We Were Forgotten {ON HOLD}

Rescue

~Ty~

I looked down at Carmen and realized why Craig liked her. She was flawless. She had long jet black hair, high cheek bones, olive skin and light brown eyes. And that was just her face. The rest of her was...model material. I thought about what my brother would say about her. Probably just shout "Damn she fine!" or something stupid like that.

I sighed and lifted her shirt again. We were in the library, and I'd gotten a first aid kit to work on Carmen. Carter and Matilda stood near the front doors while Alex sat in front of a computer, furiously scrolling through pages and pages of stuff.

Somehow, Carmen was stabbed. It was deep, and she had been bleeding badly. My thoughts were that she passed out from loss of blood, but then it could've been from pain too. She did have a badly sprained ankle, a dislocated shoulder, fingers that were nearly scraped down to the bone, a stab to her side, and tons of scrapes and bruises covering her face and body.

Every time I found something new I'd mumble, "I'm sorry. That had to hurt." I was finally done with her stab, and went to her fingers. I took the bandages from the first-aid kit and wrapped it around her hands, making white and red mittens.

"Next thing's your shoulder," I whispered to her unconcious body. I looked at it. My mom had told me about ER patients that had gotten into bar fights, gang fights, or even who had been abused by their spouse or father. I could only imagine it, but now, it was right here. The things that my mother would discribe, was right here in front of me.

I popped it back in place, and was glad she was passed out. I once was playing around with my friends, and one of them tackled me, making my arm pop out of it's socket. I of course didn't want to look like a whimp, so I told them to pop it back in. One of the most painful experiences ever.

I sighed and looked at her again. This was sad. She was with someone, I remembered her screaming for "those bastards" not to leave her. But they did. But I was glad I found her. I needed to keep my promise to Craig. That's why I stole Alex's gun and shot the thing. I was surprised I didn't hit her. I was a terrible shot.

For my thirteenth birthday, my dad took me out to the shooting range. "Son," he said. "Every man needs to know how to shoot a gun. And now that you're becoming a man, I need to teach you." He then gave me a long speech about how guns were not used to attack, they were used for self defence and as a last ditch effort. But I never thought I'd be able to use a gun. I was too thrown off by the recoil that I missed nearly every single shot I took.

But earlier, it was like I was seeing clearly. And none of that bothered me. Whether it was because adrenaline was rushing through my body, or because I was a hell of a lot bigger than I was when I was thirteen, I didn't care.

I went down to her ankle and used the rest of the bandages to wrap it up tightly. I still couldn't believe how beat up she was. She must've gone through hell today. Even yesterday.

"Holy fucking Christ." I heard. I turned around to Alex and saw she had a map pulled up on the computer. "Guys. Come here."

I didn't go; I just stayed next to Carmen and stood up. "What is it?" I asked.

"Th-there's like no one near Anartica," she said. Her voice was shaking and she was fighting back tears. "Like Austrailia, South Africa, most of southern Africa for that matter, most of southern South America. It's like everyone close to Anartica has gone." She clicked off that screen as Carter put his hand on her back. "Look. You guys know that there are nearly seven billion people on Earth?" We all nodded. I didn't like where this was going. I didn't want to hear what the new population was. "Now it's estimated to be at three billion. We lost four billion people in one day. And that's only from those things that makes people disappear. They weren't accounting for the gas at all."

"Gas?" asked Matilda. "What gas?"

"It's this really thick yellow gas," Carter explained. "Those light things sprayed it to kill us. It's really awful. That's how..."

"That's how my friends died," Alex finished. She looked up at Carter and continued. "That's how I almost died." It was almost like she was thanking him, but she just couldn't say the words. Then I realized that Carter saved her from it. If it was because he had a crush on her, or if he was just trying to get whoever out, I didn't know. But he saved her.

She cleared her throat and went back to the computer. "Anyway, it says here that the miliatary is taking action. They're getting people out of the cities. Moving them to camps where they'll be safe."

"That's great," I said. They looked back at me, surprised I said anything. "I mean we'll be safe. We won't have to worry about getting taken, especially by those new things."

"He's right," said Matilda. "It's better for us to leave than to stay here. Does it say where they'll be?"

"I-" The doors to the library burst open, and we all jumped. Carter pulled out his gun and Matilda held her staff, ready to fight off anything.

But it was just a soldier. He had a huge rifle with him, and a few more soilder trailing behind. "You kids!" he shouted. "Follow me. I'll get you to safety."

"Are you going to take us to the camp?" Alex asked. The man nodded, and I could hear the excitement in her voice. "Come on guys. Let's get out of here."

I smiled and stood up. We were finally going to get somewhere. No more guessing. No more running or hiding. I just wanted to get out of this city. I just wanted to leave. "Carter could you held me with Carmen."

"We'll get her for you son." Said the leader of the group. He directed one of the soldier to come over to me.

"Um be careful," I said. "She's hurt really badly. And one of her shoulders is dislocated."

"Don't worry," he said. "I'll take care of your girlfriend."

"She's not..." He picked her up and walked towards his group. "Fuck it. He's not listening."

"I can't go," I heard. I around to Carter, who was still in the same spot next to the computer. "I can't go with you guys."

"Are you crazy!" Alex shouted. "What the hell Carter? Come on this isn't the time for jokes."

"I just can't leave," he said. "I can't leave this city."

Alex groaned and walked over to him. "Carter, you've cone some really stupid things, but this is just...why? Is it because you lived here for a few years? Because I was born in this city, Carter."

"Listen there's nothing left for us here," said Matilda. "There's nothing left for us in any city."

"She's right," I said. "You can't stay. You'll get killed-"

"How are you even saying this?" he asked me. "Y-y-you should be the main one saying that you want to stay. Your whole family. Your girlfriend. Your friends. Your fucking sister! She's still out there somewhere isn't she? Don't you want to find her? Why would you leave your sister behind when you know she's still out there?"

"DON'T PULL TY INTO YOUR MIND GAMES CARTER!" Alex boomed. Mind games? No he was right. I was thikning about my own safety before hers. She was still out there, and she was still in danger. How selfish could I be?

"Ty don't listen to him," said Alex. "You have to come with us. You can't stay here." She turned back to Carter and told him the same thing.

"Look you kids better move or we're leaving," another soilder said.

"Alex..."

"Carter shut the hell up and move your ass. You're staying with me and that's it. Ty are you coming or not?"

Should I go? Should I give up any chance of finding my sister and save my life? Should I not even think of her safety? I felt a hand on my shoulder and Alex was looking up at me. "Are you coming?"