Down on the Dock - 12/26/2012
Characters:
(HomeStuck) Dave Strider, Dirk Strider, Jade Harley, Jake English (Grandpa)
(Original Characters)
Fate Happers
Summary: Dirk is an abandoned 19 year-old, spending the summer at a lake front cabin that belongs to his unofficial adoptive grandfather, Jake English. One day,
a boy is found half-dead on their dock. Dirk takes him in, realizing that this kid doesn't want to remember anything but his name- Dave.
== (Dirk's POV)
I was making breakfast in the kitchen of that old, worn down lake-front cabin. It was my 19th summer, and it was a cool morning in late July. Grandpa (Mr. English, to some.) had taken me in 5 years ago, when my parents left me alone, and never came back. I often think of them. No one knows why they left. I think it was to get away from me. You know, maybe they didn't want to tell me something like, "Oh Dirk, you're adopted!" or, "We're out of money and can pay for this house or you anymore. Happy camping!" or at least "We're in a lot of trouble from the CIA. Gotta run!" Not a fucking thing. But I don't ever talk about it. So Pops forbade me to think about it, 'cause he says it makes him worry that I'll go grimdark- whatever the fuck that means. I think Pops has seen some tough shit in his life, so his grand-daughter Jade Harley and I just go along with it.
I've known Jade since I was 10. We used to run into each other a ton at church when my mom got on her religious kicks. Jade and I would play together with the other kids after the sermons were over. We couldn't ever really see each other during the church session though, seeing as she was 4 years younger than didn't mind though. She was my best friend up until I was 14, when my 'rents disappeared. That's was when the only way I did anything was when Grandpa E nearly broke down the door to my house bringing soup and bread, and physically forced me to eat. Then he would drag my sorry ass to church every Sunday. But I never said anything for awhile. Not even to Pops. Jade would try to get me to play with her, but I only went out side on the porch to watch. I never did anything, until one day I got a postcard from my mother saying that they were on a new adventure around the world. That was it. No "I love you." No "I'm sorry." No "I'm coming back." Grandpa helped me burn the message, and that was when I finally started to interact again. They didn't waste their time thinking about me, so why should I waste my life thinking about them? Jade and I picked up right where we left off. She's my little quirky sister, and I'm that "overly dramatic older brother." Whenever she says that, I put my wrist to my forehead and fall on top of her. She'll squeal real loud, and then Grandpa tells us to calm the fuck down. I smiled to myself then, hearing grandpa's in the living room muttering to the paper. This was peaceful. This was where I belonged this summer. Everything was so light here, it didn't seem real. I whisked the pancake batter vigorously, adding blueberries as I went. I started humming the tune to some song by Jack Johnson, and the sound of frantic feet pounded up-up-up the wooden steps outside to the kitchen.
The frame door swung open and slammed shut; Jade entered the kitchen flustered.
"Hey, Jade, what's-" I started.
"Dirk, come quick!" Her voice was frantic. "I was down on the dock, and there's a boy passed out with blood on his head! I panicked, so I came back." My apron was already off, breakfast batter aside on the counter. I spoke quickly. "Do worry, you did good. He was on our dock, right?" She nodded. "Alright. Tell Pops and call an ambulance. Show them the way to the dock. Meet you there." I hugged her reassuringly. She breathed deeply into the crook of my shoulder, and I swear I could feel the tension roll out of her. I gave a smile, and was out the door with flash-step speed. The dock was only about 150 yards away from the back door, just through a small forest.
Running had always been easy for me. For some reason, a flash-step speed was like a second nature to me; resulting in reaching the some-what new dock in under a minute. The lake's water was completely still this morning- the mirror-like surface providing a crystal clear reflection of the sky and the bottom of the dock. I located the boy, blonde and bloody. The skin on his forehead right next to his temple was cut, the small gash bleeding steadily. He was pale and drenched, wearing only a red baseball cut shirt, and a pair of black cargo shorts similar to my own. His arms were splayed above his head and feet hanging off the dock, and I could barely see his chest move. I put my ear to his partly opened mouth, stared at his chest, and listened. No small "whoosh" to be heard. My fingers found his wrist, and probed the veins underneath the soft flesh, searching for the heartbeat. None. Shit.
I had to mentally prepare myself for what was about to come next.
"Dirk! Do the windy thing!" I heard, Jade rushing down the dock, a can of white spray-paint in her hand. She still didn't remember the correct term for CPR. I grunted, and took off my white tee. I tossed it to her. "Fold that up and gently apply pressure to the cut. Stop the bleeding while I'm doing this. Where are the EMTs?"
"They're following the spray-paint line. They were grabbing some stuff I think." Her hands were almost as quick as mine, folding the cotton and pressing it to the boys head. I grunted, and tilted his chin up, plugging his nose between my thumb and forefinger. I took a deep breath (partly to steady myself) and pressed mouth against his, and gave him everything had in my lungs. 1. 2. My fingers locked, and pumped just under his rib cage. 1. 2. 3. 4. All the way to thirty. Repeat. Where the fuck were the Paramedics?! Breath. Breath.
4 people came running down the dock 15 pumps into the fifth round. They tapped my shoulder and shoved me aside, taking my place and blocking my view of him an Jade. I was dizzy, and an eerie fuzz started to blur the people around me. I saw them place the teen on a gurney, and hobble off, taking the kid back up to the truck. Jade scooted over to me, and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"You look pale. Let's get you back up to the cabin. You need to sit down for a bit." I merely nodded. On the way back up, I couldn't help but notice the roaring silence of the green forest. The dirt was clean enough under my feet that every step Jade and I took was silent, and weirdly, it hurt my ears. My breathing was ragged from asthma, and I started to see double of everything. By the time I got back up to the cabin, I was tripping over all four of my feet, and a couple of Jade's, too. My legs were Jell-O, and I couldn't make it inside before a EMT came over and told me to lay down and told me how to breathe right. Asphyxia was my enemy, and my inhaler was normally right in my pocket. But I rushed out too quickly, and forgot it on the counter.
"...In...haler..." I breathed to Jade. "...Counter." She stood quickly. "On it." After she left, a different EMT came over to me. He was saying something... Good job, I think? I nodded and reached for my inhaler when Jade got back. 1. 2. Hold. Blow. Normal. It helped a ton. "The boy?" I managed as I got up slowly.
"He'll be fine. The cut wasn't as deep as it looked. A bandage is all he really needs, so we don't even need to take him to the hospital. We can fix him up right here in the back of the truck." Someone said. Good. We'll have guests, then. "Jade, do we have strawberries?" She looked incredulously at me.
"...Yes? Why?"
"Because they would go good with pancakes. Go wash your hands. We're having company for breakfast."
She giggled. "Okay, but Dirk?"
"Yeah?"
"You might want to put a shirt on first."
"Oh right."