Windy Valley Secondary – Trials of the Young and Restless

17.OCT.08

Previously: Ras and Susan’s father have decided to go in search of Susan.

She was last seen heading towards the hills. That was the general consensus from the villagers. Some of them reported that Susan couldn’t stand straight and that she was clutching her belly in pain. Others said she refused their help.{{more}}

As the pair ventured further up the hill, darkness greeted them.

“How are we going to find her in this bush?” Susan’s father asked Ras.

Ras tried to reassure him. “If what the people down in the village say is true, then she would be in too much pain to go too deep in the bush.”

Ras’ was correct. It wasn’t long before that they heard barely audible groans from Susan. They found her lying on the ground, shivering. She had her knees right up under her chin and she tightly gripped her stomach. From what little light that was available, Ras could see that, between her legs, her pants were soaked with blood. He immediately realised he needed to get Susan to the hospital urgently.

“I’ll run to see if I can get a van or an ambulance,” said Ras “Take her as much as you can down the hill”.

Susan’s father made an acknowledgement of his instructions. For a slender man, he found the strength to lift his daughter in his arms to carry her down.

As Ras ran back down the hill, he couldn’t believe his luck when he saw the back of a van. He called out to the driver to stop, but his joy turned to despair when he realized the van was about to drive off. A by-stander, however, shouted to the driver that he was needed.

Breathless, Ras ran to where the driver’s window. Nothing had prepared him for what he was about to see. It was Sharpie. How was he going to persuade Sharpie to go up the hill to pick up Susan?

“What you want boy?” Sharpie said with disdain.

Ras had to think fast. “Some tourists in the hills, they want a ride down into town”.

“Tourist?” Sharpie slowly repeated. “Dem have money,” Ras nodded. “Show me where they are.” Sharpie ordered the conductor to open up the van and Ras jumped in.

The van weaved around pot holes and up steep slopes to where Susan and her father waited. Ras got out to help carry Susan to the van.

Sharpie kept a keen eye on Ras’s movements through the rear view mirror. Surprised, Sharpie said, “What going on! Wey de tourist dem dey?” Sharpie turned his body to see Susan who was doubled up in pain, trying to get in. “But what is dis!” he shouted.

“Sharpie, please” begged Susan “Me sick, me need a ride to the hospital”.

“Take your sick self out of my van” shouted Sharpie.

“But can’t you see she’ll die if she don’t get to a hospital!” Ras shouted.

“Nah give me nah hard luck story,” Sharpie snapped back.

“Oh God, Sharpie, me go lose your picknie” pleaded Susan.

“Move yourself away from my van before me get vex and stab up somebody!”

The conductor pushed Susan away and closed the door on their faces. Sharpie manoeuvred the van to go back down the hill. In anger, Susan’s father grabbed a stone and pelted it at the van, which cracked the left wing mirror. But Sharpie never stopped, eventually he vanished out of sight.

Susan’s father and Ras both looked at each, as Susan keeled over in pain. For once, Ras was lost for a solution. With no ambulance, and no other van running late in the evening, he wondered if his friend would ever make it to hospital alive.

Was Ras right to trick Sharpie to try to get help? YES or NO. Email your answer to Karibwritings@aol.co.uk

The Windy Valley Secondary series is fictional. Any resemblance to real events, places or persons living or dead is purely coincidental.