Chapter 8

Charlie was crushed. We woke up to Benji, as cold as the ground, laying dead inbetween us. "BENJI!" He had screamed, shaking him rapidly. I stared at him with horror, for he was so upset. "Benji, NO! You can't leave me! Your all I have left!" I decided to ignore that last comment.
"Charlie.." I said softly, pulling him a ways away from Benji.
" No! Don't take him away from me, Rosaline! Not now!" His voice was hysterical.
"Charlie!" I almost yelled, and I grabbed both of his shoulders so his eyes bore into mine. "Listen to me." I softened my voice. "Charlie.. Benji's gone." His eyes filled up with tears, and he muttered, "no, no, no.." "There's nothing we can do, Charlie. Nothing. Okay? He's gone. We have to accept that."
"No! Rosaline, it's not true! This is just a horrid, horrid nightmare! It'll all end soon, and me and Benji will be back home, and you won't be there. Because you aren't real." Charlie murmured, trying to convince himself.
"No, Charlie.. This is real. What's happening is REAL. And no matter what we do, there is no way for Benji to come back. I wish there was. I really do. But it wont happen."
He sat there for the longest time, just staring at me, like he refused to accept what had happened. " Rosaline...He's really gone, isn't he."
"Yeah." And with that I burst out crying, overwhelmed with sadness. I had lost too many people in such a short amount of time. Benji was so close to us. Just yesterday we were dancing in the woods, and today... today we are burying him.
Charlie held me as I cried, and he cried too. For the longest time we just sat there, comforting each other. Suddenly Charlie stopped rubbing my back and looked up. "Benji!!" He cried, running towards Benji's body. "He just breathed! Rosaline, he just took a breath!!"
I bolted over to where they were. Charlie had his ear to Benji's chest, smiling through tears. "He's alive."
Sure enough, when I checked, a faint, faint heartbeat was beating inside of him. "We have to get him to a doctor!" We picked him up and started running through the woods towards small houses, and when we reached the town's square, we were frantic. "We need a doctor!" Charlie cried out to bystanders. They ignored him, clearly scared out of their wits, and walked away fast, pretending not to hear him. I finally ran over to a woman with children crowded around her.
"Miss!" I said quickly. " My brother, he's dying! You have to help!"
"Here" she said, and ran over to a building. " Isiah!" She yelled. " Quick!" She looked at us. "Isiah's a good doctor. He will take good care of your brother." With that, she walked back to her children, who stood their politely, taking in the scene.
The man, Isiah, came outside, and with one look at Benji, he said, "Come in. Now!" He closed and locked the door behind us and took Benji. "He's in critical condition." He commented, covering him in blankets.
"Thank you so much, sir. " Charlie said. He looked so nervous and so scared that he would lose Benji again. My heart sank as I realized Benji would most likely die here. I grabbed Charlie's hand, as hopeful as he. " Will he be alright?" Charlie asked hopefully.
" God, I hope. We can only have faith." The doctor's voice was kind, and he sounded wise, like a preacher.
"What are you going to do to him?" I asked.
"Keep him warm, put liquids into him. It's the best thing we can do for him at the moment." He said, and motioned for us to sit down on a wooden bench covered in pillows.
"Thanks. Do we have to leave, or can we wait?" Charlie asked. He clearly would not leave Benji's side no matter the answer.
"You can wait. I'll get a fire going and make some tea." The doctor went into another room and came back with a pot of water and started lighting a fire.
Charlie and I sat on the oh-too-comfortable bench, fighting to stay awake. I stared at Benji, and then looked quickly at Charlie, who was staring at Benji. I stood up, letting go of Charlie's hand, and felt Benji's forehead, which was getting increasingly warmer. The doctor came back in the room, successful with the fire, with a syringe in his hand.
Charlie panicked. "What is that?!" He asked, protecting Benji.
"Calm down, young man. It is just water and minerals, to inject in his stomach. It'll help him." Said Dr. Isiah.
"He's the doctor, Charlie. Benji'll be safe in his hands." I muttered into Charlie's ear. He nodded, but he still cringed when Benji was injected.

"Alright, guys." The doctor said. "I'll make a deal with you." 

"Yeah?" Charlie said softly, ready to run.

"You guys live...Well, far away, right?" 

"Yeah." I said dully, still staring at Benji.

"How about you stay the night." He stopped and looked at us for agreement. We nodded, and he held out a finger. "But-" He paused. "You are going to tell me what happened to you, first thing in the morning." 

I looked at Charlie. He nodded slowly to me, his face stony. "Okay." I said. 

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