A Dark Sky

Chapter 1: A Dark History

Friday, July 10, 2015

Sky had just gotten home from a long day at the mall with his mom. She was obsessed with shopping and she had been searching for a new watch. The watch, which was going to be a gift for Sky's father, had taken hours to find. By the time they got home Sky was exhausted and just wanted to relax. 

He decided to call his best friend, Jeremy. They had an obsession with playing X-box. They would spend many hours online playing the ever so popular Black ops II game. Even though Jeremy lived down the street, Sky still wanted to call to make sure he could play. However, when he called it wasn't Jeremy who answered. Instead, Sky heard the gruff voice of Jeremy's father.

"Is Jeremy there?" Sky had asked.

"He...uh can't come to the phone." Jeremy's dad rushed, "I'm sorry."

"What do you mean?" Sky asked him now confused. He was answered with the click of the phone hanging up. Still confused, and now angry, Sky bolted out of his house and down the street. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach that got stronger the closer he got to Jeremy's house. When he turned the corner he felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. Stopping in his tracks Sky stared in disbelief as two patrol vehicles and an ambulance pulled up to Jeremy's house. After about a minuet he took off running again, he had almost made it to the driveway when one of the police officers stopped him.  

"What do you think you're doing kid? You can't go in there."

"What happened?" Sky asked in earnest, "Is everyone okay?" 

 Just then Jeremy's father came outside. 

"It's alright officer, I'll talk to him," he said solemnly.

"Where's Jeremy? Is he okay? What's going on?" The questions were answered just as fast as they were asked. Sky watched helplessly as a pair of men wearing blue carried Jeremy out on a stretcher. He wanted to run to his friend, but Jeremy's father kept him in place. "What happened?"

"He was shot." was the mumbled response. Sky stood in dismay as he watched his friend being lifted into the ambulance. After the ambulance left, Jeremy's dad explained everything to Sky. 

It turned out that a man had broken into their house. Thinking that no one was home he made an attempt to steal any valuables he could find. That was around the time that Jeremy was in the living room playing video games. While he was engaged in a zombie killing streak, the robber was figuring out a way to sneak inside. After trying the front door finding that it was indeed locked, he averted his attention to the window. He then picked up a rock and smashed it into the clear window watching as it shattered into billions of pieces. Then sticking his leg over, he climbed though and into the house. This was about the time Jeremy paused the game to get a drink. Holding only his Xbox controller, Jeremy became overwhelmed with fear. Due to the bright moon, he could see the outline of a man near the window. He was completely frozen in fear and all he could do was sit quietly.

Jeremy's parents were at work and he was home alone, so he wasn't expecting much help. He figured that if he sat on the couch any longer he would surely be seen, so he did what he thought would be smarter; he bolted for his parent's room behind him. Unfortunately it wasn't any better than his first idea, the robber had noticed him running for the door. What happened next is pretty much self-explanatory, the robber took aim and shot. Jeremy collapsed on the floor in his parent's room. The robber now facing possible murder charges decided to make a run for it and headed right out the window he came in. After he left Jeremy managed to prop himself up. He had been shot in the left shoulder and somehow managed to get out his phone and dial 911 despite the pain. As he waited the pain grew more intense; his shoulder throbbed, he had a migraine due to blood loss, and the wound wouldn't stop bleeding. The once white floor had turned ruby red with blood. All he could do was to apply pressure to his shoulder and pray he would be okay. Flashbacks of Gun Safety Class popped into his head and he remembered asking "Is getting shot in the shoulder deadly?" He only had wondered because his cousins were saying it was the most non-lethal place to get shot.

The answer he got was, "If the bullet were to hit the Subscapular artery a great loss of blood would occur. The fact that bones, muscles, soft tissue, nerves, and blood vessels are all packed into ones shoulder the possibility of not injuring any of these is slim to none. Damaging soft tissue alone can require urgent surgery, and the therapy required to heal it back up takes up a significant amount of time as well. I would say that a person who was shot in the shoulder would lose feeling in the area if nerves were damages or even possible loss of motor function. Here's my tip, don't get shot in the shoulder, because if you do, be prepared for the worst."

Remembering what was said made Jeremy feel nervous and scared about what might happen to him. The coincidence of him asking about getting shot in the shoulder and it actually happening was tough to get over, and the thought of dying at the age of fifteen frightened him. Just before he could freak out his dad pulled up. He had been able to leave work earlier so he could check on Jeremy. Luckily, he arrived just as the robber was stepping out of the house. So with the headlights of the car he could get a look at the robber, who was dumb enough to not wear a mask. Jeremy's dad then ran toward the house after watching the robber run off toward the woods. He entered only to find Jeremy propped up against the dresser clutching his shoulder. He ran and knelt next to him, "I'm so sorry I shouldn't have left you here alone!"

"Dad it's okay, besides, I called 911." Jeremy replied in a soft voice then passed out from blood loss. That was about the time Sky called.

After hearing Jeremy's dad tell of what happened, Sky broke down in tears. He couldn't stand the thought of losing his best friend. Unfortunately, he didn't have a say in the matter and at two a.m. Jeremy was pronounced dead. After the terrible incident, Sky hadn't really talked much to anyone, rather than his family.