Written: Winter/Spring 2002 by the following contributing authors: Essy Jane and Kristy Duke.
Edited by: Essy Jane
CHAPTER SEVEN
I grabbed Luke's pistol that he brought home from
the marines, it was only
for a safety measure. I don't want to use it unless I have to. But
I will to
get rid of the like of him. I load it with bullets but it is harder
to load
a gun when you are shaking. I put on my trench coat and buttoned up
every
button. I could feel the holster and spare bullets against me. They
were as
a temptation waiting to come out in the open. I didn't care; I could
care. I
had to stay cold hearted. I didn't want him to win, not this time and
not
ever.
I made my way to the road runner. I jumped in and
made my way to the woods.
There was hank standing there holding a cigarette in his hand. He took
a
long drag from it and blew out the smoke in 'O' shapes. "Don't
tell me, he
chickened out and sent you in his place," Hank laughed.
"Don't shoot the messenger you scum bag,"
I replied. He glared at me with a
cool icy stare.
"What's the message sweetheart? Did little
wimp fall out? Did he skin his
knee?"
"Try a punctured lung you half wit unshaven
imbecile. You have no idea the
pain you caused my family!"
"And you have no idea how jail is. Could you
imagine standing there day
after day waiting for the time when you can be released? Can you imagine
being thrown down by a dumb blonde?"
"He's quite smart!"
"Then you must be blind lady. Your cousin
was beaten down by your number one
me. Now he's in his resting place I pray."
"You can't pray!"
"I can when I pray to the devil." His
eyes are dark green-brown ices that
were so heartless that I couldn't look at him. My cousin lay in a hospital
bed while this man walks free? I wouldn't stand for it. My rage grew
out of
control and I punched him. His face flew back and his straight ebony
black
hair waved back. He rubbed his jaw and laughed.
"Why are you laughing?"
"That punch was almost as good as your cousins."
He began to laugh, it
echoed through the woods like nothing I'd ever heard before. This sinister
man punched me right back causing me to fall over backwards.
"You are..."
"Devilish? Handsome? Or better yet, devilishly
handsome. I wouldn't count on
you beating me but I will love getting the greatest of all revenge.
Killing
someone that is so close to Bo it scares me." My eyes widened,
I couldn't
believe that this was it. He took out his gun. I then remembered that
I had
one too sitting right under my nose. I drew it and this time I didn't
shake.
I felt the rope that we had planted on the tree.
It contained the net we
were going to through at him. I pulled on the rope hard and did a roll
out
move that Luke taught me. I began to run like the wind. I knew he would
catch up to me fast. Though lately I have been able to stay up with
Bo.
I could hear his loud roars from behind me. It
only gave me more of an
incentive to run. I heard the gun shot and felt my shoulder jerk. It
was a
sharp bee sting like no other I have ever felt. I shot back; I turned
to
look and was satisfied getting him in the gut.
Another set of gunfire he hit me in the leg. I
fell to the ground. I
couldn't see him anymore. I am breathing harder as the silence rolls
on. I
can't move and I am paranoid beyond belief. I hear something in the
bushes
and shoot towards it over and over until I run out of bullets. I try
to
reload but can only manage to get one in before he grabs me.
Hank begins to hit me in the face over and over
again. He aims for the ribs
and does Blow after blow. I try to reach his gun which is in the holster.
My
nose bleeds and my stomach aches. My heart pounds a million beats per
second.
"You're worthless Daisy. You're dumb and stupid,"
Hank laughed. His gun
slipped out of his holster. I grabbed it, shooting him in the head.
Hank was
knocked down for good. I fall to the ground out of breath and in pain.
I
drop the gun and cry. The blood is gushing out of my wounds. Cooter
ran
towards me.
"How did you know I was here?" I asked.
"Luke said you were planning something stupid
but he couldn't figure out
what. So he sent me to go check on you. I went to the farm and noticed
the
gun was gone from Luke's room. I knew I had to come here," Cooter
replied. I
couldn't stay awake. Everything on me hurt. I drifted off into the
darkness.
I awake to the regular beeping of a heart monitor,
but to who. My sight
slowly clears from blurred vision to find myself to be in the hospital
bed,
with IV's running into me. I can't believe this is happening to me,
this has
to be a bad dream. I will awake soon and run into the boys' room to
find Bo
asleep mumbling in his sleep.
I look around to find Jesse standing there with
two men wearing black wind
breaker coats with the FBI patch. "Hi honey," Jesse says,
"how are you
feeling?"
"I have been better," I shrug, "But I have a feeling I will be fine."
"Daisy, this is Sergeant Dan Leaven and Officer
Kale Flatter," Jesse says
pointing to the two men, "They want to ask you some questions."
I nod as they begin to ask their questions and
I answer them both truthfully
and explain everything to the best detail that I can. I can't believe
that I
killed him I didn't want to hurt him; I just wanted him to leave my
cousin
alone.
"OK thanks," the sergeant says, "we
were figuring the same, we have been
looking for him ever since he was released from the pen for killing
a guard
while he and a couple of friends robbed a bank in Osage County."
"I didn't mean to kill him," I say under my breath.
"I know baby," Jesse says holding my hand.
"Well, he would most likely have killed your
cousin, so you saved him," they
say as they walk out. Silence comes in between us as I slowly remember
the
ambulance taking away Bo.
"How's Bo? Where is he?" I ask panicked.
"I don't know if I sh-"
"Tell me, I want to know," I cry out.
"They got him breathing in an air tube now;
I guess the puncture is a lot
worse than what they thought it was," Jesse says sadly, "Luke
is with him
now…he is in a coma."
"A coma?" I ask.
"Yeah, they did all they can do for not; it
is up to Bo now," Jesse says,
"You were out for a day and a half yourself. . .you got shot in
the shoulder
and in the leg, you will be sore for a month or so."
I look down at my leg which is in a cast, my arm
that was shot lies in a
sling. "Well I had to do something," I say.
"You should have told Luke," he scolds me and I see the worry
in his eyes
for me and for Bo.
"I know, but I knew he would stop me; there was nothing stopping
me," I say.
"I guess so, but Luke is pretty scraped up
by Bo not alone to be feeling
guilty for letting you out," he says.
I tried to sit up and found I couldn't. My stomach
hurt more than anything.
I looked at Uncle Jesse wondering what was going on. I heard foot steps
coming through the hallway. I knew that form of walking. It had to
be a
doctor. They always seem to walk a slow but dignified pace. I looked
at the
doctor; she had delightful green eyes and brown hair. It was tied up
in the
back.
“Hi Jesse, I wanted to check on Daisy. Oh
well she’s awake. For a while
there I was sure you weren’t going to make it. I hope you’re
breathing
easier,” Doctor Kimble said. I read her tag. I wondered what she
meant about
me not living. Uncle Jesse looked at the doctor with cold eyes. I knew
there
was something he wasn’t telling me.
“What was all wrong with me doc?” I asked.
I had to know. Uncle Jesse seemed
to be upset at the time. I wouldn’t blame him either. He had two
kids in the
hospital. I mean that’s painful enough. Now I hear both Kids were
in trouble
with their breathing? I hoped not.
“Well Daisy, you broke five ribs on each side.
When you came into the
hospital you were seizing and the bones ruptured both of your lungs.
The
bullet in your shoulder and leg had saw-toothed edges on it. You had
a lot
of damage in your leg and shoulder. Not to mention we had to remove
the
bullet that was quiet close to the heart.”
“He only shot two bullets.”
“Sometimes they move from within the blood
stream and go into other places.
With those saw-toothed edges that you had on that bullet, it tore many
of
your muscles. Not to mention your skull fracture scared us a bit. You
were a
lucky girl.”
“I was that sick?”
“You still are Daisy. Movement will be quite
the difficulty for you. You
will have to be careful not to do too many activities. And Daisy, you
won’t
be allowed to lift more than 15 pounds when you get out of here.”
Doctor
Kimble checked my blood pressure and everything else that there is
to do on
machines and left without a trace.
I couldn’t believe I was that bad. I think
that Hank was aiming to shoot all
of those saw-toothed bullets at Bo. I am so glad that he wasn’t
able to go.
I am so happy that he is dead. But one thing concerns me, am I going
to get
in trouble for killing him or will I be charged. It was in self defence.
I
was just trying to tell him to leave my family alone.
"Hey Uncle Jesse, I wish Dad was here. He
just had to take all the boys on a
boating trip this month," I grumbled.
"Well he'll be back," Uncle Jesse replied.
"I'm kind of tired, I think I am going to sleep now."
"Alright baby.
Two hours later, I finally managed to sit up. Uncle
Jesse was sleeping and I
beeped for the nurse. I told her that I wanted to see my cousin. She
wasn’t
going to let me. So I pulled her strings until she did allow me to
go. I was
slowly slid into the wheelchair and taken into the elevator. The nurse
looked at me. Her mole almost seemed to pop out of her face which was
a
discomfort to me. I didn’t like looking at the little hairs that
seemed to
glow under the lights.
Luke must’ve been taking a break or something
because he wasn’t sitting
beside Bo. He would only leave to eat and go to the bathroom. I guess
that
showed his true love for him.
Bo had tubes all over. The one out of his mouth
was gone but the tape marks
remained. I couldn’t believe he was still alive. The nurse put
me on Bo’s
left side so I could hold his hand. But she stood there and wouldn’t
leave.
When I asked her why she said it was for my safety. I rolled my eyes
and
grabbed Bo’s hand.
I eye balled the nurse and she walked out with
a grunt. I knew that she was
just trying to annoy me. I wouldn’t let her though. I was going
to talk to
Bo and I was sure he was going to hear me.
“He’s gone Bo. He is dead and I killed
him. I didn’t want to kill him but
Hank tried to kill me. You’ll never have to worry about him again.
I don’t
know what to do though. I can still see his face. I can still feel
his hands
beating down on me. I know that this is going to haunt me for the rest
of my
life,” I told him. Bo just lied there. He squeezed my hand tight,
too tight.
He was breaking my hand. I bit on my lip trying to pull away but couldn’t.
He finally released. My hand ached more than anything. It felt just
as bad
as my shoulder.
Bo opened his eyes staring straight into mine.
He looked at the bruises on
my face and the stitches under my cheekbone. My face was swollen and
my one
eye wouldn’t open far enough. Bo’s eyes broadened. He sat
up and cried. I
had never seen him cry the way he was crying now. “Daisy, sweet
Daisy how
did this happen to you? Why did it happen? Look at you. You’re
hurt badly,”
Bo said as he looked into my eyes. I knew I had hurt him with this.
“Hank did it.”
“I heard you. But I didn’t think it was that bad.”
“I’m okay.”
“No you are not. You don’t look the least
bit okay to me. I don’t think you
should be out of bed. You have bandages everywhere. Daisy why did you
go out
there? Why did you risk everything? You risked your life, your family
and
you risked your dignity. And for what to save me?”
“You can’t expect me not to be angry
for what happened to you. I love you
and you were hurt twice and it was because of me. I didn’t want
you to be
hurt. I didn’t want anything bad to happen. Why did you have to
follow me?”
“So that no bad would happen to you; I love
you Daisy. But you still were
wronged. You still were beaten and I wasn’t there to stop it.
I will hate
myself for that for the rest of my life. You are important to everyone
in
this town and more than that, you are important to me. I love you Daisy
Duke. I don’t ever want to see you hurt. This is a nightmare to
me. A bad
dream that I can’t wake up from I just can’t not think about
this.”
“Bo you are good to me, better then a lot
of people. I am proud that you are
my cousin. I had to do this. I couldn’t let you die.”
“Well you saved me. In return you were beaten
up to the point where you
couldn’t move. You were shot.” I gave Bo a half hug and prayed
that we would
be okay.
Bo sits there silently, his chest heaves heavily
in and out. Pain radiates
in his piercing blue eyes, with worry for me. I can't believe all this
has
happened, to him and to me. How could we have gone so much and still
live?
Scars from his shattered arm remains on his right arm and I look up
as the
nurse walks in with Luke and Uncle Jesse.
"Daisy," Luke grins bending over and
hugging me slightly, making sure not to
hurt me even more. Though they are all around me, I can't take my eyes
off
of Bo, who continues to fight for air with pain and difficulty. Looking
at
who I am looking at Luke looks up and grins at the sight of Bo and
rushes
over and hugs him tightly. "You scared us so much."
"Sorry," Bo shrugs not looking at anyone
in particular, trying to hide the
pain from everyone.
"Come on Miss Duke," says the nurse, "Time we get you to your room."
"Bye Bo," I say, my eyes still glued
on him for some reason, as if I am
afraid that it is my last time I will ever see him again. He only nods
as I
am rolled out of the room as Jesse stays behind to say something to
Bo
before he catches up with us.
After the trip of silence I am back in my small
room and lifted onto my bed.
Visions of what happened plays clearly in my head and I tremble in
fear and
pain. When will I be the same again? When will I be able to take long
walks
without feeling pain or lift up a child at the orphanage with no pain?
Or
will I ever be the same?
"Things will be okay," Jesse says breaking
the silence, fear and worry crack
in his voice, "Things will work out, just watch and see."
Nurses here, nurses there. All these nurses are
everywhere. This picture
that I look at reminds me of a Dr Seuss story. I couldn't believe how
this
looked. I had constant watch by all the nurses. And wouldn't you know
it; I
had to get another cast on my arm. Boy Bo has a good grip. I lied there
in
pain that day. I couldn't move and my chest felt tight. I didn't exactly
know what this pain was but it hurt.
The doctor looked at me and shook her head. "I
was hoping it didn't have to
come to this. Daisy, you're going to need to have surgery. We're going
to
remove your spleen," Doctor Kimble stated.
"Don't I need that?" I asked. I had no
real medical training and had no idea
on this subject.
"Well it's good when you have it but you don't need it. You have "
"I wish we had more of a choice."
"As do I."
Tears form in my eyes and I fight hard to block
them from showing. No matter
how bad I try to fight them back, the fall down my cheek. Fear swells
in my
chest at the thought of surgery. What if something goes wrong? How
can I
just let them put me to sleep to put their knife into me that will
leave
physical and emotional scars? I come to think of the time when Bo had
to get
his tonsils taken out after weeks of being sick and missing school.
All the
pain that had came with he surgery.
"Well we have to go get things set up, we
will be getting you ready in a
couple of hours," Dr. Kimble says looking at Jesse before she
walks out.
"I'm scared," I finally say to Jesse who holds my hand with
his cold hand.
"I know baby, but everything is going to be ok," he says
sullenly,
"everything is going to be ok, we all are here for you; we are
in this
together.
~End Chapter Seven~