Shock

-15-

With the kids well-rested and fed, we were back on the road just as the sun was starting to peek over the rooftops.
Peter and Haley were singing 500 miles, exaggerating their march to go along with it. On Nathan's and my side of the pavement, the mood was less festive. The lack of sleep seemed to have hit us after about fifteen minutes of walking. He'd tried to ask me about my nightmares again, but I'd turned him down.
Still, the dream kept playing over and over in my head, nagging my thoughts. It wasn't that long 'till jail park now, and we'd be at my house in less than half an hour, but the messed-up road and scattered debris were making things significantly more difficult.
The cut on my palm was itching, and I willed my hand under the layers of tissues. However, the duct tape was on so tight, I only managed to rip a few pieces of the paper. Nathan noticed as soon as I did and turned his head.
"What are you doing?"
"It... Itches." Was all I responded, still trying to figure out a way to make it stop.
We'd been walking for about half an hour now, and at first it'd been nothing but a slight annoyance. Now, it was becoming unbearable.
He looked at me, then back at the bandaged hand.
"Well, I guess I didn't really do a good job on that one, huh?"
His tone was joking, but his face was marked with regret.
I didn't respond. I just knew that I had to do something, or else I'd go insane. Without thinking much of it, I raised the hand to my mouth and tried to use my teeth to relieve the itch.
"Fr... Charlie..."
"Wra...?" The word got jumbled because of the tape but I didn't let go.
"Don't... I don't think that's a good idea."
I shook my head like a stubborn dog refusing to let go of its favourite chew toy.
"Ij hawwrts."
He took hold of the injured hand my gaze flicked upwards.
"Please?"
I contemplated my options for a while and then I finally relaxed my clenched jaw.
Nathan smiled but didn't let go of my hand. Instead, he stepped closer so he could have a better look. He seemed completely focused on the injury, not noticing how we were sudenly just two inches apart.
"Maybe we ought to let it breathe. Remove the duct tape."
I nodded.
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea."
He started rummaging through the purse. After a few seconds, he took out the knife.
"Hold still," he told me as he brought the item closer to my hand. He slit though multiple layers of tape and then carefully removed the tissues.
I swallowed as I saw the wound.
"Is it just me, or does that cut look way nastier than before?"
The blood had started to clot in parts of the wound, but not in others. The skin surrounding it was firetruck-red and bulging up a little. The flesh felt warm and swollen, and the smell of it actually made me turn my head the other way.
"Definitely," Nathan agreed, "I think it might be infected."
I thought so too, but without the first-aid kit, I had no idea how to treat it.
"Maybe we can rinse it with water?" I suggested. Alcohol would have probably been better, but unfortunately, we didn't have any.
I started to take off my pack to retrieve a bottle before I suddenly stopped and looked up.
"Where are Peter and Haley?"
"What do you mean, they're right..." He lifted his head, only to see that the street was deserted.
"Oh."
"They probably didn't notice we stopped again. They can't be that far..."
But Nathan had already bolted up the road, and I quickly followed suit.
Running like crazy, we jumped over fallen stop signs and cracks in the ground. As we reached a cul-de-sac, we let our pace slow down, feet skidding to a halt underneath our panting bodies. But I heard more than our breathing and heartbeats. I heard... Voices. And the faintest presence of music. Coming from our left. Inside a building or something like that. I couldn't quite catch what they were saying, but I could've sworn I heard Peter.
Then Nathan took a sharp breath.
"What are we gonna do? I knew I shouldn't have let her come, it's all my-"
I shushed him and stepped towards what I presumed to be the source of the sounds.
As I'd expected, there was an open door with a faint light emerging from it. Though 'door' was probably a bit generous. The building was ratchet, it seemed to have about the same amount of strength as a shed. In fact, part of it had apparently already collapsed, scattering debris as far as I could see into the dark, narrow corridor. And at the end of the corridor were two small figures. I started jogging towards them, but when I was nearly there, I noticed a third shape taking form. A few feet away from the kids sat a woman, talking to them.
I felt my heart rate quicken.
"P... Peter... Haley..." I stammered.
"Can you... Please... Come here... Come here for a sec?"
I kept my eyes glued to the woman, who was just sitting there, in the dark.
To my relief, the kids complied and I let out a breath as they made their way towards me.
I sat down on my knees to be on their height and looked each of them straight into the eye.
"Don't ever do that again, okay? Don't run away like that and do not, under any circumstances, enter old, creepy buildings like this!"
They both nodded and I turned to look at Peter.
"Didn't mum and dad tell you never to talk to strangers?"
He looked at me with his big brown eyes and twitched his mouth a bit.
"Yeah... But she's not a stranger,"
He turned around and pointed to the woman, who had now gotten to her feet and was staring at us. I couldn't believe my eyes.
There, standing in the moonlight, was Paisley Carter.