Above the Ground

19- Reparations

Joe's Pov:

It didn't take long for me to wake up fully. Everything was bruised, if not broken, but that wasn't my concern. "Where's Daisy?"

The officer gestured to his coworker. "I'm gonna help him outside." His coworker nodded.

Nobody was hearing me. I tried limping to Trooper, but I realized I was on a stretcher. "Where's Daisy?!"

"Calm down, kid. She's fine, we got her. We're gonna take you to the station, and then you can see her, okay?"

"I wanna see Daisy!"

"Dave, the ambulance here, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

Trooper looked back to me. "Alright, kid, you're ginna take the ambulance on the way. You got a few too many scratches for the cop car."

I struggled to roll myself off the stretcher, but my energy was so low it was nearly impossible. I tried nonetheless until I was set down in the ambulance. My head was swimming; it felt like a sack of wet potatoes.

Eventually, the ambulance jerked to a stop and the doors opened.

"This isn't the police station."

The parametic shook his head. "You're a little too banged up to go there first."

By the time we arrived, I was fine enough to walk out. I guess my foot wasn't broken after all. Trooper assisted me, and I huffed as I limped out of the car. "Where's Daisy?"

"Hold on, kid. You'll see her in a bit." Dave walked me over to Trooper in the lobby standing next to a receptionist.

I huffed as I leaned on the counter, waiting for instructions. My brain was fogged and lightheaded. It tingled like a million beads in a jar as I tilted my head up to see someone else rounding the corner.

Daisy's whole face burst with shock at the sight of me.

Limping as fast as I could, I broke free from Trooper's hold on my arm and ran to Daisy.

"Joe!" The tender smile she flashed me was the reason I was glad to be home.

Before she had a chance to take the lead and hug me, I kissed her. I kissed her hard, the way I'd wanted to but never had the nerve to. Then I hugged her. "Oh, you're alright, you're alive. You're okay. You're okay?"

"I'm okay," I heard, muffled on my shoulder.

She slowly pulled back after a moment, but I couldn't see. Even with my eyes shut tight, tears leaked through and slid down to my chin. "I'm so sorry," I said, trying to open my eyes. "I'm the reason we're here. I shouldn't have suggested we go to the house—"

"No, no, it's okay. It's not your fault, okay?" She held my face in the palm of her hands and smudged my tears away.

I winced, the pressure reviving the tingling in my head.

Her hand pulled away a little. "What did they do to you?" she whispered in awe.

I started crying again, and she gave me another hug—tenderly this time—until the receptionist came up beside us and ushered us down the hall. I leaned on Daisy the way there.

"So the others are okay?" I asked.

She nodded. "They're actually the ones who realized we were missing. They figured it out, miraculously."

"How'd you find me?"

"That was Ben. He remembered the night in the rain and y'all crashed there and saw Ron... he figured they were using it for a hideout or—"