Ryan ran across the field, rich with 3rd gen. wheat.
“Ryan! Come here! Mama said that dinner is ready. You know how she hates it to be kept waitin’.” Ryan pretended not to hear. He wasn’t hungry and he knew that Kim would follow him anyway.
“Ryan! If you don’t come back now, I’m telling dad!” But still Ryan kept on going. He wanted to go to the wreck he’d found earlier that day. It was just a little bit further and then down the hill. He and Derek had found it together that afternoon and although they had sworn not to tell anybody, Ryan could show it to his big sister; she wouldn’t tell.
“Ryan! Come on, I’m not kidding!” Ryan looked back, smiling. Kim was closing in. If she caught him before he got to the wreck, everything would be ruined. So he ran even faster. Just a little further… Ryan was now laughing out loud. He ran and ran, but then his foot got caught behind something and he lost his balance just as he reached the edge of the hill. The ground beneath his feet disappeared and for a moment he felt like he was flying. Then the ground came at him. Ryan put up his arms to protect himself, and screamed in fear. A sudden thud sounded as he hit the ground. An enormous sting shot up Ryan’s right arm, but he didn’t even have time to cry in pain, since his momentum threw him even further down the hill.
As Ryan rolled down, he thought he heard Kimberly’s voice, but he couldn’t make out what she was saying. All Ryan could do was wait until he’d stop rolling. Just as he thought that there would be no end to his tumble, Ryan hit something hard, landing on his hurt arm. He screamed out in pain, letting his tears run freely. He clutched his hurt arm with his other one, writhing in pain. He rolled on his side, crawling into a ball. He was now crying so loudly that he was gasping for air.
“Ryan! Ryan, are you alright?!” Kimberly came running down the hill and kneeled down next to him, worry clear in both face and voice. All Ryan could do was clutch his arm and cry in pain. “I’ll go… I’ll go and get dad” Kimberly mumbled, seeing that something was wrong with Ryan’s arm. “No!” Ryan sobbed. “Don’t leave me!”
For a short moment silence fell. Clearly, Kimberly was unsure as how to act. Then suddenly Ryan felt that he was being lifted from the ground. “Owowow! You’re hurting my arm!” Ryan screamed to his sister, who had picked him up. “Be quiet. Do you want me to get you home or not?” Kimberly sounded more sure of herself than she looked, as she tried to balance the weight of her little brother in her arms. Ryan looked her in the eyes and bit his lip. He didn’t say another word about the pain in his arm as Kimberly struggled to carry him up the hill and walked him to their parent’s house. “Kimberly? You’re not going to tell mom and dad about what happened, are you?”
