keep you safe|C. grimes|

3>>dead ends and good friends

    The moon was high in the sky. Screams came from inside the house. The little cowboy was in agony. He was crying, screaming, and every little bit he would seize up and begin to shake frantically. It made his parent's clam up each time as they demanded to know what was causing their son to do this. When Maggie came back with Lori, Rick's wife, she rushed into the house quickly. I didn't move from the porch, my help was not needed, but I was waiting for Shane and Otis. They should have been back by now. Little did I know my worst fear was going to come true.

    The cool air was making it easier to breathe than it had been in weeks. There was a slight breeze, calming me. It made me as calm as I could be with the shrieks echoing throughout the farm. A motor could be heard in the distance. Headlights peered over the road leading to the farm house and there was a release of the pain in my chest. When it got closer I noticed there was only one figure sitting in the front seat of the pickup truck.

    My heart was no longer in the top of my chest, but it was resting with my stomach, churning and flipping over repeatedly. Tears began to roll down my cheeks. I called out for my dad before it was noticeable that I was crying, "Daddy! Come quickly!"

    "Anabelle, what is it?" He came outside and before he could say something else, he was looking at the pickup truck, seeing that only one person was in the vehicle.

    Shane opened the door to the truck, his feet hit the ground and he hoisted himself out. Limping on his foot he made his way to the bottom step with the bags slung over his shoulder. He looked up at me and daddy, "He, He- I-I I-."

    "Where's Otis?" Daddy asked looking Shane up and down.

    "He didn't make it. He told me to go, he-he'd cover me from behind. A-and when I looked back." There were tears in his eyes, like he truly believed Otis had died saving his life.

    "We can't tell Patricia, I'll need her. Come on Ana, help me get these things inside, we have to save this boy's life." Daddy and I carried the bags with supplies in. The little cowboy had just had his last seizure he would have. He rested on the bed; his breathing was uneven from the sudden movement and lack of blood in his body.

    By the time Carl was being worked on I left the room. I sat on the front porch again, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was propped up on my knees and my eyes were skimming over the pages. I heard commotion from within the house. They were trying their hardest to save his life. I knew daddy wasn't going to give up without a fight.

"He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it--namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain."

    Rick and Lori had joined me on the front porch. They were silent. Their hands were entwined, every little while I would look up at them, I would see their hands squeeze each other lightly. They were holding on to whatever hope they had left. I hoped their faith was better than mine. Otis is dead. How could some god let such a good man die. He did not deserve this. He was the most amazing man I had ever met.

   I closed my book and leaned my head back against the post on the porch my head was aching worse than it had in a while. The tears I had managed to hold back most of the day was falling relentlessly giving me no hope for relief. This is what it had always felt like.

            It had been a long time; the sun looked as if it was trying to peek over the tops of the trees at the edge of the forest. I had been up for almost 24 hours and I didn't even realize it until now. Daddy walked outside and Rick and Lori both stood up in sync, like they expected something bad to happen. I was worried as to whether or not their faith had been enough.

            "Well, he is going to be okay."  He was wiping his hands with a cloth that had a bit of blood on it. He was no longer looking like he feared for the boy's life, but looked at peace with all that had happened that day.

When Lori stood, she let out a breath that she had appeared to have been holding this entire time. Rick looked shocked to say the least. But as soon as he wrapped his head around the entire situation he wrapped his arms around my daddy hugging him close. When they parted Rick turned to look at me, "Thank you for everything you did when we got here, you helped and made sure I knew what was going on. I am grateful for that, I probably would have gone a little crazier than what I was if you wouldn't have been there to help me."

            I smiled softly and nodded, "You're welcome."

            "Anabelle, you will be tending to the little cowboy from now on until he heals. That means you will bring him breakfast, lunch, dinner, and keep him company. We don't want him getting bored in that bed."  Daddy motioned for me to walk over to him and I did, leaning into his side as he wrapped an arm around me.

            "Is she about the same age as Carl?" Rick asked looking at my dad.

            "She is almost 13, so I'd say so. Your boy and her will be good friends."