Point of Retreat(63)

I try to scream her name, but nothing comes out. There are people in my way, but I just shove past them. I keep running and running, but it feels like the distance between us keeps getting further and further away.

"Will!" I hear Gavin yell. He's off the ground and running after me.

When I finally reach her, she's just lying there in the snow with her eyes closed. There's blood on her head. So much blood. I tear off my jacket and throw it in the snow and remove my shirt. I begin wiping the blood off of her face with it, trying desperately to find her injuries.

"Lake! No, no, no. Lake, no." I touch her face with my hand, trying to gain some sort of reaction out of her. It’s cold. She's so cold. As soon as I put my hands under her shoulders to pull her into my lap, someone pulls me back. Paramedics swarm her as I'm being pulled away from her. I can't see her anymore. I can't see her.

"Will!" Gavin yells. He's in my face. He's shaking me. "Will! We need to get to the hospital. They'll take her there. We need to go."

He's trying to push me away from her. I can't speak, so I shake my head and push him out of my way. I start to run back to them. Back to her. He pulls me back again. "Will, don't! Let them help her."

I turn around and shove him, then run back to her. They're moving her onto a gurney when I skid to a stop in the snow right next to her. "Lake!"

One of the paramedics pushes me back as the others lift her up and carry her to the ambulance. "I need in there!" I yell. "Let me in there!" The paramedic won't let me by as they shut the doors and tap on the glass. The ambulance pulls away. As soon as its lights fade into the distance, I fall to my knees.

I can't breathe.

I can't breathe.

I still can't breathe.



Thursday, January 26th, 2012.



Chapter Thirteen


When I open my eyes, I immediately have to close them again. It's so bright. I'm shaking. My whole body is shaking. Actually, it's not my body that's shaking at all. It's whatever I'm lying on that's shaking.

"Will? Are you okay?"

I hear Caulder's voice. I open my eyes and see him sitting next to me. We're in an ambulance. He's crying. I try to sit up to hug him, but someone pushes me back down.

"Be still, Sir. You've got a pretty bad gash I'm working on here."

I look at the person talking to me. It's the paramedic that was holding me back. "Is she okay?" I feel myself succumb to the panic again. "Where is she? Is she okay?"

He puts his hand on my shoulder to hold me still and places gauze over my eye. "I wish I knew something…but I don't. I’m sorry. I just know I need to get this injury of yours closed. We'll get more information when we get there."

I look around the ambulance but I don't see Kel. "Where's Kel?"

"They put him and Gavin in the other ambulance to check on them. They said we would see them at the hospital," Caulder says.

I lay my head back, close my eyes and pray.

***

As soon as the ambulance doors open and they pull me out, I jump off the gurney.

"Sir, get back here! You need stitches!"

I keep running. I glance back to make sure Caulder is following me. He is, so I keep running. When I get inside, Gavin and Kel are standing at the nurses' station. "Kel!" I yell. Kel runs up to me and hugs me. I pick him up and he wraps his arms around my neck. "Where are they?" I say to Gavin. "Where'd they take them?"

"I can't find anyone," Gavin says. He looks as panicked as I do. He sees a nurse round the corner and he runs up to her. "We're looking for three girls that were just brought here?”



She glances at all four of us, then walks around the desk to her computer. "Are you family?"

Gavin looks at me, then back at her. "Yes," he lies.

She eyes Gavin and picks up the phone. "The family is here," she says. She listens. "Yes, sir."

She hangs up the phone and stands up. "Follow me," she says. She leads us around the corner and into a room. "The Dr. will be with you as soon as possible." She turns and walks away.

I set Kel down in a chair. Caulder sits next to him. Gavin takes his jacket off and hands it to me. I look down and realize for the first time since I took it off, that I'm not even wearing a shirt. I pull the jacket on. Gavin and I pace the room. Several minutes pass and I can't take it anymore.