Page 9 of Born a Hero

“He’s burning up.”

Sonja reached over to put her hand on his forehead. Then she turned to Bryce. “She’s right, son.”

Bryce, wanting to calm the ladies, spoke matter-of-factly. “He was perfectly fine when we first got him out of the car but the stint in the water and his worry about his mom probably weakened him. I did take his temperature before I went to get you, Dena, and gave him a bit more Tylenol. Now you’re with him again, we may see a quick recovery.”

Dena nodded and arranged Justin into her lap. Then she reached for the covers that both Sonja and Bryce helped her with. “Maybe if I hold him close and he feels me with him, it’ll help.”

Exhausted, with Bryce’s help, she lay down on the makeshift bed of quilts and let her eyelids close for just a minute. But that’s all it took. Completely wiped out, she let the exhaustion carry her away and both her and the boy slept.

***

Sonja gestured to Bryce to meet her at the other window. “Is it serious? His fever took off a lot faster than I’ve seen before.”

Bryce didn’t overly worry that the symptoms could be anything at this point. Not wanting to scare his new friend, he shrugged. “Not really. When you fell asleep earlier, I checked him, and it was 99.4 then. I think it’s probably a little bit higher now but the medicine I gave him will have some affect.”

“Best remedy was finding her… his mommy. He started calling for her when we were busy, and it was like a miracle that she was the one you saved. Goodness, Dr. Sweetheart, those two sure owe you a lot.”

“Dr. Sweetheart? Now where did you come up with that?” He balked at her description.

“It’s exactly who you are so don’t pull the “aww-gosh ma’am” card with me.” She giggled at his grumpy grin and pushed against his shoulder. “It means you’re a good guy.”

“Iknowwhat it means,” he grumbled. “I just don’t deserve the title. If you only knew how much I didn’t want to go back into that water, you’d understand what a wuss I really am.”

“Ahh… but that’s just it. You did go back, and you never hesitated. See... that’s the difference. Doing something you really don’t want to do but doing it anyway. I couldn’t be prouder of you if you were my own son. In fact, I’m thinking you’re an honorary one from this day forth. Whaddaya think of them apples?”

Laughing now, Bryce one-arm hugged her and whispered. “You’re the only one I’d want to have gone through this with, Jesus Lady. And that’s the truth. I’m happy to be your adopted son.”

Sonja leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed. “What do think is going to happen to us now?”

“I have no idea. This is my first experience with this type of weather. Have you seen a storm like this before?”

“Nope. Never. What frightens the poop outta me is that this area isn’t the only place where Mother Nature is wreaking havoc. That part scares me silly. Watching the news most nights and seeing the damage around the world is terrifying. I only pray that folks wake up and make their governments do something about our climate problems in time.”

Impressed that the old woman was so in touch with the world today, Bryce nodded, not wanting to worry her further by admitting her prayers had traumatized him more times than he wanted to admit.

Together, they sat by the window where the morning light grew stronger by the minute. Observing the activity slowly begin around them, they both mentioned how fortunate they were to be inside. The tree that had given refuge to Justin’s mom had shifted and was now balancing on the balcony of a house across the street.

Car roofs could now be viewed completely underwater in some yards and the damage to many of the houses was brutal. Trees were bent over and in some cases broken and resting in odd places, one even lying over the roof of a drowned vehicle.

The one missing element was the rain. It had finally stopped along with the other storm-like features such as the higher winds and thankfully, the lightning. Now, the eerie quiet of the dawn only looked cold and dull, clouds covering the sky, making the weather seem miserable and unapologetic.

Bryce felt the weight of Sonja against him and knew the old lady had drifted off again. Cuddling her close, he let himself relax and leaning back against the wall, he drifted off.

The muffled scream coming from the other side of the attic woke him instantly.

Chapter Eleven

Laying Sonja prone on his blanket and covering her as best he could, Bryce moved over to where the woman and child were nestled together.

Using the flashlight, he lifted it just enough to have some light and saw instantly that the woman had called out in her sleep, and it must have woken her.

She looked up at him, “I’m sorry I disturbed you. I guess the nightmares have begun. I’ve never been so afraid in my life and reliving it was horrible.”

He reached for her hand to help her move from under the weight of the boy. While she cautiously slid out, he checked Justin’s forehead and was relieved to see the boy’s face felt cooler to the touch.

“Are you hungry?” He spoke low but with a tenderness he used for the most terrified patients. “We have bottled water, peanut butter sandwiches, health bars, and Oreo cookies to share.” So saying, he reached for their provisions where Sonja had put them in a plastic shopping bag and offered it to her.

“Thank you.” She took the parcel from him and when her eyes saw his face closely for the first time, she fell back in shock.

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