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Chapter Six: A Tale of Two Sisters
It was the worst of times and definitely not the best of times. Brooklyn mused sullenly as she checked on April's wound. Her gasp was lost in the rain pounding on the roof. The wound had visibly worsened. As she sat back April's eyes shot open and she screamed.
"It hurts!"
Brooklyn gently pushed April down talking as she did.
"April, it's alright." She said, soothingly, "I need you to be calm."
April nodded, her face screwed up in pain, "A little difficult right now." She whimpered.
"I think I'm going to have to operate on it." Brooklyn informed her.
April laid back the best she could while Brooklyn went to the medical supplies and retrieved a scalpel. She also grabbed some bandages and disinfectant before returning to April's side. April had begun to shake uncontrollably in the pinkette's absence. Brooklyn quickly put down the supplies she had brought and attempted to help April. Five minutes, two slaps to the face and three scratches later Brooklyn managed to get the wounded girl to lay still again. Brooklyn then carefully removed the bandages and grimaced. The wound was not easy to look at. Brooklyn pulled out a rag and rolled it up. She placed it in April's mouth, picked up a scalpel, and began to carefully cut away the infected areas. April's muffled screams reverberated off the walls.
With a gasp and scream Juniper woke up. Sammy woke too and hurried to the wailing girl's side. Juniper was holding her stomach and crying out in pain as though someone were cutting her with a knife in an irregular beat.
Juniper, are you okay!?" Sammy practically shouted.
Juniper shook head and screamed again. Darius and Kenji were awake now. Both, looking confused and worried.
"What hurts?" Sammy asked
"April does." Juniper panted even as tears of pain rolled down her cheeks. She let out a another scream before speaking again, "A few years ago April and I were connected on a deeper level. I could feel when she hurting or sad and she could feel the same of me. However, we grew apart and lost our connection."
Darius and Sammy looked at each other while Kenji just stared wide-eyed at Juniper. Sammy wasn't sure what to do so she asked a tentative question.
"Is there anything we can do?"
Juniper shook her head, almost losing the action amidst her jerking and twitching.
"What does it feel like?" Darius asked slowly.
"Like someone is cutting me with a knife." Juniper managed to respond as she began to writhe.
It was then that Sammy knew what was happening. Brooklyn was operating on April and Juniper could feel her sister's pain. Sammy pulled Juniper into a firm hug, a difficult feat indeed; the distressed girl was writhing and squirming in pain, but seemed to settle down a little.
"W-w-what are you doing?" Juniper stammered through the pain.
"Giving you and your sister a hug." Sammy answered.
Juniper nodded and was about to respond when a something roared nearby.
Brooklyn nearly dropped the scalpel in surprise when April's writhing suddenly slowed. She carefully cut away the last piece of infected tissue and began to clean the wound.
"Junny!"
Brooklyn looked up "What?"
"I can feel Junny again." To the pink-haired teen April sounded excited, "It's been years since I could feel her."
"What do you feel?" Brooklyn asked
"Someone's hugging her." The languishing girl answered with a small smile that vanished as soon as Brooklyn continued cleaning the wound, "She's been feeling my pain? Poor Junny!"
The pinkette merely chuckled softly and readied a needle and some thread for sewing the wound shut.
"I'm sorry to both you and Juniper." Brooklyn whispered as she began to sow.
"It's okay." April whispered back, "You mean well."
When Brooklyn finished stitching she buttoned up April's shirt.
"There, all done." The Internet Star declared, glancing at the face of her charge. April wasn't moving.
"April?" Brooklyn asked, gently shaking her patient.
The unseen dinosaur roared again and Darius moved to look out of one of the windows overhead. He looked at the other three and shook his head.
"I can't see what it is, but from the roar it is definitely carnivorous."
"Not reassuring, Darius." Kenji hissed nervously.
Sammy released Juniper who was no longer screaming, but only wincing every few seconds. Another roar shook the vehicle and followed by heavy footfalls just outside. The vehicle rose and fell jostling the four occupants as the carnivore roared again.
"We need to get out of here!" Kenji hissed.
"Won't do us any good, I know that roar." Juniper said fearfully.
"What is it?" Sammy asked, nervously. She really wasn't interested in becoming a meal for a dinosaur.
"The last time I heard that roar was though a radio." Juniper explained, "It's the giganotosaurus!"
Sammy looked to Darius who quickly explained what it was. Sammy's jaw dropped then snapped shut. They were doomed. Trying to run would only make them dinosaur food, so what then, could they do?
The Texan looked at Juniper who was about to speak when the truck was rammed by the super predator. The vehicle shook violently, sending them tumbling to the floor and it began to tip. The truck fell back with a bang and a lurch that sent the four tumbling again. A claw punctured one of the windows which promptly cracked.
"I think it's climbing on top of the truck!" No sooner had the words left Juniper's mouth than the windows shattered and the vehicle's frame sank a few inches. The super predator roared again and the claw vanished.
"We're done for!" Kenji yelled
Another roar ripped through the night, but it wasn't the giganotosaurus; something else was coming. The trucked creaked and shook as the newcomer roared again.
"What is it?" Sammy asked.
Two pairs of wide, frightened eyes swiveled to look at Juniper and Darius. Juniper closed her eyes and listened hard as the second dinosaur roared once more and was met with a roar from the giganotosaurus.
"Rexy!"
"Tyrannosaurus Rex!"
They spoke in unison.
"Which is good and bad for us." Juniper added as an afterthought.
"What do you mean by 'good and bad for us' exactly?" Kenji asked, making air quotes with his fingers.
"Well, if we're lucky, Rexy will fight the giganotosaurus thus allowing time us to escape." She explained before suddenly freezing.
"Juniper?" Sammy asked, "You okay?"
She glanced at the two boys who both shrugged, looking just as lost as she felt.
"April." The younger Grady whispered, seeming not to have heard the Texan girl, "No, not now!"
She wasn't moving. Had she- no, it couldn't be. Brooklyn seized April's wrist and checked for a pulse. Nothing. How? Only a few minutes ago April seemed to be improving with the wound cleaned and closed. An icy feeling settled in the pit of the Pinkette's stomach. If what April had said about Juniper being able to feel her then—
No, Brooklyn chided herself, don't think that. She shot to her feet and ran over to the pile of medical supplies. Frantically, started going through them searching for anything to help in this situation. Brooklyn wasn't going to give up just yet. She wasn't doing this for only April anymore; she doing for Juniper and their father who was probably praying for his daughters' safety.
Near the back of the pile, Brooklyn found what she was looking for. She grabbed the slightly dusty portable defibrillator and ran back to April's side.
"Please, April, hold on." She whispered as she turned defibrillator on.
Brooklyn had never used a defibrillator before, but had seen enough videos of them in use that she could probably figure it out.
"Up next, Brooklyn unboxes defibrillators." She quipped as she readied paddles.
She knew that a procedure like this worked best with direct contact on the skin. Fortunately, April favored button up shirts. Working quickly, she undid the buttons of April's shirt– enough to expose enough skin while allowing April to maintain her dignity.
"Two hundred volts— clear!" She called out to the empty building and pressed the paddles to April's chest.
She jerked, but didn't regain a pulse, remaining as still as a statue.
"Two hundred and fifty volts." Brooklyn adjusted voltage, "Clear!"
Again, Brooklyn brought the paddles to April's chest with the same results as before. Brooklyn amped the defibrillator up higher and raised the paddles,
"Three hundred volts!" She was almost screaming now, "Clear!"
Once more nothing other than April arching her back as the current passed through her. Brooklyn glanced at the defibrillator and grimaced. The was only enough charge left for one last jolt. She needed to get this right. First, she adjusted the device to three hundred and fifty volts then paused.
She wished Sim were here. He would know what to do. He would have… That was it! The instruction booklet.
"No, no, NO!" Juniper was trembling now.
"Juniper, what's wrong?" Sammy cried out.
Juniper ignored her. She felt as though the entire world was crashing down around her. What was she to do? The tyrannosaurus Rex roared again and clarity filled her mind.
"That's it!" She shouted and opened the doors of the truck.
She ran out into the torrential rain, shouting waving her hands at the two battling super predators. Yes, this was what she needed; a release.
"Oi, over here!" She ran towards the meat eaters, "Eat me!"
Juniper felt herself get yanked backward and she looked around. Sammy had seized her arms and was endeavoring to drag her away from the two carnivorous giants.
"What are you doing?" She asked, restraining her with some difficulty, "Help me here!"
Kenji and Darius grabbed ahold of Juniper, "Yeah gives?" Kenji asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing matters anymore!" Juniper continued to struggle against them. What was there for her without her sister.
"I can't go on without her!" Juniper redoubled her efforts to break free.
"Without who?" Darius shouted.
"April's gone!" Juniper's voice faltered then broke, rendering her next words almost unintelligible, "I felt her go."
She went limp and slumped in Sammy's arms. The Texan embraced her and Juniper began to cry, letting her grief take over. She had no control over her sadness and just wept endlessly into Sammy's shoulder.
"Juniper, I'm sorry." Sammy whispered.
"I can't go on." Juniper sobbed.
"Bad enough to be eaten?" Kenji asked.
Juniper nodded, "What would April want you do."
"Don't you bring her up!" Juniper shouted at him, "You do not know my sister like I do!"
Darius looked shocked, "I—"
"Don't act like you know her!" The anger subsided and she gasped, "Darius, I'm sorry! It's just…"
She trailed off and fresh tears cascaded down her face; lost amidst the rain, soaking all of them.
One shot. Nothing more. Brooklyn set the voltage to two hundred seventy-five and picked up the paddles.
"Two hundred seventy-five volts. Clear!"
She pressed the paddles to April's chest, yelling as she did,
"Come on, April!"
The Pinkette checked for a pulse. Nothing. Not even the slightest indication of a heartbeat.
"April, you can't be gone." Brooklyn moved to cradle her head in her arms.
"I need you." Brooklyn whispered as she began to cry.
"Juniper— Junny needs you." She buried her face in April's shoulder and wept, shaking with each sob.
"Oh, Juniper, I'm so sorry!" Brooklyn wailed to the innovation center.
Relief, sweet relief spread through Juniper as she again felt her sister. She was alive. The you get Grady almost laughed but instead frowned. How was that possible? She had felt April die. It was certainly a don't look a gift horse in the mouth sort of situation, and yet; and yet she wanted to. How had her sister come back from the dead? It was nothing short of miraculous as far as she could tell.
"Sammy?"
The Texan did a double take at the abrupt change in her demeanor,
"Uh, Yeah?"
"April's back!" She said happily.
"Are you sure?" Sammy asked tentatively.
"Positive."
"But how?" Darius asked caught somewhere between concerned and relieved.
"A miracle!" Juniper answered, her tears becoming those of joy instead of loss.
The battling super predators roared at each other reintroducing the foursome to the reality of their situation.
Juniper grinned a little sheepishly, "Yeeaahh, we should probably get out of here."
Thump…
Thump…
Thump, thump…
Brooklyn looked up, wondering if in her grief she had started hallucinating, but no, April's eyes were open and she was staring at the Pinkette with a strange expression on her face.
She blinked, "Brooklyn, what's wrong? You look as though you've seen a ghost." April said sounding somewhat confused.
Brooklyn promptly passed out.