Blood and tears

"NO!"

Her scream boomed amongst the noise of gunfire. Her body lunged forward shielding those behind her with her body as bullets rained down on them. Bullets pierced her body rendering her immobile. Her slender body crumpled onto the muddy floor with a bang.

Her eyes sparkled brightly as she turned her head and looked at her two best friends as they rushed to her side face's paled in horror at her bloody wounds. Tears fell like waterfalls from their eyes. She could see their lips moving-screaming out to her, but she couldn't hear their voices. Her vision blurred as they bent their bodies over her's in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

The noise of gunfire was all around them, the screams of agony wailed into the night. The only lights came from the stars in the skies and flashes of bullets leaving the guns trained on them. People fell to their deaths on either side of their group. Blood ran down like water in the muddy ground, the stench of iron and dirt made it hard to breathe.

Nila's head was buzzing, the sounds around her mixing making it hard for her to hear clearly. Her head faced the dark woods behind her friends, in a blurred state she saw the flashes of gunfire directed straight at them. Her eyes widened in fear.

Time seemed to stop as she desperately tried to pull her wounded body up to pull her friends aside. She could see the tiny dots of bullets headed their way and her heart fell into despair. She could only watch as time started up again and the sound of bullets piercing through flesh rang in front of her. Her head turned in horror. She could only watch as the eyes of her two closest friends-Angel and David widened before their bodies toppled over with blood running down their faces where the bullets pierced through.

The last thing she saw before her vision went black was the tears in their eyes before their lives were snuffed out.

~

4 Months Later.

The heart monitor began to beep wildly prompting the rush of nurses and doctors into the lonely VIP room. The sounds of feet shuffling outside rang beside her ears as she blinked slowly. The brightness of the hospital room made the woman on the hospital bed squint her beautiful eyes. Her vision slowly adjusted to the brightly lit room taking in her environment.

The room was large, there was a long sofa to her left with blankets in disarray, water bottles littered the small table at the side. The curtains were open letting the sun in illuminating the woman on the sickbed. Monitors beeped loudly around her, numerous needles were attached to both her arms, feeding and monitoring her.

Her pale arms were exposed showcasing her thin wrists and bony hands. Her once plump cheeks were now sunken in deepening the contours of her face making her look like a model in a painting. Her dark hair was carelessly spread out on either side of her face making her look even more pale and fragile. Her hazel eyes surveyed the room slowly, taking in every little detail. There was an emptiness in those beautiful eyes-an abyss that swirled in between the green and gold in-between them. She remained still, making no attempt at moving.

The door of the room swung open as the doctors and nurses made their way to her side. They made themselves busy checking her vitals and heartbeat. One nurse began drawing a vile of blood while one of the doctors began asking questions.

"Hi Nila, my name is Dr. Ness I am the doctor in charge of your recovery. I will be asking you some questions. Is that okay?" The wrinkly face of the doctor smiled at her kindly.

Nila did not say a word only shifting her eyes to the doctor indicating he could continue.

The nurses continued to busy themselves around her, reading the data on the EKG. One of them removed the ventilator and needle feeding her. The process took a couple of minutes, as the nurses followed the instructions of the other doctor before some of them left the room.

"Okay. Let's begin. Can you tell me your name?" He asked taking a seat next to her. He waited until all the nurses finished their tasks and left the room. His kind eyes watched her attentively, watching for her reactions.

"Nila." She responded. Her voice was low and raspy as a result of not using her vocal cords for a while.

"Great! How old are you?" Dr. Ness asked as he took some notes.

"22."

"Where do you live?"

"Endove City."

"Okay, and can you tell me if you have any family?"

"Grandmother, uncle, aunt, and two cousins."

Dr. Ness scribbled on his notepad. The sound of pen scratching paper made her eyebrows furrow slightly in annoyance but otherwise, her face remained calm showing no emotions. Her eyes were empty and cold.

"Let's continue. Now I will be asking you a couple more questions that will be more difficult to answer. If you don't wish to reply just let me know." He said softly taking in the coldness of her eyes.

Nila turned her head towards him and waited patiently.

"What do you remember before passing out? You have been in a coma for four months."

Silence followed as he finished speaking. Something in the air changed drastically. A coldness seeped into his old bones making him shiver ever so slightly. He shifted in his seat and trained his knowledgeable eyes on her and waited for her reply.

A couple of minutes passed by but she remained silent. Then Nila slowly turned her head towards the window her eyes squinted against the morning sun making her face shine under its yellow light before she turned back and looked at the doctor.

"I remember everything."