"Jesse!" screamed Steve, seeing his friend drop suddenly. He made his way
towards the point where Jesse disappeared. It was extremely slow going.
Steve began to worry he would be too late. Jesse was completely immersed in
mud. Each step was a struggle, as the mud fought to swallow Steve's legs.
It seemed like ages had passed when he arrived at the spot. Grasping a tree
with one arm and one leg, Steve reached into the mud where he could make
out Jesse's prostrate form. He grabbed frantically, but was unable to make
contact. Nearly a minute of reaching finally put Steve's hand in contact
with Jesse's jacket, and he pulled the smaller man's upper body out of the
mud.
The muddy form Steve dragged over to the street hardly resembled anything human. Steve held him up with one arm, and reached around to wipe the mud from Jesse's face.
"Jesse, can you hear me?" yelled Steve. Jesse's face scrunched in response. Steve shook him to a supported standing position. Looking back down at his house, Steve began to worry he could not make it back carrying his friend. Jesse started to support some of his own weight, and Steve hurried to make as much distance as he could while Jesse was able to help. Half pushing, half holding the stumbling Jesse, Steve led his friend towards safety.
They'd gone more than half the way when Jesse dropped to the ground exhausted.
"No," said Steve, "Not yet." And he once again pulled the doctor to his feet and pushed him towards home. The ground was significantly drier near the Sloan residence, and Amanda and Mark came out to meet the two mud-men fumbling up the stairs.
"What happened?" asked Amanda, helping to maneuver the boys inside.
"He fell," Steve calmly told her, "in the mud."
"I'd say so," she replied. "Jesse, are you ok?" Jesse was by this time coughing too much to respond.
"I think he hit his head," said Steve.
Mark helped set Jesse on the ground where he sat coughing and panting for several minutes. When he was finally able to speak, he weezed, "I got mud. up my nose."
For the first time since Steve had seen Jesse's abandoned car and set out to find him, he smiled.
Suddenly Jesse's face turned serious. "Jennifer! Is Jennifer ok? I couldn't find her daughter!"
"What are you talking about, Jesse?" questioned Amanda. "Who's Jennifer?"
"The woman. I. I sent her here, she was locked out." Jesse paused for a moment, and then better explained about meeting the woman.
"I'm sorry, Jesse, no one came to the house," said Mark when Jesse had finished filling them in.
"We have to go and find her! She was right out there!"
"Jesse, we can't go outside again. Look at it out there. We barely got you here safely," spoke Steve.
"I. but her daughter." started Jesse, searching his friends faces for help. "I promised." But he was too tired to protest anymore.
"Steve, a hand here?" said Mark, motioning to pick Jesse up.
"Yeah, let's get him upstairs and hose him off," said Steve, pulling his friend up by the arm. "God Jesse, you look like a hunchback, what is this?" he asked, tugging at the mud-covered backpack. No wonder you were so heavy."
Jesse explained that the backpack belonged to the girl he had been searching for. He reluctantly let Amanda take off his shoes and coat while he spoke. Steve removed the pack.
"Well," started Mark, "There's unfortunately nothing we can do until the storm lets up more. I'm sure this woman either found her way inside, or made it to dry ground. Maybe her daughter is at one of the neighbors. For now, Jesse, you need to get out of those clothes and take a warm shower. I'll have a look at your head when you're done."
There was no questioning Mark, as Jesse, head down, dragged his aching body upstairs. Steve lent him dry, clean clothes. When Jesse and Steve had both cleaned up, everyone sat in the living room.
"You must have been carrying around fifty pounds of mud on your clothes," commented Amanda, who had spent the time scraping the mud of of Steve and Jesse's stuff in the kitchen.
"it felt like it." said Jesse. Mark was looking at the now purple welt on Jesse's forehead. Jesse winced as he prodded it. "I just wish there was something we could do to help Jennifer. I mean, that backpack looked like it had been thrown there. What could have happened to that little girl?"
"Now, Jesse, I'm sure she just abandoned it when she found a safe place to wait out the storm. Both of those houses near where you found the bag are Block Parents" offered Mark.
Steve, who had been silent spoke now from the floor, where he had been sitting with the black bag. "Or, it might not be a little girl's bag at all," he announced, pulling a semi-automatic handgun from the backpack.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Jesse, "That's what I was carrying around? I was tossing that thing around and everything. Is it loaded?"
"Sure is," replied Steve, ejecting the cartridge.
"Look what the storm brought in," mused Amanda.
The muddy form Steve dragged over to the street hardly resembled anything human. Steve held him up with one arm, and reached around to wipe the mud from Jesse's face.
"Jesse, can you hear me?" yelled Steve. Jesse's face scrunched in response. Steve shook him to a supported standing position. Looking back down at his house, Steve began to worry he could not make it back carrying his friend. Jesse started to support some of his own weight, and Steve hurried to make as much distance as he could while Jesse was able to help. Half pushing, half holding the stumbling Jesse, Steve led his friend towards safety.
They'd gone more than half the way when Jesse dropped to the ground exhausted.
"No," said Steve, "Not yet." And he once again pulled the doctor to his feet and pushed him towards home. The ground was significantly drier near the Sloan residence, and Amanda and Mark came out to meet the two mud-men fumbling up the stairs.
"What happened?" asked Amanda, helping to maneuver the boys inside.
"He fell," Steve calmly told her, "in the mud."
"I'd say so," she replied. "Jesse, are you ok?" Jesse was by this time coughing too much to respond.
"I think he hit his head," said Steve.
Mark helped set Jesse on the ground where he sat coughing and panting for several minutes. When he was finally able to speak, he weezed, "I got mud. up my nose."
For the first time since Steve had seen Jesse's abandoned car and set out to find him, he smiled.
Suddenly Jesse's face turned serious. "Jennifer! Is Jennifer ok? I couldn't find her daughter!"
"What are you talking about, Jesse?" questioned Amanda. "Who's Jennifer?"
"The woman. I. I sent her here, she was locked out." Jesse paused for a moment, and then better explained about meeting the woman.
"I'm sorry, Jesse, no one came to the house," said Mark when Jesse had finished filling them in.
"We have to go and find her! She was right out there!"
"Jesse, we can't go outside again. Look at it out there. We barely got you here safely," spoke Steve.
"I. but her daughter." started Jesse, searching his friends faces for help. "I promised." But he was too tired to protest anymore.
"Steve, a hand here?" said Mark, motioning to pick Jesse up.
"Yeah, let's get him upstairs and hose him off," said Steve, pulling his friend up by the arm. "God Jesse, you look like a hunchback, what is this?" he asked, tugging at the mud-covered backpack. No wonder you were so heavy."
Jesse explained that the backpack belonged to the girl he had been searching for. He reluctantly let Amanda take off his shoes and coat while he spoke. Steve removed the pack.
"Well," started Mark, "There's unfortunately nothing we can do until the storm lets up more. I'm sure this woman either found her way inside, or made it to dry ground. Maybe her daughter is at one of the neighbors. For now, Jesse, you need to get out of those clothes and take a warm shower. I'll have a look at your head when you're done."
There was no questioning Mark, as Jesse, head down, dragged his aching body upstairs. Steve lent him dry, clean clothes. When Jesse and Steve had both cleaned up, everyone sat in the living room.
"You must have been carrying around fifty pounds of mud on your clothes," commented Amanda, who had spent the time scraping the mud of of Steve and Jesse's stuff in the kitchen.
"it felt like it." said Jesse. Mark was looking at the now purple welt on Jesse's forehead. Jesse winced as he prodded it. "I just wish there was something we could do to help Jennifer. I mean, that backpack looked like it had been thrown there. What could have happened to that little girl?"
"Now, Jesse, I'm sure she just abandoned it when she found a safe place to wait out the storm. Both of those houses near where you found the bag are Block Parents" offered Mark.
Steve, who had been silent spoke now from the floor, where he had been sitting with the black bag. "Or, it might not be a little girl's bag at all," he announced, pulling a semi-automatic handgun from the backpack.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Jesse, "That's what I was carrying around? I was tossing that thing around and everything. Is it loaded?"
"Sure is," replied Steve, ejecting the cartridge.
"Look what the storm brought in," mused Amanda.