Missing Heartbeat

At the Hospital

Cassidy fell at the sound of the gunshot as it echoed around the room. Then she looked up at the killer. He stood there, standing in front of Riley, still pointing the gun at her dog.

Suddenly, Cass heard sirens in the distance, and they neared quickly. The man reacted to this instantly, and he started for the door. But, the police had opened the door the same time he had.

He started to run in the opposite direction but wasn't fast enough. Two policemen caught him and wrestled him to the ground. A woman, who was also a cop, came over to Cass.

"Are you Cassidy Readlin?" She asked.

Cassidy didn't answer, she just nodded her head as she looked down at her dog, who had taken a shot to the chest. She was crying softly to herself. There was blood all over Riley's mouth from biting that man, and also some where the gunshot had hit her. There was a hole that Cassidy could make out from the bullet. She had blood all over her, and Cassidy firmly pressed her hand on her dogs wound to hopefully help to stop the bleeding.

The cop stared wide-eyed at Riley, then turned away from her, "Somebody call a hospital!"

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Riley was carried out of the house by two veterinarians, and the man was walked outside with handcuffs on with two police officers. He was being walked to the police car. Cass avoided the man's stare towards her and watched as her dog was put on a bed-like stretcher. Then she was wheeled in the back of a white van that had the name of the hospital and the location of it on the back and sides.

Her parents had arrived a little after the cops had come, and they stood by Cassidy, who shivered from the cold night. She had cried helplessly as her dog was being handled by strangers, and at the thought of if she would survive or not. Out of peripheral vision, Cassidy could see her dad give the man a dirty look, as the police questioned him while had sat on the ground in front of the police car.

The lights still flickered off of the cars in the dark of the night, and it cast red and blue glares around all of the faces that came to see what had happened. Neighbors and friends had crowded around the scene, as they were curious about what had befallen. But none of them said anything to the Readlin's, figuring that they were ready tired and have already been through a lot.

Then a police officer approached Cassidy and her parents. He was short and round, and he had all kinds of weapons of some sorts around his belt. He had a big nose and black hair that was covered by his police hat but showed at the roots.

"Hey, Cassidy. How you holdin up?"

She didn't answer, but only continued to shiver and think about her dog.

"I understand. No one deserves to go through this. But, I'll have you folks know that we identified the man as Michael Roberts. He has no criminal records at all, whatsoever. But we've got everything under control. Now, don't you worry, he's going to jail for a while."

This sparked Cassidy's attention. "For... how long?" She spoke softly.

"We are not completely certain yet, but he'll be there for a while."

Cass smiled a small smile, and that got the officer to grin.

"Thank you so much officer," Her dad said.

"Hey, it's no problem, it's my job," He laughed.

Suddenly, a vet ran up behind the officer and looked at us. He was very tall and skinny. He had brown hair to match his eyes and wore a white coat that went down to his knees.

"Pardon the interruption, but we have to get going and get back to the hospital before it's too late. This dog requires medical assistance at the moment, and surgery ASAP."

Cass looked up at her parents. They assured her with a nod, and they headed to the car, thanking both the officer and the vet again. Michael would be taken care of and they didn't need to worry about it. That was good because it was a major weight lifted off the Readlin family.

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They arrived at the animal hospital and sat in the waiting room. While they waited, Cass explained what specifically happened to her when her parents were gone. After the short speech, her parents on either side of her hugged her in a tight, comforting hug. This gave Cassidy a feeling of reassurance.

After about three hours, the vet that had approached them earlier came into the room. Cass had been sleeping on her mother's lap, and the sound of footsteps is what woke her up.

"How you guys holdin up?

Cass got up, rubbing her eyes. "We're okay," She whispered.

"That's good. Now before I start, let me just say that Riley is such a good dog, and she's so sweet. A little timid at first, but then she was good."

"Awww, thank you," Mom said. Cass just smiled.

"Well, we have some good news. Riley is going to be okay."

Cassidy's eyes widened. She smiled a bit for the first time all night.

"We just finished her surgery, and successfully removed the bullet from her chest. No important nerves were bothered, and no important internal organs were bothered as well, luckily. The heart was barely missed. But if the bullet had reached a greater depth, then she wouldn't have survived. We also repaired and closed the hole where the bullet had entered the chest. The dog requires medical assistance for five days, so you can come to pick her up after that."

"Can we come visit her?" Cassidy asked him.

"Ummm... let me clarify with one of my colleagues real quick, okay?"

"Okay," Cassidy responded

He smiled at her parents and returned down the hall.

A couple of minutes later, he returned. He smiled a big smile as he came up to them.

He nodded. "You can visit her tomorrow if you would like."

Cassidy couldn't help it, she jumped up and hugged him. He smiled, very hesitant at first, but then wrapped his arms around her.

"Thank you so much, doctor!" Cassidy exclaimed.

"Please, call me Doctor Streife," He looked down at her and smiled again.

"Thanks again for what you've done to save my daughter's dog. It's much appreciated. We'll definitely holler your name out if our friend or family's pet is in need," Cass's mom added.

"Yeah, we'll keep you in mind for sure the next time we need it," Dad said.

"Well I'm happy to hear that, and I'm glad I could help," He responded in a friendly tone. "And again, Cassidy, I'm so sorry about what happened, and I hope you heal well."

"Thank you, and I'll probably see you again sometime."

"For sure," He said as he waved and walked down the hall again.

Cassidy was still nervous for her dog and her health. But she felt much better now, knowing Riley would be okay.

After all, Riley was a good dog.

~End of Chapter 7