Chapter Three
Pages 29 & 30
I can feel myself being tossed and rolled around. What is happening to me? I open my eyes and see a flame, so I shut them tightly. I can just make out voices as they echo loudly in my head. I don’t understand why I am being rolled around and around like this. STOP I try to scream, but I am scared and confused. I open my eyes again and see another flame, so I shut them again.
I must have lost consciousness because when I next opened my eyes, I was being carried in a blanket by my Dad. I lift my arm to put it around Dad’s neck and to my horror there is black skin hanging from it. I am really confused and anxious: I am crying because I know something is wrong, but I just don’t know what has had happened to me. People are yelling and screaming and I am now aware that I’ve been seriously hurt.
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“Dad,” I cry. “It hurts, I want Mum,”
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He is rushing now towards a car, “Mum is here darling, it’s going to be alright.” He lays me down in the back seat carefully. I look up at Mum who is crying as she cradles my head in her lap. The car door shuts and my body jolts as it speeds off. I can hear the driver reassuring Mum that everything will be okay and he will get us to the hospital. The course picnic blanket is unsympathetic as it pierces into my cooked skin.
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“Mum, it’s hurting me, take it off.” I plead with her to remove the blanket because it is stinging.
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“I can’t baby, just try to stay still.” Mum comforts me as I drift in and out of consciousness. She continues to assure me that I will be alright and we will be at the hospital soon.
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The driver and his passenger are yelling and waving their arms out of the windows, whilst beeping the car horn and flashing the lights on and off so that the other vehicles move out of the way and let us through the busy traffic. Mum and I are in the backseat of the car being reassured that we are nearly there. Dad reluctantly has stayed at the barbeque after Mum requested he remain there with my brothers until she knows what is happening. The driver continues yelling and honking his horn to avert the traffic, but unfortunately a car slams into the side of our vehicle. The impact jolts me and I shudder uncontrollabaly as more pain sears through my body.
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“Mum,” I whimper “I want to go home now.” I just want to go home, go to bed and wake up all better.
Mum asks me to be brave as she too begins to cry. The driver asks her if we are okay and then continues the journey towards the hospital.
I regained consciousness in the carpark of the hospital as they lifted me onto a stretcher. There were doctors and nurses dressed in white with face masks and hair nets on surrounding the stretcher and rushing me into the hospital. They kep reassuring me that I was alright and that they were going to take care of me. I was confused and just wanted to go home and be with my family. I drifted in and out of consciousness, awaking again in a strange room with more people in white outfits.
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“Let me know if this hurts sweetie,” a nurse lifted my arm to cut off my watch. I could feel a cold instrument running up my leg as they but my jeans off. It was petrifying and I started to cry. I looked for my Mum, but she wasn’t there and then I lost consciousness again.