***
Anna was shocked by what she’d just seen. Fredrick’s attack was unnecessarily brutal, and watching it had been exceptionally difficult. Her mouth hanging open, she looked first at Mina and then, almost dreading what she’d see, turned towards Carmine. Mina was sitting there, her jaw clenched, rage filling her eyes. Carmine, on the other hand, looked a little sick. She closed her eyes and turned away from the other two.
Anna darted out of the bushes, away from the fence. As quickly as she could, she sprinted along the sidewalk, back towards the bikes laying in a heap on the grass. With one graceful leap, she flew over the pile of pipes and gears, never slowing down. She continued until she reached the end of the parking lot where the fence stopped. Quickly rounding the hedge, Anna hurried towards the unconscious figure still laying crumpled on the pavement. Her mind was racing almost as fast has her feet; she just had to know that the girl was alright. It was only a few seconds, but it seemed like the longest run of her life. Slowly, she knelt down next to the poor girl and felt for her pulse.
Anna looked back at her friends, who were now themselves running across the parking lot, each girl’s look of worry mirroring Anna’s own. As they approached, Anna looked at them solemnly.
“Her pulse is weak.” she told them. “I think we need to get her to a hospital – soon.”
Mina and Carmine both looked upset at the news, clearly hoping it looked worse than it really was.
“How are we going to get her there?” Carmine asked flatly, as if in shock.
“Do either of you even know where the hospital is from here?” Mina wanted to know. “’Cause I don’t.”
Both Anna and Carmine shook their heads slowly.
Suddenly, a look of realization flashed dully across Carmine’s face. “Oh.” she said, and fumbled absentmindedly with something in her pocket. Carmine got whatever it was out held it up to her ear. A cell phone. After a moment of silence, Carmine dully spoke into the phone.
“I think we need an ambulance at the Lakeside movie theater…A girl’s here – unconscious. She’s really pale.”
Carmine hung up the phone, assuring her friends that someone would be there within ten minutes.
It was the longest ten minutes of Anna’s life. She sat there on the cold, hard pavement next to the unconscious girl’s body. Mina, who was standing beside Anna, reached down and put a hand on her shoulder in an awkward attempt to reassure her.
Carmine stood somewhat back from them, staring off in the direction that Fredrick had gone. None of them spoke. No one knew what to say. What could you say after something like this? So they sat there in silence, each alone with their own dark thoughts.
Chapter 31: Resolve