"You three were very brave. I'm sorry you had to go through all of that, we'll find the assailants as soon as possible." The policeman said, assuring Katie and her family.

          "Thank you, Sir. I don't think they were out to get us, we were just at the wrong place at the wrong time," Katie said with a faint voice whilst resting against her mother's arms.

          "Don't worry Katie, we'll get to the bottom of this matter. Please take plenty of time to rest. We'll come back again in a few days when the boys are feeling better to take their statements. And please, stay out of such areas in the future yeah?"

Katie nodded in silence as the policemen took off, still heavily disorientated and fatigued. It was exhausting to repeat lies over and over again, to the police, to the doctors, to all their families. 

           Hours after the incident, workers from the scrap yard found their bodies and called the police immediately. Katie was the first to regain consciousness on the way to the hospital. Lost, confused and afraid, she was forced to come up with a believable story to appease the never-ending barrage of questions alone. The rough story she decided on was - "We were out exploring and we got mugged." Obviously, this raised the eyebrows of all the policemen and doctors as it hardly explained why they were beaten up to such a state with all their possessions intact. 

          The doctor's diagnosis: Ned mostly had muscle tears around his entire body. It was similar for Charles, except his were on a much more severe degree - in addition to torn ligaments, fractured bones, Charles also fell into a comatose state. Katie was comparatively fine, except for a few bruises from falling and a splitting headache that made her wish she was actually unconscious. 

          Katie looked up at the weary faces of her parents that they quickly forced into smiles, a feeble attempt at reassurance. However, it sent a sharp pain piercing through her heart as she felt more alone than ever. If only she could tell them everything... Just someone to talk to, but that thought quickly disappeared as another bout of throbbing seizures hit her head. There was no way she could explain anything properly in this state. Looking through the glass pane in the door that showed two heavily bandaged bodies with hardly any sign of life, Katie just begged for the ordeal to be over.

          Just wake up already... And there's no way I'm just going to leave you two here. Katie asked to be placed in the same ward as the two despite the doctor's clearance for her discharge. "It's just a precaution, my head hurts really badly" Katie reassured her parents before they finally left. The long and arduous day was hardly over as Ned's and Charles's families stood watch till the wee hours of the night. It was torture to face them, but at least they gave Katie some privacy and did not pressure her into answering more questions.

            When they finally left, Katie finally managed to get comfortable and settled by motionlessly staring at the ceiling. She replayed the same scene over and over again for whatever hours were left of the night. How Charles seemed to have lost all sanity, the instant where Ned jumped infront of Charles's exploding fist. And how she used every last bit of her strength to force everything to just 'stop', before everything became dark.

          Occasionally she would turn over to check on Ned and Charles but tears would only well up in her eyes as if to cover up the sight of their injuries. It was as if their injuries were inflicted on her own body. Worry, helplessness and anger continued to bottle up in her frail body. They were her only release, the only ones that could understand how much she had been through, the only ones she could talk to.

          Why am I the last one standing? It's not fair that I have to do the damage control all by myself...

          Suddenly, a different throbbing entered her head, a rather soothing and familiar sensation. She turned to the side once more and Ned's eyes were barely open. Katie jumped out of her bed and limped towards Ned, carefully watching out for any signs of movement.

          "You're ok..." the first words that left Ned's mouth left Katie stumbling back.

          "Are... you kidding me? I'm ok? What about you? What about Charles? It doesn't matter how badly you get beat up, as long as you feel like you're being hero? What were you thinking? That you were saving me... saving us? Do we look fine to you!" Katie exploded. It was a side of Katie Ned had never imagined her having.

          "Wha..I..don't...understand..." Ned uttered as he tried to turn his body towards her.

          "How could you think it was ok to take my place and get hurt in my stead?"

          "I'm sorry, I... I just couldn't stand by and do nothing..."

          "So what did you think I was doing? While I was watching Charles lose all control and you just recklessly throwing your life away. I just stood there. And now I'm the only one that walked out of that scene while both of you are paralyzed here. Did I have a choice?"

          Her words pierced right through Ned's heart, and he was lost for words. Katie silently retreated back to her bed. The room reverted to a cold silence, but the two were still awake.

          "Hey Katie... I don't know if you're hearing this but, I'm really sorry. I was just so desperate and lost in my own thoughts. I got carried away and made a rash, selfish decision. But all I knew was that I could never let you get hurt, either of you. I just had to do something. And once again, I'm sorry I made that decision for everyone and put you in that difficult position. But I promise you, from now on, I won't be so weak that the only thing I can do is take hits...

I know you're strong and so is Charles, much more so than I am. So we'll all look after each other, no one will be hurt anymore."

          Ned then drifted off to sleep with all the tension in his body slowly relaxing, knowing his message was received loud and clear as he heard Katie's voice echo through his head, 

          "Thanks Ned. I just wanted you to know... I got my own back covered. Maybe I'm not ready for it yet, but one day I'll also be strong enough to watch over you guys.

Sigh...

Did I mention how glad I am to finally have someone to talk to? Have a good rest Ned, but you better be waking up tomorrow."