It Goes Without a Trace

I sank to the floor, putting my head between my knees. True, I was supposed to be calming Lindsey down, but it was almost all too much. I felt a tentative hand on my shoulder.

“It’s okay, Gerard. Mr. Darche has this under control. Quinn will be okay,” Lindsey said. Her voice was calm, and almost sure. I, on the other hand, was not quite so sure.

“How do you know? In all the time I’ve known Quinn, he’s always been able to shrug off injuries. He only laughed when he broke his leg. He joked when he sustained a concussion. He knows when things are serious. He’s not laughing or joking now, is he? This really is serious,” I said.

After a long period of silence, aside from Mr. Darche’s various orders to Jepha, we heard footsteps approaching us. Jepha appeared at the door to the stall. His hands were bloody, surely an effect of helping Quinn. His eyes were tired, no longer wide and terrified. But there was a fear deep inside of them.

“Is Quinn okay?” Lindsey asked hesitantly. Even she knew this was unusual behavior for Jepha. Jepha looked down to his bloodstained hands.

“We did what we could. We can’t stay forever. There’s another classroom that still needs to be taken care of. Lindsey, you’re free to come with us, unless you want to stay with Quinn…” he said. Lindsey stood, face calm, controlled.

“You can’t leave him behind. Quinn’s coming with, whether you like it or not. At least give him a chance,” she said. Of course, though we didn’t want to believe it then, it would’ve been safer for Quinn to stay where he was.

“She’s right, Jeph. We have to take him with us,” I agreed. Jepha looked back to where Quinn lie, eyes changing from his previously tired expression to one of only the purest of concern. Jepha’s mind was easily made up.

“Alright, I’ll support Quinn. If I fall behind, leave me. I won’t let you risk yourselves for me. Come on,” he said. We stood and followed him to where Mr. Darche was tending to Quinn. Quinn was shaking, tears rolling down his cheeks. Jepha carefully slung Quinn’s arm around his shoulders and helped him up, producing a cry of pain.

“Shhh… It’s alright, Quinn. We’re gonna get you to safety and get you some help, okay?” Jepha cooed. Quinn shook his head, eyes wide.

“I can’t d-do it, J-Jepha! It h-hurts!”

“You can do it, and you have to do it if you want to survive today,” Mr. Darche sternly encouraged. That stopped Quinn for a minute. He took a deep, jagged breath and brought a shaky hand to wipe his tears away.

“I h-have to survive. I’m all my m-mother has,” he said. He bottled his pain and let Jepha start walking him towards the door. We all exchanged looks, then followed the pair.