Early Edition

“Good morning Chicago, it’s a beautiful day. Partly cloudy but with a promise…” Gary shut off his alarm and painfully rolled out of bed. He had made three saves yesterday and all of them required him to run through the cold streets of Chicago without a coat. Well, he would’ve had a coat but he gave it to a man who would have frozen to death that night without it. He had read in the paper that the unidentified body of a man who died from hypothermia would be found in a back alley of Chicago’s streets noon tomorrow. Gary thought he had been thinking ahead when he grabbed his very warm flannel jacket that he hardly wore anymore to give to the man. Unfortunately he forgot to grab his leather jacket for after he’d given it away. Coughing loudly he groaned when he heard a meow followed by a dull thud. “I’m commin, I’m commin.”

Opening the paper Gary shook his head and frowned. Couldn’t there ever be any good news?

Eleven year old jumps to their death

The body of eleven year old Sara Cummings was found at three o clock this morning after she jumped to her death from a Chicago bridge approximately three hours earlier. After an autopsy and further investigation the foster parents of Sara Cummings, Ted and Nancy Haskins, were arrested on charges of child abuse and neglect. Sara’s five year old brother, Caleb, is now in police custody waiting for placement with a new family.

Garry ran down the street as fast as he could this was the last bridge that fit the description in the paper. This was it. He saw her. She was sitting on the rail with her legs dangling over the edge of the bridge.

“Hey, hey you don’t want to do that!” Sara didn’t even turn her head as she replied.

“How would you know what I want? You don’t know nothing about me mister.” Gary took a hesitant step towards her.

“I do know Sara. I know that you’ve had it rough, but you can always start again. You can move to a new foster family. Everything will be ok.” Sara shook her head vehemently.

“All those crappy foster homes are the same. I’ve already been in four different homes, and they just keep getting worse! I don’t wanna be hungry and cold no more. I don’t want their filthy hands on me! This is the only way I can make sure that they can’t hurt me no more!” She screamed and as she turned her head towards Gary he saw the tears streaming down her face. His heart went out to the small girl.

“They might not be able to hurt you if you jump, Sara, but what about Caleb? I know you don’t want to leave him all by himself.” Sara turned back to the Chicago River.

“How do you know about Caleb? How do you know my name? What do you want mister? You can’t help me.” Gary reached his hand out to her, his green-brown eyes pleading,

“But I want to Sara, you just have to let me. Just trust me. I’ll do everything I can to keep them from hurting you again. Come on, take my hand.” Sara looked once more at the river swirling beneath her feet then again at his mournful mud puddle green eyes. She reached out and grasped his proffered hand.

Gary carefully helped her down from the cold rail and noticed how cold her skin felt. He placed his coat around her shoulder and was surprised to feel her shoulder bones clearly through her t-shirt and jacket. “Umm, thanks mister.” Gary smiled and shrugged.

“No problem, and it’s Gary.” Sara shivered and coughed then stopped dead in her tracks holding her side.

“Hey, Gary…my side…hurts….real bad…” She managed to get out before she stumbled forward into his arms. Gary held her up with one arm and frantically checked the paper with the other. The headline about Sara had changed.

Eleven year old girl hospitalized

Eleven year old Sara Cummings was brought to St. Christopher’s Hospital this morning around two am. The girl is being hospitalized along with her younger brother, Caleb, for malnutrition and various injuries consistent with long term abuse. The sibling’s foster parents, Ted and Nancy Haskins, were arrested on charges of child abuse and neglect. Brother and sister will remain in the hospital until they fully recover, and then will be placed with a new foster family.

Gary picked her up carefully and carried her to St. Christopher’s. The admitting nurse took one look at Sara and ordered a gurney. Gary collected his coat and stumbled over the nurse’s questions. “Name?” Garry stammered and paled slightly at the question. “Uh, nn-name? It’s…” The nurse looked at him expectantly. “Yes I need to know her name.”

“Oh, it it’s Sara. Sara Cummings.”

“Age?”

“Eleven.”

“How long has she been out? Did she say anything before she lost consciousness?”

“Uh, sh-she’s been out about twenty minutes but the l-last thing she said was that her side hurt r-real bad when she coughed.”

“Are you a parent or legal guardian?”

“No. I- I’m just a friend.”

“Do you know how I can contact her parents?”

“I, uh, I don’t think it’s a good idea to call her foster parents miss.” Gary said quietly. “Well, why no-” the nurse’s question was cut short as she moved Sara’s shirt to check her sides. Her torso was a collage of bruises, cuts and angry red welts. The nurse looked up, “hey, mister, what did you say… hey, Nicky, that guy… did you see him leave?”

It was one o clock in the afternoon, and Sara was sitting in the hospital bed going over the mornings’ events in her mind. He was there. He had to be there. Or else, she couldn’t be here…right? Gary, had been there. He had saved her life. Sara remembered asking the nurse where Gary was. The nurse had no idea what Sara was talking about. She said that a man brought her in, told them her name and left. “He must have been your guardian angel sweetheart.” Too bad I don’t believe in angels. Sara thought wryly. Rolling her shoulders, she tried to get comfortable in the hospital bed. It was more difficult then it would seem with the IV and feeding tubes going in her body. Sighing restlessly Sara wished for the sixtieth time that Caleb was there. Child Services had been called before she even regained consciousness and after her file was pulled up someone was sent out to collect Caleb. He wasn’t back yet, or if he was no one had told her. She was beginning to worry. Sara sighed again and squeezed the remote they had given her. She was turned to the SciFi Channel and was halfheartedly watching her favorite show “Star Trek”. She was startled by a man’s voice.

“Hello, Sara. So, you like Star Trek?”

“No, I don’t like it, I’m just watching it because I hate it.” Sara replied smartly. She recognized him, well, not him personally but him, as in the kind of person he was. He was a social worker, a kid shrink. She’d met them before and she didn’t like em. Not at all.

“Oh, I see, well what do you like?”

“I like to be left alone. Can’t you guys do anything but ask questions?”

“All right, Sara I’m gonna level with you, I can see you’re a smart kid. My name is Dr. Heartman. I’m a child psychologist. Now you don’t have to talk to me today, but the sooner you do, the sooner you can see your brother and the sooner we can send you to a new home. Understand?”

“What? Caleb is here? Is he ok?”

“He’s stable but he’s on IV and feeding tubes like you. We’ve already gotten his statement, and he’s resting. You do realize that you will both need to stay here for a few weeks until you reach a normal weight before you can be placed in a new home?”

“Figures. But what does it matter? Every place I ever been to is the same. Everybody treats us bad. Each place is worse than the last!”

“Tell me about it Sara. Tell me what happened so I can help it not to happen again.” Something about him made her want to trust him. The way he said it, the sad look in his eyes like he understood; like Gary. “I’ll do everything I can to keep them from hurting you again. Come on, take my hand.”

It was around three in the afternoon when Sara turned her head away from Dr. Heartman, tears running down her face. “That’s enough for today Sara. Thank you for talking with me. If you feel up to it I can have someone take you in to see Caleb now.” Sara nodded. “I’ll see you again. Won’t I?”

“I think that would be best. Try and rest. Your body and heart have been through a lot today. I’ll be back tomorrow around noon to see you and Caleb.”