Nightmares Alive

Yay...

"This is the worst torture, you know?" I asked Darla as I trudged through the shallow sewer water.

"When I was your age, I thought that way too. But let's not complain-we escaped!" Darla exclaimed.

I stopped walking. "OK, what did I escape from?"

She stopped walking and paused for a minute. Turning towards me, she told me, "We escaped from the men. They were trying to kill you, you know."

"Yes. Speaking about that..." I showed her my injured arm. It looked worse than it did before. Blood was starting to dry around the wound, and it appeared a shade of purple. It wasn't too deep, but deep enough so it sure would leave a scar.

"Eh, just a flesh wound. It won't kill you," she said. "But here, just to be safe, I always have Neosporin and some bandages in my bag." She crouched down in the nasty water and swung her backpack off her back, placing it on a large, convenient rock in the middle of the stream. She pulled out a Q-Tip from her first aid kit and squeezed out some of the greasy gauze. Very gently, she started to rub it onto my stinging wound.

As she tended for me, I awkwardly stood there, wincing from the sting. I asked her, "So why aren't the men coming down to follow us?"

She laughed. "I'm not trying to be rude, but it's called being overweight. It's a small opening, so I'm glad I even made it through!" She jokingly slapped her stomach.

"Ha... ha..." I didn't think it was very funny. "Anyways, can I ask you another question?"

"You sure can!" Darla proclaimed as she proudly slapped the Band-Aid on my skin. "There, all better."

"I'm not 5. It just stops infections, it doesn't automatically heal me."

"Sorry, what was your question?"

I thought for a moment, trying to word it correctly. "Why did you shoot that man back there?"