The pain woke Rhett up. In the darkness of the ruins he screamed and cried until dawn broke. Slowly the first faint ripples of light reflected off the pool of water. As the light grew it filled the still surface and brought light to the statue. Under the reassuring gaze of the holy icon Rhett strengthened his will. He wasn’t in any condition to try and get escape. And with his leg so badly messed up he might die from sepsis long before he could be found. Surely, someone would come looking for him. Right? A student goes missing on an archeological field trip. That would make some headlines. He looked at his leg. Part of the bone was sticking out and had ripped into his pants. Blood had leaked out and dried sticking his jeans to his leg.

Strengthening his will for what was to come; Rhett bowed down and drank from the pool. The cool water was crisp and clean. Drips dribbled down his chin as Rhett swallowed hard. With an effort, he rolled from his stomach to his back. His shattered hip pressing down on a new side caused paint to shriek though his body anew. His head lulled to the side, weak and listless he looked at the statue’s kindly face.

“Friend, I’m sorry for what you’re about to see.”

With a deep breath, Rhett started the struggle of removing his belt. Although easy enough to do lying down, the sensation of it pulling against his swollen shattered hip caused his teeth to grind. After carefully placing the belt beside him and within easy reach Rhett emptied his pockets. All that he had was a simple velcro wallet, shattered cell phone, and a few keys. His travel pack, with snacks and drinks was left on the bus. He had deemed it too much effort and pointless to carry for just a few hours. He regretted the decision immensely.

Slowly, ever so slowly Rhett inched his pants down. Once he got his jeans past his hips he had to take a break. Sweat dripped from his forehead and he closed his eyes. Help. He really wanted some help right now, but he knew no one was coming. Rhett was alone. Well, there was the statue, he turned his pitiful gaze upon it and a memory came welling up from the depths of his mind.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Rhett was an avid reader. After finishing off textbooks he would read science fiction or fantasy novels. He wished and hoped for a life in a faraway world. Somewhere new and exciting and somewhere he could live without getting pushed around every day. For him wanted to be the hero, but a respectable bystander. He wanted to witness and be swept away by the amazing. No matter how incredible his own world was, Rhett would never consider it. This world meant nothing but pain and fear to him.

One of the stories Rhett had really enjoyed spoke of fear as being a mind-killer. He didn’t remember the mantra word for word, but it was enough to stick with him. He didn’t know why, but the memory suddenly resurfaced and built a strange connection. He realized now that it wasn’t just fear, but all negative emotion that destroyed the mind. In the moment of enlightenment he cleared his head and chanted.

“Pain is the mind-killer. I will face my pain. I will allow it to flow past me and through me. When it is gone I will see its path. Where it has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain. I will remain.”

As Rhett repeated his adlib phrase the strength in his voice grew. Louder and louder he reiterated until it reached a crescendo. With a mighty yell, Rhett bent forward and ripped his pants free from his legs. Victory clouded his mind and the pain swam back, more intense than ever. He fell to the side, took a small rest, wiped the sweat from his eyes and drank from the pool.

After calming down a bit Rhett focused on the next step; setting the bone in his leg. Somehow this didn’t seem like such a great challenge anymore. After all, he managed to get his pants off, and that involved sitting up on his had hip. This couldn’t hurt any worse. Rhett was wrong. It hurt more. A lot more. His leg turned purple before he had the strength to remove the belt tourniquet. Rhett noticed the blood dripping out of the freshly reopened wound and lifted up his good leg and removed his sock. Not much of a bandage but it was all he could think of to use.

Rhett rested, drank from the pool and crawled a short way over to the urine corner, where he relieved himself. Feeling depressed and wasted energy again he used the lost blood to write his name and birthday on the wall. Should he ever be found, the might discover who he was.