Flashbacks

              My breath was short, ragged, and the pain was unbearable. Blood spurted from my mouth, leaving a trail visible to anyone behind me. I was moving slowly, painstakingly slowly, crawling on the ground belly-down. My arms reached feebly forward searching for something to grasp to inch myself forward once more with. My legs were weak, broken, useless, and twisted in odd angles. I rejoiced at the sound of cars, I had been moving slowly for what seemed like hours. With the noise my hope rose up in my chest and I found energy to move myself forward. I reached the road and the area was taped off, and there were dozens of cars. I could see policemen, reporters, firefighters, and some paramedics. I was weak and weary, but I had to somehow tell my daughter, somehow find her. Thinking of only her I summoned strength to shout "Someone! Please! Help me!". All eyes turned in my direction and shocked flashed across everyone's face as they took in my condition.
             People stood there gaping, and their stares burned holes into my head. I laid there pleading for help with my eyes, hoping that they would come forward because I had no strength left in me to shout again. My arms shuddered violently and collapsed and my head hit the ground with a painful thud. A paramedic finally came to his senses and rushed toward me. He was shouting orders, but I couldn't make out the sounds. Black dots spotted my vision and in the corners of my eyes until all I could see is black. Before the darkness could swallow me I whispered "Sir. My daughter. You have to find her... Find my daughter... I have to... Have to warn her... About... About him. Sir... Please."
             "Holy s**t you have a daughter? Officer we have to find her daughter!"
             "Jesus Christ! You're sure? There's no way in hell her daughter is still alive if she was with her."
              I was in a state in between consciousness and unconsciousness. One moment I was there drifting in the darkness all alone, the next the hospital flooded my senses. All I know was when I was in the dark HE was there. I didn't want him to be, but he was.
              All of a sudden my eyes opened and I was laying in a hospital bed. There was only one bed in the room and the hospital was quiet and peaceful. Turning my head I saw a glass of water sitting on the bedside table, but when I reached to grab it my hand was caught. Looking down at my wrists I realized that both were handcuffed to the bed, and my feet they were strapped down too. I hit the nurse button, and seconds later a tall woman wearing a nurse uniform came rushing in, followed by a stern looking policewoman with blonde hair pulled back into a tight ponytail.
              "You're up. Glad to see it, you've been out for a few weeks now," the nurse said with a fake smile.
               "Why am I all tied up? Why is a cop here? A couple weeks what's wrong with me? Have you...?
               "Whoa,whoa, whoa slow down, one question at a time, you don't want to strain yourself. First of all, you are tied up because while you were unconscious you would thrash around and we were worried that you would hurt yourself, and anyone who was tending to you. Secondly, this lovely policewoman Gelda is here to ask a few questions and explain some things to you. Thirdly, there was and still is a lot wrong with you, and the only thing you can do is lay here and heal, because if you don't you could die. Last but not least, if you were going to ask about your daughter that you were hysterically worried about we have no clue where she is, who she is, and so on. In short we have no clue if your daughter is even real or not let alone alive, well, and happy." With that the nurse looked at Gelda and walked away her head held high and proud.
                "Hi... um? Ms. Rosewood is it alright if we talk now?"
                 "Please just call me Clare, and yes of course. Pull up anywhere you like."
                  Gelda looked around the empty room with a sorrow filled gaze in her eyes. She was just now realizing that there were no flowers, no cards, and no "get-well" gifts. The room was bland and boring, and Gelda was starting to realize this. Finally she spotted a chair suitable for questioning me, and she drug it from across the room with one arm, leaving chair trails in the dust that had collected over the span of god knows how long. She placed the chair right next to my right side, near where my stomach was and she pushed a button and the bed rose up, putting me in a sitting position.
                  "Ms. Rose... I mean Clare, I'm sorry to inform you, but you have been charged with the murder of twenty-three men, eighteen women, and thirty children. One of which we believe is who you have previously referred to as your daughter."