Disclaimer: Woah! Chapter 10! Amazing. I have no idea of how many chapters this fic will end up with, but I'm putting the cap on around 15-20. Most likely closer to 20. And, (so the people don't get mad at me) I DON'T OWN THE CHARACTERS FROM HOLES. Lol. Oh and this chapter is going to be extra long (since its number 10), so curl up with a bag of chips and enjoy!
Chapter 10: We're SAVED!
The person was getting closer. They could make out the face now. It was a boy from C-Tent, with very spiky brown hair.
"That's Hedgehog!" Exclaimed Magnet. "It looks like he has a limp!" It was true. Whenever the boy put weight on his left foot, his hip dipped down and his other leg wobbled to take the force. Magnet ran over to him, and X-Ray followed. They sat him down and were talking to him. Terry ran over and helped the others bring Hedgehog to his feet. The three dragged the boy to the burrow, where Zero and Armpit were digging.
"Yo, move it dude!" Hissed X-Ray, as they shoved past the other boys. They lowered Hedgehog into the burrow, and Armpit sat him down. Everyone came in to see.
"W-w-water…" He whispered. Magnet looked at the others.
"Where's Caveman's canteen?" He asked. It was the only one they had, the rest had been in the back of Mr. Sir's truck. Caveman handed Magnet the jug. It was left than a quarter full. Hedgehog grasped it in his hands and gulped thirstily.
"Easy man, that's all we have," Said X-Ray worriedly.
"What happened to your leg?" asked Terry sympathetically. She cocked her head to one side.
"I…got b-bitten by a rattlesnake. I…came out here to l-look for you guys…Warden said Mr. Sir and the entire D-Tent went missin', and…I-I g-guess I got worried…" He winced in Pain. "I…tripped in a hole by accident and something just bit my leg. I look down and there it was, rattlin' it's little tail."
"That's not good. How long have you been walking since it bit you?" Asked Terry.
"I don't know. Half an hour, maybe. Man, I feel like I haven't slept in weeks!" He grumbled.
"Oh, jeez. We gotta clean the bite out or you're gonna get real sick!" Said Zigzag, his hand clapped to his sweaty forehead.
"Real smart. Whatta we gonna to clean it with? Sand?" Said Squid, rolling his eyes.
"I have some hand sanitizer with me…here." Terry handed the small bottle to X-Ray. He squeezed out a large glob and smeared it on the red lump.
"Gaaaah! That STINGS!" Hissed Hedgehog, wincing. He clenched his fists in dismay.
"Well, If you would rather the infection spread and you die then…" Began Terry. She smiled jokingly.
"We'll also need to cut off the circulation, or that poisoned blood will be all through his body." Added Armpit.
"That is, if it isn't already." Magnet commented.
"Anyone have a belt?" Said X-Ray hopefully. One by one, everyone shook their heads.
"There's a rope tied to my canteen," Said caveman. He picked it up and untied the rope. "Here." X-Ray took the rope and wrapped it around under Hedgehog's knee. Tying it carefully, he said:
"Man, that sanitizy stuff will stop infection, but it don't do nothin' to the poison." He looked very worried. There was a moment of grave silence.
"Give him more water." She said.. "I took a first aid course last summer and it said if you have a poison patient, they need lots of liquids to get the venom out of their system."
"If you didn't notice, we don't exactly have lots of liquids." Said Squid. His lips were very tight.
Zigzag unscrewed the lid to their canteen, and poured the remainder of d-Tents' water in the boy's mouth.
"It's the best we can do."
Caveman piped up. "There was a big puddle of water not to far from here yesterday. Real deep."
X-Ray looked at him and said,
"Is it still there now?"
"We could check."
"Be my guest."
So Stanley and X-Ray set out to find water. When they came back, the canteen was full of brownish liquid.
"It's water, and that's all I care about," Snapped X-Ray after a few remarks from the other boys. Caveman gingerly set it down. Hedgehog was still slumped against Armpit. His brown eyes were sunken into dark grey bags, and his face was ghostly pale. His shoulders heaved.
"Are you feeling okay dude?" Asked Armpit with a nudge. He nodded his head slowly. Terry felt sorry for him. The boy didn't look too well. She sat with her legs crossed next to Zigzag.
'The first aid course said that tiredness is the first sign in a failing mind…'
The night was very tense. Usually a few people stayed inside the hole to watch over Hedgehog. The rest went outside to search for prickly pears. Prickly pears were safe to eat raw and actually had some nutritional value. Zigzag handed Terry a small nugget about the size of an egg. Most of the needles had been already plucked off, but there were still a few.
'Yowch!'
She ripped the remainders off and shoved the thing in her mouth. It was tasteless and waxy on the outside, but inside it was juicy and relatively sweet. She gobbled it up hungrily.
"I would do anything to get my hands on a grilled cheese sandwiches right about now," Said Squid. Cactus juice was dripping down his chin. As the other boys nodded their agreement, Terry was watching the way those sad brown eyes of his lit up when he laughed.
And unbeknownst to anyone, Zero watched Terry gaze at Squid. She smiled softly, as if she were in a trance. The funny thing was, Squid would do the same. Well, not exactly the same. But Zero noticed that when Terry was helping X-Ray with Hedgog, Squid rolled his eyes and frowned. Almost as if he were…jealous…
"I would even like some of those scrambled eggs, awful as they are!" Laughed Terry. Everyone except Hedgehog and Zero were laughing and talking. Terry slowly got sleepier as the night progressed. As she slid her eyes shut, one thing crossed her mind:
I hope we get rescued soon…
Next Day…
It was going to be hot, and already the teens could feel the heat seeping through the soil around them. They were no longer crammed, thanks to Zero and Armpit. Terry shifted her weight. There was a soft crackle as her mud-matted tank top moved. She pushed her hair back, and wished she hadn't. It felt like hard. Grasy straw.
'Nasty!'
She looked at Hedgehog. His skin was pale, and his breathing was very slow and rattly.
'He could die. And he came all the way out here just to see if we were okay…' She wiped a cold tear from the corner of her eye. She never cried from pain, but she did cry when she was stressed or when someone died.
'MIGHT die…'
FlashbackThe two friends were sitting in the living room of Chantelle's house, playing dolls.
'And say Barbie wanted to get some pizza.' Said Chantelle, holding a Barbie doll in a blue dress.
'Yeah, but say the delivery guy was…' began 5-year old Terry. Her fat brown braids flopped to the side.
-Knock knock-
'Aw, your dad's here already!' Whined Chantelle.
'Yeah, he said he might come early…'
Chantelle's mom opened the door of and let Mr. Jansen in.
'Hi honey, time to go.'
His face was sad. Terry gathered her dolls in a cardboard box and skipped into the front hall. Her dad grabbed her coat and they left, shutting the big wooden door. In the car, Terry's dad didn't start the car. He just clenched the steering wheel. His knuckles were turning white.
'Daddy?'
He smiled gently.
'Honey, you know how I was talking about Nana last night? How she was in the hospital?'
'Yeah…' Terry's heart sank like a rock. The silence was crushing.
'…She went to heaven today.'
A warm, salty tear rolled down her rosy cheek.
End of flashback
Terry opened her watery eyes.
Zigzag had gotten up and gone. Armpit was shaking Hedgehog.
"Wake up man! Wake up! This ain't funny!" His elbow slammed into Caveman's jaw, waking him with a start.
"Heyyawhatswhoah-huh?" His sleepy eyes fell on Hedgehog.
"What's going on? Stop shaking him!"
"He won't wake up! I even tickled his feet, and he didn't even twitch!"
Now X-Ray had woken up. He took his glasses off, rubbed them on his sleeve and then put them back on. With a very startled look he yelled:
"He's DEAD!"
'He is still breathing…'
"No, he's just in a coma! Look, he's breathing. If you keep shaking him, he'll get brain tumors!"
After Terry said that, Armpit carefully put the boy on his back. Terry rolled her eyes and climbed out of the burrow. Topside, Zigzag was squinting into the distance, shading his eyes with his hand.
"I think there's something coming this way, and this time, it ain't a parson."
Terry squinted at the horizon. The heat was making wavy mirages. She turned the other way. Nothing. Then she turned again. This time, she could see a very small cloud of dust growing slowly closer.
"Hey guys, come here!" Hollered Zigzag. Everyone except Armpit raced up to see. They all crowded behind the two.
"See that? It looks like…A TRUCK!" Everyone cheered, jumping up and down.
"We're SAVED!" Cried Caveman. They all were laughing and hugging. Terry avoided the hugging part. As soon as they quieted, another sound met their ears.
Crying.
Terry peeked down into the hole. Armpit was cradling the limp body in his arms, and sobbing.
"It's all my fault…It's all my fault..." His head was bowed down, and luckily for him, it was too dark down there to see the wet cheeks.
"It's my fault…he's dying…"
Terry jumped down and leaned over him.
"It's not your fault."
"Yes it is, Lazer. If I hadn't shaken him…" More muffled sobs.
"It's okay. We are going to be saved soon. Come up and see."
"No…I…can't…leave…him…" The sobs were becoming more frequent. Terry decided it was best not to say anything. Hedgehog's hand was curled in a ball.
She scuttled over to his leg, where the rope was still wrapped around. The cuff of his uniform was rolled up. There was a piece of bandana used for a bandage. His leg was not red, but purple, and the veins were bulging.
'This looks bad.'
Biting her tongue, Terry peeled the scrap of fabric off the boy's thin leg. Underneath was the wound…two small holes set on a red bump. Dried puss covered the angry red skin. Terry swallowed hard. Dabbing a bit of hand sanitizer on the bandana, she pressed it gently back down on the wound. That was enough doctor for today.
She was sweating like a pig. Covering her eyes and standing up (bending over slightly), Terry climbed out of the hole. The rest were still standing and watching. The truck had gotten closer, and X-Ray said:
"C'mon! What are we waiting for?" Smiling like a maniac, He sprinted off toward the distant truck waving his dark arms. Zigzag, Magnet, and Caveman followed. But Zero did not smile at all. He looked back to the hole, and without a moment's hesitation, crawled in. Squid raised an eyebrow and looked at Terry.
"What's going on down there?" He asked.
Terry met his gaze. A prickling sensation went down her spine.
"The Hedgehog guy is…in…a coma." Squid looked down. His T-shirt was probably once white. It was slathered in dust and dirt now.
"Yeah…he's pretty sick. Armpit is blaming himself."
Squid's P.O.V.
Their eyes met. He gulped hard. He quickly looked down.
"The Hedgehog guy is…in…a coma."
Why did she pause? He kicked the sand, and put his hands into his short pockets.
'She probably likes him…'
She said Armpit blamed himself. Now that he thought about it, Squid could hear some crying from the hole.
'I wonder if he really did kill him…'
Squid Flashback
Alan sat on his knees, knife in his hands. No one came in the change rooms after school. Or at least he hoped didn't. The body lay there, huddled up in it's own pool of blood. The face had a blank expression. The eyes were open. The mouth was open, too, and a trickle of blood was coming out. This was the body of the boy that had tortured Alan since they were in elementary school. Now, the boy was 16. Or at least, had been 16. Now he was dead.
Alan was coming from the classroom, the teacher made him stay late. As usual, the bully was waiting for him. It was going to be Alan's daily beating. Not that he didn't get enough from his parents. But this time, He was ready. He brought a knife. The bully wouldn't want to mess with him this time.
Alan didn't want to actually hurt Greg. No, he just wanted to scare him away. But after all that pain, misery, and anger, it just came out. Simple as that. He stabbed him in the chest four times. Greg fell down. And they had been there ever since. Now Alan could hear footsteps coming in. The Janitor, Mr. McGrady came in with his cart. Alan did not look up. Mr. McGrady gasped and ran back into the hall. The footsteps got quieter. The pain was over now. Greg was dead.
End of Flashback
"Squid? Squid?" Terry was waving her hand in front of his face. (A/N: Notice how he thinks of her as her name?)
"Uhhh yeah what…" He snapped out of his flashback.
"We're going to carry Hedgehog over to the other guys, Mr. Sir came with his truck…We're saved!"
Squid's stomach did a bellyflop. At least, what he knew to be his stomach. His entire body was hungry after 3 days without food…
"Come on! Help us lift him!" She cried. She was pulling his arms up from the hole. He reached down and grabbed a leg. Zero and the still teary Armpit pushed from below. The four hauled his body up. Then Terry took his arms, and Armpit took his legs. They all ran as fast as was possible to the waiting truck nearby. The teens were greeted by a scowling Mr.Sir and a overly cheery Dr. Pendanski.
"Thank goodness you boys-er… guys are all right. The whole camp has been worried sick. I'm so glad you're all still safe after three days. Warden's been having some trouble with those darned government officials…Oh my! What's happened to Sterling?" He motioned to Hedgehog.
"He got bitten by a rattlesnake and he needs attention real quick," Said X-Ray. Mr. Sir laid him down in the back seat of the truck.
"Better have some water before we set off. Here. He walked around back of the truck and filled some dixie cups with water. Handing them out, he said:
"Now the rest of yeh hop in the back and hold on real tight. We gotta hurry, else the social workers'll get there b'fore us." He walked back and slid into the drivers seat of the truck. Pendanski followed suit. Just as Squid hopped on the back of the truck, it roared to life and Mr. Sir stepped on the gas. His cup was whisked out of his hands, and fell onto the dry ground. The water splashed in line and it rolled back and fourth. It quickly became smaller as they sped away. He also, (gladly) watched their burrow home get smaller. Their home for three days…He sighed.
'We're not gonna die after all.'
Smiling, his eyes slid over to Terry. Her arms were crossed, and she was frowning at her dixie cup. She was sitting on the edge of the box. He couldn't help but notice how cute she looked when she was mad…
