Between Two Creeks

“She’s here. Somewhere close. I just know it, but she’s in a lot of pain.” And then I ran towards the east ridge with the train tracks. Sheriff Woodson followed close behind. “She’s barely breathing. So bad.” Miss Gena ran with me, saying, “She’s here, isn’t she? How does she do this?” “Honey, she knows these things,” Sheriff Woodson said. Stopping on the creek bank and motioning for everyone to be quiet. Remaining so tense, I said, “I can hear her. She’s so weak. Gotta find her.” “But how can you hear her?” Miss Gena said. “So much noise. How can anyone hear anything?” “I just can,” I tried to scream above the noise, especially when a train, of all times, was crossing the ridge above us. “Come on. We can do this.” I dropped down to the water and stepped into the muddy bottom, sinking above my ankles. Trying to step out of the mud, I could hear Deputy Katlyn breathing and moaning. “Come with me,” Sheriff Woodson called out. He was now standing above me on the creek bank. “Amy’s on to something.” Sheriff Woodson knew to follow my lead in times like this. I didn’t believe I had ever seen him so worried. Mayor Denning ran to us and stood behind the Sheriff. “This is too far from her car.” Scanning the creek area, he begged, “We need to find her. Not here, surely not here, Woody.” “If Amy says she’s here, you can bet she’s close by,” Sheriff Woodson replied. Miss Gena jumped down to me, even getting covered in mud herself. She reached for me and we ran through the muddy bottom and reached the grassy bank just below the east ridge. “I can hear her,” Miss Gena panted. “She’s gotta be here somewhere.” Mister Dalton had gone ahead of us and yelled back, “Over here! She’s here!” We climbed out of the creek bed and ran to Mister Dalton. “Where is she?” I asked with hard breathing. “Over there,” he screamed above the noise. “I see a boot sticking out from a pile of brush.” We quickly pulled the limbs away to see something I had dreaded. “She’s been shot,” Miss Gena said with horror in her voice. “Amy, she’s barely breathing. Look at her. Her body’s broken so much.” Deputy Katlyn was covered with mud mixed with blood. She was hardly recognizable. Two bullets had entered her left shoulder and upper chest. Her left arm was shattered and blood covered her entire body. Her head had a gash above her left ear and bleeding profusely. It couldn’t be worse. I looked over at Sheriff Woodson and Mayor Denning. They could tell by my worried face that it was bad. I didn’t say one word but reached for her, and we pulled her carefully to a clearing on the grass. Sniffing the air, Miss Gena asked, “What’s that, Amy?” I didn’t respond but tended to Miss Katlyn. Again, she asked, “Is that honeysuckle? Strange smell.” Looking around, “There’s no honeysuckle around here.” “It’s Karen,” I said calmly. “It’s Karen.” Sheriff Woodson drew close to us and fear engulfed him when he saw Deputy Katlyn. “No!” he shouted. “Katlyn!” Mayor Denning yelled as he tried to get to her. Sheriff Woodson held him back. “Hold on Colin. Let Amy work with her for a minute.” “Call the medics. EMS. Do something,” the mayor demanded. The Sheriff, however, continued to hold him back. Nancy and her paramedics had arrived just as the mayor spoke. They hurried to us carrying a gurney. Miss Nancy had her medical kit but stopped when she saw me. As they looked on, I took Deputy Katlyn in my arms, laid her head on my shoulder, and just sat there hugging her. For some reason, I started humming an aimless tune. Then I whispered to her, “You’re going to be fine. I know this.” Deputy Katlyn tried to open her eyes but with half-open eyes, she looked into my eyes and faded away. Her breathing stopped and she lay in my arms limp and lifeless. The bleeding stopped immediately which meant only one thing. She was gone. Right there in my arms, Deputy Katlyn died. “No, Katlyn, no!” I sobbed as I rocked her in my arms like a baby. With tearful grief, I looked up at Sheriff Woodson to see him in despair. Quietly, a voice came to me, “I’m here Amy.” And then Karen took over. Dark clouds had rolled in. Suddenly, a clap of thunder caused everyone to duck and look up as a light covered both our bodies inside a bubble of blue. The immediate effect was a calm weightlessness as if we were in outer space. Miss Katlyn floated in my arms, but I still held her close to me. I shivered in fear. I couldn’t keep from shaking. The trauma began to weaken me, but I continued to hug her. “What the hell is that?” Mayor Denning stammered. “What’s going on, Woody? You letting this happen? To Katlyn?” “Just look at her, Colin,” the Sheriff said. “What do you see, my friend?” “This is Amy,” Mister Dalton firmly proclaimed. “She knows what she’s doing. Just watch.” Inside the blue bubble, Deputy Katlyn’s muddy body became cleansed as though she had bathed. Her beautiful blonde hair regained a brilliant sheen like angel wings. I felt my energy pass from me to her. Her upper body wounds began to seal. Her head regained its perfection. Her blue, oxygen-deprived body regained its golden color. She began to move her hands. Her shattered left arm returned to its lovely shape as she reached up for my face. She moaned in a little pain, but her body was healing. She and I simply sat there inside the blue bubble, the calling card for Karen. We continued to look at each other. Miss Gena sat on the grass just outside the blue bubble, taking it all in as wonder covered her face.