Voices.

     Voices, he could hear them.
     Someone was outside of the room.

     He opened his eyes and brought the room into better focus. The beeping became clearer as did the sound of rain against the glass. He lay in a small baby blue hospital room lit grey by the dim light through the window that was decorated with a tacky peach floral curtain. An empty maroon chair sat at his side with a single folded piece of lined paper upon its seat. The beeping of the monitor drilled more and more into his skull with every pulse and he wished he could just throw it out that window to make it stop.

     The door opened and a woman dressed like the rainy day came in clutching a red folder, shiny black pumps clicking on the pristine white tile. Silken ebony hair flowed down her padded shoulders, long and straight nose flaring slightly as though holding back a unnamed emotion. Her dark almond shaped eyes focused on Avery's face for seconds too long before she shut the door purposefully and clip-clopped her way to the empty chair, relocating the piece of paper to the emptier nightstand as she sat. She stared at him in silence as Avery stared back before finally speaking.

     "Hello," she said, her soft and gentle tone failing to match her expression and posture. "My name is Anna Lee. I'm a friend. Do you know where you are?"

     Avery nodded slightly. She opened her folder, taking a ballpoint pen from her breast pocket.

     "Can you tell me your name?" She asked, looking down at the contents of the folder.

     ".... Avery."

     "Avery Becker?"

     He nodded.

     She marked something down with a single sharp motion and met his watery eyes. "How old are you, Avery?"

     "... Eleven."

     "I see your birthday was a couple weeks ago. Happy birthday. I'm a summer baby, too."

     More brief scribbling. She hugged the folder to her chest as she studied his face carefully. "... Do you remember what happened, Avery?"

     A cold hand gripped his heart tightly. The tremors below him felt stronger. His ears filled with a deafening rumble and his wrist ached in memory of how tightly it was grabbed and pulled, pulled so hard he felt as though his arm would be yanked from its socket. His mind smothered the memory viciously but there was one thing he could fail to forget.

     The crunch.

     Something... went crunch.

     Avery shook his head slowly at the woman and her hard gaze softened.

     "Well. Your leg is broken and your belly got hurt but it's okay. The doctors fixed them. So you just need to rest and heal now," she said. "I'll go get you a snack. Are you hungry?"

     She stood without waiting for an answer and made her way to the door. Avery glimpsed what appeared to be a doctor just beyond it waiting for her and was left alone as the door was shut.

     His leg... and his belly. He glanced at the cast engulfing his entire right leg. It felt numb. Like it wasn't there anymore.

     He exhaled carefully as he pressed his head back against the pillows, attempting to rest as he was asked. His consciousness began to wander and settle into a shallow slumber but was alerted to the sound of voices once more.

     "This is beating around the bush, Anna," a man's voice growled in that way that attempts to be a whisper but fails utterly.

     "This is NOT beating around the bush! The kid's been through enough! We can't start crowding around him asking all these questions. The poor thing's still in shock. He said he doesn't even remember what happened."

     "I'm sure if you tell him he'll remember something."

     "I tell him and then he goes into, I dunno, cardiac arrest and dies on the spot. Great idea, Mr. Chase."

     "Look, I'm sure he'll be fine. Everybody wants to know how he's doing. His leg was practically crushed and a rod went through his stomach and he SURVIVED. After lying there for, what, 6 hours? He's already being nicknamed the Miracle Kid at the office. I want to write about his experience!"

     "Okay. Fine. You tell a critically injured eleven year old boy that he's one of only two survivors in his entire village and when he keels over you can write your heartfelt piece for his eulogy. If you don't mind, I have a JOB to do that involves SAVING children instead of ruining their lives more than they've already been ruined."

     Avery's mind went blank. Survivors? He turned his head to look at the paper on the nightstand, reaching for it with trembling fingers. The corner of it was sticky with something gooey and pink. It smelled like... strawberry flavoring.

     I'll see you tomorrow. Feel better. -Scarlet

     "Anna, I'm not trying to ruin-"

     "Stop. He'll find out sooner or later anyway. Just wait until he's all better. Please? I'm sure he's already in enough pain right now." She opened the door and swiftly shut it behind her, striding to the bed. "I'm back. Do you like fruit snacks? That's all the machine had right now."

     Avery brushed his finger against the name written in red coloured pencil.

     "Where's Scarlet?" he asked a bit hoarsely. 

     "Scarlet?" Anna set down a paper cup, ripping open the bag of fruit snacks and pouring them in. "She's here, too. She's okay. Is she your friend?"

     "Can I see her?"

     "Not right now. But maybe later. I need you to answer a few more questions for me. Is that okay?"

     "Let me see Scarlet."

     Anna sighed inwardly and held the cup of snacks out to him. "Answer my questions and I'll go ask the doctors if it's okay. Okay?"

     He nodded.

     "Do you have any family that live somewhere else? Grandparents? Aunt or uncle? Cousin? Big brother or sister?"

     He shook his head.

     "Do you have any brothers or sisters at all?"

     "... a sister."

     "How old is she?"

     "Three."

     She paused as she watched him mechanically pick out the strawberry flavored snacks and set them aside on the nightstand. "You don't like the strawberry ones?"

     "Scarlet likes them."

     "I see..." She took a breath to speak again but Avery cut her off.

     "It's not only two survivors," he said flatly.

     "I... do you..?"

     "It's not only two."

     "Oh god... Avery, um... I need to tell you-"

     "It's not just two." He gave her a steely look, eyes glassy.

     "... Honey, they found-"

     The door swung open and a tall man with a bald head and a reddish beard stood looking shaken. "I need you," he said through his teeth. "They found somebody."

     Anna looked between Avery and the man uncertainly and stood, patting Avery's good leg. "I'll be right back."
     She followed the man out. Avery examined a snack between his fingers, squishing it pensively.

     The snack burst and pink goo oozed out onto his thumb. With a dull plunk he dropped it back into the cup.

     He couldn't feel his leg.

     He couldn't feel anything.

     Something

     went

     crunch.