The Dream Team

The Secret

I was so distraught from the explosion and seeing Jared’s bloody body, I didn’t notice the shrapnel that had penetrated my back. I hadn’t felt any pain until I tried to move. I felt the pain surge through my body as I let out an ear piercing wail.

“Danica calm down. Everything is going to be okay. You’ll be fine.”  Logan tried to sooth me as he caressed my check. His hands were surprisingly cool.

I began whining as the pain got more intense. “Do you see the damn piece of metal sticking out of my back?!” I snapped at him.

Logan peaked around my shoulder. “Holy hell.” He whispered.

“I…I can’t move.” My voice changed from snappy to sooth suddenly. I tried to stay strong and not cry as the pain began to numb my body and make me sway from consciousness to unconsciousness. My defenses could not hold off the unconsciousness and I fell weak to the pain.

“Danica.” I heard the sweet sound of Captain’s voice.

I whirled around and saw him. Immediately, I rushed towards him and embraced him in a tight hug.

“Captain,” I cried into his shoulder. “Who did this to you?” I demanded.

Captain sighed. “Little bit, you have a lot to learn about this field of work. No only does a who matter but you have to know how and why. It’s more dangerous than you really understand. I never told you, any of you, but headquarters didn’t want me to allow teenagers into this kind of work, but I knew the three of you were special and I didn’t want to waste the opportunity. Now, look at all the mischief I got you all into.” He said as he shook his head.

“We knew the risks and we decided to take it.” I said, attempting to make him feel better.

“You don’t know the danger I have put you in.” He now sounded frustrated at himself. “Jared and you are fighting for your lives. As soon as you all get health again; leave. Get as far away from here as possible. Tell your mother I told you to do this. She will understand. Take anything with you that you think may be helpful and run.” He warned. “The men that did this, will do everything to find you guys. You must be stealthy.”

"Who?" I asked again. "When? Where? Why? How?" Questions poured out of my uncontrollably.

"Do not worry your mind with information like that, little bit. You just need to be careful and get away. Now, I must go. My time here is short and I'm sorry." He said all too calmly.

"No, no!" I screamed. "You can't go! I don't want you to leave!" I began behaving childishly.

"You'll see me again. I promise. I will not abandon you. You're time has not come, though. You must go and tell Logan and Jared what I have told you. All of your lives depend on it."

"Okay dad." I whispered.

No one knew that Captain was my biological father except for my mother, himself and I. It was our little secret. My mother and father had behaved rather immaturely at a party and I was the result of it but they had never got married.

"Go on now. Tell Jared and Logan to keep their head's up. They're good boys and I know they'll look after you. You'll be okay."

I nodded my head as I hugged him one last time.

"I love you." I said out loud.

"Excuse me?" I heard an unfamiliar voice say.

I opened my eyes and saw two paramedics standing over me. I looked around, trying to determine where I was, but I honestly had no clue.

"They said your name was Danica, yes?" One of them asked. The one that spoke looked as if he could be fresh out of school. He was thin with dusty blond hair.

"Yes." I mumbled unwillingly.

"Good. That's a beautiful name. I'm Dustin, a first year EMT. I want you to keep talking to me about whatever you'd like. This is to just make sure you don't slip back to unconsciousness." He explained.

I nodded. "I don't know what to talk about." I admitted shyly. "I've never been much of a talker."

He laughed slightly. "That's alright. I'll start a topic then. So I have this philosophy; when someone falls into unconsciousness, I tend to believe they see someone and possibly talk to them. However, that person no longer walks the earth. I believe if they speak, the dead person shows them into their future. Did you happen to see or speak to anyone while you were out?" He asked bleakly.

I starred at him for a moment, trying to process what he had just said. "I saw my dad." I told him.

"If you don't mind me asking, how long ago did he die?" The other EMT asked. He looked older than Dustin but only by a few years. He was a larger man with short brown hair.

I avoided eye contact with both of them as I whispered, "He died tonight. He was in the building that was set on fire." My voice was cracking and sounded as if it was going to break at any moment.

Both of them exchanged a silent look. "I'm so sorry." One of them whispered. I could tell they suddenly felt uncomfortable about the entire situation.

I shrugged my shoulders. "It's life and sometimes it sucks but there isn't anything we can do, huh?" I said trying to lessen the awkwardness.

"I guess so." Dustin said. "So, do you do anything outside of school and work?" He asked, trying to change the subject to something more happier.

"I used to play field hockey, but I quit. Too many injuries." I laughed. "I was always too aggressive to handle. By the way, how come I don't feel any pain?"

"You remember feeling pain?" The older EMT asked. "Many people don't remember stuff like that after we give them morphine."

"I'm just glad I don't feel it any more."

There was a sudden jerk. At that moment I realized, I was in an ambulance. Cold air slapped me in the face as the back doors of the ambulance swung open. More EMTs were standing there, waiting to retrieve me from the back.

"We need to do x-rays!" I heard someone yell.

"She's lost a lot of blood." The older EMT told a man that was dressed like a doctor.

"I figured she had when I got the call." He said then he focused his attention to the others behind him. "This young lady is a priority. She works with the police force. They have already lost one tonight and two of them are fighting for their lives!" He screamed as they pulled me off the vehicle.

I saw many faces surrounding me as they rushed me into the hospital. They took me down a maze of hallways to a large room; where they placed me underneath a x-ray table.

"Stay still sweet heart. This may take a while." One of the female nurses told me. "If you'd like, you can close your eyes and rest."

I decided I was going to just close my eyes and think about everything that had just occurred and try to piece together the puzzle. As I closed my eyes, I saw a flash of white and my mind went blank.