It was sometime in the afternoon when I heard a commotion coming from outside the sketchy tree house. I quietly crept over to one of the cracks and peered out it, trying to see what was going on. My heart sank when I saw what was going on but I remained hidden. The Power Rangers were a few feet away fighting Goldar and Rita Repulsa. Things didn't look good from my end and part of me wanted to jump in and help but I left that part of me behind. At least I was trying too.
I watched as Billy was throw back, landing just underneath the tree house. Tommy ran over to help him up and then they ran right back for Goldar and Rita. They all had their weapons out and they were blasting them at the evil standing before them. But it was doing nothing. Rita pointed her staff in their direction, sending an explosion right their way. I had to cover my own mouth when they all went flying in different directions because I wanted to scream for them to watch out – but I didn't want them to know I was here. All I could tell was that they were in trouble and there was nothing I could do to help even if I wanted too.
But then a thought popped into my head and I realized that I might be able to help them and not get caught at the same time. Just on the other side of the park was an old concession stand and right on the inside of one of the broken windows, I could see a fire alarm. I wondered if I could sneak over there and pull it, distracting Goldar and Rita. It was only a matter of how I'd be able to get over there and away from there before anyone knew I was around. That was with assuming the fire alarm still worked. With this park being abandoned, it was highly unlikely... but the Power Rangers were getting their butts kicked right now and I had to do something to help them.
Right now none of them were facing the direction of the tree house and I saw my opportunity to sneak out of it and then behind a row of over grown bushes. I had to do this carefully so that I didn't get caught. That was the last thing I needed right now. I just needed to give the Rangers a distraction so they could get the upper hand of this fight.
I swallowed hard as I climbed down the rope ladder and b-lined it for the overgrown bushes. I dropped right to my knees and waited for a second to make sure no one had seen me. Then I crouched to my feet and jogged towards the concession stand. Staying low to the ground was making it harder for me to get there in a quicker manner but when I reached the end of the bushes, I peeked around the corner to see what was going on. I saw Rocky stumbling back and then charging right back at Goldar. I had a feeling my plan wasn't going to work as well as I wanted it too, so I looked around for a second escape. There was a small patch of woods to the left of me so if all else failed, I'd head for them and hide there until the Rangers weren't near the tree house anymore. I was no going back home.
I took a deep breath and then booked it from the bushes over to the broken window. I didn't look back at the commotion as I tried to reach through the broken glass in the window to pull the alarm. I couldn't quite get my arm through there, so I had to bust the glass some even more – cutting my hand and my arm as I grabbed the handle and yanked it down... praying that it worked.
I was slightly relieved when it started going off and the sprinkler system still engaged. But as I turned around to make a run for it before they could notice me, I caught a glimpse of all of them looking around as Rita and Goldar disappeared into the sky. I froze for a second when they all looked at me but then my adrenaline kicked in and I booked it for the woods.
As I ran, my vision blurred, and I was starting to feel lightheaded, but I still headed for the trees. I tripped and fell to my knees but jumped right back up as I continued running. I ran until my feet couldn't handle it anymore and I was totally winded. I leaned against a tree as I dropped back to my knees. Everything around me seemed like it was spinning, and I could hear a faint ringing in my ears, but I wondered if that was the fire alarm I was still hearing.
After a few seconds, my vision focused enough for me to try and stand back up but when I did that things really went blurry and I couldn't see at all. I still tried to walk – not even knowing where I was going or what I was about to run into. All I could think about was getting caught by the others and them forcing me to go back home. I was not going to let that happen.
The ringing got louder in my ears as I slammed into something hard. Whatever it was, it knocked me right on my behind and that's where I stayed. I suddenly felt so nauseous that I felt like I was going to be sick. I didn't bother trying to get back up but I did flinch when I suddenly felt something tightening around me. My vision came back for half a second to see that it was Adam trying to hold onto me but I tried to push him away. I didn't have enough strength in me right now for that to happen, so I settled for his arms wrapping around me and then pulling me up to my feet.
That's when things went completely dark and I didn't remember anything after that moment. I had no control over anything, and I knew that I had messed up by letting myself get caught. I felt like I was in one long dream that I couldn't wake up from. All I knew was that everything hurt. My body, my heart, my mind, and even my soul. Everything hurt. Here I was, stupid enough to get caught running away.
I felt a sharp poke in my arm – and for some reason, that woke me right up for whatever slumber I had been in. I looked around, letting my eyes adjust to the bright light of the room. I swallowed with a metallic taste in my mouth. My throat no longer felt as dry as it did and my head didn't seem as fuzzy. I sat up, seeing that I was lying in a hospital bed. I had no clue how I ended up here. The last thing I remembered was seeing Adam – Adam, that's how I ended up here. I was so stupid!
I looked around the room, looking for a nurse or something. My grandmother was nowhere in sight, but I knew she probably knew that I was here. They would have had to call her because I'm still a minor. She was one of the last people I wanted to see right now. I just wanted out of here and to be on my way again. I followed a tube on my bed, seeing that it lead to an I.V. that was placed in my arm. I reached for the tape and started to rip it off so that I could pull the needle out of my arm but just as I got the tape off, I heard the familiar hateful voice of my grandmother.
"I'd suggest that you shouldn't do that. You're already in enough trouble as it is and I will have them commit you." My grandmother sneered.
"Commit me for what? I haven't done anything!" I sneered right back at her. I had nothing to say to her.
"I knew you were stupid, but I never thought you would go and try and run away. Look, you even messed that up too. Can't you do anything right?" she shook her head at me.
"Don't talk to me like that! I'm not some rag doll that you can treat whatever way you want!" I yelled at her.
Just as she was about to come back with something to say, a nurse come walking in and stopped her from doing such. She started looking over something on a monitor and asking me questions because apparently, I had been asleep and partially sedated for almost a week. It had felt like five minutes to me and she had to convince me otherwise. She explained that I was severely dehydrated and slightly malnourished. I also had some cuts on my hand and my arm and I remembered exactly what that was from.
The nurse lingered in the room as long as she could but when she left, she called my grandmother out into the hallway with her. It only gave me a little bit of time away from her but as soon as she came back in the room, she started yelling at me again. I didn't bother saying anything back to her because I had nothing nice to say and I was always told that if I didn't have anything nice to say, to not say it at all. So that's exactly what I did. I was at the point where I finally wanted help – I wanted to get away from her and I knew I could trust Ms. Maria to help me with that... even if Adam and I never spoke again. Out of all people to come after me when I ran into the woods, why did it have to be him? It's not like he cared anyway... he had Kimberly to care for.
I had planned to never speak to him again or even the others. I didn't know what I was going to do about being a Power Ranger. I don't know if I could handle all of that responsibility. I realize how silly it was of me to just leave my things behind without talking to Zordon first and I knew he at least deserved an explanation and an apology. I just had to work up the courage to do that. I still wanted to hide. I wanted to run from my problems. But I knew I had to tackle my biggest problem of all if I was going to tackle the smaller ones. One step at a time.
Right now, I had to focus on getting out of the hospital. All I knew was the moment I got out of here, I was not going back to my grandmothers. I didn't care what she would say or do about it. I was not going there. I just wanted to go and talk to Ms. Maria... someone who actually cares. Someone who will actually listen to me. Someone who reminded me of my own mother. Someone I knew who would help me get out of my situation.
One step at a time. That's all I needed to do right now. One step at a time. Even if it felt like things were getting worse. My mother always would remind me that things got worse before that got better. It sure didn't feel that way this time but I had some hope stemming in the back of my brain that eventually, I would be okay. One way or another. I was going to be okay. I was tired of dealing with all of the stress and I couldn't deal with it any longer. I just couldn't.