Jeremy's Trauma
Jeremy Bolt, age13, ran into the logging camp. "J-J-Jason!" he shouted.
Jason walked out of the office tent. "What's wrong, Jeremy?"
Jeremy staggered to his oldest brother. "J-J-Jason, I…"
Jeremy collapsed on the ground.
"JEREMY!" Jason shouted as he knelt down next to him. "JOSHUA! Come quick! Jeremy's passed out!"
Joshua rushed to his brothers. "What happened!?"
"I don't know, Josh." Jason turned Jeremy over on his back.
The two oldest brothers gasped. There was blood on the lower right hand side of Jeremy's shirt. Jason unbuttoned the shirt and opened it.
Both brothers grimaced. Jeremy had a stab wound.
Jason and Josh looked at each other. "Who would stab a thirteen-year-old boy?! Joshua asked furiously.
"We are definitely going to find out, Joshua. Help me get Jeremy to the medical tent, please." Jason answered.
Jason and Joshua carried their brother to the medical tent. They examined the stab wound. It was bleeding.
"It's a deep wound, Jason." Joshua said.
"Yes, it is, Josh. Go into town quickly and get Aaron Stempel. He's good at medical procedures. Tell him what's happened. Bring Lottie too. She can assist Aaron. Also, she will be a great comfort to Jeremy." Jason told him.
"Okay, Jason. I'll be quick." Josh looked at Jeremy lying unconscious on the cot. "Jason?"
"Yeah, Josh?" Jason asked. He was pressing some thick, clean cloths on Jeremy's wound to stop the bleeding.
"I dread hearing what happened to Jeremy that led to him being stabbed. " Joshua answered.
"So do I, Joshua. So do I ." Jason pressed harder determined to make the wound stop bleeding.
Joshua left in the buckboard headed for town.
About an hour and a half later, Joshua returned to the logging camp with Lottie and Aaron. They went immediately to the medical tent.
Big Swede had taken Jason's place holding the cloths firmly on Jeremy's stab wound. Jason was sitting by the cot placing cold wet cloth on his little brother's forehead. Jeremy had developed a fever.
"Has there been any change other than the fever, Jason? Did Jeremy wake up at all?" Joshua asked anxiously.
"No, he hasn't woke up, Josh. He called out our names once asking us to help him. And he has moaned in pain a few times." Jason replied sadly.
"Jason, I need to examine your brother's injury. I can stitch it up, I believe. Joshua told me the wound is deep. Do you have any idea who could have possibly done this? I mean, Jeremy is just a kid. Who could get angry enough to stab him?" Aaron asked.
"I have no idea, Aaron. But, when I find out…" Jason said in a venomous tone.
Aaron examined Jeremy. His wound was larger and deeper than he had anticipated. Still, he thought he could take care of it. One good thing was that no organs had been damaged, Several muscles were injured, but Aaron could sew them back together.
Aaron and Lottie made preparations for Jeremy's surgery. Aaron had brought some ether. Ben Perkins kept some in stock in his store. He kept it locked up in a cabinet in his storage room. Aaron had also brought some Laudanum.
"Jason, I'll stay around in case you need me for anything else." Big Swede told him.
"Thank you, Big Swede. That's kind of you. I appreciate you helping me take care of Jeremy." Jason responded.
"I'm glad to, Jason. Jeremy's a good kid. When you find the devil who did this to him, I hope you will let me know. I'd like to take a swing at the jackass myself." Big Swede got choked up.
"I'll let you know, Swede. I think we are going to have to form a line." Jason said.
"Yes, and I will be in the line too right behind Joshua. You can be after me, Big Swede." Lottie said as she stroked Jeremy's hair.
"Okay, Miss Lottie. I know you will give that devil what for." Big Swede said.
Aaron was ready to begin the surgery. He nodded to Lottie. Lottie poured a small amount of ether on a clean cloth.
Lottie placed the cloth over Jeremy's nose and mouth. Jeremy began to wake up. He fought at Lottie pushing her hands away from his face.
Lottie backed away from the cot. "Jason!"
Jason was sitting in a chair beside the cot. He stood up from the chair and went to the head of the cot,
"Jeremy? Are you awake? Shush, don't fight me, shush. We are taking care of you. Lottie was trying to help you." Jason tousled Jeremy's hair.
Jeremy opened his eyes. He turned his head toward Jason. "J-J-Jason, where am I ? W-W-What's h-h-happening?" Jeremy asked. "W-W-What is this p-p-pain?"
"Jeremy, we are at the logging camp. We are in the medical tent. Joshua is here and Lottie. Aaron is here with us. You have a wound, Jeremy. It has to be stitched. Aaron is going to do that. The wound is what's causing your pain. It will get well." Jason explained.
Jeremy's eyes grew wide. "Mr. S-S-Stempel hates us. He will k-k-kill me!"
Aaron coughed. He felt a bit ashamed that a child thought he hated him and would kill him.
"No, Jeremy. Aaron doesn't hate us and he won't kill you. He wants to help you. Do you think I or Josh would let him come near you if we thought there was any chance he would harm you? You know we love you, don't you?" Jason said gently.
"Yes, I know that you love me. I love b-b-both of you, t-t-too." Jeremy grimaced in pain.
"Aaron needs to start now so you can get better, okay?" Jason asked.
"You are going to be fine, Jeremy." Joshua was on the other side of Jeremy holding his hand.
Jeremy turned his head so he could see Joshua. " Thanks, J-J-Josh."
"You ready?" asked Jason.
"Yes." Jeremy whispered.
Jason and Joshua tousled their baby brother's hair and smiled at him.
"Jeremy's ready, Aaron. Come on, Lottie. It's okay, now." Jason told them.
Lottie administered the ether to Jeremy. He didn't fight back. He took a few deep breaths and he was unconscious.
Aaron began the procedure. He worked carefully to clean and debride the wound. He cauterized the wound. Aaron stitched the muscles and then closed the wound.
"Jason, Joshua, I think the surgery went well. Jeremy will have some pain for a few weeks while he is healing. A little Laudanum each day should take care of the pain." Aaron told them.
"Thank you, Aaron. Thank you, Lottie. We appreciate very much what the two of you did for Jeremy." Jason said.
"Yes, we are very grateful. Thank you both" Joshua told them.
"I'm glad I could help. Listen….I'm sorry if I have done something to cause Jeremy to be frightened of me. I'm a shrewd businessman yes, but I never thought of myself as being scary to children." Aaron said in an apologetic tone.
"No, you haven't scared Jeremy, Aaron. Sometimes kids get ideas in their heads about people." Jason replied.
"Yeah, that's all it was, Aaron. A notion that Jeremy has about you." Joshua added.
"Well, thank you. I hope the two of you are right. I don't want to be the town villain." Aaron responded.
"Of course, we are right, Aaron. Don't give it another thought." Jason said pleasantly.
"Alright. Please keep me posted on Jeremy's progress. I'm going to go back to town." Aaron said getting on one of the camp horses.
"We will let you know how Jeremy is doing." Joshua replied.
Aaron left for town. Lottie stayed to help.
Just after dark that evening, Jeremy's fever reached 106 degrees. Jason and Joshua were frantic.
"Boys, fevers spike in the evening. It's common. But, we do need to bring it down. Get the tub and fill it up with cold water." Lottie told them.
"Jeremy won't like it." Joshua said.
"No, he won't like it at all. But, it's necessary." Lottie replied.
Jason and Joshua filled the tub with cold water. Jeremy had been sleeping in his long johns since his surgery. The two oldest brothers put their baby brother in the tub.
Jeremy woke up immediately. He tried to get out of the tub. He yelled in pain from the stab wound. His brothers held him down in the tub.
Jeremy became very still. His breathing had been rapid due to the high fever. His heart rate began to slow down.
Jeremy opened his eyes. He turned his head so he could see Jason.
"Jason, I'm dying." Jeremy said calmly.
"No, Jeremy! You are going to be fine. This cold water will lower your temperature." Jason replied.
"It's alright, Jason. I saw Mama. She said it was time for me to come to her and Dad. I'm not afraid." Jeremy reached to stroke Jason's hair.
"Jeremy, please don't talk like this. I know you miss Mama and Dad. But, Josh and I need you here with us. We can't lose you, sweet boy." Jason cried.
"I'm sorry, Jason. But, that's what Mama said. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." Jeremy replied.
"Jeremy, why in the world are you saying a tongue twister now?" Joshua asked. "Oh, my God!"
Jeremy smiled. "You caught on, Josh. Mama said you probably would. She knew that Jason would be too upset to realize it."
"Too upset to realize what? What's so important about you saying a….tongue…..twist….er Great God in Heaven!" Jason shouted.
"You don't stutter anymore because you are about to go to Heaven." Josh whispered.
"That's right, Josh! You got it just like Mom said you would. This water is freezing. Will you get me out, please?" Jeremy asked.
"Oh, please, no, Jeremy! I can't make it without you!" Jason sobbed. His heart was broken.
Joshua lifted Jeremy out of the tub. He carried his brother back to the medical tent. Jason followed them.
Joshua and Jason dried Jeremy. They dressed him in dry long johns and put him to bed on the cot.
"Jason, are you angry at me? Please don't be mad. I hate to leave you and Josh. But, Mama said it's time." Jeremy asked timidly.
Jason didn't say anything.
"Jason? Aren't you going to speak to me before I die? Please Jason! Don't make me die like this!" Jeremy burst into tears.
"Jason! What's wrong with you?! I hate to lose Jeremy too. But, are you really going to let him die with you angry at him?" Joshua asked angrily.
Jason knelt by the cot. "I'm not angry at you, Jeremy. I love you more than I can say. Josh and I won't know what to do when you're gone. It's going to leave an emptiness that we will never be able to fill."
"Thank you for not being angry at me, Jason. I love you and Josh very much. I know how you and Joshua can make that emptiness go away." Jeremy said.
"How, Jeremy?" Jason asked in a husky voice.
"Yeah, tell us how to do that Jeremy." Joshua was also kneeling by the cot.
"Fill the emptiness with all the love I gave you all my life. I'm dying, but love never dies. When someone loves you, the love they give you is yours to keep forever." Jeremy whispered weakly.
Joshua put his face on the side of the cot and put one arm around Joshua. Jason put his other hand on Jeremy's chest.
The brothers stayed like that for a few minutes. Joshua's tears subsided.
"Jason, will you hug me, please?" Jeremy asked. "Joshua, you hug my back, okay?"
"Yes, we will, Jeremy." Jason answered.
Jason sat down on the cot in front of Jeremy. He very gently raised Jeremy to a sitting position. Jason hugged Jeremy to him. Jeremy put his arms around Jason.
Joshua sat down on the cot behind Jeremy. He put his arms around Jeremy's waist and laid his head on Jeremy's back.
"Thank you. I love you, Jason. I love you, Joshua. I love you too, Lottie." Jeremy said softly.
Lottie was standing just inside the tent.
Jason and Joshua could feel that their brother's sweet soul was about to depart. They knew that Jeremy wanted both of them to hold him as he died.
"Jeremy, I love you, sweet boy." Jason sobbed.
"I love you, Jeremy. My precious brother." Joshua choked.
"I love you, Sugarbritches." Lottie whispered. She was standing next to the cot. She gave Jeremy a kiss on the top of his head.
Jeremy stayed in his brothers' embrace another minute. He felt safe and loved.
Jeremy sighed. "Hello, Mama. I have missed you."
Jeremy was gone.
Jason and Joshua laid Jeremy's body down on the cot very carefully.
Lottie held her arms out to the grief stricken brothers. The three of them hugged and cried their hearts out.
When they regained their composure, Joshua spoke first. "Jason! We never asked Jeremy who stabbed him! We don't know who did it!"
Jason was horrified. "Dear God, Joshua! Our brother was murdered and we don't know who did it!"
"Who killed our brother?! Who killed our brother?! Who killed our brother?!" Jason screamed.
"Jason! Wake up! Can you hear me, Jason? Wake up!" Joshua yelled.
"Is J-J-Jason awake, J-J-Josh?" Jeremy, age,13, asked through his tears. He had been worrying about Jason all night.
"I think he's waking up, Jeremy." Joshua replied.
"Jeremy?!" Jason awoke with a start.
Jason looked at his youngest brother. "Jeremy! You are alright! Thank The Lord!"
"Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks to you, J-J-Jason." Jeremy replied.
"Jeremy, who stabbed you?" asked Jason.
Jeremy looked confused.
"Jason, Jeremy wasn't stabbed. You were stabbed. You had surgery this afternoon. You are going to be alright." Joshua explained.
"So, Jeremy, you aren't hurt?" Jason inquired.
"No, Jason. I'm not h-h-hurt." Jeremy answered.
"Jeremy, tell Jason what happened." Joshua said.
"This morning we were on the stagecoach coming home from Tacoma. We, me and you, Jason, went y-y-yesterday and spent the night last night. On the way home, the stagecoach was robbed. The robber was about the same age as J-J-Josh." Jeremy told Jason.
Jeremy looked at the floor for a minute. They were in a room at Lottie's.
"Can you tell the rest of it, Jeremy? I'll tell Jason if you want me too." Josh said quietly.
"Thanks, Josh. I can tell him." Jeremy replied.
Jeremy sat down on the side of Jason's bed. "The robber had a gun. He told everybody to get off the stage. We got off. Then he took everyone's money. He got the payroll, Jason. That made you real angry. You yelled at him about how a lot of men had worked hard for their money and you had a responsibility to pay it to them. The robber stuck his gun in your face."
Jeremy was quiet for a few minutes.
"You can tell me the rest later, Jeremy." Jason could see that this was hard on his brother.
"N-N-No. I want to tell you now. When he pointed the gun in your face, you slapped the gun out of his hand. The robber pulled out a knife and came at me with it. You j-j-jumped in front of me. So you got s-s-stabbed instead of me." Jeremy cried.
Jason took Jeremy's hand. "Don't be upset, Jeremy. I would much rather it be me who was injured instead of you. That's what brothers are for."
"Thank you, J-J-Jason for s-s-saving me." Jeremy responded.
"You're welcome, Jeremy." Jason squeezed his hand.
"Jeremy, are you sure you don't want me to tell the rest of what happened?" Joshua asked.
"No, Joshua. I should tell it." Jeremy answered.
Jason was perplexed. What more could there be to tell?
"After, the robber stabbed you, I ran and picked up the gun. I was afraid the robber would pick it up. When he saw that I had the gun, he told me to give it to him, I said no. He yelled at me to give him the gun. I yelled no. When I yelled at him, he came at me with the knife." Jeremy explained.
"Don't tell me you were stabbed too, brother." Jason was alarmed.
"No. When the robber came toward me aiming the knife at me, I s-s-shot him. I k-k-killed him, J-J-Jason." Jeremy had tears streaming down his face.
Joshua walked over to the bed. He sat down beside Jeremy and put his hand on Jeremy's shoulder.
"It's alright, Jeremy. Aaron said it was clearly self defense. The man stabbed Jason. Then he came at you with the knife for the second time. It wasn't your fault, Jeremy. It was his fault. He should have never robbed the stagecoach." Joshua told him.
"I know you're right, Josh. But, I still killed somebody. I feel bad." Jeremy replied.
"That's normal, Jeremy. But, the most important thing is that the robber didn't kill you. You agree, don't you?" Jason inquired.
"Yes, J-J-Jason. I'm glad that I'm still here. I'm happy that you're still here too." Jeremy smiled a little.
"I'm glad too, Jeremy!" Jason said. " I'm also grateful that an awful situation that I thought was real, was just a nightmare!"
"Well, I'll make it unanimous. I'm happy that both of my brothers are still here with me!" Joshua grinned.
"Did anyone ever find out who the robber was?" Jason wondered.
"Mr. Stempel got a telegram from the Territorial Marshall, Leonard Trueaxe." Jeremy looked at Jason. "The robber's name was Richard Holiday."
The End