Chapter 6

I offered to take over driving multiple times during the trip to Lee's work. Homer just shook his head, but I knew he was in pain. Instead he only let me tie an old rag from the back of the car around it. I needed to get him to a hospital, but he was so focused on getting us to safety. For not the first time, I was grateful to him. He had proven to me and everyone else that he was brave and had guts. The trip didn't take long considering we stopped to tie Homer's shoulder up and then I swapped seats with Gavin due to the two girls breaking down into tears. I think it hit them the most. They both huddle into me the whole way there.

We arrived at Lee's work and by this stage; Intira and Pang's tears had subsided. Lee's expression was a little confused and then he saw the kids in the back. At that moment, he knew exactly what had happened. Not thinking, I jumped out of the car and ran into his arms. He held me at arms length, looking me straight in my eyes. I knew what he was asking.

"Soldiers attacked the house. Homer's been shot, but the kids are ok, just shaken. I don't know what state the apartment is in though." That seemed to be all the information he needed. He held me for a few more minutes and then we wandered back to the car.

"Where were you guys supposed to meet Fi?" I asked once in hearing rage of Homer.

"At the bus depo." He replied. Gavin hopped out of the car and of course all the kids wanted to as well. Just like me, the two girls ran into Lee's arms and he held them close.

"Come on. We better get going." Homer finally spoke up are a few minutes. I gave a nod and jumped into the car.

"What do we do now?" I asked. "We can't go back there just yet."

"We should go and tell Fi whats happened first and then, we'll just figure out as we go along." That was Lee in the back with the kids.

I'd seen this bus depo many times in my life. It was where my aunty Janet went to when she would visit us. I have to admit, she was a favourite. She always brought me presents. Presents seemed like a lifetime ago to me.

My mood lifted when I saw Fi's beautiful face peering down the road. I think everyone could feel the atmosphere change when I saw her. Like Lee, she looked at the kids in the back and started to question. As soon as Homer stopped the car, I jumped out and ran out to give her a hug.

"Hey, whoa. I though it was supposed to be a surprise." She said with a smile, but no one returned it. "Why's all the kids here?" she continued.

"Um, the apartment was attacked." I spoke up. She looked at all of us and then started to shake her head.

"This wasn't how I planned it…" she held her head in her hands and took a seat on the sidewalk. Looking up, she saw Homer's shoulder.

"What happened to you?" she asked.

Before Homer could reply, I beat him to it.

"He was shot." I stuttered. Fi stood back up again, reaching for his shoulder. She started to fuss over him, but like with me, he pulled away.

"Its nothing. We need to figure out what we're going to do next." Homer gave a wince in pain, but he tried to hide it. Unbelievable. He brushed it off like it was just a scratch. Thinking back to when I was shot, all I had wanted to do was die. I don't know what came over me, but anger welled up inside me.

"Homer Yanos! You are going to the hospital whether you like it or not!" I screamed at him. For that I received stares and glares. This only made me angrier.

"Oh come on! I can't be the only one that thinks he needs to be checked out!" I looked around. Looking back, I was over doing it, but I was that fed up that I didn't care what anyone else thought. Fi reached for me, but stubbornly I pulled away. There was a silence in the air and then Pang walked up beside me and reached for my hand. At first I didn't welcome it; I was still heated up. Then I slowly let my hand mould into hers and I held it tight. Lee broke the silence and not for the first time, surprised me with his response.

"Ellie's right. We need to get you checked out. I remember when I was shot and it felt like my whole leg was on fire." He reasoned. I look up at him in astonishment and he gave a wink. I knew I wasn't alone.

"Alright. You heard him. Lets head to the hospital and Homer is not driving." I added.

The ladies at the front desk were astonished when Homer didn't even wince when they were stitching him up. That was Homer. We were all made to wait in the waiting room, but Homer told us all about it.

"Its not like I'd expect. I thought it would hurt more." He said once we were in the car. Well he put me to shame and Lee too. We still hadn't decided where to go. We weighed up the danger of going back and decided it was worth the risk.

"Just wait till things calm down a bit." Homer reasoned. We all nodded in agreement. It was then that the kids started to complain that they were hungry. It got to the point where Lee had to scream at them to be quiet. Me on the other hand wanted anything but food. I was so terrified that we were going back to the apartment and Lee had to hold me to get me to relax. Fi, being as nice as she is, offered to get a BBQ chicken and chips. This sounded appealing to not only the kids, but also everyone else- all except me that is. My stomach was churning with recent events and now, very soon, we would have to go back to the house.

After feeding the children and ourselves, it was time to face the music. With me taking the wheel, we drove off towards the apartment. Taking precautions, we took all back roads and driving agonisingly slow, crept up towards our street.

As suspected, there wasn't anyone in sight. Instead there waiting for us, was the police. The next-door neighbours must have called them and they were now searching the house. We all got out of the car and went to face the music.

Thanks for reading guys! ;)