Al slowly regained consciousness to see several men standing around him, some pouring water over him, and some fanning him with large pieces of cardboard.
"Hey, he's awake! Everybody step back and give him some room!" Greg said to the men, who complied. He then turned to Al. "Charlie, just stay where you are and rest. We have an ambulance on the way out here to pick you up and take you to the hospital."
Al sat up with a start. "No! No doctors, no medics! Just leave me alone. I'll be fine!"
"Dude, you really need to go get checked out, at least," said Jonathan.
"No, really, I'm fine. I'm cooled off now, and I'm feeling better. I just need some water." He started to get up to go to the water cooler, but Mike handed him a cup of water before he had the chance. As he drank the water, he could hear a siren approaching. He slowly shook his head as the siren grew louder, then stopped as the ambulance arrived.
Within a few seconds, the paramedics were running toward Al, pushing a gurney. "I told you, no medics," he protested.
"Sorry, man," said Mike. "We already called them. You gotta go with them."
As if a lightbulb lit in his head, Al remembered something from his last Leap. "I have the right of refusal, don't I?"
One of the medics answered, "Yes sir, you do. As long as you are able to speak for yourself, and are of legal age, you have the right to refuse any and all treatment, although we advise against it."
"Well, I'm se... twenty-two years old, and I refuse treatment. All treatment." He glared at the medics who were hovering over him. He knew they were only doing their job, but he still didn't like doctors or paramedics.
"Yes sir. Just sign this release, please." The medic handed Al a release form and a pen.
"Maybe you should just go with them," Jonathan suggested. "You know, if you sign that, and then you die later today, nobody can do anything about it. Your family won't be able to sue."
Al smiled at him and said, "I'll take my chances." He then signed the form, having to stop for a moment to remember his host's name, and handed it back to the medic.
"Thank you sir, and try to take it easy the rest of the day," the medic said. He then motioned to the group of men. "That goes for all of you. We don't want to have to come back out here." With a smile, he and his partner left, taking all their supplies with them.
"Is everybody rested and ready for the next game?" Mike called out. There was an affirmative murmur from the group.
"I am, too," Al stated firmly.
Mike turned back to Al. "You're not going anywhere. You're going to stay here and stay cool and rehydrate. Later this evening, when it's not quite so hot, you can come play another game. That is, if you don't overdo it."
Al knew he had to stay close to Jonathan all day, since he had no idea when the shooting occurred. He slowly stood to face Mike. "Look. Between all the water I've had, and all the water you guys have poured over me, I'm cool and rehydrated. Besides, with your little water pouring deal there, my pants are completely soaked, all the way down to my underwear." He raised an eyebrow and continued. "Do you have any idea how uncomfortable wet underwear is? It's payback time," he smirked.
"Yep, Charlie's back to his old self," Greg quickly proclaimed. "Let's load up and get ready for the next scenario!"