Chapter 5
A Heroic Beginning
Chapter 5
The first thing he noticed was the discomfort. He felt like so many who are roused from a deep slumber with some awkward sensation. His mind tried to ignore it, desperately trying to find a way to slip back into the comfort of unconsciousness, but it was of no use. No matter how much he tried, he would not go back to sleep. Yet, despite the desire for further sleep, he realized that if he was conscious, then he had to be alive.
The next thing he noticed was that he was in a bed. It wasn’t his bed because this one had a somewhat steep incline and he could feel the bed’s edges without rolling over or reaching out. Besides pain, he also felt fear. He remembered that he was in an explosion. What scared him was that people who survived horrific injuries could sustain permanent damage. Was he paralyzed, was he burnt, was he maimed? The thought of these possibilities filled him with a silent dread that filled his stomach with an icy coldness. He had to find out if he was in one piece and fully functioning. His desire to go back to sleep vanished.
Sam first tried moving his fingers and on command they moved. He noticed that something was clasped to one of his fingers, but he paid it little mind. What mattered to him was the finger moved. He tried clenching his fists and they also responded to his commands. He next tried to wiggle his toes. They moved, scraping the bed sheets. Finally, Sam tried moving his legs and he found success. This time, though, his leg muscles protested with a shot of pain. The pain wasn’t severe but it was noticeable, yet Sam welcomed it because if he could feel pain, at least he wasn’t paralyzed. And he felt pain all over. From his head on down to his toes, he felt pain. It wasn’t anything agonizing but it wasn’t pleasant. He felt as if he had just run a marathon after a 2-hour weight-lifting session. However, he was grateful for the pain. Opening his eyes, he took in his surroundings.
It was dark. His eyes had to do little work in adjusting to the room. Across from him, he saw a whiteboard with some wording on it. Above the whiteboard was a television, which was off. Looking further right, he saw that the entire side of the room was a large curtain. Some light was managing to peak over and under the curtain and provide some illumination to the room.
As he turned his head left to take in the rest of the room, the soreness increased as his neck muscles let him know that they had seen better days. He ignored the pain and saw a closed door and two chairs, one of which was occupied. The low light levels did not prevent him from recognizing who it was. Before he could say anything, she spoke.
“Hey, look who’s awake.”
“Hey there stranger. Thanks for coming back.”
Serena Brody was Sam’s older sister by four years. She was the family jewel; smart, nice, the kind of high achiever that parents wish for, and one of those Queen Bs in training, just like Tracy McCormack. Unfortunately, Serena’s past year in high school had not been good to her. Serena became more withdrawn, not only from her social circle at high school, but from her family as well. Nobody knew why that was, but it was initially written off as typical teenage mood swings. However, her new “attitude” had also resulted in broken windows, damaged furniture and shorted-out appliances. Serena insisted that these were accidents, but their parents found it harder to believe her as more and more “accidents” happened. Things became stressful in the Brody household, but salvation arrived when Serena was recruited to join some sort of special private academy on the East Coast. She had moved away two years earlier. Serena still kept in touch via e-mails and by phone, but she did not come to visit home until the previous Thanksgiving, more than a full year since moving away.
Sam and Serena had at one point been really close, but when her difficulties started, a barrier arose between them. They weren’t exactly estranged. They still kept in touch and he was really glad to see her when she came to visit, but it wasn’t the same as before. Sam lamented this and hoped that in time things between them could get back to normal.
Sam smiled at his sister. She was wearing a gray hoodie, brown gloves, blue jeans and knee high brown boots. Her golden blond hair was tied in a loose ponytail, showing off her smooth oval face and light blue eyes. Serena smiled back at him sweetly.
“For you kiddo, of course.”
Sam could see Serena fight back some tears as she answered him. She anticipated Sam’s next question.
“Mom is downstairs in the cafeteria. Dad is on his way back from work. He was here in the morning and stopped by during lunch.”
“How are they doing?”
“Okay given everything that has happened. Everybody’s just glad you’re going to be okay. By all rights, you shouldn’t be. I mean, what were you thinking? Were you even thinking?”
Sam was in no mood to go through this right now although he silently admitted, he deserved this and a lot worse. He tried his best to give a good answer.
“I was thinking about getting a man some help.”
“Getting some help is not the same as running into a building yourself.”
“Nobody was going to help him. What was I supposed to do? Leave him? Maybe I should have, but I couldn’t.”
“You’re 16 years old, Sam.”
“I didn’t know you had to be a certain age to do the right thing.”
“The right thing was letting someone know there was an injured man. You did that. When that failed, you were supposed to stay put. You playing the hero didn’t help anybody. Did you give any thought to what would happen to us if you were killed?”
Sam could see tears start to trickle out as Serena struggled to maintain control.
“I did, yes. It was the one thing that almost made me turn back. But there are kids two and three years older than me risking their lives every day overseas. What makes me different from them?”
“They’re trained professionals. You aren’t. You had no business going back there. It was a very stupid thing to do.”
“It probably was a stupid thing to do, but at least I did something to help. Besides, why should you care? I’m surprised you even made the trip back here. I can count on one hand the amount of times you have come back to visit since you left.”
Sam regretted his words immediately after he spoke them.
“Don’t you dare turn this back on me. I had to leave; you didn’t have to do anything but get out of that building. Besides, I’m here now, but if you don’t want me here…”
“I’m sorry, Serena. That was uncalled for. I’m glad you came back. Really, I am. I just don’t need people stating the obvious to me. Even though, in this case, I deserve it and worse.”
“Yeah, you do kiddo. Thankfully, the doctor says you’re going to be just fine, so Mom, Dad and I can all keep lecturing you.”
Sam nodded at Serena. Looking up at the ceiling, he thought about what had happened. He had no business being alive, but yet, here he was. He thought about what was going through his mind as he had tried to rescue the injured worker. Sam knew that his actions were borderline suicidal and while he had considered his family’s pain as he ran toward the Generator, he hadn’t fully grasped what his death could do to the ones he loved. He did now that Serena was here. Sam felt an enormous amount of guilt and pain. He managed to fight back tears and rested insolence for a few minutes until something stoked his curiosity.
“Hey, Serena?”
“Yes, Sam?”
“How did you know about me running in to the Generator Room and all?”
“Will told us that you ran back into the building. The police told us where the rescue crews found you.”
“I see. So Will has been by?”
“Yeah, he’s been around a lot. Jason and Ben, too. In fact, you draw quite a crowd. Mom ordered them away and told them they could come back once you woke up. Will didn’t listen, though. He should be back by tonight.”
“Will’s a good friend.”
“He is at that.”
Sam and Serena’s mother soon returned from the cafeteria. Seeing his mother caused Sam to break down and cry. All that remained was joy and relief. By the time his father arrived, Sam was all cried out. For that first afternoon and night, the joy of life snuffed out any thoughts of anger over what had happened. They were all together again and it was good.