From A To Z

Chapter 10

I heard them long before I saw them. The ground shook under their feet. Frightened birds scattered in the branches. The forest shivered and I shivered with it.

Was this the help I had been waiting for or someone returning to finish the job?

I had been kneeling by Sienna's side for what felt like an eternity. I talked to her, caressed her hand, listened to each ragged breath she took. I didn't have to strain my ears to make out the tiny gasps escaping her lips. That's how quiet it was up here.

Now a herd of elephants was approaching us with a vengeance. I could run and try to hide but it meant leaving her behind, helpless and exposed. No way.

Grim resignation muted my panic. At least whatever was going to happen, was going to happen quickly.

A flash of movement through the trees and my heart skipped a beat. Suddenly I could make out multiple people approaching fast. I caught a glimpse of a deputy's uniform, the glint of a badge. I needn't have worried, Victor had brought help.

"Over here!" I hollered on top of my lungs.

The Sheriff was the first one to reach me. Panting, he kneeled by my side but didn't acknowledge me. All he could see was Sienna.

His eyes took in her smashed head, traveled down her powder blue sweater, studded with crusty patches of blood and pine needles, over to her hand cradled in mine and up my arms to my face.

"She's alive," I said when our eyes met.

Victor and a handful of deputies had emerged from the woods and hovered a few feet away, aware they shouldn't trample the scene.

"Where the hell are the paramedics?!" barked Sheriff Lundy at his men but got only shrugs in response.

He lifted his hat and swiped his sleeve across his brow. I could see his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed.

Jim Lundy was struggling to maintain his composure, I realized. Bruler didn't know violent crime. I couldn't remember the last time someone got murdered. There were drunken bar brawls; sometimes half-lit men traded punches at boozy tailgate parties. That was the nature of the reports that filled the Bruler Eagle's crime section.

The sheriff had his hands full with chasing small-time drug dealers and solving property crime - B&Es, shoplifting, and the occasional trespass. Sienna's bloodied body was probably the worst thing he had ever witnessed on the job.

"You did great, Zoe," he said almost kindly. "We'll take it from here. I'll have someone bring you back to town."

I didn't want to leave Sienna's side but Sheriff Lundy's voice made it clear that his decision wasn't up for debate. He wanted me out of his hair so that the grownups could do their jobs. It actually made sense. There was nothing more I could do for Sienna right now.

Reluctantly, I let go of her hand and he helped me to my feet. He was leading me away from the body just as the paramedics swept in, carrying a stretcher and bulky bags of equipment.

"Is she going to be okay?" I called out but they ignored me and got to work. One of them flashed a tiny light in Sienna's eyes, the other began examining her head wound. Before I knew it, an oxygen mask was strapped to her face and a brace secured around her neck.

Watching them filled me with awe. I wanted to be able to do that one day - take control, bring hope, save lives.

The sheriff guided me further away. Victor was already by my side, his face still flushed from the exertion. He must have run both ways.

"You ok?" he asked quietly.

I nodded, not trusting my voice not to betray me. I wasn't ok. Not in the slightest.