Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

Chapter 8
Switch Up

“Don’t move, Switch,” Daniel urged as he knelt down beside the injured boy. As his knee touched the cold snow, he winced. “I’ll see if Virgil has his phone,” The dark eyed teen, moaning in pain, clasped his arm. “The bullet! Get it out now! It…hurts!” Swearing under his breath, he attempted to sit up, only to be pushed back down by Daniel.
“Lie here,” Daniel said sternly. “I don’t want you walking away without medical help. Now for a phone,” Daniel quickly felt around in his pockets. “Ah, no phone,” He said under his breath.
Extending his hand out toward Virgil, Daniel simply said “Phone. Now, Virgil,” Daniel’s voice was tense and he never took his eyes off of Switch. Fumbling through his jeans, Virgil desperately looked for his phone. What? It’s not here? He thought. But…I thought I put it in my pocket. It…can’t be.
“Virgil,” Daniel cautiously said. “where’s the phone?”
“What?” Virgil said nervously as he awoke from his self-questioning.
“The phone,” Daniel said with more urgency. “Where is it?”
“I…don’t have it,”
“What? You’re kidding! Ah, Virgil!”
“Look, I know,” Virgil said, obviously nervous from Daniel’s pressure. “I thought I put it in my pocket this morning. Let’s just remain calm, hoping that—“
“And you didn’t?” Daniel interrupted. “What the hell am I—no, are we--going to do now?” Daniel said in disbelief. Daniel swore under his breath. “Great,” Looking around frantically for something to use to stop the bleeding, Daniel tore a piece of his black shirt. As he wrapped the cloth around the wound, Switch yelped in pain.
“Ah it hurts,” He said, gritting his teeth. “Take the bullet out now!”
“I can’t do that,” Daniel said as he finished securing the piece of cloth. “I’m pretty sure it’s too risky,”
“Well try!” Switch ordered, gripping his arm. “This thing hurts!”
“No, we gotta get you to a hospital quickly,” Daniel said, his voice quavering. “You’ll be alright,” He said. “You’ll be alright. Virgil,” Daniel said as he regained his composure. “I need you to find help. Go to a school, a church, house, anywhere,” Their eyes met as Daniel looked up. “And make it quick,” He said. In Daniel’s gaze, Virgil sensed anxiety and fear. His friend was no longer Daniel; he had become a lifesaver. Despite Daniel’s apprehensive look, Virgil noticed his friend was in control. This feeling of dominance emanating from Daniel intrigued Virgil. Like an obedient soldier listening to the commands of his general, Virgil quietly said, “Okay”. As Virgil began to turn and go off to search for help, the familiar wailing of a police car broke the snowy silence. With its red and blue lights oscillating and siren screaming, the car barreled down the street.
“Finally,” Daniel said after a sigh of relief, all the while watching the loud police car approach them. “I figured they’d come minutes after the sound of a gunshot,” Turning his head towards Virgil, he merely looked up and gave Virgil a weak smile. “Virgil, that was lucky,” He said.
Pulling up beside the two boys, two police rushed out of the squad car. The driving policeman was tall and pale. “What happened here, son?” He said as he rushed knelt beside Daniel and Switch. The other cop, a woman with jet-black hair and smooth brown skin, knelt down also and began examine Switch’s wound.
“Son,” She said. “Can you hear me?” Placing two fingers on Switch’s wrist, she attempted to check his pulse.
“Of course I can,” Switch said, pulling his wrist away from the woman. “I’m still conscious. It’s just this arm,” He said. “It’s…a little t-tight. N-not to mention this cold a** ground,” By now Switch was shivering and the policewoman took note of that.
“Too much blood loss,” The woman said under her breath. “He’ll need immediate medical attention.
“What happened here?” The first policeman repeated as his partner continued to examine Switch. “We got calls about a gunshot. Apparently it happened around here,”
“It was a…” Daniel said, his voice shaking. He hesitated, playing with the black zipper on the vest Virgil had lent him.
“A what? Ah, come on, son,” The man said with great urgency. Talking into his walkie-talkie, he curtly said, “Injured teen, about 6 foot, African American. Bring the meds, stat,”
“Roger that,” The crackled voice responded over the walkie-talkie. “The paramedics will be there shortly,”
“It was a f-fight,” Switch said grasping his arm. As he attempted to sit upright, the officer laid him back down. “I got shot in the end trying to protect these two kids. The two other people got away t-though,”
“Easy there,” He said. “The paramedics will be here soon,” Turning to his partner, he said, “Deputy Sherry, I need you to talk to that standing kid. Obviously these two are a little shocked,” The policeman sighed and rubbed his temples. “See what you can get from him,”
“Yessir,” She said. As she began to walk towards Virgil, Virgil’s heart began to race. He immediately felt warm and sweaty. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he noticed a light snow beginning around them.
“Son,” The woman said. “my name’s Deputy Mauricia Sherry. I’m here to ask you a few questions,”
“Sure,” Virgil said in a nonchalant way. Although he felt warm and fuzzy on the inside, he began to shiver from the approaching cold. “I’ll try to answer them as accurately as—“ he said before he was cut off by more wailing sounds. The ambulance. He thought. Finally after two minutes. Service around here is slow.
“Good,” Deputy Sherry said. “Stay right here, um,”
“Virgil,” He said nervously. “That’s my name. Virgil Zachary,”
“Virgil Zachary,” She repeated. “stay here until we get your friend onto the stretcher. He needs immediate help,” With that, she rushed over to talk to the paramedics who, at that moment, were kneeling down beside Switch asking the same questions Deputy Sherry had asked moments before. What’s your name? How old are you? Do you live around here? How many fingers am I holding up? Can you understand what I’m saying? With each question Switch’s voice became less audible and less coherent.
“He’s fading,” One of the paramedics said gravely. “Let’s get him out of here,”
“I figured that,” Deputy Sherry said, her voice full of pity. “As I stood beside him, I noticed a blood-soaked patch of snow,”
“Lift ‘em up,” The first policeman said the paramedics carefully moved Switch onto the stretcher.
As they were lifting Switch onto the stretcher, Virgil noticed Daniel standing behind the two policemen. He seemed to be looking for something in the snow. His eyes, darting around in their sockets, seemed to be surveying the area, looking for a particular item. That’s odd. Virgil thought to himself. Daniel didn’t drop anything earlier. Anything that I know of, at least. As Virgil continued to watch Daniel, he noticed his friend standing over an L-shaped item. Although blanketed in a delicate layer of snow, Virgil immediately knew what it was. It was the gun Terrence had dropped as he was escaping. Virgil, standing in anxiety, watched closely as Daniel picked up the gun and shoved it into his pants. Fortunately, neither the policemen nor the paramedics noticed the boy behind them concealing it. As Daniel looked up, their eyes met again. This time, Daniel put his finger to his mouth as if to say “Shh”. In response, Virgil slowly nodded and quickly turned his focus to the closing ambulance doors mere feet from him.
As the ambulance drove away and turned the corner, Deputy Mauricia Sherry returned to Virgil to continue her investigation. How old are you? How did this happen? At what point did the attacker pull out the gun? Was this about a gang? How do you know the victim? After answering these questions and a barrage of others, Deputy Sherry and her partner decided that their investigation was complete.
“Thank you for your time, boys,” Deputy Sherry said to both Daniel and Virgil. “This will help in capturing these two men,” Walking to her squad car, she stopped as if she remembered something. Turning around, she said, “Do you boys need a ride? Sergeant Lowe and I could take you home if you’d like,”
“No, we’re fine,” Daniel said as he zipped up the vest. “We’ll…just walk home,”
“We live only a few blocks from here,” Virgil added.
Deputy Sherry remained planted where she stood. To Virgil, it seemed that she was examining the two boys one last time. The wind had already begun to pick up, blowing the snowflakes around and causing Virgil to shiver. After a few seconds, Deputy Sherry turned around decided to continue her walk to her car.
“Stay out of trouble you two,” She said as she continued walking. “Get home quickly before this storm turns fierce. The weatherman’s predicting a chance of flurries,”
“Yes ma’am,” Daniel said. “We’ll get home as quickly as possible,” As Deputy Lowe got into her car, Daniel began walking again. “C’mon, Virg,” He said in a monotonous tone. “I have something to explain to you before I freeze to death out here.”