Prophecy

Beaten Up and Bruised

Quinn

After Wyatt starts to drift off to sleep, Jade pulls me downstairs to talk.

"What is Wyatt doing here?" She asks in a low voice.

"I don't know. She just kinda showed up."

"Well, whatever she's doing she can't stay here."

"I know." I look back up the stairs where Wyatt is, "Just let me talk to her, okay?"

She nods, "Alright. I'm going to stay at Marlee's house for a couple of days. She needs help with her baby. I got permission from Mistress Evanoch to leave, so I'll be back soon."

"Okay, I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." We give each other a quick hug, she grabs her bag and leaves. I go back upstairs to check on Wyatt and hopefully get some answers. Maybe we can talk to each other without one accusing the other they're not real. When I get up there though, Wyatt's gone.

"Wyatt!" I call out a few times, but she's nowhere to be seen. She left? Just like that? No good bye? Not even a glance over her shoulder as she left? I shake my head, "You're not getting away that easily, Wyatt, not when I need some answers," I say to myself.

I hurry out the door, forgetting all about a jacket, and start to search for her. It starts to get dark about twenty minutes into my search and the chilly night air is turning my fingertips numb, but I keep going.

I continue to wander around the city looking for her but I find nothing. How did she get so far ahead of me? I left right after her, I should have caught her by now. I sigh, my breath forming a cloud in front of me, and turn around.

I decide to take a short cut home through an alley. In most parts of town it would be a bad idea, creeps, muggers, or anything else could be hiding, but this part isn't too bad.

The alley would be completely dark, if it wasn't for the street lamp buzzing on and off every thirty seconds. Trash is piled up on the walls and when a breeze rolls through the street, sending a chill down my spine, papers and dead leaves get pushed down and up the sides of the buildings.

But there's something larger than a trash bag slumped against a corner. I take a few slow steps closer, cautious of what it might be, before I realize it's a person. A boy really. Beaten up and bruised, blood trailing down the side of his face and his bottom lip.

"Oh my god," I mumble under my breath. "Please be alive, please be alive." I kneel down and reach my hand out to take his pulse. It's slow and weaker than it should be, but he's alive. I sigh in relief and stand. I shouldn't just leave him here, should I?

"Just walk away, Quinn. He's alive, he'll wake up in a few hours and get himself out of here," I say as I turn away. I turn back. He's only a kid, maybe a little older than me. "Dang it. Sometimes I hate how good of a person I am."

I put his arm around my shoulder, and grunt as I pick him up, "You better not be a psycho killer."

It takes me a good hour to get him back home, and since I can't keep him in the house, I put him in the barn. I set him down gently on a stack of hay. My arms are sore and feel like jello.

I bite my cheek as I look at him. His wounds need cleaning and bandaging. I have no choice but to use my boss' first aide kit. I go into the house and get what I can.

I am out of breath when I get back. He still lies there unconscious. I clean his wounds and bandage them afterwards. I bring a blanket and pillow with some fresh clothes for him and leave it there.