Vision of Affliction

My heart is pounding in my ears. I try my best to dodge the random branches in my way. My face is covered in scratches already. My legs, which are still wrapped in barbed wire from that bastard, are dripping blood. I'm beginning to wheeze. I can't breathe very well. I can't stop though. The man might catch me. I continue sprinting through the forest. Hoping against all odds, that I will get away. Alive. I chance a look behind me and trip over a root. I'm sent flying. My pants are shredded at the knees as my legs scrape across the forest floor. They sting but I get up and start sprinting again. Suddenly, I hear a bang and feel a burning pain spread across my shoulder and back. I bite down on my tongue to keep from screaming. I can taste blood. Just then, someone grabs my arm and yanks me back. I hear a pop and I can't hold back anymore. I let out a bloodcurdling scream. My already injured shoulder just popped out of socket. I look behind me and see that the man is grabbing my arm. I twist around, ignoring the pain, and swing my leg up. I land a kick against his side. He doubles over, gasping for air. I sprint away from him. I see a group of figures up ahead. I push myself even harder. I can't even take a breath in now. My lungs are closing up. Tears stream down my face. I finally break through the edge of the forest and come upon the group. I hear exclamations of surprise and fear. Suddenly my legs give out and miraculously I manage to collapsed into the arms of some guy. Their voices are becoming echoey.

“Hey, calm down. Just breathe. Tell me what's happened!” With my good arm, I point towards the forest.

“...the man….gun...help...me” my sentence is broken up by my heavy panting. But I get my message across. The group nods and takes position. The man comes running out of the protection of the trees and stops short.

“Give her to me and I'll let you get away alive.” Nobody moves. “Alright. Guess we're doing this the hard way.” He raises his gun, but before he can pull the trigger, someone from the group throws a knife, and it plunges into his throat. I go limp and the guy holding me starts to lose his grip.

“Hey, c’mon. Just hang on,” he shouts to another member of his group, “get the medical bag over here now! I can't have her bleeding out on me while we're on the job!” I hear someone rush over as the guy lowers me to the ground. I see the glint of a blade and flinch, I raise my arms up in defense. But soon remember the gaping hole in my dislocated shoulder. I gasp in pain. “Don’t worry. You’re safe now. Just relax. Okay? I have to cut the clothes away from your shoulder. I need to stitch the bullet wound closed.” I nod. Tears continue to stream down my face. I’m still wheezing but I’ve calmed down enough so that I can breathe again. The guy kneeling over me cuts the shirt I’m wearing open and as he tears it apart, I cry out in pain. “‘Sorry…” he trails off as he looks at my shoulder. He curses under his breath. “Your shoulder is dislocated. I’m going to have to put it back into place.” He helps me sit up. Then, he hands me a rag. “Put this in your mouth and bit down hard. Got it?” I nod slightly and then bite down on the rag. He counts to three and shoves my arm back into socket. My screams are muffled by the rag in my mouth. I start crying again. The guy looks down at my wrists and sees the marks left over by the ropes. “What happened here?”

I swallow and close my eyes tight. Not wanting to picture what happened in my mind. But I know that I have to tell him if I want help. “That man who was chasing me, I was his...his captive. I had escaped. That’s why he was chasing me.” The guy’s eyes widen with concern.

“How long was he holding you captive?”

“Um. A few months maybe? I’m not really sure. I lost track of the days. They all just kind of merged together. I was in a room with no windows. So I didn’t know when it was day or night. Besides, I was bound and chained to a metal pole. Even if there was a window, I couldn’t have stood up to see out of it anyway.” The guy nods.

“Where did you meet this man?” He motions to the man lying on the ground with his head.


“I met him when he kidnapped me from my house.”

“Do you know what day it was when he kidnapped you?”

“Of course. It was November 17.”

“...what year?”

“2014. Why?”

“You thought you were there for a few months?”

“Yeah. That’s what the man kept telling me….wait. What’s the date?”

“August 6, 2017. You were there for three years.” I choke back a sob.

“Three years?! Oh my god. What about my family?! They don't even know where I am!”

“Listen, I can help you find them. But first, we need to get you tended to. Are you hurt anywhere else?” I nod slowly. “Where?”

“My legs. And my torso.” He nods and lifts up my shirt, revealing the dark purple bruise covering more than have of my torso. Along with the bit of bone sticking out of my chest from when that man broke my ribs a few days ago. Somehow, with how he was kicking me, it forced the edge of one of my ribs to cut through my skin.

“Oh shit…” He called one of his group members over. “We need to get her back to base. And fast.” The other guy nods and relays this to the rest of the group. “And you said your legs as well?”

“Yeah. My legs are pretty bad…”

He looks down and see the shredded pants and my bloody knees. “That doesn't look so bad.” He begins to lift up my pant legs. They catch on the wire and he can't lift it up higher than my ankles. He grabs his knife and tears open my pant legs. That's when he sees the barbed wire wrapped around my calves. The man did this awhile ago. So my skin has started to grow over it. “Dammit. Dylan! Get over here now! Bring a stretcher!” He turns back to me. “How the hell did you manage to sprint with those on your legs?”

“I stopped feeling the pain in my calves awhile ago. Besides. I was too busy concentrating on escaping.”

“You know, you've got some nerve running out here on your own. Especially with what's been happening. You're lucky you didn't run into the group of reapers that we've been tracking around.”

“The what?”

“The reapers. Do you not know what they are?”

“No idea.”

“Well, I'll have to explain some other time. We've got to get you back to base.”

“Umm, okay?”

“I'm Angel Schmidt by the way. And you are?”

“Lea Kerr.”

“Well, Lea, prepare yourself. Your life is about to change forever.”

Angel lifts me up and gently lays me on the stretcher and helps Dylan carry the stretcher over to their van. Two other guys open the doors for us. Angle introduces us as everyone loads the stuff onto the van.

“This is Gerard Allison, second in command. He makes sure everything gets accomplished in a timely manner. Then, there’s Tristan Mathis. He’s our techy of the group. He’s also got a talent for tracking anything and everything down. Next, there’s Dustin Garrison. He’s the guy in charge of all the weapons and the tactics of the group. This right here, is Dylan Ballard. The medic of the group. Then, there’s Lauren Griffin. She’s the one who plans our missions. Finally, there’s me. I’m the leader of this fantastic team.”

By the time he finishes introducing everyone. We are all loaded up and pulling out. Dylan is inspecting my injuries as Angel talks to me. He explains how last year, there was a radical group who decided to break into Area 51 and expose all the government’s secrets. Apparently, they found more than they expected. There were these creatures being bred there. The government was planning an attack in the Middle Eastern countries with a new advanced technology. But the radical group found it, stole it, and took it for their own evil uses. Now, there’s a war going on. That small radical group has turned into an army of over three million people. The group that Angel is a part of, is a big group composed of over two million people wanting to make things right again. The government is all but destroyed. All those officials were killed. And now, it’s up to the people to take things back from the radicals.

Just then, as Angel is explaining these things to me, Dylan touches the barbed wire embedded in my legs. I cry out in pain. She pulls her hand back quickly.

“I thought you said you couldn’t feel any pain on your calves! I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. I don’t feel pain because I don’t touch my calves anymore. If I don’t touch them, it doesn’t hurt. Back in the forest, I was running on adrenaline. I couldn’t really feel that much pain. I guess the adrenaline is just wearing off now…”

“Would you like some pain medication?”

“No. I'll be okay. I've gone three years without it. Why start now?”

“I really think you should-”

“I'll be fine,” I interrupt her, getting annoyed. I just need some silence. My head is starting to hurt. I close my eyes and let the car lull me to sleep. The voices fade out and the darkness consumes me.

I open my eyes to the dream world. Immediately, I want to close them again. I'm back in HIS house. Tied up, and chained to a pipe. I hated that pipe. Every day, when the water heater would reset, water would rush through it, and the pipe would heat up. If I didn't move, it would burn me.

I remember this day clearly. This was the day that man wound the barbed wire around my legs, head, and face. That day, I had had enough and made the mistake of mouthing off to him. He apparently didn't like that. He left the room, and came back a few minutes later with gloves on and coiled up barbed wire. He started around the top of my head, wrapping it tightly around my scalp. I screamed the whole time. Then, he started wrapping it around my face. I closed my eyes, which saved me from going blind. He shoved my mouth closed and wrapped the wire around my mouth. It was the most pain I've ever felt. Then, he cut the wire, and started on my legs. The legs were the worst part. He took sandpaper and rubbed it down my legs until they were raw and bleeding. Then, he wound the wire tightly around my legs. After he was finished, he poured a bottle of vodka over my legs. I couldn't even scream or cry. I just passed out from the pain. The last thing I heard was him laughing.

I bolted upright in the bed I was laying on. I could see that it was dark outside. Tears streamed down my face. I was on the verge of having a panic attack. I couldn't breathe. My throat felt like it was closing up. I was getting tunnel vision. Then, I started hyperventilating. I heard footsteps running towards me. My hands somehow latched onto my hair in my bout of panic. I didn't realize I was pulling my hair until I felt someone's hands pulling at my own. I screamed when they made contact with me.

“Get off of me! Leave me alone! Please...don't touch me! I'm sorry! It won't happen again!”

The person finally managed to pry my hands off of my hair. And that's when I saw who it was.

“Lea! It's just me. Please, calm down. You're safe. I promise.” I grab them around the torso and pull them close to me.

“Oh Angel, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up. Please don't be mad!”

“I'm not mad. It's okay. You scared me, that's all. I was making my nightly rounds and heard someone screaming. I ran in here to check on you. That's when I saw you screaming and crying, pulling at your hair.”

“I'm sorry to have scared you…”

“No. Don't be sorry. It's okay. I get nightmares too. Do you want to talk about it?”

“No. Definitely not! I don't want to go through it again.” I start sobbing again. Angel wraps his arms around me and strokes my hair.

“It's okay. It's all over now. You're going to be just fine. I'll make sure of that.”

“Really? You won't…leave me?”

“Of course not. I'm never going to leave you.”

“Thank you…”

Angel pulls his communicator out and sends a message to a member of his team. Telling them to take over his rounds.

“Angel?”

“Yes?”

“Will you stay with me?”

“Of course I will. I'll make sure nothing happens to you.” I smile as he climbs into the bed with me. I curl into his side as he puts an arm around me protectively. I fall asleep to the sound of him humming a lullaby.

I wake up to the sounds of people rushing around the base. I notice that Angel isn't in bed anymore. I start to panic.

“Don't worry, sweetie. He's alright. He just needed to talk to the general about what's happened. Can I take a look at your ribs and legs?”

“Yeah..” The nurse walks forward and unties my hospital gown.

“We're going to have to take you into surgery to fix this.”

“Okay.” Then, she looks at my legs. Her eyes widened.

“Oh, sweetheart. I'm so sorry this happened to you.”

I nod. The next hour is spent taking X-Rays and prepping me for surgery. They’re going to have to break my ribs again to realign them. Angel visited me while I was talking with the doctor to let me know that he and his team were going on a mission and would be back in a few days. I hug him goodbye and tell him to come find me as soon as he’s back. The next few hours pass by in a blur. The surgery goes well. I have my torso wrapped tight and they managed to remove the wire from my legs. I’m bed-ridden for three weeks. The recovery is slow going at first. I’m taking medications daily. A few days pass by and the doctors remove the wrap. Things seem to be going exceptionally well; however, I’m getting really worried now. Angel and his team haven’t come back yet. It’s been a week. I’ve been recovering better than expected and I should be up and walking by next week. The doctors say that I can begin training when I’m up and walking again. The next week is rough but I manage it. The doctors and generals are impressed by my determination and strength. I have close to perfect marksmanship, and I have excelled in all the training courses. Finally, after I’ve completed the training, I’m briefed on all of the missions and plans.

After the two week training courses, I find myself talking to the General, requesting permission to assemble a rescue team for Angel’s team. I’m granted permission and that night, I head out with a team of my own. We follow the directions that Angel’s team followed and come to a stop in front of what must have been an ambush. We find Angel’s rover upturned. There are bodies of Reapers scattered about, along with the bodies of some radicals. They were ambushed by the radicals and taken as hostages. We relay this information back to base and request permission to advance. They give us permission and send backup along with us. We make it to one of the radicals’ bases. We take the base by storm, gunning down the enemies. Once we’ve cleared the base, we give a thorough search for any of the team members. We find no sign of Angel and his team. We move along to the next base, and this time, we find two members of Angel’s team.

I found Lauren and Dylan tied up in the basement of the second base. I called my team in and we got them out safely. I sent the two members back with another team. The rest of us advance to another one of their bases after finding a map of bases in their control room. We take the bases one by one. Capturing radicals here and there.

We come to a fifth base and that’s where we find Tristan and Dustin. They were beaten and bloody. We had them sent back to base immediately. Before they left, Dustin said that he overheard one of the radicals saying that they were taking Angel and Gerard to their main base to interrogate them.

As we leave the fifth base, we’re ambushed. There are too many radicals and reapers for us so we retreat. I make sure my whole team is safe before making a run for the rovers. However, before I can get to them, one of the leading rovers hits a landmine and the rover goes up in flames. I’m stunned for a few moments. I hear nothing but ringing and gunfire. I stumble to the rover with my team on it. I feel a stinging pain in my calf. Then, another in my arm. And a third in my back. I fall down to my knees. One of my team members has run forward to help me get to the rover but before he has the chance, a radical comes out of nowhere and shoots him down.

Just then, a reaper grabs me around the waist and lifts me off of the ground. I scream in pain as it carries me off to the radicals’ base. I manage to pull my knife out of its holster and slice into the reaper’s tail. It lets out this ear-piercing screech and drops me. I hear a crack as I land on my ankle wrong. As soon as I land, a radical runs up to me and tries to stop me. I reach for my gun but he strikes me across the face with his gun. I fall to the ground. I twist around and fire my gun. He falls to the ground in a heap. I have a huge gash across my forehead. There’s blood dripping down my face and into my eye. I start to limp away but a group of radicals surround me. One holds a taser gun up to me and fires. Two cords shoot out and latch onto my chest. I feel the electricity course through me. My body convulses as I collapse. Two men walk over and pick me up. I’m carried to a van and blindfolded.

After what seems like forever, the van stops and I’m dragged into a building. I hear footsteps everywhere. I can hear water dripping off the walls. I’m dragged down a series of staircases and into what smells like a cellar. I hear a metal door creak open and I’m shoved into a room. My legs give out and I fall. I’m sent rolling across the floor from the force they used to shoved me. The blindfold falls off and I have to close my eyes from the brightness. I groan in pain as I slowly open my eyes. I brush my hair out of my eyes. I gasp at what I see. Angel and Gerard are sitting on the floor, covered in bruises and cuts. They slowly look up when they hear me gasp. Angel’s eyes widen in shock.

“Oh...Lea...your head…” Angel sounds terrible. I try to walk over to them, but as soon as I stand up, pain shoots up my ankle, into my leg, and I collapse.

“Lea… don’t try… to move… you’re… injured.” Angel’s voice quietly reaches my ears. I still try to crawl over to them. Pain courses through me. “Darling, stop. You’re… hurting yourself.” I ignore him and continue crawling. I collapse next to him. Angel wraps his arms around me. I start shaking.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you. I’m here.”

“You said… a few days… I was so scared.” Angel looks down, ashamed.

“I know. I’m so sorry.”

“Oh. Just shut up.” I push myself up and lift up his head. “Come here.” I lean forward and press my lips against his. We pull apart, breathless. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.”

I shift slightly and stiffen. The adrenaline is wearing off and I’m feeling all the pain. My leg, ankle, back, and arm are throbbing. I have blood seeping out of the bullet wounds. When I look down, I see blood soaking through my clothes. That’s when Angel and Gerard finally notice just how injured I am.

“Oh my god...are you...shot?” I nod weakly. I look around and see a piece of broken glass. I grab it and cut through my sleeve. I begin to tie a tourniquet around my arm. I have trouble tying it, but with Angel’s help, I finally manage it. “Where else?” I use the glass to cut through my pant leg too. I tie the strip of cloth around my calf to staunch the blood flow. “Is that it?” I shake my head. I turn around and take off my jacket and shirt. Angel and Gerard quickly get to work and tie my jacket around my torso and back. They have me lie down on my stomach. We stay that way for the next hour or so. Then, we hear footsteps coming down the stairs. Three radicals walk into the room with chains. One of the radicals speaks to his superior.

“Um, sir?”

“What?”

“Why do we need these chains if she’s just a small girl?”

“This one’s been giving us trouble. She shot down one of our own. Now get to it!”

“Yes, sir!”

The two other radicals grab me by the shoulders and yank me up. I cry out in pain. They pull me to my feet and I almost collapse from the pain in my ankle. I put all my weight on my other foot and stand there as they wrap the chains around my ankles and wrists and neck.

“Alright! Let’s go!”

They yank the chains and I stumble. I can feel the bullet wound in my back start to bleed again. I’m led up a set of stairs and through multiple passageways. I limp the whole way. They are getting annoyed by how slow I’m moving. They yank the chain harder and I trip and fall.

“Get up! Now! Start moving!” One radical kicks me hard in the side. I cry out as he kicks me again. I try to get up but he kicks me a third time and this time, I hear a crack. I scream in pain as fire engulfs my ribs. I collapse on the ground, sobbing. The other radical lifts me up off of the ground and pushes me forward. He snaps at the other radical.

“We don’t have time for this!”

I’m led into a small room. Too small for my liking. The whole room is made of metal. I’m shoved to the ground and unchained. Then, I’m tied down to four rings on the ground. An officer walks in.

“What can you tell us about this alleged raid of yours?”

“What raid? We were just trying to get our people back!”

“I’ve heard otherwise. Were you trying to steal our intel? Maybe even our creatures? Because if you were, I can assure you, you will be met with a fate far worse than death.”

“I swear! It was just a rescue mission! We want nothing to do with you or your creatures!”

“Liar! Tell me why you wanted our creatures! What did you want them for?”

“Nothing. I told you!”

“That’s it. Turn it up. We’ll see how well she lies after this.” With that, he walks out. Suddenly, I hear a whistling sound and steam shoots up out of the floor. I scream as the hot jets hit my skin. Then, I hear a rushing sound and water trickles into the room. As soon as it makes contact with the hot metal, it starts boiling. The water surrounds me and soaks through my clothes. I scream in agony as it burns me. The water seems to get hotter the longer I’m here. Then, the water drains and the officer walks back in with a metal rod. He closes the door and types in a code on the panel on the wall. A cylinder rises up out of the floor. Steam shoots out of it before the cylinder turns bright red. The officer sticks half of the rod into the cylinder. Then, he begins to interrogate me again.

“Let’s try this again, shall we? What were you sent here for?”

“I told you….it was a rescue mission…”

“Stop lying! What do you want with our creatures?”

“We don’t want them! We were just trying to get our people back!”

“Every time you lie to me, I’m going to leave a new mark on you. Now tell me. What is your base planning on doing?”

“I don’t know.” He grabs the now red-hot metal rod and tears off my jacket and shirt. He slams it down on my stomach. I scream as the metal burns my skin and the impact causes bruising to show on my stomach immediately.

“What do you know about the alleged raid set to occur tomorrow at 2000 hours?”

“I don’t...know anything… about it…” This time, he steps on my throat and shoves the rod into my bullet wound on my arm. My body convulses with the pain as I scream. Tears stream down my face. I can’t get any air into my lungs. My throat is burning. Finally, he lifts his foot. He kicks me in the stomach as I gasp for air.

“What is your rank at your base?” I shake my head. I was never given a rank yet. He swings the rod down and strikes me in the temple. Spots dance across my vision. Blood gushes out of my head wound. The skin around the gash is singed and black. I start sobbing in pain.

“Still not telling the truth? Do I need to bring the other boy in here?” I gasp at the mention of Angel. He smiles. “Ah. Now that sparked something.” He opens the door and calls out. “Bring the boy in here.”

“No! Please! I beg of you. I’m telling the truth. I really don’t know anything about any raids!”

“If you can tell me what they are planning to do tomorrow, then I won’t harm him. Deal?”

“Yes. Yes. Deal.”

“Good. Now where is the raid taking place?” I quickly think up a lie.

“Tomorrow, our troops will set out for this base. They are going to be destroying the creatures’ habitation units first. Then they’ll be taking over the control rooms. They aren’t raiding you at 2000 hours. They’re raiding you at 1800 hours.”

“You’re lying. I can see it in your face!” He grabs the rod and swings it just as the doors open. The rod slams into my leg. Right next to the bullet wound. I scream as tears run down my face. I hear struggling and I look over to see Angel trying to get to me. “Now, you’re going to tell me what is actually going to happen tomorrow or I will hurt him worse than I have already hurt you.

“She doesn’t know anything. She’s been in the hospital for weeks. She wasn’t a part of my mission!”

I look up at Angel. What is he doing?! The officer unchains me and flips me over onto my stomach. I cry out as my burnt stomach hits the metal. I’m tied down again.

“Now, you’re going to tell me your plans for tomorrow. The faster you tell, the less she gets hurt. Now start talking.” With that, the officer takes a thin metal cord, and whips it across my back. I scream as it lashes me. Angel’s voice is overtaken by my screams. Another strike. And another. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Blood is starting to drip down my sides and onto the floor. One lashing after another. Sixteen. Seventeen. Then, BANG! Something falls to the ground next to me. I look over and see the officer, with a hole in his head. Suddenly, Angel is at my side, untying me. I’m losing consciousness.

“C’mon baby girl. Stay with me. Keep your eyes open. Focus on my voice.” He picks me up and carries me out of the room. I look around and see our people shooting down the enemy. A fire is blazing at the bottom of the base. There are the sounds of reapers dying. The raid was for today. Not tomorrow. The officer had heard wrong. My head felt like lead. I couldn’t hold it up any longer. My eyes started to close. “Lea, no. Open your eyes. We’re almost out. Please just hang on a little longer.” Angel started running. The pounding of his feet echoed that of my head. Finally, Angel ran outside and I took in a breath of fresh air. He carried me over to one of the vehicles and placed me on the seat. He got in the front and drove off. Heading home. After a few minutes, I eventually blacked out. The last thing I heard was Angel’s voice.

“Almost there darling. Almost there. I promise you’ll be okay.”

I slipped in and out of consciousness throughout the ride home. My whole body ached. Just then, Angel slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car. He opened the side door and picked me up. Then, he ran inside our base to the infirmary. I was lain on top of a bed where doctors and nurses surrounded me. The doctors peel off my blood soaked clothes. I cry out every time their hands made contact with my body. The pain was too much. I hear bits and pieces of what the doctors are saying but none of it registers to me.

“...internal bleeding.”

“broken ribs and ankle…”

“third degree burns on arm, torso, leg and head…”

“...blunt force trauma on side of head and on torso…”

“multiple lacerations on the patient’s back…”

Everything starts to fade to black. I hear loud beeping.

“patient is going into shock…” The voices fade away as the darkness consumes me.

The next time I wake, it’s quiet. I open my eyes to see the whiteness of a hospital. I look over to my left and see a man asleep on a chair. He looks terrible. I try to sit up but don’t have the strength. I groan as a deep pain grows in my abdomen. The man in the chair opens his eyes and leans forward.

“Lea! You’re awake. How are you feeling?” How does he know my name? He reaches for my hand and I pull it away. Hurt flashes across his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

I try to speak but find that I can’t. My throat is too dry. I start to cough. He quickly pours me a glass of water. I drink it slowly.

“Lea, please, tell me what’s wrong.”

“Who...who are you?” His eyes widen in shock.

“Stop it. That’s not funny. Lea, please tell me you remember me.”

“I’m sorry. Should I?” The man sits down in the chair. He looks pale.

“How can you not remember me? It’s me, Angel.” I laugh uneasily.

“I think I would remember someone named Angel.” Just then, I feel a sharp pain in my head. I groan as I hold a hand to my head.

“Lea? What’s wrong? Talk to me. Please. What’s happening?” I look up at the man but he looks blurry. I blink. But nothing changes. Everything starts to get really bright. I hear sirens and voices shouting. Suddenly, the man named Angel is gone and everything goes white.

I close my eyes and when I open them again, that same white light is shining bright in my eyes. Then, the light moves away from my eyes and I see a group of people. I look around and find myself in the basement of that man’s house. I’m still tied to that metal pipe. I look back at the people and count six of them. They are wearing paramedic uniforms. There are four men and two women. I hear them call out to each other.

“Lauren, get me a scalpel to cut these ropes. Tristan, Dustin, get a stretcher down here now!”

“Gerard, help me get this water valve and heater turned off. I don’t want this thing turning on and burning her.

“I’m coming. Just hang on, Dylan.” I look back at the guy in front of me with the flashlight.

“Hi there, my name’s Angel. Don’t worry. You’re safe now. Just keep those pretty eyes open for me, okay? I promise I’m not going to leave you.” A woman comes over with a scalpel and Angel cuts the ropes off of me. I’m placed onto the stretcher and carried up the stairs and out of the house. I see the lights of police cars and ambulances. The team lifts me up onto a gurney and wheels me over to the vehicle. They lift me up into the back of the ambulance and they all climb into it, shutting the doors behind them. The ambulance starts driving away to the hospital. I reach my hand out, trying to find an anchor to keep me here. I feel someone’s hand grasp mine. I turn my head slightly to the side and see Angel. He gives me a smile.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you. I’m here.”