Family, extended
1642 Words
“Hello?” Cara said, not recognising her
“Hi, I’m Athena’s great aunt, I’m here to pick her up” The lady said
Athena had walked to the house with Cara’s mother and they waited for her there.
“Um, I didn’t know about that” Cara said, grabbing her phone to text Josh
-I didn’t know she was coming. Are you sure it’s her?-
-How can I know?- Cara replied before smiling to the woman
-Ask the staff-
“Alright, come I guess” She told her, walking towards Athena, her mom and the entrance.
“Hey guys” She said to the guard at the front door as Athena and Caroline stepped inside. “This is Athena’s great aunt, you recognise her?” And as she finished her sentence, the woman hit her with her bag which seemed to contain rocks from the pain it brought to Cara.
“Run!” Cara said as she saw the lady step over her to get to Athena and her mom.
They both ran as the guard tried to help Cara up while the other followed the weird woman.
“Stop stop” Cara said, feeling way more pain as she moved “Just call an ambulance” she added
He followed her advice and, a few minutes later, both the cops, an ambulance and the other guard arrived with the woman.
They told her what happened and Cara was put in the ambulance to get to the hospital.
After a few hours of surgery, her ribs were put back into place and she finally regained consciousness to see Nathan standing besides the hospital bed.
“Where’s my mom?” Cara asked “And Athena”
He jumped when he heard her talk, as he was on his phone, and smiled at her.
“Athena and your mom are stuck in a bunker” He said
“What?” Cara asked, smiling.
She thought he was joking
“No I’m serious. My grandfather built it and none knows the password, they’re still trying things.”
“What do you mean? Wait, can you talk to them? Maybe they can unlock it from the inside?”
“We can’t hear them and they probably can’t hear us” He said “But don’t worry, they’ll find the password”
“Wait, so they’ve been inside for hours now”
“It’s a bunker, they can survive probably a week”
“Yeah… But my mom has diabetes” She said, not smiling
“Oh. Damn.”
And then Cara’s phone rang. Nathan replied and it was actually Caroline
He put it on speaker.
“Mom, are you okay?”
“Yes, yes, I’m okay. Athena remembered your phone number! I only knew the one in Australia”
“Good, good. Did you try to open the door?”
“Yes, we need a password. Can you tell them to come and unlock it from outside?”
Cara and Nathan looked at each other, knowing it wasn’t gonna be easy.
“Can you try basic passwords? They’re trying from the outside too.”
“Okay. And don’t worry sweetie, we have enough food here to last a year or two”
Cara smiled a little. “Okay, Call me back in a few minutes okay? I’m gonna check how it’s going outside”
“Okay love you”
“Love you too”
She looked at Nathan to get any update, but they were still stuck.
“You have to call 911. My team’s on shift right now!”
“We might get another team, no?”
She shrugged. Maybe, but they’re the closest.
“It’s your team,” Nathan said after replying to a text. They’re trying to break it”
Cara nodded. And waited.
About three hours later, the bunker was still resisting.
So Cara video called lieutenant Cring.
“Hey Cara, don’t worry we’re trying our best” He told her
“Can I see?”
He turned the camera and she watched them trying to saw the sides.
“Did you try through the bottom?”
“No we did not.” He said after seeming to think “Hey guys, Cara says try from the bottom.”
They stopped and dropped the saws to get the elevators and the hammer.
“Lower” Cara said as she saw them hit.
Daniel agreed and told them to lower. And in a few seconds, the door was lifted so they could take the door off its hinges. And finally Cara saw her mom and Athena get out to run into her father’s arms.
“Hey Cara, I’m hugging your mom for you!” Stuart Shouted before doing so, making everyone smile.
“Wow you’re good” Nathan told her as she hung up.
“Thanks” she said “But sometimes you think better when you’re not… in the situation know what I mean?”
“Kinda yeah. I have a question”
She looked at him.
“Why don’t you have an Australian accent?”
“I just don’t speak with it” she replied, with her real accent
“Oh wow, why are you hiding it?”
“Cause people don’t take me seriously when I talk” She replied with her neutral accent
“That’s stupid”
She shrugged.
Her mom arrived as she did that, making her smile as they hugged.
"Good to see you're okay" Nathan told Caroline "I actually have to go, but see you later"
"So, what happened?"
"That little girl is amazing!" Caroline started "She knows your number, first of all. And she was so brave giving me water because I actually was the one panicking! And she was telling me about how I must be strong like you, she says you're a hero by the way"
Cara smiled.
"She's the one who was at the shooting right?"
Cara nodded
"Well, it's weird, but I think rather than scar her, it made her stronger. How can you be this brave at 10 years old?"
"She is brave" Cara said, smiling "she actually helped when the truck got stolen! It's like she knew what to do"
"See! She's gonna be a hero too"
A doctor came in the room as she said that
"Hi" Cara and Caroline said
"I'm doctor Phillips, I just came to check on you. You seem okay. If you wish, you can get back home right now" she said
"Oh, is there anything I should know?"
"Just… no sudden moves and don't eat solid foods for now. Otherwise you're gonna be okay. I proscribed you some painkillers"
Caroline took the prescription and thanked her before helping her daughter get out of the bed slowly.
"Alright, thanks," Cara said, walking slowly, held by her mom. As they got out of the hospital, Josh and Athena arrived and Josh ran to help her, relieving Caroline.
"Thanks" they both said, walking towards his car.
They were about to call a cab when they arrived.
"Hey sweetie, how are you?" Cara asked Athena, sitting next to her at the back of the car.
"I'm great thank you! Do you feel pain?" She asked
"No, I don't" Cara replied, smiling "they gave me something for that"
"Cool. Why are you always a hero?"
The three adults in the car laughed
"I swear I'm not doing it on purpose" she said "but I heard you were quite a hero yourself!"
"No I wasn't" she said
"Who helped my mom get over a panic attack?"
"Me"
"And who remembered my number?"
"Also me"
"See. Without you, my mama would've probably been stuck panicking alone! I say you are a hero"
"Really?"
Cara nodded as Josh parked the car in front of her building.
They got out and up to her apartment.
"Thanks for coming," she told Josh.
This was actually the first time she didn't resent his presence or his help.
"It's nothing" he said. "Do you need anything?"
"No, thank you" she said
"Can I stay?" Athena asked
Caroline was setting the couch as a bed.
"What are you doing?" Cara asked her mom "and, Athena, I don't think you really wanna stay here. I can barely move"
"No but I wanna help"
Josh set her aside to talk to her as Cara asked her mom, again, about what she was doing.
"I can't sleep with you, I could hurt you!" Caroline said
"Oh hell no" Stuart said "I'll sleep on the couch. You get my bed"
"Stuart, sweetheart, it's okay, I can sleep here it's no big deal" Caroline replied
"I'm not sleeping in my bed. Whether you sleep there or not is not my problem, but I won't sleep there because you should"
Cara smiled.
"Sweetheart"
"Don't sweetheart me mama! You sleep in my bed! I even cleaned up everything and put some of Cara's perfume there! It doesn't smell like me anymore I swear"
Everyone in the room laughed
"You know he won't give up" Cara told her mom who sighed.
"Alright thank you sweetheart, but you know you didn't have to" she kissed him
"Thanks Stue" Cara said before getting back to Athena.
"So?" She asked her
"Daddy says I can come back tomorrow to see how you're doing"
"Great" Cara said, smiling at her then at Josh.
"See you tomorrow"
"See you"
- Writer
