The First Drop Of Rain

Chapter Twenty Four

Sure enough, my father was at the door yelling my name in a robe with his gun and Maddie madly barking at the door while I ran barefoot straight into the snow to Sam. None of this made sense, but I knew Sam couldn't be a danger to me, and I needed to get him out of the cold. When my hand touched his arm it burned beneath my touch. "DAD IT'S SAM!" I yelled over Maddie's barking. I left a bloody handprint smack on Sam's surprisingly ripped bicep. Was he this buff last time I saw him? He's only 16, nearly 17! I would say 'roids but this man definitely has something else going on. You would never believe this man was a sophomore. Not anymore.

"What the hell?" I heard my dad's voice, then the sharp German command to get Maddie to stand down. He was out into the snow, wearing rubber galoshes, and a large blanket from the living room over his arm. "Is he naked!?"

"Yeah! Help me lift him!" I snagged the blanket and threw it over Sam, giving him some form of privacy, I had been doing my best to avoid looking anywhere but his face, but I did scan his chest and arms for injuries. Both my dad and I hooked Sam's limp arms over our shoulders, I couldn't help much considering I was shoulder height to both of them, but I opened the door regardless. Once inside we got him down on the couch, I threw another blanket overtop of him, and my Dad snagged my hand to look at the blood and its source. "Slipped on the steps. I also lost the flashlight when I fell." I winced against his touch on the wound.

"You don't need stitches but you are going to have gauze for a while." He left me to grab the med kit, as well as put away his gun. I walked over to Sam, looking closely at his face, and his eyes fluttered open.

"I'm sorry Ara..." His voice sounded so broken, and he stared directly at me.

"It's okay. I won't tell anyone. Our secret?" I held out my pinky on the hand that wasn't bleeding.

"Our secret." He whispered back, hooking his finger on mine. His eyes drifted shut again, that's when my dad re-entered the room.

I stood up, turning around to grab the medical bag from his hand, but he swiped it away from me. "Let me do this." He had changed into his pajamas, it seemed he had only made it halfway through a shower before my scream happened. He pulled me over to the formal dining room, which we only used for birthdays and holidays, and started taking a look at my hand. About ten minutes later I had a thick bandage and a lot of medical tape wrapped around my hand.

"Do you think I'll get a cool scar?"

"Arabella."

"I hope it looks like something."

"Please."

"Like Harry Potter has his lightning bolt, I get a sword shape?"

"I... what?"

"Admit it. Sword scar sounds cool." I raised my brow.

"What am I going to do with you child?"

"Good question." I jumped up and grabbed my phone. "I'll call Billy and let him know we found Sam, you call Charlie and call off the search parties?"

"I just wanna know why the boy was naked."

"I don't know, maybe something happened to his clothes and it was better none then the tatters." I shrugged, pulling my phone up.

"Well we are going to have to take him to the hospital and then to the sheriffs station to get the story straight. He was missing for two days. We called in the FBI task force." My dad was shaking his head, he already had his phone out, but I started to panic. Sam can't go to the hospital, what if they realize he is a little more than human? I tried to calm myself but it wasn't working, my fear was ramping up, I felt it like a fire in me, burning in my mouth like silver. I crashed back in the chair next to him and grabbed his arm instinctively.