The Ultimate Sacrifice

No, if you want to kill Derrick you’ll have to go through me first.” I say, a bit less confident, but I mean it.
I hear the gun go off. I feel the bullet hit my chest. The pain is excruciating, and blood just rushes out of the wound relentlessly. Everything around me seems to become muffled. I hear Jack shouting my name. But he sounds so far away. I’m starting to see black blotches in my vision. I have no sense of what is happening around me. I feel something being pressed against the wound; bringing me slightly back to reality. I hear Jack calling my name. “Look at me, Helen! Stay with me, Helen, please. Stay with me!” Jack calls to me. As Jack’s voice becomes a distant memory, something flashes before my eyes. It looks like a picture.
Suddenly I’m standing in a hallway, but this hallway is different. I feel a sense of familiarity rush over my body; as a young boy comes into view. I-I-I-It’s Jack! He looks so different. But how is he different? I think trying to puzzle it out. Oh! I see! He’s smiling. I think to myself as warmth flows over my body. I glance around and see no one around in the hall or at their lockers. I strain my neck to see all around me, but I can’t see much for my hair’s in the way.
Jack is coming over to me. I notice I’m the end destination of his path. He walks right up to me. I take a deep breath to calm myself; I realize something. My life is flashing before my eyes! I wonder if I can change anything. Probably not, I don’t think this works like that. I think. By this time Jack is standing in front of me. He has something behind his back. I look around the hall trying to remember what day it is. I see decorations everywhere. Valentine’s Day! I exclaim in my head; a frown spreads across my face as I see Jack produce a single rose from behind his back.
“H-h-h-hey, Helen, will you be my v-v-valentine?” Jack asks producing the flower in front of him. He tries to hand it to me but I won’t take it.
“Ah sorry, Jack, Derrick already asked me to be his valentine, and I accepted.” I say as a sad smile flashes across my face for a few seconds as Jack looked at the floor.
“Oh,” is all that little Jack could manage as he starts to walk away quietly with his head down. Poor little Jack, I wish I had just said yes. I think with the same sad expression across my face as across his. But it doesn’t end here, remember; a small voice in my head chimes in. Derrick comes walking down the hall passing Jack, and swiping the rose from Jack’s hands. Derrick walks up to me and hands me the flower.
“For my valentine.” Derrick chimes with a broad smile. I look dismally at the rose but reach for it anyway.
Give Jack the flower back! Don’t accept the flower! I shout in anguish but it’s only in my mind. The scene begins to fade away. No! I shout in the hopes of being able change it. As soon as the old scene is gone a new one has appeared.
I’m standing in my junior high school building, in yet, another hallway. This hall is packed with kids all around. Why am I here? I think looking around in a somewhat frantic fashion; searching my surroundings for the answer. Did I really look like that? I think as I look at the atrocity that I’m wearing. Didn’t anyone tell me that black was not my color? Ok, so why am I here, other than to see my poor style choices? I ask myself looking in front of me and seeing a locker, my locker. The locker seems to be getting closer. I think as my body collides with the locker; causing a loud crashing sound with extreme pain shooting through my entire life. The boys. I mutter to myself in my head. I hate these boys, they are such idiots! One of the boys continues to shove me into my locker. Many kids look our way but don’t say a word. After a while the pain turns into numbness, until one rough shove causes me to whimper in pain. The pain is radiating from my knees. Why was I their target? What did I ever do to them? I ask myself as the beating continues. Until the main boy stops shoving and instead turns me to face them. I look the boys in the face between my fingers.
“Why do you dress like that? Huh? Did your mom died or something? You look so stupid.” He says getting into my face, as I whimper and tears stream down my face. But I refuse to answer. “Are you stupid or something? I’m talking to you stupid.” The boy snidely chants at me. Derrick sees me as he walks passes by but is silent like all the rest. The verbal torture continues on and on; no one coming to my rescue. I can’t bear to relive this any longer! I wail as I notice Jack walking down the hall. Once he notices the onslaught he jolts into a run. He reaches me in a matter of seconds pushing the boys away from me. The boys instantly turn on him; starting to punch him. Jack endures never ending punches until the bell finally rings and everyone scatters. Once the hallway was empty Jack uncurls himself from his hunched over position and saunters over to me. He looks down at me; as he pulls me to my feet by my lanky arms. Jack looks me over with concern glittering in his teary eyes.
“You okay?” Jack asks in almost a whisper. I nod not wanting to say a word. “Oh gosh! You’re bleeding Helen!” Jack says alarmed. In alarm I hurriedly look down to see blood running profusely down my leg, and instantly finding the cause of it. My left knee has a huge gash on the side of it in a kind of crescent moon shape.
“Oh my God!” I gasp at the sight of the amount of blood and start feeling a bit woozy.
“We better get you to the nurse. I think I see the bone.” Jack says with a grim expression on his face. In a panic I try to take a step but almost fall. Jack wraps his arm around my waist letting me put all my weight on him. The scene fades, again, causing me to sigh reluctantly.
The picture I fade into; I’m stuck in the same hallway. But it’s different. I’m in the hall alone, well kind of. Jack and Derrick are at the other end of the hall. “Leave me alone, Derrick!” Jack shouts causing me to look their way in shock. Derrick just sneers down at Jack.
“What are you going to do about it, little piece of shit?” Derrick says with a leering grin on his face.
“I mean it, leave me alone!” Jack says forcefully and shoves Derrick away from himself. That was the wrong move. I think knowing the outcome yet still wincing. Naturally, Derrick doesn’t like Jack’s response and slams him into the lockers. Jack tries to fight back but he is so scrawny compared to Derrick. Jack ends up on the ground in a heap, and I just stand watching. Jack came to my rescue why didn’t I come to his? I ask myself as the scene starts to fade. Just as the picture fades out almost completely I notice Jack shake his head as he notices my stare.
A new scene whirls around me causing me to feel a bit uneasy. I’m standing at my locker, once again. Can’t I have a little variety? I ask in my head to a nonexistent person. I look at my surroundings. The first day of high school. Everyone running around like scared freshman. I look down at what I’m wearing and nod contentedly. I look around to see my classmates, and I’m instantly startled by someone standing a locker over from me. “Hey, Helen, weird isn’t it? A-A-All of t-t-t-this, I mean,” Jack says with a goofy grin as he motions to all around us. The bustling hallway continues to become more crowded. Jack smiles at me waiting for an answer.
“Yeah, it is crazy,” I grin back and place my new notebooks onto the middle shelf in my locker. “So that’s your locker?” I ask motioning with a pack of pens in my hand to the locker next to mine.
“Yeah, isn’t it great? We’re going to be locker buddies.” He beams tossing him empty book bag into his locker.
“Don’t you have any notebooks?” I ask with concern. The goofy smile on his face instantly vanishes.
“No. . . .” Jack says quietly looking down at his torn up sneakers.
“Oh!” I exclaim. “Here take some of mine, and these pencils.” I shove an armful of notebooks and pencils toward him. He looks embarrassedly at me and shakes his head refusing the supplies. “Come on, take them.”
“No, I couldn’t take your things.” Jack mumbles, gently pushing the armful back my way.
“Really, I want you to have them,” I grin reassuringly and gently move the stack back towards him. I place the stack into his arms causing him to chuckle lightly to himself.
“You’re sure?” Jack asks one last time.
“Positive.” I nod as I grab a notebook from my locker and close it. “See you later, Jack,” I call over my shoulder as I rush off to my first class. The picture fades as I glance back at Jack one last time. Darkness follows.
“Hey, Helen, ah, do you want to, ah, go to homecoming with me?” Jack asks brightly. I stand there dumbfounded.
“Ah, I’m not going to homecoming, Jack.” I mumble as a half apologetic smile becomes present on my face.
“Oh, I see. Why aren’t you going? You’d have a lot of fun. I promise I’d make it fun.” Jack voices sadly looking at his shoes with a blush still present on his face. “We could go to that new Chinese place for dinner, I know you like Chinese, and I’ve heard the food is good there. And . . .” I interrupt Jack stopping him right there.
“Yeah, dances are just not my thing. Please don’t think I just don’t want to go with you. I turned down Derrick last week, too.” Derrick comes up next to me, and puts an arm around my waist possessively. This makes me exceedingly uncomfortable. “Cut it out, Derrick.” I grumble quietly and squirm out of his grip.
“What are you doing, talking to this deadbeat?” Derrick asks, glaring down Jack threateningly.
“Derrick, don’t. Leave him alone,” I hiss quietly. But Derrick ignores me.
“You asking my girl to homecoming, punk?” Derrick sings in a harsh tone, daring Jack to make the wrong move or say the wrong thing. But Jack just shakes his head no as he continues to look at the ground.
“Thought so small fry.” Derrick growls as he shoves past Jack in a rough fashion causing him to take a few stumbled steps backwards.
“I’m not your girl, Derrick.” I growl after him as my body tenses with aggravation. Why can’t he just take a hint? I mean, I haven’t talked to him since junior high. Once Derrick was out of earshot Jack looks at me.
“Why do you let him treat you like that?” he mutters only loud enough for me to hear with a growing bitterness. “You don’t belong to him.” Jack becomes quiet, waiting for my response.
“It’s not like I silently take it. He just won’t leave me alone.” I whisper, hoping that only Jack hears me. He shakes his head in disapproval, and turns to walk to his next class. Halfway down the hall Jack looks back at me with despair and longing in his eyes, but scurries off to class without another word.
picture fades into another distant memory like all the rest. Help me! I think as yet another scene fades in around me. I’m standing at my locker gathering my things for my first period. Surprise, surprise. Jack comes up and opens his locker but without his usual hello. Instead he is hiding behind the door of his locker.
“Everything okay?” I look at him with concern.
“Yeah. Everything is fine,” Jack bluntly replies without his regular cheer, still hiding behind his locker.
“Then why are you hiding, huh?” I playfully pull at his locker door but I am serious; him still insisting to hide behind his locker.
“I fell down the stairs last night. It looks worse than it actually is, but it doesn’t really hurt.” Jack responses in a hushed voice as he closes his locker door. I gasp at the sight of a horridly dark black and blue bruise around his right eye.
“What, did you fall down the stairs onto someone’s fist or something?” I ask disapprovingly shaking my head. “What really happened, Jack? You can tell me,” I murmur with concern soaking my voice.
“Nothing! I really did fall down the stairs. I must have hit myself in the face . . . or something,” Jack utters anxiously, refusing to make eye contact with me.
“Ok, if you say so.” A sick feeling builds in the pit of my stomach. I know he’s lying. I should tell someone. But he doesn’t want anyone to know.
“I’ll see you later, Helen.” He remarks, dashing down the hall. Unfortunately he runs right into Derrick who has a scrunched up expression of anger plastered on his face. He shoves Jack into the lockers, but he doesn’t do much after that. The dean of students is standing just down the hall and Derrick is immediately dragged off to the dean’s office. Derrick glares at Jack with death threats smoldering in his eyes for him. Jack dashes down the hall in a hurry before the dean can call him into his office too. I stand there in shock with my jaw on the floor, but I quickly close it. Maybe I should tell the dean about Jack’s bruise? Well. He probably saw it on Jack’s face; it’s pretty hard to miss. What if he thinks Derrick did it? I know who did give him that black eye, and it wasn’t Derrick. But would it really hurt Derrick to get the heat for it? I don’t know. I open my mouth in order to speak but nothing coherent comes out. This causes the dean to spot me and speaks sternly.
“Get to class, Miss Holmes. This is none of your concern.” Without a word, I scurry down the hall in a sort of panic. I look back to see and hear the dean screaming at Derrick in his office. This must not have been the first time he’s caught him. I think as the faint screaming is now no more. The scene fades into nothingness.