Miriam's day started out fairly dull. She prepared for school, got there early and helped out some of the teachers. Nothing much really. Well, up until she passed by the football field. "Argh!" cried one of the players, clenching his head and preventing more cries of pain from escaping his lips . . . oh my, was that a broken shin -

"Gyaaah!" Miriam cried in pain and dropped to her knees, clutching her shin. A fiery sharp pain shot through the bone, and its intensity very nearly drove Miriam to tears. "Wh-what the-?" she winced in pain again. Then it was gone. Just as suddenly as the pain arrived, it also disappeared. Slowly, the girl got to her feet. Taking deep shaky breaths, Miriam examined her shin. [i]There's nothing wrong with it . . .[/i] she thought. Indeed the limb was completely fine. Now she was a bit worried. Maybe there was something wrong with the inside? She'd have to check this later. 

Miriam's day may have started normal, but from that point on, it began to get progressively weirder . . . and painful. Being a nursing student meant being constantly being surrounded by the sick and in need. Usually, she was happy to be around and help, but now the day was turning out to be a nightmare. She would constantly be hit by sharp pangs of pain, or she would sometimes suddenly feel dizzy, and she collapsed once even. That last one had her instructor send her home early, which is why she was on her way to the parking lot.

She sighed, a bit tired and disappointed. She hadn't been able to do much today. Still, what was happening to her was strange, and she had a sneaking suspicion on exactly what triggered these weird bouts of pain. She hoped she was wrong, because otherwise it made no sense. Well, less sense than what was already happening. Miriam sighed; This day couldn't possibly get any worse. 

Then the parking lot exploded.

Several people began panicking and running in different directions, spreading the chaos. [i]Crap, crap, crap,[/i] thought Miriam [i]What is goi-[/i] Her thoughts were cut off and every sensation in her body was replaced with the feeling of fire licking her skin, burning it to ashes. She tried to cry out in pain, but her voice choked and breathing became difficult; it felt like someone had shoved down a fistful of smoke down her mouth. Then it was over. Miriam was on her knees and panting heavily. She shivered uncontrollably before getting up on week legs. All around her, people were on the ground and in pain. 

Her martyrs instinct kicked in and she ran to the closest person to her. Not bothering to ask if he was okay, Miriam quickly turned him aside to inspect his condition. He was badly burned around the nose and mouth, and though he was breathing, it appeared he was struggling with it. Obvious signs of smoke inhalation. Miriam's head was dizzy. She was supposed to do something in this situation, but her mind was in a daze because of so many things happening at once. [i]CPR![/i] she thought, [i]I'll just preform CPR until help arrives![/i] - it was the best she could think of right now.

Miriam opened the buttons on the mans shirt and just as her hands touched his chest in attempt to pump his chest, she felt something like a jolt of electricity spike through her. She felt her breathing get worse, and several parts of her body corroded and looked burnt. At first, she thought it was a phenomena like earlier, but the feeling of pain did not go away even after a few moments, also, the parts of her body that felt injured actually [i]looked[/i] injured now. 

[i]What is go . . . ing . . . on . . . ?[/i] were her final thoughts before blacking out.

---

[b][A Few Hours Later][/b]

"It's really quite amazing, almost a miracle even," said the doctor. "I've never seen anyone recover so fast."

Miriam was beside her uncle and checking out of the hospital. She'd been driven to the hospital few hours a go by an ambulance that apparently found her in critical condition, but by the time they reached the ER, her vital signs were stable and there were only minor burns on her. After brief stay visit in the hospital, and she was completely healed. 

Her uncle chuckled. "Well, we should count our graces that nothing serious happened to her" - Miriam [i]seriously[/i] wanted to object to that - "and just be glad to have her back." After some light chit-chat with the doctor, the two were driving home. Miriam contemplated on the way whether or not she should tell her uncle about the weird occurrences that happened to her earlier. Her thoughts where interrupted when her cellphone began ringing.

"Hello?"

"Miriam! God, I'm so glad I could reach you! I thought you got caught in the explosion a few hours ago!" [i]Well she's not wrong . . .[/i] Miriam mentally shook her head, before replying. "Don't worry, I'm fine. So is there anything you need?" 

"Well . . . I don't want to make it sound like I'm just calling you for a favor, especially after I just expressed how worried I was, but I do need some help."

"Don't worry, I'll be glad to help, so what do you need?"

"I need a few materials, plus, I don't have a few notes from last week." Miriam nodded and committed those items to memory, before asking her uncle to drop her off at a nearby mall. Her uncle raised a brow. "Are you sure? Don't you have to take a rest? You just got out of the hospital."

"I'll be fine," said Miriam. Her uncle dropped her off. Miriam spent an hour in the mall, got the supplies needed, and headed back to the college dorms. Dialing a number on her cellphone, Miriam called her friend. "Hello, Cynthia? I have those things you needed . . ."