Train Wreck

nine

REMINGTON POV

The sweetest sounds I'll ever hear

Are still inside my head

The kindest words I'll ever know

Are waiting to be said

The most and entrancing side of all

Is yet for me to see

And the dearest love in all the world

Is waiting somewhere for me

Is waiting somewhere, somewhere for me

Her voice carried through the trees even as the chopper landed.

As new voices asked if we were okay and I saw familiar faces from town.  People I grew up knowing, who were part of my childhood, greeted me warmly with tears in their eyes.

Who else was on that train?  I didn't even think to check...

My eyes closed while the stretcher slid into the helicopter, a voice saying, "We've got you, Remington.  You're going to be just fine."

More voices echoed but the medication made it hard to remember much.

"Pressure dropping."

"Okay, got him... How's the girl?"

"Not good..."

"The boy?"

"Seems okay..."

"How did they?"

"No idea..."

I tried to sit up but a hand on my shoulder pushed me down gently.  One of the attendants leaned closer and spoke in a firm voice, "Remington, please stay still. We need a chance to check on you and figure out where you are injured. Alice and Benji also have people doing the exact same thing for them right now. I promise we will take good care of all three of you but I need you to cooperate with us, okay?"

My breath released and the loud beeping was suddenly slower.  Something cold on my arm... something sharp.... Something warm... a mask on my face....

Sleep.

When I thought about my brother and all our times together.

"Remi, what does it feel like when you like a girl? Like... really like.... like when you love a girl...."

Reese was barely thirteen but had his first crush and didn't know how to handle it.  

I remember how quietly he asked me and how shy he was, but more than that I remember how curious he was...

We took a long walk into the woods and skipped stones at the creek while we talked, keeping track of how many skips we got and which type of throw worked best.  Dad taught us how to skip stones but Reese perfected the art with a flick of his wrist.

"Well, it's kinda like the way you feel when you play baseball, buddy. Ya know how it feels when you hit the ball, and you watch it fly, then it keeps going and going?  Everything freezes and it's like you forget what you're supposed to do.  The crowd goes wild and you start to run, just getting yourself around those bases while the ball flies out of the park.  I think that's what it's like when you love someone, Reese.  Just adrenaline and excitement."

He nodded along and smiled at me, "Thanks, Remi!  I think I really do like her!  Maybe when daddy..."

"Daddy?"