The Ignored Princess Meets the Tortured Prince

Chapter 29

Kirsten

I slowed down as I got closer to the park, catching my breath from my long run. When I first stepped into the park, I was smiling to myself; happy to finally be here where I could relax and gather my thoughts.

But after a few seconds, I stopped and looked around. Something was wrong. At first I wasn’t sure what it was and I slowed down, glancing around. It was quiet, too quiet. There were no animal sounds, no movement, even the crickets were silent. Something was definitely wrong.

Then I saw it; laying on the ground a few feet away with a pool of blood forming beside him, was Roger. It was dark, but he seemed to be in really bad shape. I stepped toward him, my eyes wide as I looked at the bloody baseball bat laying beside him.

One of his fingers twitched and I jumped back with a small shriek. When I did, I ran into something on the ground and fell backwards.

“Ow,” I muttered as I sat up, then let out another small shriek when I saw what I’d tripped over.

Laying there lifeless on the ground, was Lucas. He looked even worse than Roger, but at least he didn’t have blood pooling around him, though he was bleeding.

“Lucas!!” I yelled, quickly sitting by his side. I lightly shook him a couple of times, calling his name, then shook him a little harder. “Wake up, please wake up. Lucas wake up!!”

I remembered learning how to feel for a pulse in health class and quickly put my fingers to his neck. I sat there for a minute, moving them around, then my eyes widened when I didn’t feel anything.

“There’s no pulse . . .” then that meant he was . . .

Suddenly he grabbed my hand, making me jump a foot and scream. Lucas coughed then slowly moved my fingers to the side as he muttered, “You’re doing it wrong.” Oh yeah, I remember now, I failed that lesson.

He let go and I finally felt his pulse under my fingers. “You’re alive!” I yelled, tears pouring down my face. I leaned down and threw my arms around him, hugging him tight.

He winced and I quickly pulled away. “Pain, lots of pain,” he muttered, “Definitely alive.”

“What happened?” I asked, looking over at where Roger was still laying, a few feet away.

“Roger attacked me,” Lucas muttered. “I thought I was okay . . . but he hit me in the head with a bat . . . I blacked out.” Suddenly there was fear in his eyes and they darted back and forth as he tried to sit up. “Where is he? He might come back, he-“ Lucas cut off as he cringed and fell back to the ground in pain.

“Stay still,” I said, putting a hand over his chest to make sure he didn’t try to get up again. “He’s laying on the ground over there.” I pointed in Roger’s direction. “And he’s bleeding pretty bad.”

Lucas blinked then relaxed. “I did get him then . . . I wasn’t sure.”

His eyes fluttered like he was going to pass out again. I quickly shook his shoulders. “No! Stay awake!” He winced and I let go. “That’s what they say in the movies; you have to stay awake.”

I pulled out my phone and quickly dialed 911.

“What’re you doing?” Lucas asked, coughing again.

“Calling for help.”

Lucas muttered something else in protest, but I just ignored him and told the lady on the other end where we were and what happened.

It didn’t take long for the sound of sirens to fill the air. I held Lucas’s hand and kept talking to him, trying to keep him awake. He was in really bad shape, and I just knew that if he fell asleep something bad would happen.