Run Little One

A New Home...For Now

Caspar's POV
I turn around to see hundred of them running straight towards us. Shit.

Joe and May have already began to sprint, and I turn and follow them, attempting to catch up with them. Zoe and the others have already ran into a nearby building and were signaling us in.

My chest aches from the sudden adrenaline mixed with fear as May trips over a piece or rubble and cries out in a blood curdling scream. I slow my pace only slightly as Joe stops, lifting her off the ground and continuing running. I glance behind me and notice that their pace is almost as quick as ours.

We race into the broken down building and fling open the doors of offices until we find one to barricade in.

Alfie and I knock over a file cabinet and  push it along the floor, blocking the entrance to our small room. Luckily, there are no windows to be concerned about, as we all let out a long anticipated sigh or exhaustion and relief.

We're safe for now.

Joe sets May down on a desk as she whimpers in pain. I run over to her to see what was causing the pain. A large piece of metal, maybe 6 inches long, is stuck up her foot, through her ankle and leg. I grimace at the scene in front of me, but I know we need to remove it: fast.

Joe's POV
I hadn't really noticed why May had fallen, I just knew we had to keep running. I place her down on a desk and she wipes her eyes, struggling to hold in the pain. I look down to see her injury, and immediately sort through my bag for any medical supplies.

Zoe walks over to May and sits down next to her, pulling her head onto her chest and stroking her hair back to soothe her.

I find what I need: Rubbing alcohol, gauze and at least three bandages.

I hand Zoe the bandages and gauze and hand Caspar the alcohol. I kneel down I front of May as she looks me in the eyes, terrified and in pain.

"May, I promise you, you're going to be okay." I say. She just looks at me and nods, biting her lip.

"Just take a deep breath first okay" I say to her. "You need to be calm" I assure her, placing my hand on her knee.

She looks me in the eyes and nods, inhaling and exhaling in a deep sigh.

"Again" I say, moving my hand down to where the metal is sticking out. I make eye-contact with Zoe and she gives me a look of approval and mentally signals Caspar to be ready.

May inhales and shuts her eyes, as I swiftly pull the metal rod out of her leg, followed by a series of screams and cries of pain. I try my best not to show how much it hurts me to see her like this, as I frantically apply the rubbing alcohol to the open wound to clean it.

Zoe holds May in her arms, as she hisses in pain at the disinfectant, her eyes glued shut.

Zoe hands me the gauze and the bandage and I wrap it up as neatly and gently as possible, while still applying enough pressure to keep her from bleeding out.

May's POV

There is no way to describe the pain when Joe pulled the metal out. It felt as if my bone was broken and then pulled out of mg leg in one, seemingly long motion. The process only took a solid 30 seconds, but for me, it was an eternity.

I slowly open my eyes and look down not at my leg, but at my hands, that are white as I unknowingly was gripping the table and Poppy's hand. I didn't even remember Poppy walking over to me.

I look over to the corner of the room and see Alfie holding Garrett, while Sean makes some funny faces to distract him. I wouldn't have wanted him, let alone anyone, see that.

I finally look down at Joe and he meets my eyes.

"May?" He says

"What?" I say. I realized I hadn't been listening to a word he was saying.

"How is it feeling? Do you feel dizzy? Or like you're about to be sick?" He asks me.

I internally laugh. Oh yeah I'm doing just great Joseph!

"It hurts...a lot" Is the best I can come up with. I realize my voice is merely a whisper, as I screamed my voice dry during the process.

"You just need to rest" Joe says. He stands up and scoops my up in his arms and gently brings me over to the single sofa in the room, placing me down with my leg elevated on the cushion next to me. He sits down on the floor in front of the couch and we all join in a small circle.

"Where do we go now?" Caspar breaks the awkward silence.

"We should head towards Wiltshire. I doubt there will be any Shriekers out there. And if there are, there won't be many" Zoe pipes up.

"And Mum and Dad" Joe whispers, not loud enough for the group to hear, but just loud enough for me to hear.

"May can't travel like this" Sean pipes in.

"Well we can't stay here" Caspar says. He makes a good point. The Shriekers know we are in the city. We need to leave and get to Wiltshire as soon as we can.

I swing my legs over the sofa and push myself up to test my foot. Joe leaps up and tries to convince me not to step on my foot, but I merely brush him off.

I stand up. No pain.

Looking down at my foot, I wiggle it slightly and stare at it in shock. I'm not feeling any pain.

Why?

I hop from foot to foot, testing my wound further, surprising everyone around me. Nothing. No stinging, no aching, it's not even bleeding through the bandage.

"I don't understand" I whisper my thoughts out loud.

"You will soon, May" a voice says behind me. I turn to look, along with Sean, Zoe, Joe and Caspar.

Mark. They all see him.

"Mark? What's going on?" Joe questions. Alfie and Poppy look at us like we are crazy.

"All in good time Joseph, all in good time..." he trails off, before disappearing out of thin air.

This isn't making any sense...