Wings From Ashes Trilogy

by Linda Nelson

  “I got a pulse. It is weak, though.”

  “Oh my God… Karla, please wake up, please,” Carol pleaded. She forgot all about being questioned by the officer.

  “You need to step over here, out-of-the-way. You will be of no help to her if you are in the way.”

  Officer James reached out and grabbed Carol by the arm, leading her away from the bathroom.

  “What is your name? I need to see some ID.”

  “Carol,” she said excitedly, “My name is Carol Bower. Oh my God. Is she gonna be all right?”

  A flashing red light flickered in the bedroom window. The paramedics had arrived. Two more officers escorted the paramedics up the stairs to tend to Karla.

  “Is she gonna be okay,” Carol asked the paramedics.

  “They won't know until they take your friend to the hospital.”

  Officer James escorted Carol into the bedroom Karla and Gerry had occupied.

  “Can you tell me what happened, Carol? Do you know what she took, or what she drank?”

  The dresser with the paraphernalia and clutter caught her eye. Oh God, not this room. Shit.

  “Carol, do you have any ID on you? Do you live here?”

  Officer James noticed Carol was staring at the items on the dresser.

  “Who does this room belong to? Do you know?”

  He reached into his pocket, pulled out a penlight, and flashed it before Carol's eyes.

  The sight of the cooking burner made Carol's heart skip a beat. Oh no. Where's Ian, she wondered.

  Looking out the bedroom door, she was able to see into the bedroom across the hallway. Ian stood with his hands behind his back. Another officer searched Ian and placed handcuffs on him.

  “I don't have any ID on me. I left it at home,” Carol said quickly.

  “So, you don't live here,” Officer James asked again. He began to look over the items on the dresser.

  Carol knew she was about to be arrested. She heard the officer call on his radio for assistance from a female officer. The female officer quickly appeared in the room. Carol was sure she had been waiting downstairs.

  “Carol, my name is Theresa; I'm going to need to search you. Do you have anything on you that you shouldn't have? Like any weapons or drugs, or maybe anything sharp that I can get stuck by,” Officer Theresa directed Carol to face the wall. She kicked her legs apart.

  Carol's arms were yanked behind her as she shook her head no.

  No this wasn’t happening to her, and no she didn’t have anything sharp or otherwise on her person.

  Her face was shoved up against the wall. The sharp pain made her gasp when her hair was used to steer her closer against the wall. Cold cuffs were suddenly snapped tightly on her wrists.

  “I don't live here,” Carol pleaded, “I don't have any weapons in my pockets.”

  “What about anything else? Will I get stuck by a needle if I reach into your pockets? I don't want to get stuck by anything,” Officer Theresa began to search Carol's upper body after Carol shook her head no one more time.

  “No... I don't have anything in my pockets.”

  “What do we have here,” Officer Theresa pulled a small bag from Carol's pocket.

  “What is this stuff, Carol? Is it what I think it is?”

  She held up the bag for Carol to see.

  “I don't know…I don't remember putting that there,” Carol stammered.

  “Looks like a bag of rock to me. Doesn't it look like that to you?”

  Theresa placed the bag into some sort of special bag marked Evidence.

  “And you don't remember putting it into your pocket? I don't know, Carol. Why don't you try to tell me the truth? I will give you just one chance to make this right.”

  “Yes. It is rock. Am I going to jail? Is my friend going to be all right?” Carol asked as she tried to change the subject. She wanted to pull away when Officer Theresa pat her down the rest of the way, ending with her legs last.

  “Carol, I need you to take off your shoes,” she instructed.

  Carol kicked off her shoes. The cuffs felt like they were digging into her wrists.

  “Do these really need to be so tight,” she complained.

  “You can take a seat right there on the floor.”

  Officer Theresa pointed to a spot on the hallway floor.

  Carol bit her lip, trying to hold back tears. She knew her folk were going to be pissed. Dropping to the floor, she watched the officer join Officer James next to the dresser.

  “So, Carol, tell me, who does this room belong too,” Officer James asked again.

  “I don't live here,” Carol said defensively. She looked around to see where Ian was, but he was nowhere in sight.

  “Then where do you live, Carol,” Officer Theresa asked while looking over the paraphernalia on the dresser. “We will need to contact someone—who do we contact for you?”

  “How old are you, Carol,” Officer James asked. He began to write things down on a pad of paper.

  “I live at 292 Kemper Street with my parents Doug and Ellen Bower. I am sixteen,” Carol blurted out. She had been trying to hold back the tears the whole time she was being searched. Now she could not hold them back anymore—her lip began to tremble.

  The paramedics carried Karla down the stairs on the gurney. Carol's stomach knotted up at the sight. Oh, God. Help her.

  Officer James and Theresa escorted Carol down the stairs behind the paramedics and out of the house. The cold steel cuffs gripping her wrists bit into her skin. She began again thinking of her parents. Oh, God, they're gonna be pissed... God, I hope Karla is gonna be all right.

  Officer Theresa opened the right-side rear passenger door on the police cruiser.

  “Carol, I need you to bend a bit so you don't bang your head.”

  Putting her hand on top of Carol's head, she guided her into the car.

  Ian was already sitting in the backseat of the car. Carol could see he did not look happy. She understood why. Trying to lean back in the car, her bound arms hurt from the position they were in.

  Chapter ~ 27

  “Why did you give her that stuff,” Ian asked as he glared at Carol sitting next to him in the backseat.

  “What stuff,” Carol asked innocently.

  “You know, the X,” Ian hissed.

  “I don't know what you're talking' about.”

  Carol looked out the window toward the ambulance. The paramedics were putting Karla in the back, shutting the doors—she was out of sight again.

  “Then how'd you know she was OD'ing on X?”

  Ian leaned forward, trying to relieve the pressure on his arms.

  “I did,” asked Carol as she played innocent.

  “Yeah…when you ran upstairs to find Karla…you were screaming,” Ian said while he rocked side to side.

  “Oh, I guess it was something Sean said just before Heath came down the stairs.”

  Carol looked away and out her window again.

  “My folks are gonna be pissed when the cops call them.”

  She saw the officers approaching the car.

  “I hope Karla is gonna be okay.”

  “I bet mine will be pissed too when he gets the call to come pick me up at the station.”

  Ian tried to turn his body off to the side, leaning against the door.

  Carol's door opened. Officer James stood outside the door.

  “I need to inform both of you of your right to stay silent. You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. If you can't afford one, then one will be assigned to you. Do you understand your rights?” he asked, addressing Carol and Ian together.

  “We are being arrested,” Carol blurted.

  “I didn't do anything,” Ian protested, “You can't arrest me. I'm under eighteen.”

  “What are you arresting us for,” Carol demanded.

  “Look, there is very strong evidence of underage drinking going on here tonight, and we have found a substantial stash of drugs on the premi
ses,” Officer James replied.

  “Your friend is in the middle of a drug overdose, and you are trying to say you had nothing to do with it,” Officer Theresa inquired.

  “We are now going to take you both down to the station, and you will be processed and wait to go before the judge,” Officer James explained, “Your parents will be contacted.”

  “What is gonna happen to Karla,” Carol asked. “Is she gonna be all right?”

  “Your friend is being taken to Kendall County Hospital. Hopefully, she will arrive in time to have her stomach pumped. You need to start praying for her. Hopefully, it is not too late. If she doesn't get medical attention in time, then she may die.”

  Officer James took the driver seat. Theresa sat beside him in the passenger seat. Carol felt her head swim when the car lurched forward. It traveled down the street, taking a right-hand turn at the stop sign, on to the main street. The police station was on the other side of town.

  They turned off of Main Street onto a by-pass, to get to the other side of town. Carol watched out her car window while occasionally glancing to her left out Ian's window.

  Chapter ~ 28

  Suddenly, the car slowed down to a crawl, coming to a brief stop. Red lights flashed ahead.

  “Oh my God…Is that Gerry's car?”

  Carol leaned forward in her seat to get a better view out Ian's window. She could see fire trucks arriving. Firemen were pulling hoses from the trucks toward the car.

  “Shit. It is Gerry's car.”

  Ian gawked out his window at the car resting on its roof.

  Flames circled around the outside of the car. A lone figure stood holding some sort of extinguisher beside one of the fire trucks. He was speaking to one of the firemen and pointing toward the car.

  A tractor trailer truck was off the curb, twisted on its side.

  Two bodies lay in the street, not moving.

  The firemen ran from their truck toward the car, toward the driver-side. They were carrying some sort of gadget. The man who had been pointing toward the car began trying to pull the driver-side door open. It did not seem to budge.

  One of the firemen started up the gadget, it sounded like a chainsaw.

  “Do you think they are going to be okay?” Carol asked.

  “Shit. That looks bad, real bad,” Ian replied.

  “Is there any way we can find out if those guys in that car are all right?” Carol asked the officers.

  “Nope,” Officer Theresa replied. “You are gonna have to wait it out. Ask your parents when they come down to the station.”

  The police car passed an ambulance on its way to the accident. Its siren was blaring, and its lights were flashing. This was then followed by another ambulance traveling in the same direction.

  “It's too bad that things like this happen when kids start holding drinking parties,” Officer James stated.

  “Yeah,” Officer Theresa agreed. “They took a fun Friday night, and added drugs and alcohol. It didn't take long for it to turn into a total disaster for themselves and their friends.”

  The police car picked speed back up as they left the crash scene. They were at the police station before Carol knew it. She could only think about Karla and Gerry.

  The buzz in her head began to dull. A throbbing headache grew between her eyes. She began to think more about how pissed her folks were gonna be with her.

  Officer Theresa opened Carol's door and pulled her out of the car. When she grabbed a hold of Carol's shirt, Carol clinched her teeth. She hated being treated like an animal.

  She was then led into the station. It was late. Carol could see the time on the clock on the wall. It was now half-past eleven. She knew her folks were gonna be more than pissed. She was gonna be grounded.

  Officer Theresa left Carol to sit on a bench to wait. Her head was starting to pound. Why did she choose to drink those wine coolers, they gave her a headache every time.

  After twenty minutes went by, Officer Theresa returned to Carol. She had a pad and pen in her hand. “Carol, what is your home phone number? So I can call your parents to come get you.”

  Carol wondered what would happen if she didn't give the officer her phone number. “What happens if I don't have a home phone number?”

  “Well then, we would have to go in person to your home and notify your parents that we have you in custody,” Officer Theresa informed her. “We can do it either way. Which way do you want your parents notified?”

  “521-8004,” Carol answered. She didn't like the thought of the police showing up at her home.

  “Now see, wasn't that easy,” Officer Theresa jotted down the number on her pad. “I will go call them for you.”

  Another half-an hour passed. Carol still sat on the bench. The handcuffs were still on her wrists. She slumped forward on the bench. The cuffs were tight enough, she was afraid if she put any more pressure on them, they would tighten even more.

  She could see the traffic walking into the station from where she sat. People would come into the station and walk past the door in front of her, on their way to the desk.

  Her dad finally showed up. He looked like he had thrown his clothes on real quick. He walked right past the door to the room in which she sat. He never noticed her sitting there.

  A few minutes later, Officer Theresa returned, “Your Dad is here to take you home. You will receive a summons in the mail to appear in court.”

  She undid the cuffs behind Carol's back.

  Carol looked up to see her dad standing there before her. He looked pissed. She rubbed her wrists where the cuffs had dug into them.

  “Let's go young lady,” Her dad ordered. “Thanks again Officer.”

  She followed her dad out to the car. She was sure she would be grounded. This was the first time she had ever been caught by the law.

  In the car, they rode home mostly in silence. Just before they pulled onto their street, her dad broke the silence. “I not only got a call from the police tonight, but I also got a call from a very hysteric Mrs. Centon. I guess her daughter is a friend of yours?”

  Carol did not answer right away. She knew he was waiting for some sort of reply. They pulled up in front of their house. She started to put her hand on the doorknob.

  “Where do you think you are going, young lady,” his voice boomed. It shook a nerve deep inside her. He only spoke to her like this when she really did something wrong. Like really bad, wrong.

  “I'm waiting for an answer.”

  “Yes. Her daughter Karla was supposed to sleepover here tonight. We were going to go to the movies, but these guys saw us on our way there and asked us to come over to their place and watch movies with them. We figured we could save a few bucks, with free movie and popcorn. We never expected there to be stuff going on there. Honest Dad.”

  “Well, that stuff may have cost your friend her life tonight. They were not sure if she was going to pull through,” her dad lectured. “I think it is time you started to find new friends. I'm not going to stand for this sort of stuff.”

  “All right Dad, I will break up with Heath. He is a jerk anyway,” Carol bargained.

  “Well that's a start.”

  He opened his car door, signaling the lecture was over for now.

  “Oh, by the way, your mom does not know about this. Okay? She doesn't need to know for now.”

  Carol felt a bit of relief, “Okay, thanks Dad.”

  She followed her dad into the house and went right to her bedroom. Karla's bag was still on her bedroom floor right where she had left it. Carol pushed it off to the side of her room. She would have to find a way to return it to her home sometime soon, but not now.

  She rummaged in her closet. The liquor bottle was gone. Her dad must have gone looking and found it while she sat at the police station.

  She shoved the fallen belongings back into her closet and looked across her room. The floor board looked like it was still in the same state she had left it in. Maybe her stuff was still there. She quietly w
alked across her room and slipped the short floor board up from its hole. Underneath was her stuff. She smiled. At least it was still there.

  She picked up one of the small baggies containing the powder substance. She smiled again. She had her stuff and that was all that mattered to her right now.

  Chapter ~ 29

  The next day, Carol slipped out the door before her mom or dad woke. They were heavy late sleepers. She was sure she would be able to return home before they woke up.

  She walked a block up the street. She needed to see if Darcy was home. Maybe she heard something about the accident last night.

  Darcy lived in an old gray apartment building with her mom. They lived on the third floor. The rundown apartment building had several families living in it. You could always hear someone's baby crying somewhere in the building.

  Carol walked in the open door of the building and climbed the flight of stairs up to the third floor. Darcy lived in apartment nine, Carol told herself. She stopped in front of the door and knocked lightly.

  She heard a muffled noise coming from inside the apartment. A latch was pulled back. The door opened, and a little girl peeked out the crack, “Who you?”

  “Hi Amber… It's me Carol. Is Darcy home,” she asked the little girl. She was Darcy's niece. Her sister had lost custody of her a year ago, when she got busted for doing tricks for drugs. Now Darcy's mom had her. She was not sure if Darcy's sister would ever get Amber back. So sad she thought.

  “Yeah, DARCY, Carol is here.”

  She swung the door open wide and let Carol inside. Carol had to shut the door closed behind her. Amber had run off to find Darcy.

  “Carol. Wha 'cha want,” Darcy asked. She was still in her PJ’s. Her hair still uncombed.

  “Did I wake you up,” Carol chuckled.

  Darcy led Carol into the kitchen and took a seat at the rickety kitchen table. Holding her head in her hands she asked, “What gave you that idea?”

  “Nothing... Hey did you hear anything about a car accident last night?”

  “Um... No... Why,” she asked as she sat back in her chair.