Chapter 2: The Finding

   "I'm going to the Market Mama!" I, Kiara McRea(16), yell as I shutter at the thought of going into town. I have pure white hair and light blue eyes. I always wear gloves on my hands because...well, I'd rather not talk about that now. "Okay Hunny! Be sure to pick up some milk!" Mama yells back. I walk out of the house and jump on my horse, Nelly, a red paint. I named her that because of the old phrase 'Whoa Nelly'! "Let's go Nelly!" I say and we trot off. I live with my family which includes my Mama, two little twin sisters (Jean and Little Rabbit-7) and one big brother(Jerimiah-21). My father died when I was young. I love feeling of the breeze flowing through my hair. I bump Nelly with my heel and she goes into a jog, I bump her again and we're flying. "Go Nelly Go!" I yell happily. I watch the scenery pass by, then we're on the beach. I watch the shoreline as the tide sways in and out and in the rocks I see a big black lump. I pull back on the reigns. "Whoa Nelly!" I say and she comes to a stop. I bump her and she walks towards the black thing in the rocks. "I wonder what that is, I've never seen it before." I say quietly.

   We get closer and I realize it's a person! He looks about my age. We come next to him and I jump off Nelly's back. He has black hair and there's blood all over him. I see three, no wait, four bullet holes in his back. I turn him over and there's three bullet holes in his chest, two in his left arm, and one in his right. Plus the exit wounds. Blood is dripping from his mouth and head and miraculously his eyes start to slowly open. They stop at about halfway up and he starts to spit up bloody water. His eyes are so red...It's probably from the saltwater, it can't be his real eye color. Then he tries to mumble something. "It's best not to talk Sir." I say. He coughs again. "Sh...ei...ba...." He says faintly. "Sheiba? That's your name?" I ask, but he's already passed out again. "We need to get this guy home and patch him up Nelly!" I say franticaly. As if she knew what I was saying, Nelly, kneels down so I could get Sheiba up onto her back. I hold him around his chest and pull him onto Nellys back then she stands up. I get onto her back with my legs on one side of her so I could control the reigns and hold onto Sheiba. Then she goes off in a steady trot. We have to hurry, but we can't go too fast. I can't enjoy the scenery like I always do, because I'm too worried about this boy, Sheiba, I found. I'm really nervous, because he could die any minute. It's a wonder how he survived even a minute after he got shot that much, plus the saltwater is unbearable on an open wound.

    I finally see home getting closer and closer. "MAMA! MAMA!" I yell at the top of my lungs. When I get to the front of the house she's standing there staring at the boy lying there limp. "Mama he's hurt really badly! He's got like almost ten gunshot wounds!" I say jumping off Nelly. "JERIMIAH!" Mama Yells and he comes running. "Get this boy and bring him into the house." Mama says. Jerimiah pulls Sheiba off of Nelly and carries him into the house. "Kiara, get your sisters and clean the blood off of Nelly. I don't want them coming in here and seeing this poor boy all beaten up like this. Jerimiah, get some hot water." Mama says as she gets some puroxide. Jerimiah leaves to get the water and I watch her get lots of rags and some other tools then I leave. I grab Nellys reigns and walk her into the barn, where I find Jean and Little Rabbit (Rabbit for short) playing in the hay. "Mama says you two have to help me clean Nelly." I say tieing Nelly to a post. "But we washed her yesterday!" Rabbit says. "I know, but she got dirty again." I say as I wash off as much blood as I can before they see it and start asking questions. They come over and grab their brushes and start brushing Nelly. I brush her with one hand and hose her off with the other. We're done in at least thirty minutes and thinking that Mama isn't done stitching up Sheiba I tell Rabbit and Jean that I need them to go pick flowers to pretty up Nellys and Black Jacks (Jerimiahs stallion), and Miss Priss' (Mama's) pins. They frolic off and I go to check on Mama.

    She's only gotten three stitches done. Jerimiah is helping her, which makes six stitches in all. "Is there anything I can do?" I ask quietly. Mama finishes stitching a wound and smiles at me. "It's always good to hold a persons hand when they're ill, it will always help them recover." She says. I know I felt a little pain in what she said. After all, it didn't work for my father. Jerimiah turns Sheiba over and starts on another wound. "Okay." I say and take his hand. I look at it and I see blood so I get a bandage and wrap it around. Then I hold his hand. It feels so cold, but I hold on anyway. I look at his face, he's so pale it looks like he saw a ghost. "How did you find this guy?" Jerimiah asked. "I was going down to the market so I went down the beach and just saw him lying there." I start, "I thought he was dead at first, but then he opened his eyes, they were so red from the saltwater, and he said his name was Sheiba." "Sheiba...that's a different name." Mama said. "So's Kiara!" Jerimiah laughed. "What was that about a beautiful name like mine?" I asked firmly.

   Finally all the stitching was done. We wrapped a bandage all around him and around his arms and head. Then we put him in my room because I was announced the official care taker. Mainly all I had to do was watch and wait until he wakes up and wait and wait and wait. Jean and Rabbit got to see him once and kept asking questions like 'Where'd he come from?' and 'Why is he here?'. It seems like its been forever since we put him in here. I can't really sleep without waking up so many times in the middle of the night. It's just a little weird having a boy in my room and I just want to make sure he doesn't die while I'm asleep, and me not being able to do anything. I hold his hand as much as I can as Mama said. His hand gets a little warmer each time I touch it and his face gets more color. Hopefully he'll wake up soon and maybe we can be friends.

It's time to put new bandages on him. I unwrap them and to my amazment his wounds have closed. Mama comes in and see's so we take the stitches out. I wrap the new bandages around his wounds and lay him back down on the bed. We had put some of Jerimiahs old clothes on him for the time being, just a plain black button-up shirt and black sweat pants. I put my hand on his forehead. "He feels hot." I say and get a rag. I run some cold water on it and put it on his head. It's been almost a week since I found him by the ocean. I wonder how he got there and how he got all those gunshot wounds. I also wonder what his past is. I know it would be rude to ask, but if he gets to know me and feel comfortable around me...he might just tell me his life story.