The Darkest Eternities

XXX.Tattoo

Cara

I dropped down, pain shooting through my knees due to the impact, but I did not care. I barely even noticed.

Liza's form was cold. Freezing. I pressed my palm on her temple. She shivered under my touch. I was actually thankful that she did. It assured me that she was still alive.

My breath caught as I took her in. She was covered in soil and grass. Her clothes -the same one she had worn the other night- were dirty and torn up. Her blonde locks were a mess. She was barefoot. Dry blood covered her hands and feet.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed, my palm covering my mouth.

How had this happened?

Who did this?

She was fine yesterday.

What shocked me most was the gory cut on her left wrist. A deep anger accompanied my astonishment. I wanted to know whoever had done this to her.

Was the work of a human or something else? Probably the latter.

I felt defensive and protective of my friend in that moment, feeling a strong urge to find whoever it was that did this and exact a painful revenge on them.

Tears wet my cheeks, running down my face in slow streams. I wiped them down with the sleeved of my sweater.

"Liza! Liza!" I shook her shoulder gently, attempting to wake her. Her only response was a loud release of air. She gasped and her body shivered again.

Running my fingers through my hair, I breath heavily, the impact of the situation sinking in. I wanted to cry, to wail. But that would not help.

The first thing I though was that I should administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

'CPR is to be administered on an unconscious person. ' My father's words echoed in my mind. I remembered the time he had taught me first aid. It had been a while but I still remembered the key points, thanks to the little song he had created. Never would I forget the tune.

Once I made sure that she had a pulse and her airways were clear, I assured that she was laying flat the ground. Putting her fist on her chest and her other hand on top of it, I interlocked my fingers and pressed down on her chest in rounds. I carried out the procedure as it was to be done but there was no change.

Bring her into the house.

Standing up, I placed both of my arms under hers and lifted her. She wasn't too heavy so I was able to pull her, using my leg power rather than the little upper body strength I had. My regular runs in the woods had really strengthened my leg muscles.

I dragged her into the house, making sure not to drag her feet on the ground too much. I was careful and cautious of my surroundings, not wanting to cause any injuries for the both of us.

I managed to get her into the living room and placed her on the couch. Had the circumstances been different I would have taken a second to congratulate myself on how strong I had gotten.

Not knowing what else to do, I ran into the kitchen, grabbed my phone from where I had dropped it on the floor and dialled my father. After a few seconds he picked up.

"Dad!" My voice cracked as tears welled up in my eyes once more. I stared at my best friend who lay limp on the sofa. My heart broke. The pain was overwhelming. "L-Liza. She got lost and now she...Liza is in trouble!"

I was able to get the important parts out as I moved back to where my friend was.

"I'll be right there." A chair dragged on the other side of the call. "Explain what happened."