Knightly in Shining Armor

Lukas

I watched in horror as Phillip rolled out of the tent. A beam had fallen, and he and Lourdes had still been inside. But Phillip was the only one who came out. The firetrucks and ambulances arrived, and my father hurried around and marked everyone off on the guest list to see if anyone was missing. I waited to see if Lourdes had come out on the other side.

Phillip sprinted straight to a firefighter and started animatedly yelling something. They hurriedly hooked up the hose and ran to the tent. Two firefighters went inside and moved the beam. My heart dropped to my stomach as they pulled out a body.

"Lourdes!" Bennett cried, tears streaming down his face. He tried to run to her but Luann held him back, shedding tears of her own. I was rooted to the spot. That couldn't be her. She must have gotten out on the other side. It had to be someone else.

They placed the body on the gurney and my stomach churned. The hair, although it was singed, was a dead giveaway. It was Lourdes. I was frozen as they placed an oxygen mask and wheeled her to the ambulance. My parents were busy telling everyone to stay put so they could get a head count. There were police everywhere, trying to group people together.

I lost all capability to think rationally, and ran to the ambulance they were putting Lourdes in. I climbed in the back with the EMT's. They were bustling around Lourdes, trying to gauge severity. She had an oxygen mask on and they were coating her burns with ointment. Her dress was nearly burnt off, which was unfortunate. She looked beautiful in it.

The drive to the hospital was grave. They had no idea if anything was broken or if she had internal bleeding or not because they couldn't move her. She had the beam fall onto her spine, so it could potentially be life-threatening. I wrung my hands together before reaching out to brush my fingers through her hair.

It was brittle and singed. I'd help her cut those bits off later. I brushed my hand over her forehead, feeling the comfort of her skin. I was so worried about her. My eyes welled with emotion as the EMT's adjusted IV's and the mask.

We arrived at the hospital and Lourdes was rushed in. I tried to follow but I was sent to wait in the waiting room. I paced anxiously, worried out of my mind. A doctor came to speak with me about Lourdes. I ended up having to call Bennett to have him answer some of his questions. I filled out another form about her stay and such. My phone was ringing off the hook with calls from Bennett, Lu, my brothers, and my parents. I had Lu relay my information to everyone. The police made them stay there so they could account for everyone, not to mention the arrest of Kathrin.

All of that was the last thing on my mind as I waited for the doctor to return with his observations. I continued pacing until the receptionist told me to sit down because I was stressing her out. I sat down and bounced my leg, just like Lourdes did when she was nervous. A nurse came out to talk to me. I shot out of my seat.

"Is she okay?" I asked.

"She's in emergency surgery," he said. "She is suffering from internal bleeding, cracked ribs, and third-degree burns. She'll need another surgery once we finish with the laparotomy procedure."

"What is that?" I asked.

"Basically, we make an incision and close off the organs and nerves that are bleeding," He explained. "She'll need a skin graft procedure later this week. She'll have some scarring from the burns on her arms and legs, and another few from the grafts and surgeries. She'll be under anesthesia for a while."

"Oh fuck," I breathed. "How long... will she... is she gonna...?"

"The injuries have been deemed non-fatal as long as we can correct the bleeding from her liver and spleen." He explained. "She should be fine." I slumped back in my seat, relieved. "However, she'll be in the hospital for a week or two." I nodded. At least she was okay.