Shock, some part of my brain informs me soberly. You’re going into shock. And on the back of those words, I feel pain for the first time; sharp, stinging fire. With shaking hands, I pull my vest away from my body. It’s torn to shreds and bloody. My shirt beneath it is the same. My belly, too. A gouge divides my navel. Other desperate scratches line me. “God,” I whisper, and then I am on the ground.
