Day 24 - One Step Then Another

 One Step Then Another

 Matthew Ryan Fischer

 

His aching body told him to lie there, but some part of his nagging brain kept screaming for him to get up. His eyes were blurred sparkles and low tinnitus made his ears feel hollow.

Just stay here. Roll over and lay for a minute. Just a moment more.

Pain screamed out from all over – shoulders, back, knees, and thighs. His body was hot, but he shivered with cold sweats. It was hard to breath. Something was built up, clogging his throat. Mucus or a clump of dirt. But coughing hurt worse.

Keep your eyes closed. Rest.

Someone was screaming. A cacophony of pain.

He didn’t know why he reached out to touch his left arm, but when he did, it felt sticky wet.

If you don’t move, you won’t have to get up.

There had been an explosion. Suddenly the building next to him and erupted and bricks and stones came raining down.

The street was unsteady, but that was probably him. The world wasn’t angled, that was his head. The air was unclear, but that was probably the dust and debris that he wore a thin coat of. The goal was to move, to get up.

If you close your eyes, you could rest. Sleep. Just for a minute. Let it fade. Just let it.

He pushed down hard, trying to use sheet will to force himself up with one hand. If you close your eyes, he told himself, you won’t open them. You don’t know what’s wrong. You don’t know how bad it is. You have to keep moving.

A cry and a scream and someone was nearby. He couldn’t tell who it was or what was wrong with them. They were close, though. He could tell.

His job was to know these things. His job was to help. His job should have stopped any of this from happening. But it was impossible to account for inability to predict in a moment like this. In a moment like this, he only had one job – to get up and keep moving. There were people to help. People to save. Least of all, there were his wounds to attend to. Closing his eyes was not an option. No matter how good and idea it seemed like at the time.

Get on your feet. Get moving. Then do something about it. One step, and then another. And then another.

Slowly he stood and tried to wipe the dirt from his eyes. There was work to be done.