| //Gotta get to Gosalyn�she'll know what to do. She always knows what to do. Gosalyn. Gosalyn knows.// He wrapped himself in a blanket, shivering with cold, and made his way out of his room. The rest of the house was silent. He could even hear Tank snoring down the hall. It made his stomach contract angrily and he clutched at his mouth, trying not to throw up as he made his way downstairs. //So far, so good,// he noted mentally as he tiptoed through the kitchen, silently. His hip bumped into something sharp, perhaps the side of the counter, and he cried out in discomfort as bruised skin encountered the sharp object. Quickly, before anyone woke up and caught him, he stifled himself and made his way to the back door. Honker could hear his heart beating in his chest as he made his way outside. All he could think about was being caught�no, being caught by Tank. He couldn't handle being touched by his brother ever again. It would be too much to deal with. Finally, he made it across the lawn to the Mallard's home next door. It was an effort just to ring the doorbell. Then came the wait to see if anyone came. No one opened the door after the first two rings. By the third press of the doorbell, Honker was so weakened by blood loss that he sank to his knees. Yet, he wouldn't give up. He kept pressing the doorbell. The door swung open suddenly and Honker fell into the house limply. He raised his head to see Gosalyn and Drake Mallard staring at him in shock. "Help�," he rasped out, "Please�help me." "Honker!" Gosalyn called out, bending down to cradle the boy's head in her lap. Drake made for the stairs in a rush before anything further was said. Moments later, the other occupant of the house, Launchpad McQuack, ran down the stairs behind Drake. "We need to get him to the hospital right away, Drake! I'll get him ready for transport!" Launchpad announced after looking at the shivering blonde bundle at the doorstep. "We can take the Thunderquack, it'll be faster!" Gosalyn suggested, "You gotta keep awake till we get you to the hospital, okay Honk?" "Kay�." Honker replied weakly, fighting off the urge to close his eyes and just sleep like he wanted to. "No!" Drake snapped out, "We can't play hero with Honker's life! We've got to call 911, they'll know what to do better than we could ever know!" Gosalyn and Launchpad stared at Drake openmouthed for a moment before they looked at each other and nodded in agreement. Launchpad was on the phone in moments, while Drake and Gosalyn moved Honker to the sofa. The redheaded teenage girl gasped as she saw the blood stains on the sheet and her father's eyes widened in disbelief. The question on both their minds was who had done such a horrendous thing to such a caring person. Honker was their friend. "Honker�Honker, stay awake! Now, can you tell us what happened?" Drake pleaded, shaking Honker's shoulder until the boy opened his eyes again. Honker moaned a protest and blearily glanced over at the both of them. They wanted him to talk about it, to tell them what happened, but he couldn't. It was too soon! The memories were still fresh in his mind, still painfully raw. "No~o�" he groaned, trying to turn away from their scrutiny. He shivered; it was so cold there. He needed to be warm or else he'd freeze to death before the ambulance arrived. "I'm co~old�" Gosalyn disappeared and he felt a momentary panic, but Drake was still there, holding his hand and asking him other questions to keep him awake. "Honker, what's the square root of 144? Who's the Prime Minister of England? How many letters are in the alphabet?" "Twelve�Tony Blair�twenty-six," Honker replied hoarsely, his chest rising and falling shallowly. He didn't realize how much he hurt until now. Even his ribs hurt whenever he took a breath, pulling and stretching across bruised tissue and pulled muscles. "Honker, here's your blanket," Gosalyn's voice came to him and he felt himself wrapped up in the most delicious warmth. "Don't go to sleep on us, Honk. The ambulance is almost here." "Ti~red�I'm so tired, Gosalyn�" he whimpered out. "Just focus on the sound of the voices you hear, okay Honk-man?" Launchpad was there too, watching down on him from the top of the couch. "Kay�" * * * The ambulance had come and gone, waking up the Muddlefoots next door. Herb and Binky had gone in the ambulance with Honker to watch over him in the hospital, while Tank stood in the lawn, watching what was going on, a sullen look of smoldering anger on his face. //That little squealer! How dare he run away from me! He's mine and I'll teach him once and for all who's in control here!// Gosalyn watched Honker being lifted into the ambulance with anxiety. She'd known Honker as a friend since she was seven and never had he been hurt this bad. The emotions she felt were so confusing; not only was there anger for whoever hurt her friend, but the suspicion that she already knew who it was. //But why would Tank hurt him like that? Sure, he's always been a bully to Honker, but the stuff that he did was mild compared to what happened tonight. Besides, Tank's not gay or anything like that, is he?// She glanced over to look at Tank across the yard, but he wasn't there. Where had he gone? next back |