Chapter 1
My eyes flickered, opening slowly. Much slower than anything I had experienced before. The bright white of the room flooding my vision, adding to the strain I felt in my eyes. Everything in the room was a blur. The sounds that filled my head confusing me further. Beeping, endless beeping and the screech of twisting metal, a woman screaming. I had no idea what was happening, where I was, or whether any of this was real.
As I glanced around the room trying desperately to make sense of anything, an inhuman red glow caught my attention. My heart dropped and then in almost the same second began racing - pounding at my chest as if it wanted to escape. "Run" was the only word I could conjure up in my mind. I needed to move but my body was limp, weighted down by exhaustion. The further I pushed myself the further back into unconsciousness I dropped.
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I didn't know how much time had passed when I came back around. It was easier to open my eyes now and when I looked around me the blurred vision had mostly subsided too. I immediately looked to the far left corner of the room where I had seen the threat before, but it wasn't there now, if it ever even had been.
As my senses came back to me I realized I was in a hospital room, hooked up to so many wires. I don't know what they were looking for but they seemed to be connected to machines that were giving the same beeps I had heard earlier on. I felt something on my face irritating me, and when I pulled it away I saw it was an oxygen tube.
Panic set in. I had no idea why I was here or what, if anything, was wrong with me. I must have started showing signs of the panic I was feeling, as when the door cracked open and a nurse stepped in she was almost instantly at my side, my hand in hers.
"Hey sweetie, calm down okay? Big deep breaths. You're okay." She said as she started guiding me in how to breathe. She was so soft and kind, instantly making me feel just a slight safer.
"Wh - Where am I?" I asked probably the dumbest question I could have through jagged breaths.
"You're in the hospital sweetheart. You were in an accident." The nice nurse reiterated what I had already assumed.
"What happened? Why am I here?" I asked as I felt the hot wetness of my tears drip down my cheeks.
"There was an attack in the city and you were caught up in it. There's no real damage but you were unconscious when you arrived with us, you have a concussion." She said, her hand moving from my own to the mysterious beeping machines, reading them as if what they said made sense.
The sounds of twisting metal replayed in my head, along with the woman screaming. It must have been a memory caught up in the confusion of coming around. Things were becoming clearer slowly but I was starting to think I didn't want them to.
"An attack? I don't understand." I said, a half statement - half question. My breathing was almost back to normal now as my concentration had landed on trying to remember what had happened earlier that day.
She sighed heavily, this was obviously a question she had heard and answered too many times before.
"That's right. It seems New York has an all new big bad in town. They don't know who it is yet, I heard they scarpered before Shield could get hold of them but they've certainly done a number on central park.. again." She told me, her warm smile had reduced to a frown. "Okay honey, I'm going to go tell the doctor you're back with us and he'll be in shortly to check on you. Can I get you anything before I go?"
"No. No thank you, I'm okay." I replied looking her in her deep brown eyes. I didn't know yet whether I believed it myself but at least I could try and convince her I was.
As the door clicked closed I was thankful that the blinds were drawn. I didn't need any distraction as I tried to sort my memories out.
I started with the facts I knew. It was Tuesday. Early April. I had been at college. I remembered my English lit lecturer had given me a soft smile as I walked for the door. I knew then that I was failing the semester. I was headed back to my dorm but wanted to sit and eat lunch in central park as it was a warmer day than was typical for the start of spring.
I'd chose a bench on one of the main pathways, that was shaded by a line of trees. I had crossed my legs and sat with my favourite book in my lap, while eating the turkey wrap I had made earlier that day.
I remembered the sounds first, as they had been seeping back to me since I first started coming around. First was the explosion, a bang so deafening that I remembered how fast my head shot around to the direction it came from. Smoke poured from a nearby building as the people around me began fleeing the park in every direction. I remembered grabbing my things and starting to run back to campus. That was when a woman screamed and as I shot round to look at her, I was hit by something and everything went black.
That led me back to my current situation. Laid here in the hospital bed, with thin off white sheets covering me. I grabbed the jug of water off the side table and an empty cup. It took almost all my energy to pour and drink it. My head was splitting.
I laid there for what felt like days before there was a quick rapping knock at the door. I looked over as it opened and as the doctor walked in I couldn't help but become distracted by another man stood behind him, making no effort to enter the room. He was just looking in at me, almost through me, with cold dead eyes.
Before I could take any real notice the doctor had already closed the door.
"Miss Marks?" He held his hand out expectedly. "I'm Doctor Weathers. I believe my colleague, Claire, has already briefed you on the events that brought you here today?"
I shook his outstretched hand. I had liked that he called the nurse by her first name and referred to her as his colleague. It felt respectful, like there was a sense of equality amongst the staff. I also noted how in the next breath he was so formal. It was contradicting and it amused me.
"Yes, she said I have a concussion?" I knew she was right just by the pain that was searing through my head.
"That's correct. It seems you sustained a head injury while in Central Park. While I don't know what caused it, I do know you must be in some pain, so I'll have Claire bring you something in for that. I think it best we keep you in for the night for observation, but you should be fine to leave tomorrow morning. Is there anyone we can call for you?" He asked, not once had he looked up from what I assumed was my medical chart.
"Yes please. My Aunt" It dawned on me that I was supposed to call her when I got back to my dorm. She'd be freaking out no doubt. "Or I can call her, but do you know where my things are?"
"Top drawer of the side table." He said, pointing towards it with his pen. "Claire will be with you shortly then."
"Thank you" I said and waited for him to close the door, making sure to check for the man I had seen earlier. He was gone now but he really did give me the creeps.
I reached over and found my cell phone in the drawer right where he said it would be. I double tapped the screen and it lit up. I was relieved to see it in one piece. That relief vanished when I saw the 7 missed calls notification when I unlocked the phone.
I sighed and clicked Aunt Erica's name listening to it dial.
"Melissa?!" She answered before it had even rang twice.
"Hey Erica. I'm okay stop panicking." I rolled my eyes.
"Where are you?! There was another attack in the city and I couldn't get hold of you and I thought you.." Erica rambled.
"Hey! Hey! Listen, I am okay. I was in central park and I hit my head. I'm in the hospital with a concussion but I am fine, you do not need to worry." I tried to reassure her but I was sure I just sounded patronizing.
"What do you mean you're in the hospital?! Oh my god, I'm on my way!" I could tell she had tears in her eyes.
"No, Erica wait. It's late. I'm not even sure visiting hours are open right now." I tried.
"But, you.."
"..Are fine." I insisted. "They're keeping me in for observation but they said I can leave in the morning. Will you please pick me up?"
"Oh sweetie of course I will." She sniffled right as the door clicked open again.
"Look I have to go, the nurse is here. I'll text you in the morning okay? Love you." I said. She relayed the same to me before I hit end call.
I sighed and rolled my eyes, smiling at Claire as she handed me a small paper cup with two small white pills inside.
"Moms huh?" She said giving me a sympathetic smile as she went to pour me a new cup of water.
"Aunts for me." I said, taking no notice of the assumption she'd made.
"Oh no, even worse." She joked. "How are you feeling hon?"
I liked her wide vocabulary of pet names.
"Like I've been hit in the head by an unknown object?" I laughed. It was easy to laugh around her despite the actual shit show of a day I had had. She had a very calming nature to her which worked wonders for me.
I took the pain killers and after five minutes or so of chit chat with Claire I felt myself dropping to sleep. She left the room turning off the lights on her way, leaving nothing but the ambient glow of New York's city lights and the moon glaring through the small window opposite me. In no time at all I was back asleep, despite having been unconscious for the majority of the day.