Among the Rubble

Chapter One

Somewhere in the distance, she thought she could hear the faint whir of a machine, but it sounded funny, almost as though she were hearing it through a tunnel or from underwater. Then there was the sound of her alarm going off, with the constant beep every few seconds. Only, that didn't sound right either. The alarm was something she was very familiar with, she woke to it every morning. Whatever this beeping sound was, it definitely didn't sound like her alarm.

Struggling, she tried to open her eyes, but her lids felt so heavy. It was strange, her entire body felt as if it were weighted down. Despite how much she tried, she couldn't seem to be able to lift her arms enough to turn off the alarm.

Through the murkiness of her slumber, she thought she could hear someone moving around.

Oh, thank goodness! She thought, David must be awake.

She was sure that her husband would notice her unusual movements and the fact that she couldn't seem to wake properly.

Suddenly, she could hear voices, but just like the other noises, they seemed out of place. It was as though coming through a long distance line, where all the sounds seemed so far away. But it wasn't just that. The voices, they seemed... wrong, foreign almost. No matter how much she tried, she couldn't seem to make out what anyone was saying.

In her mind, she was screaming for someone to look at her. Why wasn't anyone paying any attention? Couldn't they see she was in distress?

Just look at me, she silently pleaded, right until she fell back into oblivion.

***

She didn't know how long she had slept, but it seemed to do her some good. Even though she still felt as though she couldn't move much, her head felt a little clearer. Things weren't as foggy.

The noises from earlier still seemed to be sounding, and she thought maybe she hadn't been asleep that long. She also wondered why no one had turned off. whatever was making that noise. 

 She couldn't understand why no one was paying attention. Surely either David or one of the kids should have noticed that something was wrong.

Laying there, prone in bed, she tried to recall what had happened right before.

Right before what?

Well, you must've gone to bed at some point, right? she tried to reason with herself. So, she figured the best place to start, would be trying to figure out what she did right before bed, only she didn't remember going to bed.

There was an aching in her head that was starting to break through her fogginess. She tried to think if she had too much to drink the night before. It would explain the heavy and lightheaded feelings, plus the headache that seemed to be getting bigger and more intense.

Suddenly, she felt someone tapping on her shoulder, and an unfamiliar voice calling her name. "Madison?" the voice called softly.

She frowned as the fog started to dissipate and her head began to clear.

As she tried to move again, she noticed she still couldn't move her arms much. But she also noticed something new, a coldness that she hadn't realized was there earlier. Something cold was gripping her wrists tight, keeping her in place.

The realization made her want to fight against her captor, but she hadn't emerged from the sleepy fog quite enough yet for that. There were still too many things that didn't make sense yet.

"Madison Mason? Can you hear me?" came the woman's voice again. "My name is Doctor Rupesh. If you can hear me, try to squeeze my hand," the voice said, as she felt a smaller hand slide into hers and take hold.

Suddenly, Madi felt more frightened than she had in her entire life. Doctor? What had happened? She wondered if she was sick or something, and that was why everything seemed so foggy. It would explain why she was having trouble getting her mind to focus, especially if she had been getting drugs.

With new resolve, she realized she needed to make sure the doctor knew she was there, and she was aware. Mustering all the might she could in her state, she concentrated on her hand, and squeezing, she prayed that the doctor was able to feel.

"Good job, Madison!" the doctor exclaimed. "Now, can you try to open those pretty green eyes for me?" she cajoled her patient.

Taking what felt like a deep breath, but she honestly wasn't sure if it came across that way on the outside of her body, Madi tried to will her eyes open. Unfortunately, all she could manage was a slight flutter, never quite making it enough to actually see any of her surroundings, beyond an unfocused haze. It was so frustrating!

"It's okay," Doctor Rupesh assured her, letting go of her hand. "Don't over exert yourself."

A few moments later, Madi felt someone squeezing her hand. She hadn't even realized the doctor had taken it again, and she wondered if she had started to fall asleep, though she didn't feel tired.

"Are you still with me, Madison?" She heard the voice call to her through the void, and responded by squeezing her hand. "I'm going to ask you some questions, ok? I need you to listen to me very carefully. When I ask you something, can you squeeze once for yes, and twice for no?"

Madi repeated the instructions to herself a few times. Things were starting to get fuzzy again, but she didn't want to lose her grip on the world around her. After a few moments, she squeezed the doctor's hand.

"Good girl. Do you know where you are?" Doctor Rupesh asked, and waited for a response. When she felt two squeezes, she explained there had been an accident while she had been at the museum and she was now in the hospital, in Wales.

"Do you remember that, Madison? Do you remember the museum?"

When she gave another double squeeze, Madi felt as though the silence that followed was suffocating. Scrambling, she tried to remember, but was only drawing a blank. She wondered what had happened there, and suddenly wondered where David and the kids were, and why they weren't there with her.

"We need to talk to her," came another voice Madi didn't know, this time a male.

Madi could hear the doctor make a cluk noise with her tongue. "I'm sorry, Captain Harkness, but not even you can undo severe trauma and magically be able to make people be responsive." The way the doctor had talked to him, Madi could hear the disdain dripping from her voice. She wondered who this Captain Harkness was, and what the hell was going on.

"Speak for yourself, Doc. You have no idea as to  the extent of my power of persuasion." She could hear the laughter in his voice and what sounded like another male grunting - thought she wasn't sure if it was in agreement or not.

Madi wondered what he meant by that, or if he was just throwing back some sarcasm to the doctor.

Dear God, Madi thought, please don't be flirting as I'm lying here, without a choice on being privy to it.

There was some shuffling and Madi thought she heard someone else coming into the room, although she couldn't hear any more talking.

"We have to go," she heard Captain Harkness say with a sigh. "I need you to call me as soon as she opens her eyes and is able to talk, do you understand me?"

His voice dripped with authority, and Madi found herself wondering what he looked like. She had alternating images floating around in her mind, between an old man who had seen too much, and a boy who thought he knew more than he really did.

There was no reply from the doctor, but Madi assumed she had nodded.