Free Emperors of Time by James Wilson Penn Page B

be
handing out passes for a free game and shoe rental for when we open back up
in…  probably a week.  Place your shoes on the desk on the way
out…  Insurance claims adjustors and ambulances will be on site to deal with
any damages or injury.”
    Rose and Billy
came walking over. 
    “You guys
alright?” asked Tim.
    “I’m fine,” said
Billy. 
    “Me too,” added
Rose.  “Thanks, Billy.”
    “You don’t look
fine,” said Julie, looking at him.
    “Okay, I mean,
I’m bleeding some.  Maybe I’ll stick around for the ambulance.  But
I’m walking, right?”
    Billy was
wearing short sleeves, and was bleeding at a couple places from his arms where
the skin was exposed.  
    “Geez, I didn’t
realize!” Rose said.  “I’ll grab some paper towels on the way to the
parking lot.  Does it hurt bad?”
    “Nah, I’ve had
sprains that hurt worse than this,” said Billy.  Whether that was true or
not, Tim noticed that Billy was beginning to drip blood on the floor.
    “So was the
building hit directly?” wondered Tim as Rose ran into the bathroom to grab
towels.
    “I don’t think
so.” Billy held his arm at an awkward angle as he attempted to keep the blood
from dripping off him.  He looked around.  “I bet it hit the parking
lot or something.  It was close enough to shake the building pretty hard.”
    Then Rose was
back.  She dabbed Billy’s right forearm, which seemed to be bleeding the
worst.  “Are you bleeding from anywhere else?”
    “No, just those
couple little ones on my arm” said Billy, like he was still trying to convince
them that it was no big deal. 
    “This one’s
pretty bad,” worried Rose as she removed enough excess blood to uncover a deep
gash. 
    “Nothing the
medics can’t handle.  But I appreciate your help,” he added hastily to
Rose.
    “No problem,”
Rose said sincerely.  “I’d be hurt pretty bad if you hadn’t gotten me to
the ground.  I don’t know what happened, I just froze.  I’m sorry you
got hurt protecting me…”
    Billy shrugged
and grinned.  “I played football in middle-school and got hurt pretty bad
protecting a quarterback who was nowhere near as pretty as you.”
    Rose seemed to
be blushing.  “Well…  I owe you one,” she said.
    They had just
reached the parking lot and could hear ambulance sirens in the distance. 
There was a crater at the far end of the parking lot. 
    “Oh, wow,”
pointed Billy.  “That’s my car.”  It was two spots away from one that
had gotten banged up really bad from falling debris.  He had lucked out,
it didn’t even appear to be damaged.
    Rose’s phone
started ringing.  She bit her lip and picked up the phone. 
    “Hey,” Rose
said.  “No, I’m all right.”  She listened a minute.  “I’ll be
home soon.”  Another pause.  “No, not the building itself…  No
serious injuries…  Well, one of the people I’m here with has to wait for
an ambulance…  A couple scrapes…  No, I’ll be there soon.”
    “You should go,”
said Billy when she hung up.  “All of you.  Look, the ambulance is
pulling in now.”  It was indeed.
    “We can’t leave
you here,” Rose protested.  “We don’t even know if you’re okay to drive!”
    “I’m fine.
 I have my cell-phone, too, so I can call my parents if I need to. 
It’s no big deal,” Billy insisted. 
    “We can
definitely wait,” said Julie.  Tim nodded agreement.
    “This has been
on the news, right?” asked Billy.  “You should all call your parents and
get home.  Look.  I’ll call my parents now and they’ll insist on
coming and picking me up, anyway.”
    After a bit more
of an argument, as well as a phone call to establish that Billy’s parents were
now on their way over and were just a couple minutes away, Rose agreed to drive
the other two home. 
    After Tim and
Julie placed quick phone calls home to say they were safe and coming home, Tim,
sitting in the back seat of Rose’s car said, “Well…