42nd Country Road

She Can't Leave

"We need to get out of here," Jake said calling me back to the car. I got in the back seat and we were off. Mark's head started to fall and his breath quickened.

"Mark?" I said, "Jake, how far away are we from Denver?

"About, 20 minutes," He replied

"Do you think you can drive faster?" I asked

"It's a 1990's truck!" He said

"I don't care, step on it," I yelled at him. Mark started to sweat.

"Is he okay?" Jack said from the front seat. Mark waved his hand and mumbled I'm fine. His navy blue shirt started to get dark around his shoulder. He moved his head back, it hit the glass window. I took off his shirt to see mounds and mounds of bandages. He had lost a lot of blood.

"You were shot," I said. After twenty minutes we reached a clinic. I pulled Mark out of the car, nurses rushed towards him. They started to tug me away from him. Jack pulled me away in the end.

"He'll be fine, honey," Said one of the older nurses. All of a sudden I was filled with rage. I walked over to Jake and smacked him.

"Did you do that?" I said in tears.

"No," He said. I smacked him again

"Don't lie, not to me," I said. A nurse came up dabbing my bloody temple with a rag. I moved away.

"Listen..." Jake said

"I'm done listening, that's all you've said, listen," I yelled. The nurse must have noticed my shoulder.

"Miss, we need to get you into surgery," She said

"No," I replied

"Ma'am," She said

"I said no," I replied. I felt a needle go into my spine. I fell asleep, again.

I woke up in a bed next to Mark who was awake. The sun was blinding. I sat up, a whole new ache in my arm and down my back. I moved a bit. Mark was up and by my side.

"You okay?" He asked inspecting me head to toe. The ringing in my ears was too much.

"Go...Lay down Mark," I said weakly pointing to his cot. He grabbed my hand.

"Never," He replied. I smiled. A nurse came into the room.

"Mark, you gotta clean bill of health, so you can leave," The nurse said

"Awesome, thank you so much," He replied

"However, She can't leave quite yet, we ran some tests and she can be the cure for the crazy pill," She said

"No," Mark said.

"What...did she say?" I said. I couldn't hear her over the ringing.

"Mark, she can solve the world's problems. She would be a hero," The nurse said

"No, we will be leaving, thanks," Mark picked me up and started to head out of the tent. The nurse trailed behind and so did Jack and Jake. He put me in the car.

"Hey, who wants to drive?" Mark asked

"I'll drive," Jack said. Mark tossed the keys over to him.

"Sir," The nurse said. We pulled out of the gravel parking lot with a hoard of doctors and nurses chasing after us.

I tried to unbutton my flannel to see what they did to me, but I was so disorientated. Mark grabbed my hands and looked at me.

"Don't," He said. I tried to pull away but I couldn't. Instead I reached for his shirt. Trying weakly to pull it off. He pulled it off for me. His shoulder was black and blue. It was all stitched together. I gently touched it with my finger.

"Who..." I tried to say, but my head started to burst in pain. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"Tom," He said, pulling me closer to him. I nodded, still keeping my eyes tightly shut.

"What... did they do to me," I said, my head still pounding.

"They, took you into surgery and found out that your blood type can sustain the pill, so you can go dark whenever you want," Mark replied. I didn't hear anything he just said. I snuggled closer to him. He stroked my hair and I fell asleep.