Triage

Look!

It's a bird!

It's a plane!

Up, up, and

away


Let me make this one.

Up, up...

My chest stayed in the air this time for a second. A shearing sound reverberated off the walls of the building, as I fell back to the ground in despair. Parts of me dripped out of the new me, while I watched machinery reveal itself, accompanied by the unzipping of the fabric skin, covering me like a gift box.

I waited a few days for the pain to dull, before I tried again.

Again.

I pulled something loose this time. A red shard of possibly my kneecap or hip; I couldn't tell which because of the porridge-like consistency my legs had taken on in recent weeks.

I decided to try again, and felt something go squish on the inside, towards my abdomen. It just turned out to be a rat's spine.

Well, there's another to the collection, I thought. Things rarely stay dead around here, so I expected to see him and his pals sometime. Sooner or later, they always come back.

At that thought, my pathetic thrusts gained a surge of power, and I found myself renewed.

Thrashing my back against the wall, perhaps I could rattle their cages. A little excitement?

Up, up, and away.

Up, up, and away.

Up, up, and AWAY