Crap!... Reality smacks me harder than before as I realize I've completely forgotten about Vivian. I am certain that she's fine. However, she hasn't eaten anything all day and to leave the poor girl starving to death is certainly inhumane. I have to ask for help. The feeling of regret has never been this strong before, but right now I don't have a choice.

"Do you have Mike's number?" The question twists my gut.

Frank absentmindedly nods his head as he's far more focused on the road ahead. "As soon as we stop I'll aid to Steven should that be him. Call Mike to escort Vivian to her room. Which is all he needs to do," I state. He nods once again to indicate an agreement and I turn my head back towards the road with my eyes glued on the building.

"There's a medical kit on the back seat incase you need it," he announces and I whip my head around to see if it's there. He's not lying of course, but instincts cause me to check regardless. Better safe than sorry. Rightfully, the kit lies securely on the seat. However, there's an envelope lying next to it which pulls at my curiosity. I reach out and grab a hold of it before turning back in my seat.

To: Frank Porter

From: Budget Kings

"And this?" I bring the envelope high enough for him to see. His eyes switch from the road to the paper in my hand as he curses beneath his breath. He snatches the envelope from my hand and all but shoves it in his jeans pocket, "An insurance claim that needs to get sorted". 

The crumbled paper causes an oddly shaped bulge in his jeans.

"That much I can see. Why's it in your car? It has your name on it. You know Marcus will lose it with you if he ever saw that. Remember what happened to Steven?" 

Ah crap, Steven.

I truly hope that we aren't too late. Steven doesn't deserve to die like this. I know a number of people couldn't care less about his existence, Vivian included. The difference being Vivian's hatred for Steven is fairly understandable and rightfully placed given everything he has put her through. 

I have spoken to Steven countless times to put an end to his cruel ways towards her, but my words seem to fall on deaf ears whenever her name gets brought up. At first, I brushed aside his ignorance, but something told me there's so much more to it. A part of me believes that she reminds him of someone he once knew.

Someone he lost.

It was all because of his parents. They pulverized his caring heart and turned it stone cold. His voiceless screams were ignored for many years throughout his childhood and people would call him insane whenever he made those screams heard. It's a tragic and toxic mess. One would even think he made it all up.

You see, once you hear his story. You cannot unhear it.

"Yeah okay! I fucking remember. Now shut up and drop the subject, we have bigger problems to deal with." Frank's voice echoes throughout the car and I slump back into my seat. I take no offense to his words. His emotions are heightened, so I don't blame his outburst. Although he should be far more careful where he places his personal belongings.

He races to the side of the building. The car jolts to a sudden stop as he smashes his foot down onto the break pedal. A bloody body lies glued to the dirt road, yet the individual remains a mystery to the naked eye. 

"Please no, it can't be him!" I yell as I unlock my door. My hands trembling. 

With tears blurring my vision and threatening to spill, I blink a few hundred times before dashing out at the speed of light itself. I run up to the immobile individual, only for my feet to stop dead in it's tracks as I stand before the poor soul. 

My breath hitches in the back of my throat at the sight before me and fear immediately sets in for whatever's about to happen next. Without thinking twice about my actions, I spin around on my heels just in time to push Frank back. Both a worried and surprised look etches it way onto Frank's face by my sudden approach towards the situation. 

"What are you doing? You look like you've seen a ghost," he questions as he momentarily allows me to push his body further back. Of course I've seen a ghost, he's wounded with a bullet straight to the stomach. But I cannot allow Frank see him too. I cannot allow him to see the sheriff.

"I have to help him. Just go and... go and bring the car closer." I voice the first thoughts that come to mind. 

"Peggy, I can handle blood. Now move we don't have time to waste." He rips away from my hold and marches pass me. My heart rate increases with each step he takes. Frank cannot see him. I reach out and grab at his arm, but again he rips himself away from me.

"Frank no wait! It's not that. It's-"

"DAD!!!" He cries out.

He clamors so loudly, my ears begin to ring. Sheriff Porter's eyes flutter open as they search frantically for his son. Leonard's hands still cover the bullet wound, preventing a mass loss of blood. Frank races over and kneels beside his father. Then in one swift motion, he lifts Leonard's head from the ground so that it rests onto his forearm.

"Dad! Dad, I'm here..." Frank says as he tries to calm his father. 

I hastily near sheriff Porter to aid him in the best way possible. I remove his hands to have a better look at the wound. All the while Frank questions his dad on what happened to him. I zone out on their conversation as my focus lies solely on helping this poor man. 

From the amount of blood oozing out and judging on the size of the wound, I can tell that the bullet is embedded quit deeply into his abdomen. I possess the ability to get it out, but that could only cause more damage as the bullet could be pressed against a blood vessel. 

"It's safer not to remove the bullet, but he does need to get to a hospital asap! I can only dress the wound." I inform Frank. 

"There's a medical kit in the backseat!" he shouts back at me. I waste no time in arguing with him and race back to the car to grab the kit.

Arriving at the car, I open the back door and reach in to grab the kit. The atmosphere changes around me and a breeze of cold air sends shivers down my spine. The ground can faintly be heard shifting beneath something-or rather someone's feet.

Am I not alone? ... Is the only thought running through my mind. I brace myself for the worst as I remove myself from the car. My grip tightens around the kit, and in one swift motion, I spin around on my heels as quickly as possible.

Except there's no one.

Probably just the wind ... I tell myself. While shaking off the thrilling fear, I race back to Sheriff Porter.

"Can you hurry up!!" Frank yells at me and I quickly get down on my knees and open up the kit. I place a pair of non-sterile gloves on, then use scissors to cut Leonard's shirt and vest open. I rip open the sterile packets with the wound dressings in and place them on Leonard's stomach to prevent him from bleeding out any further.

"Frank I got this, go and find Steven." My words come out more as a demand than anything else. 

"I'm not leaving him." 

I honestly should have expected such a response. If there's one person he values more than anything else in the world, it's his dad. Frank will unmistakably do anything for him.

"St- Steven's ou- out back," Sheriff Porter informs. The pain is clearly visible in both his voice and facial features, "that cra-crazy lieutenant has lo-lost her mind".

From my understanding of the previous conversation I overheard between Frank and his dad, the lieutenant brought Steven to the station seeking answers from Sheriff Porter. Somehow they ended up outside, one thing led to another and she shot the sheriff while dragging an injured Steven away. 

Luckily, I know exactly what he means by out back. Steven's somewhere in the abandoned storage room; a small building just behind the sheriff's station. He must have taken care of her there somehow, since that is what his message to Frank implied.

I finish up the wound dressings and give a knowing look to Frank. Which he doesn't seem to understand as his brows crease together in confusion. "I have to go find him." I say stating the very obvious as I remove the blood-soaked gloves from my hands. Without waiting for Frank to respond, I slam the kit shut and rise to my feet ready to take off.

"Peggy, wait." I pause momentarily, "Help me get my dad to the car then we can go find him".

An anger shifts inside of me as yet again I am being held back from helping Steven. I need to find him as soon as humanly possibly and Frank is making it quit impossible at this rate. I understand that his dad means the world to him and right now that's all he cares about, but Steven's life means something too. I cannot just leave him.

"Steven's life is in critical danger! I-" I yell furiously at Frank. 

"That lieutenant could still be alive and she has a gun. What if she kills you? I can't drag three bodies into the hospital by myself," he explains.

As tempted as I am to take off running at this very moment, his words ring truth throughout my ears. There's no way I can defend myself from bullets speeding my way at dangerous rates. Unless...

"Then give me your gun." I rather impulsively declare before thinking of the words leaving my mouth.