The Loner's Journey

Chapter 28

Grayson's POV
After class, I went to meet up with archer and Danny for lunch. I get in the lunch line and stand there for a few minutes before I feel someone tap my shoulder. I look to the side and don't see anyone, so I turn back around. I feel a tap on my other shoulder so I turn to look, but again there's nobody there. I huff and start to turn back around when I hear someone laugh from behind me. I turn around and find Danny laughing his ass off. Well, now I know he likes to prank and pick fun with people he likes. I smile and greet him. "Hey dude! You almost had me upset for a second." I said. "Hey, hahaha! Your face was priceless." He says. I laugh slightly, then look around for archer. He left before me so he should have been here already. I look around but don't spot him in the line ahead of us or at a table. "Hey, did you see archer on your way in?" I ask Danny. "No. He was in class with you, wasn't he?" He asks back. I nod and start to get a bad feeling that something's wrong. Just then I see Trent and his guys walk in snickering and talking about something. They happen to get right behind us in line, so I listen in on what they're saying. "Dude, did you see the look on his face? Priceless!" Vince says. "Yeah! Like he actually thought someone would come save him." Trent says. "I wonder what or who he was looking for though." Blake says. "Who cares?! We got to have our fun, and I doubt anyone is gonna care to notice he's not here." Trent says. "Yeah! Like anyone cares about what happens to the freak, archer Blackwell!" Vince snickers. I clench my fists and grind my teeth. So that's what happened to archer. I look to Danny to see if he heard and I assume he did because he has this almost murderous look on his face. "Hey, let's go find archer. I lost my appetite anyway." I say, and tap his arm. He nods silently and we both step out of line to go find archer. Once we're out in the hall, I see Danny walk over to a wall and punch it a couple times. I walk over and stop him. "Hey! We need to find archer! We don't have time for you to get caught up in your head!" I say. He takes a couple deep breathes then looks up at me. "You're right. And I have a feeling I know exactly where he is." He says. I notion for him to lead the way and he starts walking towards the back exit of the school. When we get there, we don't see anything at first. I round the corner and see blood in the grass. I call Danny over. He comes over but on his way I hear him gasp and pick up his pace. I look to him, but he runs past me a couple yards. That's when I notice archer laying in the grass. I stand up, after having crouched to see the blood, and run over. When I get there I see Danny softly putting his head in his lap. "Is he ok?" I ask. He just shakes his head. I get on my knees to asses archer's condition. It looks a lot worse than I thought at first. His head is bleeding a little from the back, he's got a black eye, he's covered in dirt. And that's just the outer things I can see. I have no idea if the extent of his internal damage. I sigh and notice my vision get blurry. I turn my head so Danny doesn't see, and wipe my eyes. "We need to get him either to the nurse, a hospital, or at least someone with medical knowledge." I say urgently to Danny. He nods and picks archer up carefully. I stand back up to follow him. "I'll take him to my house. My dad is an EMT." Danny says over his shoulder to me. "Ok. But I'm coming with you." I say. He looks at me. "No, you're not. I don't want you at my house." He says. "I'm coming whether you like it or not. Archer is my friend too and I refuse to leave him before I know he's alright." I say stubbornly. Danny sighs but doesn't argue further. Once we get to the parking lot he tells me to follow him in my car unless I want ti leave my car at the school overnight. "I'll ride with you. It'll be fine to leave my car until I know he's ok. Not to mention you can't keep an eye on home and drive at the same time", I say, "I'll come back for my car later either by walking or if you don't mind you could drop me off." I finish. He nods and we both get in his car.