my body in front of it. "What if the other presence in there has weapons? They potentially could kill her. We need to stay hidden or they could do something to her before we even get there." I lost balance, tripping into the wall, quickly reacting by holding my hands out. Then by a sheer coincidence I pressed a hidden block on the wall, revealing a hidden passage leading beneath the ground.
"Your power of clumsiness has upgraded to powers of usefulness! More or less. Pat yourself on the back buddy." Saral then excessively smacked my back, leaving a jolting pained red mark. Cara ignited a flame into her hand and stepped into the mysterious passage first. Darkness engulfed us, making it tough to even see the stairs that we were walking on. She put out the flame then two by two torches lit up the
way. The treacherous screeches of our friend crawled under our skin compelling us to double our speed. At the end there was a locked door, Saral banged it wide open. Torches were the source of the rooms light. Inside laid Viola, leashed onto a chair that resembled a dental chair. Tubes ran into her like it was stitched to the skin. She had a blindfold that knotted around her eyes. The floor had the symbol of the Triskele painted in blood. We were about to run to her until Cara stopped us.
"There's another presence? a malevolent presence." Cara expression dimmed, "show yourself? Musawwat!"
"Musawwat? Who's that? How do you know its name?" I inquired.
"Musawwat is the reason why I'm here."
Sluggish steps marched from Viola, gradually clapping. "Congrats victors, I had no idea you'd make it this far. A cretin, a weakling, and novice conjurer, this is the rescue squad? You, conjurer? you've a familiar semblance but an unfamiliar appearance. Why?" It was the thing I had seen earlier with the long caramel beaked gas mask. He wore a dark brown trench coat with a wide brimmed hat and boots stained in blood. There was a Triskele pinned on the coat where his heart should have been. He was much taller than I expected, like a manikin displaying ugly clothes.
Saral throws a severed portion of the ground at the beaked mask man which he dodges easily. "Look here bird-man, release our friend or you'll be begging for mercy."
"Hm? peculiar man. All you humans look the same, or have I seen you before? Everything has been fuzzy since inhabiting this vessel. Strange? no matter, you won't be an issue when your heads are detached from you puny bodies." Saral throws another chunk of the ground at him, which he stops in midair. It began levitating above his hand. "Oh where are my manners? Should I have offered you a cup of tea before severing your heads?" Saral charged at him but quickly was suspended into place. Unable to even flinch a finger. "He is rather rude wouldn't you say? He's like a squirrel on drugs! I advise that you don't take the same action as your friend!"
"I have a question! What's the point of all this? Why did you put us through ridiculous test and why'd you insert chips into us?" I angrily inquired.
"This is a testing ground where we test new invention. Recently we've come up with a mind control technique. At first it didn't work and only a few people were affected. But a few months ago I thought of a brilliant idea to combine magic and technology. It would make the process more efficient. So to start, we inserted chips into you to track your progress, then we put a serum into the water combined with a spell in order to slowly sedate your mind. The spell portion would activated when you'd see checkered floors, it would allow us to manipulate what you'd be able to see. Then every night we'd put you though physical and sexual abuse, so it would further weaken your mind. Finally we'd make you watch videos and lectures that we made ourselves that would be absorbed into your subconscious. We made sure to erase your minds afterwards, to make sure you didn't remember. Eventually we'd repeat the process until you'd become a submissive slave that would submit to us. If it's a success then we'd implement this into a larger scale." He cackled like a hyena.
"What the hell! Why tell us your grand scheme?" Cara tightened her lips with a wide frown.
"Because you won't be alive to tell the tale."
Suddenly our bodies became heavy, our legs weakened to the point of where we couldn't even stand. The blood that flowed within our veins began to boil like we were over a hot stove. Our faces bore the redness of a rip strawberry. I attempted to take shallow rapid breaths to ease the anguish but it was no good. Musawwat had casted a spell without us noticing, the more he clenched his fist the more painful our bodies became. Saral tried to resist it but even he was too weak.
Cara began chanting in a muffled tone. "Pro anima tua, pro anima tua, pro anima tua. Now! Take Viola, I got this!" She curled her fingers as the distance between her and Musawwat decreased. We were released from Musawwatt's magic then we both hurried and yanked all the tubes from Viola's skin. We supported her on the walk out of the room, she removed her blindfold with her shaky hands. Her eyes hung down while she gritted her teeth.
"We can't leave yet! There are others in here, I can't leave them behind!" Viola pulled our arms forcefully back so that we wouldn't leave. She seemed adamant about her words, she tightened her grip with every word.
"Look here princess. We don't have time to save your jail-mates!" Saral shook his head with sass. He tried pulling her arm but she resisted.
"No! I'm not leaving without them!" She persisted.
Cara came out of the room, limping on one leg while holding her stomach. She began coughing blood uncontrollably with suspicious blue designs on her arm. "The deed? is done." She stumbled over but Saral caught her before she hit the ground.
"That was quick, I underestimated you heretic!" He held her up to her two feet.
"If we desire to escape this facility then we're going to have to deactivate the barrier that surrounds the perimeter. There are four towers, a northern, a southern, a western, and an eastern tower. We'll need to shut it off from each of them."
Viola embraced my hand. "Adam and I will go look for the remaining prisoners in this place, you two can go break the barriers hold by then." Her soft hands felt like a cloud, compelling me to fulfil her wishes.
"I agree with Viola. You two can rally up the freed prisoners above to help you. We'll get the ones down here. We're going to need all the help we can get, I mean it's not like they'll just let us walk through the front door." I added.
"Damn why do I have to be the one stuck with the heretic?" Saral sniffled with disappointment.
We split into groups of two, running in the opposite directions. Viola kept tugging my arm as she forced me to sprint with her. She claimed to know the direction, so as I mindlessly followed her I became lost in my thoughts. I began questioning as to how Cara was able to beat Musawwat so quick. I knew she's strong but I didn't think it would be so quick, and she said her reason for being here was Musawwat. But previously she said the she found a loophole to her harvest thing. Many things didn't add up but I didn't have enough time dwell in my thoughts for long. Viola gave a dispirited glance at the lifeless bodies that we passed by. A closer look revealed that every corpse had something in common. Their right eye was tattooed, similar to the eye makeup ancient Egyptians wore, with two lines, one traveled straight down and the line on the right curved. It seemed like they were familiar to her but she refused to say a single word about it. It was then I realized that the once rough red ground had twisted into a blue and white checkered floor. Musawwat said that the checkered walls would make us see things that only they'd want us to see. But I'm pretty sure their poisonous water that we drank had already passed through our system. The flickering lights and the cracked walls gave me a deep unease. Both sides were decorated with jail bars but with no people within them. She abruptly stopped in place which caused me to bump into her back. Then someone from the cell in front of us spoke with a jaded voice.
"So my fair maiden has come to my aid?" He laid, leaning onto one knee as his legs were crisscrossed. The two lit torches that stood at each end of the prison cell began burning with might. I expected a malnourished hairy man but instead witnessed a male model adorned in an Arabian costume. He had dark curled locks that looped so often that it made me nauseas. The eye tattoo that the corpses had that we saw previously were also on his left eye. He only had crimson harem pants on, that lazily dispersed on the floor. There was also a golden chain around his neck that pressed past his bulging pecs and perfect washboard abs.
"Oh keep all that excitement for later!" She sarcastically jested. "Do you think so low of me that you'd expect me to break my promise to you?" She searches her side pocket and subsequently pulls a key from it. "I stole this off of the talking-walking bird from earlier. He won't mind, since he's dead now."
"Excellent! I knew you'd be able to do it."
Viola twists the key into the locked key hole, slowly pulling the caged bar open.
"So introduce
me to your friend Viola." He gestures for a handshake. "Oh where are my manners? My name is Azriel, and yours?"
I return with a handshake, firmly gripping his palm. "Adamis, but people call me Adam. "So why is a man like you caged down here instead of cat walking down a runway?"
"Simple." He waves his flattened palm vertically, wiggling all his fingers at once. Every torch in the room blacks out but then returns burning even brighter than before. "I'm a what-cha-ma-call-it? A witch? Or do you prefer the politically correct term? A heretic." He sasses with an unamused tone.
"But how is it possible to keep a heretic down here? Couldn't you just poof your way out?"
"Poof? Is that what you people think we do? Anyways, I'll explain during the escape out of here!" The race out had commenced as he closely trailed behind Azriel, I only followed because it looked like he knew the way out of here. "See these marking on the wall?" He gestured with a faint nod, leading with his nose.
"Markings? I thought those were just old walls cracked in a very abnormal way."
"Well these markings prevent any type of magic or rather prevent any sort of mana to pass by the walls inside the jail cell. Judging by your faces, you don't know what mana is so I'll elucidate. Mana is life energy which exist within all living things, magic is just the term used for controlling mana. But when there is something interrupting the flow of mana then magic can't be used."
"You seem very well informed. Exactly how'd you get captured?"
He slightly turned his head at me while I ran behind him, "Just like everyone else. I thought that this was some kind of rebel camp that was against the persecution of witches. But we were all lied to."
I could almost hear the battle from above like I was in a movie theater. The frequent quakes from the surface had steadily worsened, rubble ran through the ceiling causing an uneasy feeling in my stomach. We again passed by the rotting corpses but took no notice to it. Just as we passed by the door in which Musawwat was killed in, I took a glimpse inside. There was no body, only the beaked mask and the trench coat was left behind. I just assumed that his body was deeper inside and wasn't out and about.
"Azriel, since you seem to be very knowledgeable, would you mind if I ask you a question?" I further inquired, interrogating him like he committed a crime.
"Go right ahead, anyone who compliments my brain can use it!"
"You see, Viola and I have? acquired rather useful abilities. And I was wondering if we were-"
"Heretics? Not at all. I didn't sense anything from you that would suggest that you were a witch. May I ask what type of abilities you've received?"
"I have the ability to heal from practically any injury and Viola has-"
"I can control people? just by making eye contact. It's pretty neat actually." Viola interrupted.
"Strange." Wrinkles modeled onto Azriel's forehead as he expressed daze. "Whatever powers you two possess are not rooted from magic. It's astonishing really, I've never seen people like you in a while. But be weary, nothing in existence is limitless. Overuse of your gifts can come with consequences."
Azriel had taken us through an emergency escape exit that led to the outside world. Finally we had surfaced above ground. I had almost forgotten what fresh air had smelled like since the only smell down there were the sweet scents of rotting corpses. My momentary appreciation of clean air was ambushed by the smoke that jammed my lungs. Fiery buildings erupted into huge clouds of grey smoke. Explosions rioted from every direction, people attempted to flee from the stalking aircrafts above. Instantly being killed from either bombs or bullets. The camp had been reestablished into a war-zone with the leading side being the brainwashed Triskele soldiers. A couple of soldiers aimed their guns at us but Azriel swept them off their feet. Throwing them into the fire, barely without a flinch. Worries whirled through my mind. If this is the current situation then Saral and Cara could be in grave danger, though I was more worried about Saral. The southern tower had completely combusted till it piled into ashes. People who had previously jumped to their deaths instead of burning, slept creepily on the dirt. I was just hoping that my friends weren't a part of the ashes. Azriel told us he could sense our friends and they were safe near the barrier. We charged to the border of freedom and imprisonment, concerned about if the barrier had been dropped. Just as we stepped foot over the margin of escape, a landmine bursted, sending all three of us airborne.
I blacked out for a moment but quickly escaped from it because of the astounding pain that originated from my left leg. My face was planted into the ground but I was able to give a quick glance to my leg, the sight was shocking. My beautiful slightly hairy leg had been completely blown from existence. I was drowning in my own waterfall of blood that gushed from my injury and the tides of blood had hit the shores of my lips. I had lost all my energy in every atom of my being. The pain was so great that I had cursed the ability to heal, I would have chosen death then the ability to just barely escape it. The regeneration process was much slower than usual, possibly due to the extreme wound. A single drop of sadness rushed from my eye as I thought about the others possible death. I was just unfortunate enough to be the one to heal, I'd rather die with my friends, with Viola, then live a day without them. A steady noise of quick feet, crunching the grass began to approach.
"Adamis?" It was a mundane girlish tone. I had heard it somewhere but I was in too much pain to remember. Probably from the possible concussion I had. A hand gripped my shoulder, attempting to roll my body so that I would be facing the sky. My blurred vision began to sharpen and my ability to rationalize resurfaced. There she leaned over me, with the same red hijab dangling into my face that I had given to her for her birthday. She hadn't aged a day since I last saw her. It almost didn't feel real, I had so many questions for her. Questions that I had wished I asked her years ago. I forced myself to gather words from my blood flooded lungs. But as I spoke, blood vomited from my mouth.
"Scar-lett?"