Red. Black. Red. Black. Slowly drifting back into consciousness, Ny was vaguely aware of pulsing light. Red. Black. She was seing the light through her closed eyelids. Red. Black. Suddenly she felt fluid in her mouth and nose, as if she were trying to breathe underwater and coughed it all out. Red. Black. She was pretty sure she had caughed up more than water or mucus, by the sound of it. She didn't really want to know what was still on her cheek though. Lazily, she tried to pry her eyes open. They were gummed shut. Red. Black. She tried to lift a hand to rub her eyes but it was tingling and oddly asleep. She bumped her forehead with her own hand instead of reaching her eyes. She then tried to flex her hands but they wouldn't entirely respond. Her hands felt swollen and she couldn't bend her fingers properly, she couldn't feel her fingers touching her palm at all, either they weren't touching or she wasn't registering the pressure. Red. Black. Sleep had been so nice, she tried to
Ny was standing alone in the middle of an empty street. Everywhere she looked, houses and cars stood empty and abandoned. Cars were parked at odd angles with smashed windows and slashed tires. They were starting to rust in places. The tarmac was split open. Trash littered the street and was being blown about by a slight breeze. Litter was trapping water in little calm, undisturbed pools. Houses and buildings were covered in greenery, doors stood ajar and red crosses were tagged on them. Pieces of wooden shutters were hanging from a single hinge and screeching in the wind. Somewhere inside, water was gushing out of a broken pipe. Ny was breathing through her scarf and yet the stench of rotten meat came from everywhere. There was not a living soul, not even dogs or mice. Not even birds. The coast was clear. She hadn’t been followed. She stepped over a broken flower pot and walked quickly onwards next to a pile of fallen tiles. It was day but the sky was grey. As silently as she was