"Alex, can you hear me? Alex."
A familiar voice rang in her head, yet she couldn't pin down who it was. She struggled to open her eyes and when she finally managed, a very out-of-focus Captain Franke stared down at her. She blinked several times in an attempt to clear her vision.
"Alex, are you okay?" the captain asked as he wiped a wet substance from her face with a cloth. She focused on the cloth. It appeared to be soaked with blood. My blood. Her sight went black, then slowly cleared again.
Paramedics loaded her onto a stretcher as Captain Franke continued to talk to her. His tone seemed softer than normal. She wondered how she ended up on a stretcher. She couldn't seem to remember. Finally, she mustered up enough strength to ask the captain where she was and what had happened. He lo
