The Searcher
I saw the shot. I heard her scream. I felt her pain. She needed me, "Katie!" I screamed, "No. somebody help me!" But no one listened. The cars kept on passing the kids kept on laughing and playing and Katie kept bleeding. This was a normal day in the slums of Chicago. There was already blood streaks on the sidewalk of the corner to get to the richer section of town where Katie and I went to school. By then I had crouched down beside her crying. I was strong. I picked her up with ease and took her to the porch nearest us. I didn't care who lived there. I reached inside her backpack pulling out the emergency first aid kit and pulled out the bag marked "LARGE BANDAGES" and another labeled, "WRAP" I tenderly pushed a large bandage against the wound after placing a large amount of Neosporin directly on it, and wrapped the wrap around her waist where the bullet had hit. I carried her to school like so many others I had seen carrying their friend, tears streaming down their faces, fear shining in their eyes walking through the gates. Katie, I admitted looked dead. Everyone backed away from us as if we were a deadly disease. I took her into the school and went to the office and walked straight into the nurse's office not hearing anything that the principal said. I set her down gingerly on the bed, and said, "Shot, I dressed her wound." The nurse looked at me," go to class, you may see her later at the hospital we must contact her parents."
I sat through my classes, doing my work, not hearing. I was going to tell my music teacher I was not going today, when I passed him. "You!" I screamed in rage, I started to claw at every inch of his skin I could reach punching, slapping, kicking and scratching. When he was on the ground I sat on his stomach, "You don't go around shooting anyone," I slapped him, "Not my best friend," I slapped him again, "Not anyone." I slapped him again, his face was raw and bleeding where my hand had made contact three times. Mrs. Friesure, the music teacher, pulled me gently off of him, "No!" I started to fight her grip, "Let me at him, He almost killed Katie, He almost killed her!" I was sobbing, "He. Almost. Killed. Her." I stopped fighting and she let me down slowly. I sat sobbing on the now bloodstained tiles.
***
I sat still looking at Katie's unmoving form under the blankets of the hospital bed. "Shea," the nurse said, since she was a regular visitor they all knew her name, "visiting hours just ended." The nurse looked at me waiting for my reply. "I would like to stay ma'am, please?" I asked hopefully. "Of course, I forgot, you stay the night on weekends. Did you bring dinner for you and Katie?" I nodded "Yes ma'am," I brought for three actually. Join us?" I asked, she went to awaken Katie, "No." I said sharply, "let her sleep, she needs it, I brought a thermos it wont get cold." The nurse looked surprised, "Yes of course,"
Katie didn't awaken until early morning. The nurse soon found out that Shea had packed Katie breakfast. "Thanks Shea," Katie said weakly, "My surgery is this afternoon," she looked at me imploringly, "Good… to get the bullet out?" I asked my mouth full, "Yeah. This is weird… At least the walls aren't snot green like in all the books," Katie said, I laughed, looking around at the pale and navy blue walls, "Yeah, you got a good room. I have to go, I'll come see you after your surgery," Katie smiled, "Good bye Shea, Thanks for saving my life," she laughed, Shea said, "No problem, bye"