Scream: Aftermath

The flashing blue and red lights blinded Sidney's face as the gurney traveled toward the ambulance's doors. Her eyes trailed along the traveling bed, meeting up at Randy's eyes. They stared back up at Sid's own brown ones, oxygen mask was placed over his mouth as he tried to mumble something for her ears alone.

"He's lost a lot of blood, he's starting to lose consciousness." The stout female EMT said to the right of him as she hovered around the gurney. "Let's get him in now so we can clean the wound and remove the bullet before too much blood loss." She drilled her eyes into her assistant as he bucked the cart down the rest of the sidewalk and into the back of the waiting ambulance.

"He'll be fine." The female EMT patted Sidney's shoulder as she opened her mouth to speak but uttered a soft cry instead. "You'll see him again soon enough." Sidney stood still not sure what to do next. There was too much commotion to handle around her and she searched the crowd for a familiar face. It stopped on her dad's soft graying hair as he talked to the Sheriff quietly. She raised her hand to get his attention but a firm hand planted itself over her forearm, she quickly swiped it from the grip.

"I'm sorry. I did not mean to startle you," The EMT assistant looked down at her, hesitant to continue or touch her for that matter. "I just wondered if you wanted a check up. I know they are just flesh wounds but you might want to clean those up."

She looked down at her arm where the assistant touched it. Not only had the force shook her when he grabbed hold, but the pain that still radiated from her wounds too. Sidney had not seen her face for hours and could only begin to imagine how messy and scared she looked from the outside. She had been so caught up in the whirlwind around her that she forgot that she had her own pain. She didn't want to feel it, she want to make it disappear forever.

"Miss Prescott, if you would step down over here, I could clean up those for you." The young man smiled kindly as he guided her gently to the porch steps.

She wedged herself close to the railing as she sat down trying to avoid being stomped on by all the police. The assistant sat next to her, not flinching a bit as police charged the air between the front lawn and the house's entrance. The picture in front of her slowed down a little as she focused her eyes on the center of the scene. Men in uniform questioning whoever they could pull into a quiet spot for a moment, neighbors behind the yellow warning tape looking bewildered and childlike, and bodies being carted away in bags and stretchers. She watched as Tatum's older brother, Dewey, was loaded into an ambulance very sedated. Oh God, Tatum! Sidney thought as tears started to form behind her eyes.

"Is it alright that I take your arm?" The man's voice was calmer now, not as formal as before. He eyed her arm and hovered his hand above as if it was going to bite him.

"Yeah." The word managed through her dry lips in a choke. She held back the tears for her friend as the man's hands gently held her arm in front of him. He pulled a medical kit out and started digging for his materials.

At the time, Sidney took a closer look at this man. He looked several years older than her, he was probably in college. He had lean arms as they held hers and warm hands as they touched her skin. His hair was dark brown and shaggy, in desperate need of a haircut. He pulled back from the kit and wiped the blood from her arm. His blue eyes shined against the police car lights as he examined her. He poured alcohol in a swab and turned to look up as she watched him.

"What's you name?" He asked as calmly before as he dabbed her skin. It burned and she hissed in pain. He pulled his hand back away for a minute and asked the question a second time.

"Sidney Prescott." She gritted between her teeth. "I'm surprised you haven't seen that plastered all over the television. The channel six news just loves to publicize my drama."

He smiled and his face lit up, warm and sweet the exact opposite of his icy eyes. She hadn't seen someone smile like that in a long time. Her mother used to have a smile that lit up her face and everyone in the room. Thinking about it, she missed her mother even after all the imperfections she had.

"Your friend is going to be fine. He just needs some stitches." He had finished and was patching her up. She had completely forgot about the pain she felt as he coaxed her through the dressings. "There, that's better. It was nice meeting you."

"Sid!" Her father's boomed as he accosted her space as he grabbed her up in a hug. "I'm so glad you are all right!" She squeezed him back tightly feeling relief for the first time in weeks.

"I'm so happy you are alive. I really thought something had happened to you." Sidney whispered, pulling back.

"My head was bleeding from the, uh, head wound they planted on my skull but other than that nothing a little food can't fix." Her dad smiled down at her as she hugged him closely again.

Sidney noticed as the young assistant had packed his kit back up and was heading down to one of the ambulances. She pulled away from her dad to stop him for a minute. She headed toward him with her arm held in front of her as she choked out a yell. He turned his head, his eyes filled with concern.

"Hey." She said quietly. "Thank you for cleaning this up." She pointed to her bandaged arm. "I'm sorry about how I was when you were trying to get me to sit down. I was just-"

"I understand. Don't worry about it. I should have known better than to touch a trauma victim." She didn't like the way he described her. She wasn't a victim and he certainly had no idea how traumatizing her life had been in the last 24 hours. She ignored the mild anger that welled up in her before she continued. "What's your name?"

"Derek." He said with a smirk on his lips as if he were proud of it.

"Thank you, Derek." His name came out all rubbery on her lips but she ignored it.

"Anytime." He muttered, chuckling a little before turning to the ambulance.