“About time,” a weak whisper responded.
Cooper startled to hear Dranko speak. His eyes flew open. Dranko’s eyes were slits.
“You’re awake,” he dumbly answered.
Dranko grimaced in pain, “For now.” He managed a mockery of a grin. “About time you said it.”
Cooper offered a warm smile, “I’m gonna tell you every day, from now on.”
“Jake okay?”
His smile grew wider, “Yeah. We got him. Thank you.”
“Good. It means something now.” The tone was ominous, the words carrying a finality that jarred Cooper.
“Don’t talk like that.”
“You’re the optimist, not me.” A cough replaced his attempted laugh.
“There’s a doc on the way. You just gotta hold on.”
Dranko’s eyes had closed as he had been talking and there was no further response.
He clutched his hand more firmly, but only silence remained. He sat for a long while, lost in his thoughts and watching Dranko. He didn’t know how long he remained there.
The door flew open and he whirled around. Another man, middle-aged and bald, followed Doug. He was a short man, carrying two bags.
“Get outta the way,” he commanded as soon as soon as he saw Cooper.
“Cooper, this is Doctor Jamison,” Doug offered as Cooper quickly retreated from Dranko’s side.
He stood off to the side, arms folded, as the doctor examined Dranko. He sat over him, intently checking vital signs in a flurry. Moments later, he was jabbing a needle into his arm and attaching a bag of plasma.
“Get me that coat rack,” he blurted.
Cooper raced to the entryway and grabbed the coat rack, bringing it over. Doug attached the bag of plasma to it.
Jamison spoke again, “He needs blood. Now. You guys know his blood type?”
“A positive. He bragged once about his ‘A plus’ blood,” Cooper answered.
Jamison looked exasperated, “Well, anyone here have that type?”
“Doug, go check Calvin and Buck!” Cooper barked.
Doug shook his head, “They left a while ago.”
“Damn!”
“Angela’s still outside, I’ll go ask her,” Doug responded, racing to the door.
Cooper’s mind raced. He knew Jake’s was like his own, B negative. Julianne!
He ran to the back of the house and called out, “Julianne!”
“Down here,” her voice resounded from the basement.
Cooper took the stairs down two at a time and landed hard at the bottom. She was hunched over the computer.
“You won’t believe what I…”
He cut her off, “What’s your blood type?”
“Wha…” she answered, confused.
“What’s your blood type,” he yelled.
“I don’t know. Hold on. Let me think,” she said, holding up both her hands, palms out to him. She closed her eyes, thinking hard. Cooper stamped his feet in frustrated impatience, but he held his tongue.
Her eyes opened, clear, “A positive. That’s right. It was years ago I had it tested. But, A positive.”
He stepped in and grabbed her by the hands, “C’mon! Dranko needs it. Now!” He pulled her to her feet and then ascended the stairs as quickly as he had descended. She ran after him.
“Got it!” Cooper called to Jamison, pulling Julianne in front of him.
Jamison’s face turned quickly to her, “You’re A positive?”
Julianne nodded excitedly.
“Alright, he needs it now.” Julianne was already rolling up her sleeves.
“You there. Move the kitchen table to the middle of the room and then clear out. We need to get this blood into him and then I have to operate.” Jamison directed Cooper brusquely.
He started to object, but Jamison’s stern look stopped him. He stepped to the kitchen table, ripped the tablecloth off of it, sending a few odd dishes crashing to the floor, and manhandled it to the center of the living room. Doug came back inside, his face brightening when he saw Julianne with her sleeves rolled up.
“Found some?”
“Yup! Doc told me to clear out. I’ll be right outside if you need anything,” Cooper responded as Doug passed him to assist Jamison.
He ran to the back of the house once again. He ripped open the doors to the bedrooms, looking for Jake. He found him in the rearmost one.
Jake was asleep, curled into a ball, oblivious to the world around him. Cooper shook him awake and then lifted him into his arms. He struggled against the weight of his growing son.
“What…” Jake said, groggily.
“A doctor is going to operate on Dranko. We need to wait outside.” Cooper dragged him from the room, grabbing his son’s coat as they left.
He and Jake were outside. It had taken Jake a few minutes to fully wake up. He had been in a deep slumber.
“How are you?”
Jake stiffened at the question, “Alright.” There it is again. The distant voice.
Cooper’s eyes clouded in concern and he reached to hold him by the shoulders, “Really?”
Jake shook his arms loose from the attempted embrace, “Does it matter?” He bristled.
“It does to me!” Cooper responded.
Jake shrugged his shoulders, “I’m alive. So, that means I’m okay, don’t it?”
“I mean, how are you? You just went through a lot.”
“Does it matter? I gotta deal with it, don’t I?” His son’s eyes were as dead as stone.
Cooper’s heart sank, “Jake. Don’t do this!”
“Do what?” His reply was cold.
“Shut down. You have to talk about what’s going on. What’s going on inside.”
“Fuck that! The outside is a stinking pile of shit. What’s inside don’t count for nothing.”
Cooper was shocked by the venomous profanity spewing from his son’s lips. “Please, son. Don’t.” His words were desperate.
Jake looked at him like he didn’t know him. He shook his head dismissively and turned on his heel and walked away. Cooper looked after him, paralyzed by what he was seeing. Jake’s feet tromped across the yard. Cooper closed his eyes in despair.
“Give him some time,” Angela’s soft voice came from his left. She had been at the far end of the porch.
He turned to her, raised his hands up in frustration, “I just don’t know what to…”
She approached him, “You don’t have to know, Cooper.” He shook his head, refusing her words. He paced furiously up and down the porch. She moved aside to let him pass. She went back inside. Eventually, he sat down on one of the chairs on the porch.
Julianne came outside, saw his look, and sat silently next to him. She reached out to hold his hand, but he withdrew it.
Doctor Jamison came outside, wiping blood from his hands as he did so.
Cooper was on his feet, “How’d it go?”
Jamison met his eyes gravely, “We got the bullets out and stopped the bleeding.”
“Is he gonna make it?”
“I don’t know. He lost a lot of blood. Luckily, the internal damage could have been a lot worse. His major organs are intact.”
Cooper extended his hand, “Thank you, Doctor.” Jamison refused the hand.
“Thank me if he lives, alright?” Jamison moved off, breathing the fresh air in.
Julianne was at his side, “Can I tell you what I found out?”
Cooper exhaled in resignation, sitting back down, “Sure.”
She started to speak, but paused, emotion choking her.
“What is it?”
“We were used.”
“What do you mean?”