Glimmers Of Desperation

he emergency room, her heart pounding against her ribcage. The sterile white lig

huddled shapes of medical personnel, a chaoti

barely rising above the cacophony of li

cticed urgency. Harley's gaze settled on the chest compressions bein

er breath, willing for her siste

monitor edged towards a flatline, a re

, and a defibrillator charged with a

stubborn line on the monitor refused to waver. "Again!" The wo

ear

ng up the instruments, Harley's hands twisted the hems of her shi

f screaming in her head. She could literally see h

ice said, breaking th

hite sheets and ignored Harley as tho

now, not when everything else was falling apart. She felt a

tching her with a steadying hand. "Miss, please," the nu

m the truth that lay beneath a white sheet. The corridors blurred

, but she couldn't stop. The exit loomed ahead,

o the stifling grief inside. She stood there, panting, the city sounds a muffled

underous sea had been severed, and she was adrift, alone. There were n

aos of the city. With nowhere left to run, Harley Williams sank to her knees o

like years to Harley, she decided to star

r had to appeal by informing her that she can't take her sis

out high hopes or expectations she sees that the total money plus her savings as fa

a drink. She picks up a can of beer, the last i

reality, and a hurtful experience of daily living

t a traumatic kind of nightmare based

ack from her part time job, and saw the lifeless bod

s rolled down her cheeks, wondering why everybody died and left her al

----

ng a subdued glow on the cluttered living room where Harley

nt, muffled by the walls that seemed to

anaged to stand, her movements sluggish, as if wading throu

ley, how are you holding up?" Anastasia's voice was gent

ugged instead, the gesture a feeble attempt at communicat

ght embrace. For a moment, Harley allowed herself to lean into t

d about a job opening at a bar nearby," Anastasia said as s

jolting her with a faint spark of somet

naged to utter, h

aybe get back on your feet?" Anastasia's ey

nk you, Ana," she whispered, her gratitude mingling

lp you get set up," Anastasia offered, brushi

watching the hustle of New York beyond the gla

re." Anastasia's hand rested on

r shoulders but also the stirrings of a newfound resolve. Anasta

of this apartment was the first step toward reclaimin

mind, the uncertainty of the so-called bri

back on her feet? Will she