Suze's POV:
"Suze! Open your eyes, Suze! Sweetie, open your eyes!" Paul's voice sounded so frantic, so far away...I struggled to open my eyes, very aware of the gushing blood coming from the hole in my arm.
Yes, HOLE. As in, a chunk of skin got sliced away from that damn electric bolt. I glanced at my arm, and then at Paul, who was busily trying to stop the blood. He'd torn off part of his shirt, and wrapped it around my gaping wound, trying to stop the flow of blood. "Suze, no matter what, stay awake!" Paul said.
"I will." I spilled out. I didn't want to go to sleep for anything, not when the guys would need me. Paul looked at my wound and said, "Ok. The bleeding's stopped. Can you sit up?"
"I think so." I tried to sit up. I had been laying behind a mausoleum, and as I sat up, I tried not to fall backwards. I failed somewhat though. I mean, give a girl a break! I was woozy from loss of blood! I managed to stand up after a few minutes, and stared at what used to be our school.
Who knew charred adobe brick smelled so awful?
"Alright, so let's get back in there and kick monster butt." I said, trying to walk back towards the building. Paul had taken ahold of my hand- the one not attaching to my injured arm- and pulled me back towards him. "I think not, Suze."
"Uh! Why not? Big scary monster just took a hole out of me- It's war!" I said, putting on a brave fierce look.
"Susannah, it's suicide to go in there." Jesse said. "That thing will kill anything in its path, and almost did so with you."
"It takes more than pure energy to get rid of me." I said toughly. Granted, I'd just slept for three and a half days over a HEADACHE, but whatever.
"Suze, for once, De Silva and I are in agreement." Paul said, tightening his grip on me. "You are not going in there. Got me?"
I pouted for a little bit. "Fine. Whatever."
"Good." Paul said. "Now, you don't have your license, right?" I shook my head sadly. I'm probably the only teenager in Carmel who doesn't have their license. Our friends at the Department of Motor Vehicles seem to think I'm a danger to the road. Totally not my fault that a ghost popped up when I took the test the first time!
"Ok," Paul continued. I could see him forming a plan. I felt myself getting slightly dizzy, but I refused to give in to it. "Suze, we're going to take you to the hospital. Then De Silva and I are going to come back and fight this thing."
"Ok. I'm in complete agreement with your plan, I really am." I said, trying to ignore the fact that there were now about five Pauls standing in front of me. "Except for one thing."
"And that would be?" Jesse asked.
"You two are NOT coming back." I said. Now there were five of each of them spinning around in front of me. "Stop moving you guys!" I closed my eyes to steady my vision.
"Suze, we're not moving." Paul said gently. He and Jesse each took a hand and led me to the car, where I collapsed in the back seat. Paul did ninety to the hospital, and carried me into the ER because he didn't want me to walk if I was dizzy.
The emergency room doctors looked at us like we were crazy when we told them what had happened. We went with an edited version of the truth- we went to school, and found a big energy cloud destroying everything.
Yeah, I got more than one "She's escaped from the loony bin" look. I didn't care. They told me I wouldn't need a transfusion, but I was forced to stay in the hospital overnight for observation.
I made Paul stay with me in my hospital room. He and Jesse kept trying to leave, and I finally told them if they went back to school, I wouldn't speak to either of them again. And Paul could kiss our relationship good bye.
That got him to stop leaving at least.
Jesse, however, didn't seem to give a shit. He walked out, claiming he was going to find a phone to call my house and tell my stepbrothers what happened.
Right. Whatever. I didn't care. Paul stayed. My boyfriend stayed. What did I care if some guy I didn't even like left?
I didn't care if he left. Let him get killed. I drifted off into sleep with Paul sitting next to my bed, holding my hand.
"WILL YOU GET OUT OF HERE?!" I heard someone scream. "You know, for someone who claims to care about Suze, all you seem to be doing is hurting her!"
I blinked open my eyes. Paul and Jesse were standing at the foot of my bed, arguing over something- from the sounds of it, me. "I do care about her! Why do you think I called her house? Why do you think I've been trying to get her to wake up?"
"You can't make her wake up by picking at her brain!"
"Gentleman, if you don't lower your voices, I'll have to escort you both out of here." I heard a female voice said, presumably a nurse.
"I can't leave. I'm all she's got right now." Paul said, dropping his voice.
"No, she has me as well!" Jesse said. I groaned and opened my eyes a little more. "Suze?" Paul moved to the side of my bed and took my hand in his. "Are you up?"
"Yeah." My mouth was insanely dry. "Any water near here?" Paul grinned and passed me a cup of water. "Much better." I said, taking a sip.
"Now, what the hell was with the screaming?" I said, throwing looks at both parties.
"Sorry. Did we wake you?" Jesse asked, going to the other side of my bed.
"What do you think?" I said. "What do you mean, picking at my brain?"
Paul gave Jesse a dirty look and said, "He was trying to make you wake up by giving you a nightmare."
"Prick." I glared at Jesse, who turned away sheepish. "Well, you had to wake up!"
"Why can't you let me sleep? Sleep is probably a good thing!" I exclaimed. No one answered me, so I continued with, "What day is it, and what time is it?"
"It's either really early or really late, depending on how you look at it." Paul said. "Four in the morning, meaning it's Saturday."
Damnation. "Alright, so when do I get out of here? Tomrrow morning? Does my mom know?"
"Suze!" I heard Jake yell as he entered the room. "What the hell happened?"
We gave him a run down of what had happened. "I can't believe you abandoned a party to come check on little old me." I chided him.
"Family before booze." Sleepy said. "Now go back to sleep. I'll call mom and dad, and get them here A.S.A.P., aight?"
"Aight." Jake looked confused for a minute. "Do we hug or something?"
"Nah, we're too bad-ass to hug." I said. "You go, make sure Brad doesn't trash the place, and Paul will stay here with me."
After Jake left, the nurse came in and gave me a painkiller. Then she tried to make the guys leave, but I put up a big fuss and she let Paul stay. Paul climbed in next to me and wrapped me in his arms. "You know, when they release you, you're not going to help us beat the monster." Paul said.
"Yeah, and you know when they release me, we're calling in paranormal experts." I replied.
Paul laughed at that. For a minute, everything was perfect because Paul was holding me, and I felt like nothing could go wrong.
A huge explosion shattered not only part of the hospital, but also my safety net.
"Suze! Open your eyes, Suze! Sweetie, open your eyes!" Paul's voice sounded so frantic, so far away...I struggled to open my eyes, very aware of the gushing blood coming from the hole in my arm.
Yes, HOLE. As in, a chunk of skin got sliced away from that damn electric bolt. I glanced at my arm, and then at Paul, who was busily trying to stop the blood. He'd torn off part of his shirt, and wrapped it around my gaping wound, trying to stop the flow of blood. "Suze, no matter what, stay awake!" Paul said.
"I will." I spilled out. I didn't want to go to sleep for anything, not when the guys would need me. Paul looked at my wound and said, "Ok. The bleeding's stopped. Can you sit up?"
"I think so." I tried to sit up. I had been laying behind a mausoleum, and as I sat up, I tried not to fall backwards. I failed somewhat though. I mean, give a girl a break! I was woozy from loss of blood! I managed to stand up after a few minutes, and stared at what used to be our school.
Who knew charred adobe brick smelled so awful?
"Alright, so let's get back in there and kick monster butt." I said, trying to walk back towards the building. Paul had taken ahold of my hand- the one not attaching to my injured arm- and pulled me back towards him. "I think not, Suze."
"Uh! Why not? Big scary monster just took a hole out of me- It's war!" I said, putting on a brave fierce look.
"Susannah, it's suicide to go in there." Jesse said. "That thing will kill anything in its path, and almost did so with you."
"It takes more than pure energy to get rid of me." I said toughly. Granted, I'd just slept for three and a half days over a HEADACHE, but whatever.
"Suze, for once, De Silva and I are in agreement." Paul said, tightening his grip on me. "You are not going in there. Got me?"
I pouted for a little bit. "Fine. Whatever."
"Good." Paul said. "Now, you don't have your license, right?" I shook my head sadly. I'm probably the only teenager in Carmel who doesn't have their license. Our friends at the Department of Motor Vehicles seem to think I'm a danger to the road. Totally not my fault that a ghost popped up when I took the test the first time!
"Ok," Paul continued. I could see him forming a plan. I felt myself getting slightly dizzy, but I refused to give in to it. "Suze, we're going to take you to the hospital. Then De Silva and I are going to come back and fight this thing."
"Ok. I'm in complete agreement with your plan, I really am." I said, trying to ignore the fact that there were now about five Pauls standing in front of me. "Except for one thing."
"And that would be?" Jesse asked.
"You two are NOT coming back." I said. Now there were five of each of them spinning around in front of me. "Stop moving you guys!" I closed my eyes to steady my vision.
"Suze, we're not moving." Paul said gently. He and Jesse each took a hand and led me to the car, where I collapsed in the back seat. Paul did ninety to the hospital, and carried me into the ER because he didn't want me to walk if I was dizzy.
The emergency room doctors looked at us like we were crazy when we told them what had happened. We went with an edited version of the truth- we went to school, and found a big energy cloud destroying everything.
Yeah, I got more than one "She's escaped from the loony bin" look. I didn't care. They told me I wouldn't need a transfusion, but I was forced to stay in the hospital overnight for observation.
I made Paul stay with me in my hospital room. He and Jesse kept trying to leave, and I finally told them if they went back to school, I wouldn't speak to either of them again. And Paul could kiss our relationship good bye.
That got him to stop leaving at least.
Jesse, however, didn't seem to give a shit. He walked out, claiming he was going to find a phone to call my house and tell my stepbrothers what happened.
Right. Whatever. I didn't care. Paul stayed. My boyfriend stayed. What did I care if some guy I didn't even like left?
I didn't care if he left. Let him get killed. I drifted off into sleep with Paul sitting next to my bed, holding my hand.
"WILL YOU GET OUT OF HERE?!" I heard someone scream. "You know, for someone who claims to care about Suze, all you seem to be doing is hurting her!"
I blinked open my eyes. Paul and Jesse were standing at the foot of my bed, arguing over something- from the sounds of it, me. "I do care about her! Why do you think I called her house? Why do you think I've been trying to get her to wake up?"
"You can't make her wake up by picking at her brain!"
"Gentleman, if you don't lower your voices, I'll have to escort you both out of here." I heard a female voice said, presumably a nurse.
"I can't leave. I'm all she's got right now." Paul said, dropping his voice.
"No, she has me as well!" Jesse said. I groaned and opened my eyes a little more. "Suze?" Paul moved to the side of my bed and took my hand in his. "Are you up?"
"Yeah." My mouth was insanely dry. "Any water near here?" Paul grinned and passed me a cup of water. "Much better." I said, taking a sip.
"Now, what the hell was with the screaming?" I said, throwing looks at both parties.
"Sorry. Did we wake you?" Jesse asked, going to the other side of my bed.
"What do you think?" I said. "What do you mean, picking at my brain?"
Paul gave Jesse a dirty look and said, "He was trying to make you wake up by giving you a nightmare."
"Prick." I glared at Jesse, who turned away sheepish. "Well, you had to wake up!"
"Why can't you let me sleep? Sleep is probably a good thing!" I exclaimed. No one answered me, so I continued with, "What day is it, and what time is it?"
"It's either really early or really late, depending on how you look at it." Paul said. "Four in the morning, meaning it's Saturday."
Damnation. "Alright, so when do I get out of here? Tomrrow morning? Does my mom know?"
"Suze!" I heard Jake yell as he entered the room. "What the hell happened?"
We gave him a run down of what had happened. "I can't believe you abandoned a party to come check on little old me." I chided him.
"Family before booze." Sleepy said. "Now go back to sleep. I'll call mom and dad, and get them here A.S.A.P., aight?"
"Aight." Jake looked confused for a minute. "Do we hug or something?"
"Nah, we're too bad-ass to hug." I said. "You go, make sure Brad doesn't trash the place, and Paul will stay here with me."
After Jake left, the nurse came in and gave me a painkiller. Then she tried to make the guys leave, but I put up a big fuss and she let Paul stay. Paul climbed in next to me and wrapped me in his arms. "You know, when they release you, you're not going to help us beat the monster." Paul said.
"Yeah, and you know when they release me, we're calling in paranormal experts." I replied.
Paul laughed at that. For a minute, everything was perfect because Paul was holding me, and I felt like nothing could go wrong.
A huge explosion shattered not only part of the hospital, but also my safety net.