Chapter 12:

Nina

Jerome and I shared a quick glance before running in the direction of Kara's scream. All I could think as we ran was please let her be okay, please God, please. As we neared the corner of the school fence, I spotted a limp figure passed out on the ground near the edge of the trees.

"Oh no..." I whispered as we neared it. Kara was lying unconscious with blood streaming down the side of her neck. Also, her arm was a bent at an extremely odd angle, giving me the impression that it was broken. I rushed over to her and dropped to my knees next to her head. I pulled it into my lap and brushed the hair out of her face.

"Jerome! Call an ambulance!" I shouted. I looked up at him, seeing that he already had his phone in his hand, punching in a number.

"Hi, yes, 911? Um... We need an ambulance. Right, we're at Amun Academy Boarding School, just outside of Liverpool. Yes, our friend has been attacked." I looked back to Kara as Jerome continued giving information about where we are and what happened. I noticed some small bruises forming on her throat. I looked closer and despair seeped over me. He choked her. He broke her arm, hurt her head, and choked her, and it was all my fault. My vision became blurred by tears as Jerome approached me.

"They're on their way." he said as he put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"He choked her." I stated, helplessness present in my voice. I felt Jerome stiffen beside me as he listened. "Why would he..?" I let out a sob, causing me to be unable to finish. He pulled out his phone and dialed another number as I began to hear sirens in the distance.

Mick

We were all sitting in the common room except for Nina, Jerome, and Kara who had not yet returned from school, when the phone rang. Trudy bustled through the room and out into the hall to answer it.

"Jerome? What's wrong?" she said after picking up the phone. We all looked up from what we were doing, suddenly anxious to hear what was happening. Jerome never made phone calls if he could avoid it. "What do you mean she was attacked?!" Trudy exclaimed. Fabian and I shared a fearful glance before jumping up and running into the hall. "Oh no, I'll be right there! Have you called an ambulance? Good good, okay dearie, thank you for calling, goodbye." Trudy hung up the phone and turned to face us. By this time, the rest of the house had made their way to the doorway, curious as to what was happening. Trudy sighed before speaking. "It's Kara," she said. "She's been attacked."

I felt my face go pale.

"Sh-She WHAT?!" I cried. Before Trudy could answer, I turned and ran out the door, sprinting as fast as I could along the path to the school. I wasn't entirely sure where she was, but I figured she was probably on her way back when she was ambushed. Also, the sirens and blinking lights coming from the school helped. I reached the scene in time to see Kara being loaded on to a gurney and Nina being questioned by a police officer. Jerome was standing awkwardly beside Nina, trying to comfort her as tears rolled down her face. I looked back to Kara who's unconscious form was now being wheeled into the back of an awaiting ambulance. I felt my throat tighten at the look of her battered body. A paramedic was by her side trying to straighten out her crooked arm while another was gingerly feeling around her bruised throat and checking her pulse. She had blood running down the back of her neck and she had tear streaks on her cheeks.

It was one of the scariest sights I had ever had the misfortune to see. It was the kind of thing that could give any grown man nightmares for weeks. I couldn't help it anymore, I, Mick Campbell, started to cry.

Nina

Tears were still streaming down my face as a police officer- the one who had been part of the society- approached me and asked me to answer a few questions. Naturally, I agreed and the interrogation began.

"What is the name of the girl attacked?" he asked.

"Kara Smythe." I replied in a shaky voice. He looked up from his notepad, sympathy in his eyes.

"Its okay sweetheart, your friend's going to be all right. Just relax." I nodded and took a deep breath. After a moment, he continued.

"What do you know about what she was doing at the time of the attack?"

"I remember that she was talking to our friend Amber on her way out of the school when our drama teacher asked her to stay behind for a few minutes. She did, so after she was done, I'm assuming she left the school alone and was on the way home when she was attacked." I said. He nodded and jotted something down on his paper.

"Do you have any reason to believe that Amber or your drama teacher possibly issued the attack?"

"No," I said. "I'm absolutely sure it was not either of them." he raised an eyebrow before asking the question I was hoping to avoid.

"Do you have any idea who it might have been?" I gulped and looked around, making sure there was no one within earshot. Only Jerome was there so I figured I could tell. Just to be safe, I took a half step towards the officer and nodded.

"It was Rufus Zeno." I stated quietly. His eyes widened and he almost dropped the pen he was holding.

"Are you sure?" he asked. I nodded, more tears springing to my eyes. "Very well then, thank you for your time." he said, turning to walk away. However, he stopped himself mid turn and looked at me. "Oh and Miss Martin," he said. "Stay safe." I nodded as he walked off towards his car.

"Nina!" a husky voice shouted. I turned to see Mick dashing towards me, eyes red and puffy.

"Mick?" I asked as he reached me. He grabbed my shoulders and starting shaking me violently.

"She's going to be okay, please tell me she's going to be okay!" he demanded.

"She's going to be all right Mick!" I assured as quickly as the words tumbled out of my mouth.

"Yeah, calm down Meathead..." Jerome said. Mick turned to him and aimed a punch at his face which Jerome dodged with ease.

"You shut up! Tell me, how would you be reacting if that was Mara being wheeled away by the paramedics!" he exclaimed. Jerome's face dropped as he realized Mick was right. "You wouldn't be so calm either." he spat before running off towards the ambulance. Oh boy, this was going to be one hell of a night.

Mick

"Sorry kid, only family is allowed to ride with the patient." The paramedic told me.

"Look, you have to! You just have to let me! I-I need to make sure she's she's-" my voice cracked leaving me unable to finish. He looked at me with sincere sympathy.

"Look, I really am sorry, but rules are rules. The only way you could get in was if you were a family member or significant other." he explained. I took the opportunity as soon as it presented itself.

"I'm her boyfriend." I stated. The man eyed my suspiciously before giving in and allowing me to ride with Kara to the Liverpool Hospital. I sat on a seat beside her gurney and held her hand (on her good arm) the whole ride there. It wasn't too quick of a ride as they didn't bother speeding due to the fact that Kara was in good condition and they had most of the supplies they needed in the back of the ambulance. By the time we got to the hospital, the wound on the back of Kara's head had been cleaned and stitched. When we parked outside the emergency ward, the paramedics wheeled Kara away and told me to go wait in the waiting room. I did as I was told and as I was waiting, I decided to give the house a call and give them the 411.

"Hello?" Trudy asked. She was out of breath so I'm assuming she ran to get the phone.

"Hey Trudes!" I greeted.

"Oh! Mick! Oh dearie, how's Kara doing? Is she all right?" she questioned frantically.

"Yeah, I think so. She had a head wound that they treated in the ambulance, and they're gonna fix her arm and any other injuries now." I told the worried house mother.

"Oh my, the poor darling! All right sweetie, please be sure to keep me updated, the whole house has been very tense since the incident and any news would be wonderful!"

"Sure thing Trudy, I-" at that moment, a nurse came in and called my name. When I looked up, she waved for me to follow her. "I have to go, I'm going to see Kara now."

"Okay honey, you go take care of her, talk later, bye!"

"Bye." I said and hung up. I got up and followed the nurse down the hall to your average hospital room. The room was mostly white with some dull pink curtains bordering the windows. In the centre of the room there was a small bed and a bunch of machinery that was hooked up to Kara.

Kara, who looked so small and fragile, not to mention broken, lay on the bed.

I made my way over to her and pulled up a chair beside her undamaged side. She was still unconscious but her face had more colour-probably because of the intravenous fluid that she was receiving through the needle in her hand. I looked up as a doctor walked into the room.

"Ah, hello young man. My name is Doctor Olsen, I'll be in charge of your friend here during her stay at the hospital." he said in a tone too cheery for someone working in the emergency ward of a hospital.

"What's the damage?" I asked once I noticed bandages wrapped around her torso.

"Well, she has a broken arm, a fractured rib, and a possible concussion. However, we can't be sure about her head until she wakes up and does a few tests." he replied. "And she received some strain on her throat that caused some bruising, but that'll be better in a couple of days."

"When will she wake up?" I asked. The doctor's smile faltered as he replied.

"I'm not sure... Because nobody witnessed the attack, we can't determine what it was that caused her to pass out. It could have been due to loss of blood, lack of oxygen, a blow to the head, or pain from her broken bones. She could wake up any time from now to tomorrow afternoon. I assume it will be sooner rather than later though, as her injuries weren't terrible." he responded with a reassuring half smile. "You're free to stay the night of you'd like, I'll have a nurse bring you a pillow."

"That would be great, thank you." I replied. I was glad they weren't forcing me to leave because quite frankly, I didn't want to. I had to stay and make sure Kara was okay.