Soon, it was closing hours. Like every other day, every pupil left school one after the other. Some in groups, some by the school bus, some with their guardians and many other means.
Caitlyn was in her class waiting for her pupils to all leave school before going home. Hours later, all pupils were no longer in school left except Drake and it was almost dark just like the previous day. Caitlyn was confused about what to do and after much thought, she decided to take him to his house.
“Nothing would change if I take him or not.” she thought to herself. She helped Drake with his lunch pack and they both took a taxi.
“Sister Katrina!” Drake yelled at the door.
Minutes after they left school, they arrived at the residence but found no one in sight. The door seemed closed which made Drake call out to his sister from the door.
“It seems like she’s not around,” Caitlyn said to the little boy. Drake turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. Hold and behold, his sister was sprung on the floor unmoving like a log of wood.
He ran close to the body on the floor and screamed at the sight. Blood flowed from Katrina’s still body. Caitlyn entered the house and gasped in shock. At that moment, she forgot about her worries and got into action.
She bent beside Katrina and placed her two fingers under her nose to see if she was still breathing but couldn’t decipher her current situation. She held her hand to check her pulse and after two minutes, she felt it. Faint and slow was how the pulse responded to Caitlyn’s touch.
She instructed Drake to get a towel quickly and in no time, the boy returned with a big white towel. Caitlyn searched for where the blood was coming from and got it with not so much of an effort.
She dabbed the wound with the towel and told Drake to press on it as she did. Drake obeyed without a second thought and Caitlyn picked up her phone and dialled the health worker’s emergency number. She gave them the address and disconnected the call.
Accessing the situation, she looked around to see if she could understand what happened. For how long Katrina has been in that state, she doesn’t know. At intervals, she felt Katrina’s pulse to see if she was still alive and suddenly saw the rod stained with blood.
She wanted to pick it up with her hand but stopped after giving the situation a second thought. If the health personnel get there, they will try to investigate the incident and that might endanger her as she has no idea of what had transpired in that building.
One thing she learned while growing up as a kid was never to act rashly in any situation. How things turn out to be due to rashness, she knows very well.
Just then, a thought came to her mind.
“What if the person who did this is still around? Probably the culprit is somewhere near to see how things go?. Then, me being here is dangerous.” she thought of what next to do.
Of all the provided options, leaving at that crucial moment could be detrimental to Drake and Katrina. If at all she would leave, she has to await the ambulance.
She checked her phone call log and found the number of Drake’s guardian. Before she could dial it, she changed her mind.
“What happened is still unknown and I can’t be so sure I’m calling the right person.” she thought out aloud and to her surprise, Drake told her not to call his daddy when he heard her speak.
“Why?” she asked him but he didn’t answer.
Though Drake didn’t answer her question, she understood that a lot was going on in the family. Not after the whole drama that was performed in her presence the previous day.
She concluded on what to do and dialled Jasper’s number. At least, she has to let someone know of her whereabouts and at that time, informing her grandmother was not an option. The old lady was always in a pensive mood after Caitlyn was brought back from the world of the unseen. Though, there’s more to the pensiveness.
Caitlyn dialled Jasper’s number a second time and he didn’t pick up. As a second option, she dialled Carl and explained the whole situation to him. By then, the ambulance arrived, and she and Drake left the house with the ambulance leaving every other thing for the police to deal with.
Katrina was wheeled to the emergency unit and treatment began on her immediately. A doctor came to ask who the guardian was, and Katrina wasn’t sure if she should fill in for it.
“I am the guardian” a male voice interrupted. Looking behind her, she saw Carl.
“You’re here”
“What happened?. I don’t get all you were saying on the phone.” Carl requested and she explained the situation to him quickly and briefly.
“Come with me please,” the doctor directed Carl towards his office with courtesy. Caitlyn dragged him back and told the doctor to go ahead.
“Three minutes please,” she said and the doctor left with a nod of his head.
“Why are you filling in as the guardian?. Can you save yourself if the situation turns the other way round?. The situation is a bit complex you know,”
Carl smiled at her and placed his hand on her shoulder.
“You don’t have to worry. If things change, I have a backup. Jasper’s always there for me okay,”
With that, he turned around and headed to the doctor’s office.
Caitlyn placed Drake on the vacant space beside her and he rest his head on her lap after which he dozed off within a little while. She couldn’t take off her mind from all that transpired ever since she saw the light of the day.
“Jasper!. How could he?” she thought thinking of what should be her next step. Confront him or not. Thinking back to their younger days, she smiled every now and then. Her smile suddenly faded away when she shook her thoughts back to reality.
Joblessness was all it took for her countenance to change.
“What are you thinking about? You zoned out just now.” a snap of Carl’s finger across her face, she heard his words. He had been beside her for a few minutes expecting her to notice his presence. However, she didn’t.
“How’s she?” Jasper finally arrived preventing Caitlyn from replying to Carl’s question.
“She’s quite stable for now, though she’s gone into a coma.” Carl said simply.
“You should be home by now?. I bet you don’t want to be late for work tomorrow.” Jasper said with a smile.
“Like I have a job anymore.”
“What do you mean?” the two males questioned in unison.
“Unfortunately, I got fired today.” silence followed. Neither of them spoke or uttered anything. Each was trying to understand the situation on ground. Caitlyn, on her part, was studying Jasper’s countenance to see if he was behind her being fired. Carl was thinking of what could be going on in Jasper’s mind, while Jasper on the other hand thought of the pros and cons of the situation. He had wanted to ask the reason for the sudden incident, but he didn’t. He knew so well that at that moment she’ll be hurt.
“It’s all for good I guess,” he uttered out of the blue. Caitlyn gave him a querying look and he smiled.
“It’s all for good Caitlyn, you would be able to put your real potential to use now.”
A loud, sharp and resounding sound was heard around the hospital. Jasper got slapped by Caitlyn and all eyes turned to him. Carl’s mouth went agape in shock, sleeping Drake woke up, while every other human outside the wards around the place they were stunned. Some were confused, some shocked, some emotionless, and others trying to know the relationship between them, especially the middle-aged women.
All gazes followed Caitlyn as she walked out of the hospital angrily.
“Betrayer!!!” she huffed.