Continuum

II.

When I regain consciousness, my body is frozen in shock from the near-Death experience that it just endured. I feel numb, unable to open my eyes, or lift a finger, as if I'm detached from my own body. I can hear everything that's happening, however, and I listen to the surrounding voices of my friends reacting to my fall.

"Holy shit," I hear Kalila quietly breathe, her voice trembling with worry.

"Oh my God...Sabina just fell." Aspen's words are muffled, as if her mouth is covered by something.

"I'm so glad you caught her! Is she hurt?" The alarm in Kalila's voice is apparent, and her words grow louder as they get closer to me.

"This is why I hate climbing this thing and I'm terrified of heights! Why is she not awake? Did she hit her head? We have to call an ambulance!" Aspen's shrill, panicked voice is clear as day now, and I'm sure the ambulance can hear her from here. But it doesn't matter anyway. Death has already come for me.

"Ash, try to calm yourself, please." Nolan's voice sounds stern and strong. "Sabina is alive, and she isn't hurt. I managed to catch her before she completely hit the ground. Maybe she just fainted from shock." Wait, I'm uninjured? He caught me? No way. That isn't possible. I fell from too high an altitude to not hit the ground and not have an injury to show for it. On top of that, why does he look exactly like Death from my dream? Is he Nolan, trying to help me, or is he Death, here to claim my soul as my life comes to an end?

"We really should get her to a hospital. She's unconscious, Nolan! We don't know for sure that she didn't hit her head. Is there any bleeding?" Kalila interjects, her voice trembling slightly with fear. After heaving a sigh, she continues, saying, "Her mother probably doesn't even know she's out here with us. It's likely that she thinks she's still at work." She's right. I didn't bother informing my mom that I'd be out with my friends. Now I'm as good as dead. All she'll have is my sister without me.

"It's for that reason, I say we take her home," Nolan mutters. A few breaths of silence follow. What are my friends doing? They need to take me to the hospital! I could be mortally wounded. Have any of them bothered to check my pulse to ensure that I'm unconscious and not dead? I can hear everything that's going on, and if I were dead that wouldn't be the case, would it?

"She appears physically fine. I don't want to get her in trouble. I think she'll wake up before we get home. Kali, you're sober enough to drive, right?" Nolan asks.

Kalila sighs again. "I'm never too high to drive. And even though she looks fine, there's a good chance she really isn't. I don't like this, Nolan. I don't like this at all," she responds.

"You'd better hope nothing serious is wrong with her," Aspen adds, her voice distant and shaky. Poor Aspen is probably in a corner somewhere crying and hyperventilating. She's so anxious that she can't handle situations like this well at all.

Silence fills the air, leaving crickets to chirp loudly. I hear the low tide sloshing onto the coast and the sounds of feet crunching dead grass. They're moving, probably taking me with them. I hear the beep of someone unlocking the car doors, followed by the click of them being opened.

"Ash, get in the passenger seat. I'll stay back here and try to bring Sabina around," Nolan instructs. Why is he so calm about all this, and against taking me to the hospital?

"But babe, I want to—"

"I know, you want to help. But I'm the only one with experience in resuscitation. Please, trust me to handle this." Nolan's sharp tone instantly silences Aspen, and I wonder what exactly he's going to do to bring me around. Nolan knows how to perform CPR, but I still haven't figured out who exactly I'm dealing with right now. The car doors slam shut one at a time, and shortly after, someone's seatbelt clicks. The engine comes to life, and the tires crunch over gravel as the car rolls into motion.