Conscious

"Noel"

Darkness was all that I was aware of in my current state, it was heavy and consuming leaving me just with my thoughts. No sounds were audible, and there wasn't a smell present for my brain to recognize. This state had to be death, nothing but the feeling of emptiness, a void, which was what I had been expecting it to be. I had never been one for religion, and it's more than often hypocritical interpretations.

Growing up as a ward of the state could suck the faith from you. It was hard feeling unwanted everywhere you go for your entire childhood. Even those who seemed to want you had anterior motives for housing you. It led me to ask many times, what kind and benevolent god would put a child through that? I wondered if my funeral was happening or if days or years had passed since my death had occurred. I hoped my siblings had cremated me instead of placing me in the ground and morbidly coming to see my final resting place. While I contemplated the movement of time in the dark nothingness, I was struck with an unanticipated sensation of what I only could only describe as electricity coursing through the entirety of my body. Out of nowhere a flurry of smells hit my nose. I felt things like pressure, pain, and numbness all at the same time. The most noticeable of the sensations was the feeling of water hitting my face in a staggered pattern.

"Come on Noel please wake up it has been two weeks," I heard the familiar soft and fragile voice that belonged to my sister that was bogged down with emotions.

"Err," I tried to speak out and quickly realized I had a tube in my throat. The pain was unbearable to the point that my eyes burst open, and I immediately saw that face of my sister with red puffy eyes and her hair in a messy unkempt manner, which wasn't the standard style that she presented herself in, she usually had a poise to her. She still looked pretty, but something was definitely off from what I could tell by just looking at her.

"Oh Noel," she said in a tone that was louder than I've ever heard her use before, not that anyone had ever considered her to be soft spoken.

"I paid your rent, and threw away all of your expired food," she began telling me a ton of irrelevant things. It only slightly distracted me from the doctor's/colleagues coming in and out of my room until Chief Anderson an elderly Caucasian man with silver-gray hair and a broad smile came and took the tube out of my throat which made Chloe cringe.

"Well hello hero," he said in his consistently jolly voice before handing me a cup of water that I reached for doing my best to maneuver the wires and tubes stuck to me in a way that kept them from being pulled up or out of me. Once I had a firm hold on the cup, I brought it to my lips and let the fresh liquid pour down my sore throat moistening my dry mouth.

"The girl, Tiara," I struggled to get out my question. I hoped she had made it to her mother.

"Oh she's fine, she was discharged a week and a half ago," Dr. Anderson answered

"How," I asked hoping they would get what I was saying without me completing my sentence.

"Noel a few firemen were able to get to you through the building, we were scared you inhaled too much smoke and suffocated. Luckily Dr.Houdeck was able to find a weak pulse and went above and beyond in saving your life. You've been in a coma for about two weeks now. I'm so proud of you and your selfless actions. You saved a little girls life I wish I had the kind of bravery that you showed," He said in a genuine tone.

"Thank...you," I said looking at my sister who seemed like she had a ton on her mind other than just me.

"What's wrong, pregnant?" I asked wondering if I'd have some little Asian nieces and nephews running around.

"Ewww, you know better, well actually... Nevermind don't worry about me. It's almost six, the firemen that saved you usually come in after their shift is over to see your progress. They will be happy to see you awake," she said to me with a kind smile. She wasn't fooling me something was off about her. Not just me being in a hospital bed, with me awake all her other problems were probably weighing on her. She should be traveling right now, Chloe being an Art Director rarely had downtime. I had to wonder how long she had been here for me, hopefully not the whole two weeks I had been out.

"Every day,"I asked her regarding the firemen, me not being in the mood to entertain new people hoped the answer was no. I really needed a moment to gain my bearings.

"Yup," Chloe said flashing me a fake smile.

"Oh," I said my voice slowly getting more clear the more I used it.

"Alright, I'm going to go now, I'm glad you're awake. After you get a little bit of rest were going to get some test done to see how long you need to remain here," Dr. Anderson said before walking out the room leaving just Chloe and me.

"What's going on," I asked her with a severe face.

"Well, I lost my job staying here, and I'm going to be homeless," she said, and I immediately felt guilty that she lost her job and ability to afford her place because I was in a coma.

"First off you should have just left me here, but I'm glad you came, second if I have a home then you have a home," I said to her seriously.

"You'll have to sleep on the couch, but we'll make it work," I told her.

"Noel thank you I really need the help right now," she said to me, "Oh here they are."

I looked over at the window that showed the goings on of the hospital just outside my room which I noticed was private. Outside I could see three muscular looking men walking towards my door all of them were tall and had somewhat dark looks on their faces. There were two guys, a Middle Eastern man and a lighter skinned man who really caught my attention. The mixed race looking man stood at maybe six feet or so and had a muscular body that outdid the ones of the guys walking with him. His face had an even complexion tied together with a beard, full lips and dark eyebrows.

As they approached the door, I noticed how much I was focused on not looking directly at him. Chloe moved her hands in a "come in" motion catching my attention. I heard the mechanism of the door creak as it opened letting the two athletically built men into the room. Immediately the room felt smaller with them inside the confines. The middle eastern guy walked over and looked at me with an odd expression.

"Oh damn he's awake," he said shocked. His voice was husky, and he spoke with excellent enunciation, not that the four words he uttered was much to go off of.

"Oh shit, I told Malcolm to come with us today," the black guy said in an enthusiastic voice that was as deep as the ocean.

"Welcome back to the world of the living," he said his face spreading into a smile which displayed all of his pearly white teeth. I was captivated by the man in front of me. He gave off an air of confidence and smelled of sandalwood. I forced myself to stop looking at him and reached for the bed remote and had the upper half adjusted so that I was sitting up instead of looking up at them.

"Um thank you guys for saving my life," I said to them genuinely wanting to know that I was grateful for their actions. I felt awkward as they stared at me.

"It's no problem we were just doing our jobs. Thank you for making it a little bit easier in saving the girl," the middle Eastern man spoke.

"It was nothing," I said aloud which caused the black guy to scoff.

"It's actually a big deal not many people jump into harm's way for other people. Trust me I've seen what happens when people like you aren't there to help out those who can't help themselves," he spoke with a level of forcefulness that I wasn't used to being directed at me.

"We're just happy that you are awake and you seem to be healthy. Everyone at the firehouse will be glad to know that you are alright. When you get out we'd like to throw you a small celevration or something," the middle Eastern man added.

"Oh, I don't know," I said uncomfortably with the amount of attention that would be on me at a party.

"We're not taking no for an answer, I promise you you'll enjoy a party with us," the black guy said with a big smile.

"Come on Noel, just say yes when is the last time you've been out," Chloe asked in the firefighter's defense.

"I go out," I said after trying to think about the last time I went out to have fun or been to a party that wasn't mandatory for work.

"That settles it, the moment you get better we're going to set it up," the black guy said in a tone that made it seem like the discussion was over.

"Okay, I guess," I responded.

"Perfect, we're going to let you get some rest. Chloe has our numbers right," the Middle Eastern guy asked her.

"I do Joran," she said to him.

"Alright then, see you tomorrow," Joran responded while walking out.

"Yeah we should be up here with some more of the crew tomorrow, but you probably do need to rest," he said before turning to leave giving me a view of his strong back. Just as the door was about to close he turned around and spoke.

"My name's Austin by the way."