Hero

Chapter 29 - "You're too chicken to say it, so I guess I'll say it first."

Rhylee got to the hospital far faster than I did. By the time I arrived at the emergancy room her parents were already there, biting their nails and panicking. They didn't know any more about her than I did though. The halls were filled with bustling nurses and doctors; all tending to the aid of past patients of the prison and Rhylee herself. She was somewhere in here, and it infuriated me to not know where she was, whether she was alive or dead, or if she would pull through if she was still alive. It was probably Conner who shot her; he's been eyeing leadership ever since he started working for us. He's been after my job for months - I should have known he would end up being a pain in my ass. I wanted to shoot him in the stomach and see what he thought of it. I bet he wouldn't like it.

Mr and Mrs Baker both paced, like I was, in the waiting room; their only thoughts being of their eldest daughter and what could have possibly happened to her. I must have explained what happened several times, going through the details more thorough than the last time I recounted them. It wasn't enough for them each time and I had to go through the tale once more, to the point where I was ready to rip out my hair.

"The important part is she'll be okay," Mr. Baker broke in when Mrs. Baker demanded once more that I explain how this could have happened, how I could have let this happen. Though we heard his words, we weren't quite sure if he was right or not.

From then on I decided it would be wise to leave them alone, so they couldn't bother me with more questions. Instead, I went to the play area where Piper sat, playing with chipped toys that were donated to the hospital. I wondered if she knew why we were here and if anyone had told her anything. She didn't seem phased by the people running around her. There wasn't any other children here and so she had the whole area to herself. When I sat down in a chair against the wall, closing my eyes with aggrivation and tiredness, she looked up to acknowledge me but quickly returned to playing with the plastic school bus she had found. I listened as she told the imaginary children to get in the bus before they were late for school and I smiled.

Piper was certainly a happy child, no matter what had just gone on in the past twenty-four hours. She had been kidnapped, held for ransom, and traded for her sister who was now lying in a hospital bed with a gunshot wound; still she went on, still she smiled, and still she told the imaginary children they were now late for school and they all had detention. She moaned for the children, protesting with the bus driver, but they were still taken to detention. I wondered how she even knew what detention was; she didn't go to school yet.

"Piper, what game are you playing?" I asked, lifting my head.

She shrugged her tiny shoulders, russling her long ink black hair that matched her sister's. "It doesn't have a name, I'm just playing."

I chuckled. After a moment of thought I crawled down from my chair and joined her on the floor, taking a firetruck that sat a few feet away from her. "Oh no! There's a fire at the school! All the children need to come outside while the firemen put out the fire."

She gave an excited squeal before telling all the students to come back outside and wait while the firemen did their jobs. I made siren noises while she made the water sound effects. I felt like a little kid again.

That is, until I heard the scream from the waiting room. I looked up and saw Mrs. Baker being held back by Mr. Baker, who was yelling at the doctors. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but they were both saying 'be careful' and 'don't hurt her'. Confused, I slowly stood to my feet. Piper whined at my feet, telling me the fire wasn't out yet.

"You put it out for me, okay?" I smiled down at her to keep her calm. "I'm going to get a soda from the machine."

"Ooh, can I have a juice?"