The Day an Idiot Robbed Wal-Mart

-Chapter 10-

CHAPTER 10

It took several minutes, but I finally loosened the binding around my wrists. Wincing, I tried to yank my hands free. The first attempt was unsuccessful and rather painful, but I tried again. This time, my left hand came loose and I was able to use it to free my right hand. I paused, only for a moment, noticing the burns and scratches around my wrists that had turned bright red and slightly bloody.

Now is not the time for self pity. I refused to acknowledge the aching that was settling in over my whole body and the way my face still stung from being hit just moments ago. I mean, I was standing next to someone who had been shot. How could I complain?

I turned to Joseph, who appeared to be half out of it, and loosened his restraints. I checked his bandages quickly, to be sure they'd done an adequate job. That was really all I could do for him, at this point.

"Hey, stay here and rest, I'm going to get help. Okay?" I asked, even though I wasn't quite sure he could actually hear me. Perhaps he was asleep, or unconscious from shock, but there was no response from him. I tried not to let it get to me.

I danced off the nerves a little, jumping from foot to foot anxiously. "You can do this, just get going," I whispered to myself, trying to motivate myself. The truth was, it was completely dark and utterly quiet, and I was having a rough time leaving the only person that I knew the location of.

"Okay, a flashlight would be good," I reminded myself, glancing around. We were near the appliance section, so I stumbled around until I found a packaged flashlight. It took several attempts to rip the packaging open, but once I finally had a source of light I was able to gather a little more courage.

I began to venture out, unsure what there was to be afraid of now that the men had left. Afraid of what I was going to find, perhaps?

"Cameron?" I called out softly, then raised my voice the second time. "Cameron?" My voice cracked when I yelled his name.

I was heading in the direction the last group of men had come from, hoping to stumble across him. And I did. Quite literally.

With the flashlight pointed at eye level and sweeping around from side to side, it was easy to miss the body lying across the aisle, though I probably should have been looking where I was walking. My foot hooked on his side and I slammed into the ground, stopping my face from eating the concrete by putting my hands down at the last second.

I quickly scrambled up, horrified that there was actually a body lying under me. Even more horrified when I realized it was Cameron.

"Oh dear lord," I breathed out, "Cameron, please say you're okay." My voice was a whisper, but I was so close to him and the store was so silent that it came out loud enough for him to hear. If he had been able to hear. "Cameron?"

Reaching for my flashlight, which I had somehow thrown across the aisle in my fall, I turned the light to his face. His eyes were shut, and his head lulled to the side. There was a huge red and purple mark on the side of his face, where he must have been hit. 

My heart was racing, but my actions were calm. I set the flashlight down and lifted him up by his shoulders, so he was sitting up. I checked for his pulse, and thankfully it was still there. The men were right when they said he was just unconscious. There was nothing much I could do for him without any equipment, so I tried to wake him up gently.

"Hey, they're gone now," I whispered, sitting beside him. "We're going to be okay. So you can wake up now."

No response. Obviously.

I let his head rest on my shoulder so he wouldn't fall back down on the concrete floor. The moment was surprisingly peaceful, as I brushed his wild hair away from the abrasion and behind his dorky ears.