I'm not sure when I realized that I wasn't dead. I think it was sometime between the peaceful feeling creeping in, and the numbness finally leaving my limbs. Awareness began to return to my body, yet I remained paralyzed.
The blast came suddenly. None of us knew that it would be our fate. We had followed each instruction carefully, one step at a time, obediently proceeding with each part, unknowing what it would bring. As each sign appeared, we knew we were on the right track without having any ideas where we would end up. We knew that we had been chosen for this purpose and that we would be swiftly rewarded. What we did not realize was that a nuclear blast would be "it." As the wave approached, I felt surprise, isolation, and then comfort. I even had a moment to wonder what would happen next and regret that I would not be there to see it.
I floated in darkness and searched for some consciousness of my physical self, it eventually came back, but only very gradually. Have you ever woken up from a dream completely numb? It happens to me occasionally, but usually when I'm awakened from the "wrong" state of sleep by an outside source like a crying baby.
I looked at the clock-it said 3:12am. I felt the dream still, and had simultaneously mixed emotions of doom, warning, and acceptance.
