Chapter Text
Which travels faster? Light or sound?
According to research, it’s light. Light travels much faster than sound because, unlike sound, light does not need a medium to travel through. Both are fast, sure. Faster than the speeds humans could ever hope to achieve. But the difference in speed between light and sound is astronomical- never to be confused with each other.
However...based on your current experience, you’d say that sound is, in fact, faster than light.
After all, you heard the explosion before you saw it.
And after you saw it? You felt it too.
Your lungs are on fire.
That’s the only explanation you can think of for the pain as you wake up in the form of a throbbing body. Everything hurts. It hurts to move, it hurts to breathe, it hurts to even think. You can’t hear, you can’t see, and everything aches in a way that’s completely foreign to you. It's a paralyzing feeling, and you have no choice but to let it surround you at this moment. But you can’t wallow in your pain forever. You know that as much as you want to, something needs to be done. There’s no time to be sitting around, lying still and hoping for it all to go away.
That is all made clear as the constant burn of your lungs sends you hacking into the dust-ridden air. Your body forces you to shoot up, yearning for relief as your hands brace themselves on the sharp pieces of rubble. A new wave of pain shoots up your left arm, but it has to compete with the throbbing in your skull and the bruises and scrapes littering your body for proper attention. Your eyes are prickled with tears, your chest hurts, and your mind is racing with questions.
What happened?
How did this happen?
Who did this?
What is going to happen to me?
The last thought sent a pause in your coughing fit and sent a labored breath throughout your body. It quickly developed into a sob as your eyes peaked open to take in the sight of the before.
Dust, smoke, debris, and a ringing silence.
Perhaps your ears hadn’t quite recovered from the explosion yet. Another slob tore its way through your throat, searing it with pain as the gravity of the situation threw its weight upon your shoulders. Something must have caused the explosion- these things don’t just happen in a shopping district for no reason. Something must have happened. You’re sure of it. But the current state of your body left you helpless to seek help or shelter. That’s why you have to move, and fast. Who knows what else you'll fall victim to if you stay.
It’s hard. It’s so incredibly hard. It has to be the hardest thing you’ve ever done, you think to yourself as you brace yourself against a fallen wall and push yourself onto your feet with all the balance of a newborn deer. It’s a breathtakingly painful experience, but you force yourself to bear it with all your might. In the process, you’re able to find out more of your condition and surroundings than you would have if you just closed your eyes and prayed.
There’s a shattered window across the destroyed room you find yourself in. You count your lucky stars as you remember that you’re on the bottom floor of this building. The window will be a pain to climb out of. There’s no door, and most of the room is blocked off by large pieces of rubble that are too big for you to climb over like this. You do not doubt that you’ll end up with so many more cuts than you’ll ever hope to have as you make your escape, but it’s a risk you’re willing to take.
The ringing has lessened, but it’s still hard to hear. Your eyes are blurry from your tears but are otherwise fine. There’s blood on your forehead, but you aren’t quite sure where it's coming from. Your left wrist might be sprained - broken at worst- judging by the way you can’t put too much pressure on it. Nothing on your body looks out of place for the most part, but your legs are bare and bloody in a way that makes you want to throw up. There’s so much blood. There’s too much blood. There’s too much blood, and you can’t tell where it's coming from, and that scares you.
Maybe that’s a contributing factor to your overwhelming lightheadedness?
Despite the pain, you press on. You shuffle ahead, moving at a snail's past and using the wall to support your broken and battered body. Your eyes never look directly down- in fear of what they’ll see if they do. Instead, your eyes are always trained on a few paces ahead of you as you stumble your way through the wreckage.
But for a second, you get greedy.
Your shuffle is slow to the exit and as it approaches, you get excited.
You gain hope.
You gain trust.
And you let go of the wall.
You barely make it a step before your legs collapse on you. Your form buckles with a broken gasp as the air rushes around you. You’re falling, simply put. You’re scared. Scared of more pain. Scared of not being able to get back up, and scared of dying here. Alone. Lost. Frightened. Unable to do anything as you feel yourself fall in slow motion- getting closer and closer to the cruel fate that awaits you...
Until suddenly- here are arms circling your torso, lifting you into a chest…
All while all you could focus on is…