This just makes everything worse. Pain bolts up my leg. I move to try and ease it, which causes my body to slip to the side. I didn't realize I had been balanced so precariously and before I can stop myself, I'm sliding down the embankment.
My body tumbles over in a circle and images flash through my mind.
Yellow circles.
Falling.
A thud.
NICKY!
The last thought screams through my brain as I lurch to a stop.
I'm out of my body again. Dale is beside me, looking worried and distracted as he taps his pen on the open textbook in front of him. Damn it! My jacket. Stupid fall, I wanted to assess my situation better. Where am I now? How far down did I fall? And what was with those yellow circles?
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to make sense of the image. It doesn't work. My eyes pop back open and I silently curse. I want to get back there. I mean, I don't want to be in pain again, but I would like to see where I am now and I really want to be able to tell Dale I'd covered my flimsy shirt with a jacket.
Oh what's the point! I have absolutely no control over this stupid situation.
Opening my mouth, I'm about to admit defeat and tell Dale I'm back when the desk starts rushing towards me again. My eyes grow wide as the room spins. I squeeze them shut then feel the pain searing my system again.
I'm back in the forest. How the hell did that happen? And what am I lying in?
I spit the debris from my mouth and reach for my throbbing elbow. I'm now in a pile of dead pine needles, the brown sharp ones that prick your skin. I brush the points away from my neck and pull a few from my ratty hair. My elbow is pulsing like a strobe light. Each beat sends a spike of pain from my fingertips to my shoulder. A low moan passes through my lips and a sob climbs up my throat.
Okay, so I'm a total idiot for wanting to get back here. Who cares about a jacket? This hurts too much!
I try to shift my knee to a more comfortable position, but the fire that sears up my leg is too much to bear. I let out a loud cry and stop moving.
Closing my eyes, I try to ward off the tears and think.
My bag. Did it fall with me?
I peer around my body and am surprised to see it resting against my right knee. My fingers scramble down my thigh and manage to grasp the leather strap. I heave it towards me then have to stop and take a few breaths. My head is starting to spin.
I shakily unzip my bag and pull out my jacket. It takes forever and the small task is exhausting. I clasp the jacket to my chest and lay my head back on the pine needles. My brain feels swollen and mushy and despair is only a heartbeat away.
Tears burn.
Dale's writing swirls in front of me telling me to put my jacket on. I look at the letters, scribbled quickly in blue ink and make my mind repeat them. It takes about four tries, but eventually my right hand capitulates and starts shaking my jacket to open it wide.
Trying to stretch it over me is freaking hard work, but I manage to cover my shoulders and tuck it under my chin... sort of.
My teeth chatter as I turn to see how far I rolled. I think I see the spot I was before. Gazing up the hill, I replay the tumble in my head. Yellow circles flash in front of me. Two of them, next to each other.
I frown and close my eyes again.
Circles... swerving towards me.
I open my eyes.
"Yellow circles?" I whisper.
"NICKY!" A young girl screams my name and I wince.
"No." I blink at tears. "Circles."
I force myself to repeat the word, hoping it will eradicate the sound of a child's scream. "Bright circles." I watch them swerve in my mind's eye, over the road then straight towards me. "Headlights!" I gasp.
Those two yellow circles were headlights.
I was hit by a car.
For some reason, the thought is liberating. I finally know what happened to me.
I try to dredge up further memories. Forcing the headlights to come swerving towards me over and over again. I can't glean any more information and after a few minutes I'm spent.
I need to get back to
My body tumbles over in a circle and images flash through my mind.
Yellow circles.
Falling.
A thud.
NICKY!
The last thought screams through my brain as I lurch to a stop.
I'm out of my body again. Dale is beside me, looking worried and distracted as he taps his pen on the open textbook in front of him. Damn it! My jacket. Stupid fall, I wanted to assess my situation better. Where am I now? How far down did I fall? And what was with those yellow circles?
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to make sense of the image. It doesn't work. My eyes pop back open and I silently curse. I want to get back there. I mean, I don't want to be in pain again, but I would like to see where I am now and I really want to be able to tell Dale I'd covered my flimsy shirt with a jacket.
Oh what's the point! I have absolutely no control over this stupid situation.
Opening my mouth, I'm about to admit defeat and tell Dale I'm back when the desk starts rushing towards me again. My eyes grow wide as the room spins. I squeeze them shut then feel the pain searing my system again.
I'm back in the forest. How the hell did that happen? And what am I lying in?
I spit the debris from my mouth and reach for my throbbing elbow. I'm now in a pile of dead pine needles, the brown sharp ones that prick your skin. I brush the points away from my neck and pull a few from my ratty hair. My elbow is pulsing like a strobe light. Each beat sends a spike of pain from my fingertips to my shoulder. A low moan passes through my lips and a sob climbs up my throat.
Okay, so I'm a total idiot for wanting to get back here. Who cares about a jacket? This hurts too much!
I try to shift my knee to a more comfortable position, but the fire that sears up my leg is too much to bear. I let out a loud cry and stop moving.
Closing my eyes, I try to ward off the tears and think.
My bag. Did it fall with me?
I peer around my body and am surprised to see it resting against my right knee. My fingers scramble down my thigh and manage to grasp the leather strap. I heave it towards me then have to stop and take a few breaths. My head is starting to spin.
I shakily unzip my bag and pull out my jacket. It takes forever and the small task is exhausting. I clasp the jacket to my chest and lay my head back on the pine needles. My brain feels swollen and mushy and despair is only a heartbeat away.
Tears burn.
Dale's writing swirls in front of me telling me to put my jacket on. I look at the letters, scribbled quickly in blue ink and make my mind repeat them. It takes about four tries, but eventually my right hand capitulates and starts shaking my jacket to open it wide.
Trying to stretch it over me is freaking hard work, but I manage to cover my shoulders and tuck it under my chin... sort of.
My teeth chatter as I turn to see how far I rolled. I think I see the spot I was before. Gazing up the hill, I replay the tumble in my head. Yellow circles flash in front of me. Two of them, next to each other.
I frown and close my eyes again.
Circles... swerving towards me.
I open my eyes.
"Yellow circles?" I whisper.
"NICKY!" A young girl screams my name and I wince.
"No." I blink at tears. "Circles."
I force myself to repeat the word, hoping it will eradicate the sound of a child's scream. "Bright circles." I watch them swerve in my mind's eye, over the road then straight towards me. "Headlights!" I gasp.
Those two yellow circles were headlights.
I was hit by a car.
For some reason, the thought is liberating. I finally know what happened to me.
I try to dredge up further memories. Forcing the headlights to come swerving towards me over and over again. I can't glean any more information and after a few minutes I'm spent.
I need to get back to
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