Empowered awakening

Chapter 1 The sky looks so blue today. Wisps of white cloud can be seen randomly strewn about but for the most part the sky is a clear, rich, bright blue. Now and again I can see a crow or a magpie fly past and all I can think is I wish I could be as free as those birds are and that soon i will be. Though I will admit even to myself that I'm currently grateful to be inside in the air conditioning on a day like today.  Today is the hottest day of the summer so far this year and like many of my fellow class mates i am not looking forward to school finishing soon since that will mean having to grab our heavy school bags and trudge out of the classroom that's air-con temperature is set too low in order to counter the large number of students, straight into a 45 degree 43% humidity day where you feel like even your eyeballs are sweating.  My name is Naomi and i'm 18 years old and today is also the last day of school for the year and in truth our last day of actual school all together. Wwe have all struggled through our end of year exams and every one is still talking about how great the Graduation Formal dance that was held a couple nights ago. We had our final graduation ceremony this morning and as much as everyone is enjoying the air-con most people are still eager to head off for a well earned break and to enjoy whatever they have planned for schoolies week.  As a member of the student council I did have to help set up the school hall for the Formal and make an appearance at the beginning for the school Captains speeches but thankfully I was able to leave and head home after only about an hour. I had nobody to go with and no family to care about if I went or not so I didn't see the point in wasting my evening standing around as a wall flower when there was a D&D campaign waiting for me to write it at home. Still I feel kind of sad that nobody has even commented on the fact I didn't stick around. Guess I'm just predictable and since I'm one of the loner, nerd crowd I wasn't even missed since the few friends I have here at school either didn't even go or left around the same time I did. I can't help that I'm a bit of a loner, I've been alone for a long time. My Dad died when I was only a few months old and my mum died when I was eight so I was then taken in by my Grandpa. Even though though I loved him and will always be grateful to him for taking care of me, he didn't really know how to handle a adolescent girl. Unfortunately he also passed away three years ago. Since the only other living family I have are in the southern parts of the country, the government decided that since I was 15, and had been left my grandpa's house in his will, I was old enough and capable enough to look after myself. I've been on my own ever since and have learned the only person I can truly count on is me. As I'm starring off out the window thinking of ways to try to build up more of a social life a siren suddenly starts blaring throughout the school, the whole class room jumps up and many of the boys start letting out whoops of excitement thinking our last day has finally come to a close. Then however we realize that we still have half hour until school is meant to finish and the siren isn't stopping. It's the fire alarm and we know that because it's our last day and so hot outside that this can't be a fire drill. There must be a fire in the school.  Our class becomes agitated and begin stashing their bags under their desks ready for the evacuation process. Our teacher, Mr McGill, decides to take pity on us and tells us that generally the evacuation procedure requires us to leave all our belongings behind but since we are all packed up for the day and will most likely be heading home directly from the evacuation assembly area we may take them with us now but to be prepared to drop them and run if need be. Thankfully we have had 4 fire drills a year every year so each of us is well acquainted with with the procedure and where we need to go so the class files out calmly and proceeds to the designated assembly area. A pair of the popular girls, Tanya and Lucy are walking just head of me while chatting loudly. "This is such a super exciting thing to have happen on our last day!" exclaims Lucy "Yeah, I bet it was one of the the boys from one of the another classes that set it off. Probably as a final prank on everyone you know. Since now everyone is going to have to sit on the sports oval for at least half an hour. It's the hottest part of the day too!".  replied Tanya Now living in rural Queensland, Australia certainly has it's advantages such as regular sunny weather, vibrant natural bush land, abundant interesting wild life, our numerous beautiful beaches and easy access to the Great Barrier Reef to name just a few. There are things you certainly have to be careful of though and I'm not even talking about the things Australia is generally known for such as it's more notorious dangers like spiders, snakes, sharks, crocodiles to name a few. Every child born and raised in this country is taught from day one to be aware of these dangers so only the truly stupid fail to treat them with a healthy level of respect and wariness.  No the lesser known and certainly less understood or respected danger is actually and quite simply the sun, especially when combined with the hole in the ozone layer that is located directly above our country. Summer in Australia can and quite regularly is brutal with temperatures ranging from 38 degrees Celsius up to close to 50 in certain areas. You can fry an egg on the road easily and forget touching the metal parts of the seat-belt buckle unless you want to be branded. And that doesn't even touch the issues with humidity where walking outside can feel like you are pushing through a waterfall and making the temperature feel like it is 5 degrees hotter than it actually is even in the shade. Now normally i would be inclined to agree with with what the are saying but then I notice thick, greasy, black smoke coming from one of the buildings up ahead. It's the science building and it is one of the buildings we have to pass directly by on the way to the sports oval if we follow the practiced evacuation path and the big glass display window for some of the preserved Biology specimens has a giant crack running through it.  Most of the class notices and start down an alternative path but the chatty girls in front of me aren't paying attention to anything but each other. They continue on obliviously and make it just passed the window as i'm about to turn and head down the alternative path when suddenly I hear a loud whoosh and a rumbling coming from the building.  Time seems to slow down, I drop my bag and sprint towards the girls as i shout "Watch out, get down!". As i reach them i shove them both forward as hard as i can hoping to  use my momentum to get us as far the grass on the other side of the path as the wall beside where they were standing and behind the display window collapses out causing the window glass and specimens to explode outwards in a deadly hail of shards and concrete.  I feel a sharp, fiery agony bloom in my side but i block it out as the adrenaline races through my body while myself and the girls who I tried to save scream in fear and pain as the blast wave from the explosion behind us pushes me into them and all of us over onto the grassy bank that leads down to the sports grounds. I roll head over heals a couple of times before coming to a stop curled on my side. After a few seconds the ringing in my ears subsides, the girls who were thrown with me get up from the ground brushing themselves off while making their way over to me. They both look scared and worried but from what i can see Tanya is limping, Lucy is holding her upper arm and they are both crying but otherwise they seem to have managed to get away with only a few superficial scratches and bruises.  I'm glad i was able to push them out of the way in time if i hadn't managed to get there when i did they would have been standing directly under where that part of the wall collapsed and could have died. They have people who would miss them if they were killed, their family and their friends, unlike me. Nobody waiting back home for me and never really strongly bonded with anyone outside of my D&D group (even with them i'm more a means to an end since I am the only regularly active local DM.) for once in my life i'm actually grateful of that. I try to get up however i only make it as far as my knees before the pain in my side becomes too much and i collapse back down finding it hard to breath. I can taste copper in my mouth and I feel a sticky warmth rapidly spreading out from where the pain in my side is located.this doesn't look good.  Lucy and Tanya crouch down next to me but after only a brief glance at my shirt Tanya gasps and starts crying harder and Lucy holding a hand over her mouth gets up to run and get the teacher. Within seconds my teacher arrives, the school nurse, Mrs Gerard and the principle Mr Urketts following close behind. Behind them i can hear what sounds like the whole school in an uproar. I can hear the deputy principle and the PE teachers telling everyone to stand back, I can also hear one of the business education teachers asking for the use of a mobile phone to call an ambulance. Mr Urketts takes Lucy and Tanya aside and starts asking them if they are severely injured anywhere and if they can give a clear explanation of what happened. Meanwhile Mr McGill and Mrs Gerard help me shift my position so they can see how bad it is. As i am lowered to where i'm laying flat on the ground the pain is so bed i want to scream but i don't want to scare my class mates so i swallow it before it has a chance to bubble out, however I can't help but let out an agonized moan when the Mrs Gerard lifts my blood soaked shirt and i catch my fist glimpse of the injury, even the nurse lets out a small gasp and turns slightly green while Mr McGill swears under his breath and wipes a hand over his face.  A long jagged shard of glass is sticking out of my side just below my ribs on the left side, I'm pretty sure that would have originally been worrisome enough but my tumble across the ground has obviously dragged it around ripping through my flesh until there is now a massive hole in my abdomen big enough to fit my fist in. I'm bleeding heavily, I can see the bone of one of my ribs and i'm fairly certain that if the damage is as extensive as i'm thinking some of my organs must be damaged and it feels like my lung has been punctured since i'm finding it so hard to breath. The sight makes me feel sick and i wish i could faint but If i let go of consciousness i'm not sure if i will every wake up again. Mr McGill takes off his shirt and hands it to Mrs Gerard who bunches it up to try and put pressure on the wound, this time i can't help but cry out from the pain when she touches me and it causes me to cough up blood. Within second the shirt is soaked through and the flow doesn't seem to be easing at all.  "You need to stay awake Naomi okay, just hang in there. The ambulance is on their way and will be here soon so stay awake!" Mr McGill keeps repeating himself and it looks like Mrs Gerard is holding back tears. I want to tell them it's okay but i t hurts to breath let alone talk. My sight is starting to get blurry and i'm beginning to feel cold creeping through me. I can't help but think is it was so hot before so how am i feeling so cold.  I reach my hand into the pocket of my school pants and grip hold of a small well worn 20 sided die i always keep with me. It's chipped and scratched, the paint in the numbers has worn away from may years of use but i never go anywhere without it. This little chunk of polyhedral plastic is my lucky charm and since it was my mothers it is also my last memento of when i had a happy home life. Before illness took the only person i had who cared about me, just holding it makes me feel a little better. I can hear the sounds of the ambulance and firetrucks sirens now as they pull into the school, the teachers are directing everyone to get to their assigned class lines on the oval. There are more voices coming closer too as the deputy principle directs the paramedics to where i am. By this time they reach me my vision is so bad all i can are two dark blue humanoid blobs bending over me. They tell Mrs Gerard she had done well but to keep as much pressure on the wound as she can while they ask Mr McGill to help them move me onto the stretcher.  I grit my teeth in to try and deal with the pain of being moved but there is no way to prepare for the agony that shoots through my abdomen or the air that rushes from my lung in a scream of pain and fear the moment they lift me to slide the stretcher under me. The darkness i have been fighting so hard to keep at bay finally wins, rushing over me like a wave and pulling me down into oblivion.