Ben
I don’t know what was going on with my brother; Hal. Dad and Anne have been in his room talking for hours now. I’m on Matt duty right now. I have to keep him occupied so he won’t ask about Hal. So as of right now we are in the halls of Charleston throwing an old ball around. As Matt threw the ball, I turn to auto pilot and went into a daydream while playing catch with Matt.
I remember the shouting, not exactly what was being said. But just the sounds. Then there was silence for a moment then more shouting. At that time Dad was shoving Matt into my arms and was running to a body; Hal. Dad had told me not to let Matt see Hal, he was only about 8 years old at the time, I was on the end of 14 and Hal just at 16 years old. I remember setting Mat on the ground and keeping him turned towards me while I tried to see Hal. I remember Dad telling Matt to go look for bandages or towels and him telling me to come over and help with Hal. The sight when I came up to Hal was horrible. His head was covered in his own blood now. Hal’s eyes were closed and there was no sign of pain, which made me think the worst happened to Hal. Could Hal be dead?
I could tell by the way the wound on Hal’s head that a Skitter had gotten to him. I didn’t know what Dad was going to do now. Dad was taking off his jacket, then the overshirt he had on for layers. I watched as Dad pressed his shirt on Hal’s head. He was trying to stop the bleeding for now.
---
