A Lighter Shade of Gray

The Story Unfolds

**Trigger warning**

"She's your sister?!" I asked kind of dumb founded. He just nodded.

A flood of questions hit my brain all at once. How did she find him? Why was she so dirty? Why was she bleeding? How did her clothes get so torn? What caused her to pass out? I stood there tongue tied, not able to decide which question I should ask first.

A loud booming sound came from the front of the house. Causing more confusion to the already chaotic situation that was going on. With the adrenaline already still very active in my system my thoughts were going all over the place. I tried taking a deep breath to help ground myself. Then my brain finally clicked, it was the paramedics. They had finally arrived, they could help the little girl. I dashed to the front of the house to open the door. I slammed it open, with the relief and shock mixing in my body, I felt like everything was almost in a surreal state.

"Where's the child?" They asked in a demanding tone. All of a sudden my tongue felt like lead in my mouth .I couldn't form words. Everything was starting to over whelm me. What was I doing to say? Well turns out the creepy child that was passed out on my couch is my friends sister? Yeah that didn't sound made up at all.

As if God was answering my prayer for some kind of help,  Marcus came up behind me, "Follow me." He said in a calm yet assertive tone, to the people crowding the doorway leading the way to the sunroom at the back of the house.

People poured into the house in a long line and I followed close behind. They rushed to the other side of the house and stopped when they saw Sam with the small girl. They looked at one another as if silently asking on how to approach the situation that was before them. One by one they slowly began to move forward toward the center of the room. Where the girl and Sam stood.

When a male in his mid thirties went to try to take her from him, the small child let out an ear splitting shrill scream, making everyone cover their ears. She clung even harder to her brother, shaking more as she looked around at the people surrounding her. She looked terrified. She started to cry, "Don't let them take me, please bubba."

Sam pulled her closer to him then sat crisscross on the floor, holding her in his lap, then turning her to where she was facing the emergency responders.

"You have to let them check you, I am right here I am not going anywhere." he reassured the little girl in a calming tone. Even tho at that moment he was anything but calm.

She craned her head back to look at him, tears still streaming down her face, "Promise." she asked her eyes still wet from her tears, "Promise." he responded.

The paramedic went to come near her again and she scooted back further into her brother, making me walk forward. Looking at the child her eyes were filled with fear as the man in front of her kept reaching in her direction. I guess she felt me looking at her because she turned her attention towards me. I didn't know why, but I felt like she was secretly pleading with me not to let the man touch her. 

I decided to test it to see if my feeling was accurate. I walked up next to Sam and sat down the same way he was.  Just as I did the paramedic grabbed her arm and she went back to screaming, but this time she attempted to kick the man away. I saw that Sam was starting to get angry and defensive over the small child. His body language became hostile toward the people in front of them, and protective toward the small girl. He seemed liked a loyal animal protecting his master. Ready to attack all that caused her harm in any way.  I reached for the child's arm, gaining a warning glare from Sam. I gave him a reassuring look in return.

Carefully I lightly tapped her on the shoulder, gaining her attention. As she looked at me, I saw terror and anxiety swirl in her amber colored eyes. "Hold on." I said to the man who had just got kicked by the child and was going back in for another attempt to grab her from her brothers embrace. I carefully lifted her from Sam's lap to mine, him reluctantly letting her go. She settled onto my lap, she reminded me of a rabbit I once had, skittish and frightened. She kept looking in her brothers direction to make sure that he hadn't some how disappeared. Still testing my theory I looked in the crowd to spot one lone female EMT, standing at the back of the horde. It seemed like a long shot, but I had taken it as a good sign when she had allowed me to take her from Sam, and move her to my lap. But at that moment I was praying to any god or higher being that my theory was wrong.

"Ma'am, can you help her instead?" I asked. She looked at me and nodded, she seemed to understand what I was attempting to do. She made her way to the front of the group and approached the child, even getting down to her level. The young female reached out cautiously, which I couldn't blame her the other person who had done the same, was now nursing a nasty whelp.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she was able to grab the child's arm without incident. The little girl, though not completely relaxed, complied with the female care giver.

"What's your name?" the woman asked. The little girl looked at Sam, as if asking if she could trust her. Sam nodded.

"She's here to help you." The child seemed to understand and looked back at the woman.

"Jessica." the little girl whispered.

"Well Jessica, I'm Gace, can you tell me what happened?" Jessica just shook her head and muttered something too low for anyone to hear. The woman who's name was Grace just nodded and changed the question. "Are you hurt anywhere?" This time she looked at me, I nodded at her and Jessica took a deep breathe and pointed at her arm.

The lady checked her arm. Showing off many nasty angry bruises and cuts. The Female EMT made notes on a clip board. "Anywhere else?" she asked, being very patient with the little girl. Jessica pointed to her head, the lady checked her head, to discover a gash above her ear, making notes, and grabbing some gauze she asked me to hold it to the wound. Sam who was hovering close by cursed. I watched as he began pacing at this point from anger, with Marcus and Harmony trying to calm him down, since he was not helping the situation.

Then Jessica pointed to her leg, the lady once again made notes on the clip board which at this point covered almost all of the diagram that was on the paper. "Do you have anywhere else that hurts sweetie?" the lady asked. Hesitantly Jessica pointed at her stomach.

"Do you have a stomach ache?" the lady asked, ready to write down another note. Jessica shook her head, almost making me drop the gauze. Then she pointed again, leaving me and the woman caring for her confused. Then the paramedic that tried to assist first said, "Oh my God, no."

Causing everyone in the room to freeze as the gravity and the realization of what had happened to the child sunk in. Sam let out a scream yelling, " I WILL KILL THAT BASTARD!" The next thing that anyone saw was Sam strong arming his way threw the massive swarm of people, trying to get out of the room and get his hands on whom ever hurt his little sister.