Page 49 of Falls County

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. Everything hurt.

“Kaci!” Luke’s voice bled through the wind. “Kaci get up!”

I could see his feet land in the dirt. He dropped to his knees in front of me. “Are you okay?”

“I can’t breathe.” I managed to rasp out.

“It’s okay. It’ll be okay. Try to take some deep breaths for me.” Luke rolled me onto my back. Pain radiated down my legs. My head was pounding. I felt dizzy. The pain was too much.

“I’m gonna sit you up okay?”

“Luke.” I gripped his biceps. It hurt to breathe. His arms slipped under mine hinging me upright. Screaming I gripped his biceps. The pain got much worse.

Luke stopped moving me. “What is it?”

“My back! My back!” I cried out.

“Okay let me lay you back down.” Luke began to gently lower me. “Wait! Wait your head is bleeding!”

Luke stripped off his sweatshirt with one hand and pushed it against the back of my head. Fat tears fell down my face. “Shit Kac. Should I call an ambulance?”

“Mhmm.” He placed me back in the dirt keeping his sweatshirt under my head.

I could hardly make out what he was saying on the phone through the wind howling. The pain blanketed me making it hard to focus. I was getting tired.

The cows seemed to inch closer and closer to me as I lay there in the dirt waiting. Luke was crouched beside me until someone came. It was his dad Mitch. Rushing over he placed his ice cold fingers on the side of my neck. I shivered under his touch.

“Luke go get my coat from under my back seat for Kaci.” Mitch looked back at me. “Kaci, honey can you hear me?”

“Uh huh.”

“Her pulse is thready and weak.” He talked through the phone. “Can you follow my finger with your eyes? Don’t move your head just your eyes.”

His finger moved back and forth in front of my face. “Good. Good.”

Luke came back blanketing me with his dad’s coat. “Dad look!”

Mitch shifted forward looking over my head at the ground. I was starting not to hurt so bad.

“I’m tired.” I mumbled.

“I know you are but I need you to stay awake for me okay?”

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