Chapter V

Chapter V of the novel Reapers

Uncomfortable silence filled the void of Marielle and Emery's car ride to November's house. This trip had become the epitome of time finding a way to drag itself out when someone needed to be somewhere in a hurry. Marielle could hear Emery's small whimpers of pain as she sped along the wet back roads. Besides the rain, the faint drum of the wipers echoing through the vehicle's cabin was the only thing that could be heard before Marielle decided to interject and break the awkward silence.

"Emery, are you sure you're alright? I can take you to the emergency room," Marielle mustered, her voiced dredged in worry.

"I'll be fine, Lisa will fix me up, just take me there," he muttered, turning his head to rest more comfortably against the piece of bloodied cloth that Ezekiel had torn earlier from his shirt sleeve.

"Okay, whatever you want," Marielle agreed, continuing through towards November's neighborhood.

While she tried focusing on the road, Marielle kept finding her gaze drifting over to the pitiful Emery. His face had begun to swell and blood was still slowly trickling down his forehead and along the curvatures of his face. She'd never seen him this way. At least not so vulnerable and wounded. Emery had always been so lively and confident. Marielle just sighed softly, unable to keep the thought of this all being her fault from creeping through her mind.

The miles up to November's house seemed to blur by as time rolled on. After what seemed like an eternity in the car, they finally arrived, pulling into November's driveway as quietly as possible. While Lisa enjoyed their company, it could be a completely different story when showing up on her doorstep in the middle of the night. Marielle exited the truck and made her way to the passenger door to assist Emery. With her arm draped around his shoulder, Marielle lugged him to the front door. She allowed him to rest against the wall of the home's entrance way before ringing the doorbell and knocking lightly, water dripping from her short, dark hair.

The faint sound of footsteps could be heard rustling around in the house as Lisa groggily made her way down the stairs, pulling her pale blue bath robe tightly around her and tying it in the front. "Who on Earth could that be at this time of night?” she wondered to herself, approaching the door and narrowing one eye to peer out of the peephole. It was Marielle, of all people, drenched and on her doorstep with a flustered look plastered on her face. Lisa grabbed the door handle and yanked it open swiftly, peering out to find not just Marielle standing there, but Emery as well.

“What in the world? Oh my God, what happened Emery?!” Lisa cried, ushering them both in and out of the rain hastily.

“We went out to Raven’s Pass to hang out, and this drunken a*****e tried to take advantage of me, I guess you could say, and Emery stepped in, and..well, this happened.” Marielle explained, watching Lisa’s eyes widen at her bold choice of words. “Sorry. I just didn’t know what else to call him.”

“It’s fine, sweetie, here, sit down,” Lisa instructed Emery, guiding him gently to the couch. “I’ll go get my first aid kit and we’ll have you fixed right up,” She reassured him as she dashed off into the neighboring room to retrieve her items.

“My everything hurts,” Emery groaned, pulling the torn cloth from his face that had all but stopped his bleeding. At this point, it was of no use, since it was coated in blood and beginning to dry and become stiff. “Tonight sucked, big time.”

“Yeah, buddy, I’d have to agree,” Marielle said softly, sitting down next to him on the couch as Lisa returned to the room with medical aid galore.

“Whoa, what’s going on? What’d I miss?” November asked, making her way into the room with a yawn. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she caught a good look at Emery’s bludgened face. “Oh, my gosh! Are you alright?” She choked out, her eyes widening at the sight.

“He’ll be fine, let’s all just relax,” Lisa announced, taking her place next to Emery as she began wiping at his face with hydrogen peroxide and a soft cloth. “Or let’s just make it a party,” She added as she noticed Nathaniel, too, had wandered out of his room and downstairs where everyone else was.

“Yikes,” Nathaniel blurted, glancing over Emery. “How’s the other guy look?”

“Well, he didn’t leave conscious, let’s just leave it at that,” Marielle said softly, recalling their two rescuers.

“Wow, nice, Emery. Who knew you had it in you?” Nathaniel teased, grinning at the thought of Emery knocking a guy out.

“It wasn’t me,” Emery muttered back. “Some other guy jumped in, two of them.. one choke slammed the guy.” He explained quietly. “It was pretty crazy.”

“Really, who was it?” November asked curiously, glancing at Marielle for a clearer answer.

“No one I’ve ever seen before, their names were Zeke, I think, and um...Cavanaugh. They said they were from out of town. Down here working.” Marielle replied. “I told them to come down to the bar so we could repay them, so maybe they’ll show.”

“That’s insane. People just don’t hardly do that kind of stuff anymore, you know, intervene in other people’s trouble,” Nathaniel added.

“Well, I’m certainly glad they did, there’s no telling how badly he could’ve been hurt,” November said softly, watching her mother finish up mending Emery’s wounds.

“You won’t need stitches, but you will need to keep all this bandaged, so that an infection doesn’t set in. That’s the last thing you want.” Lisa advised as she finished placing the gauze on the deep cut above Emery’s eye and cheek. “You guys can stay here, tonight. No need to go back out this late.”

Emery and Marielle simply nodded and offered Lisa their thanks as she went to grab some blankets and pillows for the two.

“I’ll see you guys in the morning. I feel terrible this happened, it always does to people who don’t deserve it.” November said sadly, inferring not only Emery but her brother’s cancer as well. Offering both Marielle and Emery a quick hug, she nudged Nathaniel to join her as she made her way back upstairs. “C’mon, buddy. The action’s over.”

Nathaniel nodded in agreement as they disappeared up the staircase. Lisa had returned with an abundance of bedding, offering it to both Marielle and Emery. As they grabbed the pillow and blanket they preferred, Lisa flipped the lights, the only shred of luminosity that could be seen was the scant flash of random lightning. The two remaining wished each other goodnight as they slowly faded from consciousness and into some much needed rest.