Leo had just left the building. Everyone in the gym was too dazed to do anything. They were waiting for was the dreaded explosion. Even though it was only one minute, it felt like an eternity. KABOOM!

    ‘Ugh, what happened?’ The darkness was everywhere. Leo could feel his head throbbing and his ears ringing. He cautiously opened his eyes to shield them from the light. The first thing Leo saw the grass below him. It was cool green. Oh, beautiful luscious green. But there was something else he noticed. Some of the grass was covered in crimson red. He then felt a wave of pain go through his nose. He sat up and felt it. At the touch, another wave of pain rushed over him; it was broken. Leo turned around to look at the baseball diamond. There was still dust drifting down to the ground, but you could easily detect a large divot in the earth where the vest blew up. The fence surrounding it was holding scraps of cloth and wires, and some of the wires on the fence were completely snapped or had large holes where they didn't belong. He got up and started to walk back to the school, but his leg was in great pain, so he limped all the way there. What took two minutes felt like two hours for he couldn’t limp very fast. The doors to get back in the building felt like they were a hundred pounds, but he got them open.
    Once Leo was in, he saw everyone was still where they were before he fled. Even though he felt exhausted, he couldn’t stop yet. “Does anyone have any injuries? Was anyone hit?” Leo asked. Slowly, a few people raised their hands. Leo gradually limped his way to the people with injuries. He struggled his way up the stairs to get to them, but he got to them. Luckily they weren't hit badly--just a grazed arm or a hit to the shoulder. Leo used his shirt as bandages for he had none on him. It was pretty easy to tear off due to the blast tearing it up.
    When he was finished, he had no shirt on. He slowly walked down the stairs, but he was starting to feel more and more light-headed. His vision was beginning to cloud and drift from light to dark. On the last step he nearly fell down, but he caught himself. There were many gasps, not just by surprise but also by fear. They were afraid that he would fall, especially what was on his back. It was covered in shrapnel holes and crimson blood oozing from those places. The blood was mixed with scrap cloth and black, clotted blood. Leo walked to the center of the gym and the darkness engulfed his vision again. Leo fell to the ground with a thud, unconscious. The last thing he heard was screams of terror from his peers.

    When she saw Leo fall limp to the floor, Rosa was wide eyed with sheer terror. She was one of the many that had screamed. She was already afraid of what would become of her brother after the bomb explosion. When he got back, some fear was released, but she instinctively knew something was wrong. When he fell over, that escaped fear came back and in a larger portion. Her stomach and heart dropped into her gut when she saw Mr. Boblinski, the school superintendent, run up to him and check his vital signs. In the background she could hear sirens wailing, getting closer by the second.
    It felt like forever until the ambulance and police got there. They got Leo all strapped into the stretcher and were about to leave, so Rosa ran down and asked if she could come along.
    “I’m sorry, but only immediate family are allowed to come along. We don’t allow girlfriends to come along,” said the EMT.
    “That’s okay,” replied Rosa, “I’m his sister.”
    They ran to the ambulance and hopped aboard. They were off at once, working their magic on Leo. Even though it was grossing her out, she could not look away. Her eyes were wide with fear while she was grasping Leo’s hand. “It’s going to be okay, it’s going to be okay,” she kept saying to Leo, but she was trying to calm herself down. She was sweating profusely and was a couple of minutes away from passing out with fear.
    It seemed to take forever to get to the hospital, but when they got there, everything went really fast. The EMT’s jumped out and pulled Leo and the stretcher out, all while still performing tasks on him. Rosa ran alongside the stretcher, still holding Leo’s hand. They got to a pair of doors and said, “You can’t come past here. You now just need to go to the waiting area. It’s okay, we will make sure you can see him again.”
    Rosa was torn away from her only brother and one of her best friends. What scared her the most was that she did not know if she would see Leo again. Unconsciously, she walked the the waiting area, guided by a nurse. She sat down, closed her eyes, and started weeping.

    “Jeff, are you coming to the meeting? It starts in two minutes.”
    “Be right there.” Jeff was working at his bussing company. He was the general manager and had almost missed his big meeting with his employees. He got out of his chair and walked with Roger, his best sales rep and friend, to the meeting. It was one of the biggest meetings he had to give. They were about to get new machines.
    The meeting was started and it couldn’t have been going better. The sellers were loving what was going on around the place. He was doing great when his phone suddenly vibrated in his pants pocket. He let it go to voicemail and kept on going with the meeting. “We love what you are doing here and we want to help you out. We will give you ten thousand dollars to get whatever you need for your company,” said the seller. He wrote out the check and handed it to Jeff, who gratefully took the piece of paper and shook the man’s hand. “We will put this to good use,” said Jeff.
    The meeting was over and Jeff went back to his desk. He remembered his phone had rung, so he pulled it out of his pocket to see who had called. He turned the device on and his heart dropped into his gut. Right on the top of the screen was a missed call titled ‘Hospital’. He opened the voicemail and fearfully brought it up to his face.
    “Hello,” said the female voice, “This is the hospital. We regret to inform you that your son, Leo Kathering, has been taken to the hospital and is in critical condition. That is all we can tell you for now. Please come to the hospital and wait for your son. It might be what he needs to save him.”
    The voicemail then finished and Jeff took the phone away from his ear. He looked at the time it was sent. He was alarmed to see that it had been sent twenty minutes ago. Jeff shot up and started for the door. On his way out, he ran into Roger. “That was a great meeting you had. We really scored big.”
    “Thanks,” Jeff replied in a hurry.
    “I was wondering if I could pick your brain--”
    “I’m sorry, Roger, but I really need to go. My son is in critical condition in the hospital. Please excuse all my appointments for the rest of the day. I need to go,” and Jeff was running for the door. It swung open and Jeff burst out, only to find the seller in the parking lot. It gave Jeff a bad impression, running out of his own building in a frantic rush after a big meeting.
    “Is everything okay?” asked the seller.
    “No,” replied Jeff. “ I need to get to the hospital. My son is in critical condition.”
    Jeff got into his vehicle and started it up. He pulled out of his parking space and onto the road just to find a red stoplight. It seemed to take ages to turn back to green but when it did, he was off and going over the speed limit. All he could think about was Leo, lying there and possibly minutes away from death.
    All of a sudden, he saw red and blue lights flashing right behind him and the sirens blaring. ‘Great,’ he thought sarcastically. ‘Now I may never be able to hold my son in my arms again. Oh, how this day is going.’ He pulled to the side and rolled down his window. The officer came to the window and asked, “Sir, do you know how fast you were going?”
    “Yes,” replied Jeff. “I was going to fast, but that was because my son is in the hospital and I am trying to get to him as fast as I can. If I need a ticket, give me one, but please make it fast. I want to be able to hold my son in my arms again.”
    “Follow me,” said the police officer. He ran back to his vehicle and hopped in. He kept on his lights, turned on his sirens, and pulled out onto the road. Jeff followed and was given a fast route to the hospital, following the police officer the whole while. They got to the hospital and Jeff parked his car. He got out and went to the police car to thank him.
    “You’re welcome. Just be a little slower on the roads. I am going to let you off with a warning. Now go in there and wait for your son to come out.”
    The police officer drove away and Jeff ran in the building. He found his wife, Laura, and Rosa, his daughter, huddled together and crying. He crossed over to them, fear building within him with every step. They looked up and saw him coming towards them. They got up and caught him up with what was happening.
    “Leo has gotten pummeled in the back with shrapnel from a bomb. He was hit in several organs, has internal and external bleeding, and is in surgery as we speak. He is in critical condition and we will not be able to see him for another couple of hours.”
    Jeff picked up part of what Laura had said between the sobs and mumbling. He was grief stricken. His legs suddenly felt weak so he sat down. He couldn’t think of anything except his only son being cut open by surgeons to get the alien pieces out of Leo’s body and sewing his organs back up.

    Leo opened his eyes and saw a blinding white and yellow light. He had to shield his eyes so they could adjust to the blaze. Once his eyes were adjusted, he looked around to see where he was. Leo was standing on what looked to be clouds. In the distance he could see a beautiful golden gate. There were white doves flying around and people walking around on the cloud. They weren’t falling through what looked to be a bottomless ground. Leo started walking through the crowd of people and toward the gate. He was nearly there when someone appeared straight in front of him and out of thin air. The man had long, brown hair and was wearing sandals and a white gown. He was large but not menacing. He had beautiful blue eyes and his hands looked soft, but each hand had a hole in the palm. Oddly enough, his hands were not bleeding nor did Leo see any dried blood around the brim of the holes. “Who are you,” asked Leo, “and where am I?”
    “Leo, my child. I am Jesus and this beautiful oasis of mine is heaven. You are at the entrance. Beyond those gated doors is a paradise you will not believe. You have saved many lives today and you have spared them more time on my creation called Earth. Go back and be with your family. I am sure Rosa would want to see you again for how you left her. Laura wants to make sure her little child comes back to her arms so she can never let go. Jeff wants to be able to talk to his son at least one more time. I hope you listen to what I have said to you, but if you stay here, you are leaving many people who care about you behind. It is up to you.”

    The whole day had gone by and they hadn’t heard from the doctors. Jeff and his family had gone to get something to eat, but they couldn’t eat much. They had no appetite.
    Around nine at night, Laura and Rosa had fallen asleep, but Jeff couldn’t. He just wasn’t tired. He looked up at the television and saw what was on the news. They were at the school, reporting what had happened.
    “We have breaking news. At 8:13 this morning, Zack Werster had entered McKinley High School. He had a gun, a knife, and a suicide bomb vest. Zack walked in during an assembly and started shooting. He didn’t do much damage there for a student had taken him down and disarmed him completely. The student found the vest, took it off the man, and ran with it, trying to save everyone else. The bomb had gone off and the student was hit, but that did not stop him. He came back inside and tended to his peers’ wounds before collapsing to the floor from his own suffered injuries. He has been rushed to the hospital and is in critical condition. The police have not released a name of the savior student or his current status. Here we have Dave Boblinski to tell us what has happened. Dave.”
    “The man walked in during our assembly, just as you said and started shooting. Everyone was struck with fear, but one had the bravery to take the man on. No one else helped for we were all in shock. That is the same when the student ran outside with the bomb vest. We were all fear stricken and would not move. He came in looking like he was homeless: hunched over like he was tired, his face covered in dirt and his clothes tattered. Only when he fell over did I snap out of my trance and try to help him. After he had left with the ambulance did we all relax a little. No one had expected this to happen. Everyone was on edge for the rest of the day, thinking about what had gone down and what their fate could have been if that student would have failed to disarm the man.”
    Jeff was so absorbed with the news that he did not see the doctor come out of the doors. The doctor tapped him on the shoulder and Jeff nearly jumped out of his seat. “Sir?” the doctor asked, “Are you the father of Leo Kathering?”
    “Yes. Is he alright? Is he going to make it?” Jeff was out of his seat and franticly trying to get answers.
    “He is all right. He has a broken nose, a broken arm, a minor sprained ankle, internal damage and lost a large amount of blood but that is all taken care of. He is out of surgery, but he is still recovering. He is asleep right now, but you can go see him.”
    Jeff went over and woke Laura and Rosa up and told them they could go see Leo. They were taken to room 236 to find Leo lying on a bed. He was asleep, as the doctor had said. When the doctor left, they all started crying; they had nearly lost Leo.

    The darkness was everywhere again. There was nothing for Leo to see. Then he heard a sound. It was a sniff. He was curious about what it was, but he couldn’t open his eyes with ease. ‘Come on,’ Leo thought, ‘open’. While thinking this, he was trying to open his eyes. They felt like they were covered in syrup. They would not open. Then his eyes started to move; slowly, they started to open. The light was dim so it did not hurt his eyes. He turned his head and saw his mother sitting on a chair. He only noticed his mother and not where he was. Leo finally realized the chair she was sitting on was not at home; rather, they were in a hospital room. He studied his surroundings for a while, then he felt a small wave of pain followed by a wave of relaxation. He lifted his head and studied his body; he was covered in casts and had a few hoses hooked up to him. One had blood going into him and the other had a liquid. He realized that the clear liquid was pain killer from the feeling of relaxation he felt earlier.
    Leo realized the reason he was in the hospital. His memory was flooded with memories of the attack on the school: his great fight, running out to the baseball field to the get rid of the vest and the knockout explosion, the piercing ring in his head, and helping his peer who got hit. His peers! Were they alright? He turned his head to see if his mother was still in her spot, and she was. “Mom?” Leo’s voice cracked out.
    Laura was spooked so much by the sound she nearly fell out of her chair. She looked over at Leo and her face turned to mush with tears of joy starting to stream down her face. She came over to Leo and gave him a big bear hug and was able to blubber out, “Oh Leo! I will never let go of you. I was so scared I might lose you.”
    “Mom, I’m okay, but I have a question for you. Did anyone at the school get injured badly?”
    “No, honey, they are all okay. Some had to come in to get a stitch or two but you helped them all very well.”
    Laura let go and went to get Jeff and Rosa. They would be glad to see that he was awake. They all came back about five minutes later and gave Leo a great family hug. They each had something to say to him about how he scared them or how they thought he was a hero. After they were done embracing Leo, they all visited as a family. The doctors came in to check up on Leo and see if he needed anything. Throughout the day Leo had a few visitors like his cousins and his grandparents. They all stayed for a while and thanked the lord that he was alright.
    The next day was a little different. His family was still there, but Leo got a new visitor. He was a detective trying to get answers. He was a lean man with broad shoulders, short brown hair and hazel eyes. He was young--about his mid twenties and probably had one year in on his career. “If you wouldn’t mind, we would like to ask you some questions,” he said, “in private”. The last part of his sentence was directed to the rest of Leo’s family. They all got the message and kissed Leo goodbye before leaving.
    “How are you liking your stay here?” asked the detective, getting out a small notepad and a pen.
    “I’m doing okay,” Leo replied.
    “I need to thank you for saving the lives of many people at your school. But I have a few questions about your motive.”
After hearing this, Leo started getting a little worried. “I didn’t have any motive,” Leo said in a shaky, worried voice.
    “I think you are lying. What I think you did was you wanted fame. You wanted it so bad that you would risk everybody’s life in the school to get it.”
    “No, I never did that. I would never think of doing that!” Leo was afraid of what the detective was going to say next.
    “I think,” continued the detective, “you met up with Zack Werster and gave him money to spend on his family and for him to come in at 8:13 with a gun and try to shoot up the place. You told him to not fatally hit anyone and for you to wrestle him to the ground and make him no longer a threat.”
    “You also wanted to take that fame a little farther, so you asked him to come bearing a suicide vest. That way you would not only be the one who saved the school from an attacker, but also the one that saved the school building from being blown up. You were willing to do this as well as risk your own safety and take the bomb vest to a low casualty setting and get yourself hit by the bomb blast. I think you didn’t realize the force of the bomb would be so great and you got hit harder than you expected. To finish out your plan, you came back to the school and cared for all the people who were hit, making it look like it was not planned and you were the great hero.”
    “The shrapnel that hit you was now taking its toll and you were getting weaker. Your body could not take it anymore, so you fell to the floor unconscious. You were now destined for future fame.”
    Throughout the entire speech, Leo was bawling, saying ‘no’ or ‘I didn’t do that’.  Leo was persistent on trying to get the detective to know that he did not try to make this happen.
    “Leo,” the detective continued, “this is a major thing that happened. You risked a lot of lives today and it could have turned out terribly wrong. That is why the state is filing a court case against you for unjust behavior. I hope to see you in court on May third. Have a good day,” and with that, the detective got up and left. Leo was still crying as he was leaving. His family came back in and were surprised to see Leo in such a slobbering mess. They asked what happened and Leo told them everything. They were surprised to hear what the detective thought and that the state was trying to put him behind bars for just being brave and courageous.

    May third had finally come around and Leo was at the state courthouse with his lawyer, Hunter Boggard. Leo was still in a few casts as well as pain, but he was not going to miss his court case. News had gotten out about the conspiracy and just about everyone in his town knew about it. Most of them were supporting him, but there were a few who were siding with the state, against Leo.
    The case had just begun and the judge was seated at the front. Leo had the chance to take a light sentence and make a guilty plea, but Leo and Hunter declined the offer. The first person the prosecution brought to the stand was Mark Sarswedl, one of Leo’s classmates that had a terrible hatred toward Leo.
    “Answer me this,” the lawyer started off, “how did the day start off?”
    Mark replied, “It started out as normal as it could be. Everyone was eager about the assembly, everyone was getting here at their normal times, and Leo was over achieving already by simply walking the hallways.”
    “When you got to the gym, did you notice anything odd about Leo?”
    “Yeah. He was on the outside of the bleachers, right next to the stairwell. He usually stood with his instrument group and played with them. He also had a paper bag by his feet, which he usually never does. And when they were finished with the song, he set down his instrument and took off his neck strap. After most of songs during the assemblies, he keeps those on.”
    “Thank you. No further questions.” The lawyer then turned on his heel and went back to his table. Hunter got up and slowly walked to the front and said, “Do you think there could be a reason Leo was on the edge of the bleachers? Could he have getting ready to hand something to a track athlete? Could the bag have been a gift for his state bound teammates?”
    “Yes, but--”
    “No further questions.”
    Hunter turned around and went to sit next to Leo. Mark was excused to leave the podium. He hotly got up and walked back to his seat in the audience, barely able to keep in his anger that he was cut off and not able to accuse Leo.
    The next person to the stand was Dave Boblinski.
    “Mr. Boblinski,” the prosecution lawyer started, “after the intruder came in, what did Leo do?”
    Dave responded, “After the intruder came in, Leo was running to the base of the bleachers.”
    “How long after did Leo come down?”
    “Right away, but--”
    “And was there any delay?”
    “No, but--”
    “Could it be that Leo was almost expecting the intruder to enter?”
    “Yes, but--”
    “No further questions.” The lawyer walked away and Mr. Boblinski looked like he was defeated and may just have sealed Leo’s fate. Hunter came up to the stand and asked, “You said that you saw Leo leave his spot on the bleachers and run down to where the intruder was, right?”
    “Yes.”
    “Could it have been that Leo saw a threat and was just acting on instinct to make the area safe again and neutralizing the threat?”
    “Yes.”
    “No further questions.”

    The court had a two day recess and Leo was escorted back to his hospital room. Fifteen minutes after he got to the hospital, he got an unexpected call. “Hello, Leo,” a familiar voice said through the line, “This is Mr. Boblinski. How have you been? Are you getting better?”
    “Yes,” replied Leo, not really knowing what he was going to say next.
    “I know that you are still recovering from your injuries, but the school would be grateful if you would come in for a visit. Would you be up for that?”
    “Sure. What day and time?”
    “We were wondering if you would like to come in tomorrow at the beginning of the day, approximately 8:10.”
    “That would work for me. See you then.”
    “Bye.”

    The next day came quickly. Leo had almost no time between his physical therapy and questioning with Hunter to prepare for his meeting, but he was ready. He almost felt like it was not taking any time at all to get to the school. Once he arrived, he got out and was handed his crutches. Apparently the whole school knew he was coming because on the front entrance was a large banner saying ‘Welcome Back Leo!’ in bright blue box letters. On each side of the banner was smaller posters with the letters ‘MHS’ in white and outlined in black. Each small poster had red balloons attached to it, staying upright for there was no wind. As Leo made his way inside, he heard the announcement bell go off and say, “Would all students please report to the gymnasium for an assembly. Thank you.”
    Leo got inside the building and was greeted by Mr. Boblinski by a handshake and a hug. He led Leo to the gym where everyone was assembled. The assembly was to congratulate and thank Leo for the great heroism act he made. He was praised and felt less like he was alone. At the end of the assembly, Leo’s classmates were asked if they had anything to say to Leo, they could come down and say it to him. Many people got up and started coming down. They all had something grateful to say to him. Leo had about twelve of these, but the very last one was a surprise to him.
    It was Mark that came down. The odd thing was that he had his hand in his pocket. Mark got close to Leo and pulled out his hand which was holding a knife! Mark pulled his arm up and swung down as hard as he could. The knife drove home right in Leo’s shoulder. Leo screamed out in pain and fell to the ground, breaking his already sprained ankle. Even though Leo was on the ground and writhing in pain, it was not enough for Mark. He had to have more. Mark got down and started planting blows with his knife on Leo, striking his arm, neck, and chest. Leo was able to push through the pain and get the knife out of Mark’s hand, but Mark was not done. He started plowing punches on Leo’s face, breaking his jaw as well as knocking him out. By that time the teachers had pulled Mark off Leo. Mark was kicking and screaming, saying, “Go rot in hell! You should have died with the bomb! You should go to prison and rot there, you deserve it!”
    During this, the gym was filled with screams of terror by the students in the bleachers. Mr. Boblinski was the one that came to Leo’s side again, the second time in a week. He had already told a teacher to call 911 and was now trying to get the blood stopped. Even though Mr. Boblinski did this already, it was much harder. The gashes this time were deeper  and wider, pouring out more and more blood. By the time the ambulance got there, Leo was lying in a pool of his own blood. The paramedics took over and stuffed cloth in the cuts to clot the blood. They got Leo strapped in a stretcher and raced off to the ambulance. Rosa assumed her position again next to Leo on the vehicle to go to the hospital.
    The trip to the hospital was not smooth this time. It was really bumpy and made Leo’s condition worse. The blood was now oozing out from the sides of the cloth. The paramedics were trying to stop the reopened gash, but they could not keep the blood from coming out. They finally got to the unloading dock at the hospital and took Leo out. His parents did not have to be called this time for they were on the tail of the ambulance the whole way. They knew what to do so Jeff, Laura, and Rosa went into the waiting room, to fear stricken to say anything. They had gone through this once; they didn’t know if they could bear it again.

    “We have a special update,” the news announcer began, “we have word that an attack has occurred at McKinley High School at 8:30 this morning. There is one person in custody for the incident. Mark Sarswedl, age 17, has been taken into custody on account of an intentional homicide attempt. Here we have Dave Boblinski to talk about the incident. Dave?”
    “We were having an assembly, thanking one student for saving all the lives as well as the school. The students were allowed to come down and say thanks to the student. The last student that came down had a knife in his pocket with intentions to kill the student. He was able to get four stabs landed before the victim got the knife out of his hand. The student then proceeded to punch the victim five times in the face before he was pulled off the victim.”
    “Thanks Dave. The victim was rushed to the nearest hospital and is in critical condition. We will update you on this story when we receive more information.”

    Leo was standing on a blazing white cloud again. This time he knew where he was. He walked to through the crowd of people and to the golden gate when he was stopped, again, by a man that appeared in front of him.
    “Back so soon?” asked Jesus. “You must like visiting me up here. It is a beautiful place, but it is still not yet your time. Go home, finish off your case, and be with your family. Just remember, you will have a time when you can stay here, but that time is not now.”

    The court recess ended and the court was now in session. Leo was now in stable condition but was in no state to leave the hospital.
    “Who is your next person up to the stand?” the judge asked.
    Hunter stood up and replied, “Our next person up to the stand is Leo Kathering. He is not here and is in no state to be here.”
    “Then how can you have him up to the stand?”
    “We had a meeting yesterday. I asked him all the questions I was going to ask him because I wasn’t sure he would be allowed to leave the hospital today. I had it video taped and it is right here.” Hunter brought out a TV and pressed a button on a remote, turning the TV on. The screen showed Leo in an interrogation room with Hunter sitting across a table with his back to the screen.
    Hunter began, “Leo, have you ever met Zack Werster?”
    “No,” replied Leo.
    “When you were in the bleachers, what was in the bag next to your feet?”
    “I had gifts for my teammates: a water bottle, a shirt, and a little doggie bag filled with snacks for their ride to the meet.”
    “When Zack came in and started shooting, what was going through your mind?”
    “The first thing I thought was that I needed to stop him from doing this. I knew that I was the person to do it because I had nothing to lose if I died in the process. I had no one to care for and no one cared for me. If I did this and did not make it out alive, no one would have to grieve for very long. I was alone so I had nothing to really hold on to.”
    “No further questions.”
    Hunter turned the TV off and the mood had drastically changed from the dead silence of a courtroom to sorrow for what Leo had been going through. Even Mr. and Mrs. Kathering were shocked to hear what Leo was dealing with. He had never said anything to them about being painstakingly lonely. Everything was dead with an eerie, uncomfortable silence that lasted for about a minute. The judge then kept the court rolling on by asking who was the next person to the stand.
    “I call Zack Werster to the stand,” Hunter said.
    The doors were opened and the police brought in Zack, handcuffed and holding him tight. Zack was struggling to get out of their grasp with no success. The police got Zack to the front and forced him down into the seat. They had to hold him down, otherwise he would get up and run off. Hunter cautiously came up to the stand and asked, “Have you ever met Leo Kathering?”
    “Is that the little brat that spoiled my plan?” Zack asked. “He should go die! I was supposed to get great fame for this and he stole it from me! Now I am stuck in this stupid world for a long time!” The police were restraining him from getting out of his seat because he was thrashing around in it, trying to get out. Zack was gnashing his teeth and spitting in anger. By that time, the police thought it was a good idea to take Zack back to his cell. They walked the raging man down the center aisle and out of the courtroom.
    When the sound of Zack struggling died down, the judge asked the lawyers for a closing statement. Each side gave their statement and the judge gave the jury the right to converse and come up with a verdict. It would be two days before the jury announced the verdict.

    Jeff and Laura Kathering came back to the hospital to be with Leo again. He had multiple tubes hooked up to him and had breathing tubes up his nose. Even though Leo was unconscious and looked terrible, his parents went to hug and console him. He had never told them what he was going through. They were crying on him and when they let go of him, they were still crying. Their son had done so much for the greater good of others because he felt so alone in the world.
    The Katherings had two days with Leo, but the second day was a little strange. Leo wasn’t unconscious, bet he still couldn’t sit up; he was too weak. They heard a knock at the door and Rosa went to open it. She came back followed by a police officer--the same one that escorted Jeff to the hospital a week earlier-holding a notepad, a pen, and a small dark blue box. “We can leave if you want us to,” said Laura.
    “No, there is no need for that. Besides, I want you to hear what I have to say,” replied the police officer. “The first thing I have to ask Leo is did you do anything to aggravate Mark to do what he did?”
    In a weak, groggy voice, Leo was able to croak back, “No.”
    “Great,” the officer said. “The hard part is over. Now all I need you to do is lay back and listen. Your story of bravery has been spread across the country and has been given a lot of recognition. So it is in my great honor to give you the Citizen Honor Award for your bravery, heroism, and selflessness.” The police officer opened the small box and presented a medal to Leo. It had a brass center piece with blue stars surrounding it, a small, silver rectangle above the center piece, red and white striped ribbon with a blue lining to go around the neck, and a blue rope at the top of the center piece coiled into beautifully fashioned knots. Underneath the medal was a plaque with a certificate on the front. The plaque was signed by none other than the President of the United States. Jeff, Laura and Rosa were all shocked to hear and see what Leo had gotten. The best part of their day was when they saw Leo have one tear of joy roll down his cheek.
    “Again,” the police officer started again, “I want to thank you for your heroism. Without it, we would have no more school and many people would have died. And to you,” the police officer was now looking at the rest of the Kathering family, “thank you for letting me take some time out of your day to talk to Leo and present him with the award. Have a good day, all of you,” and with that, the police officer left.

    The final wait was over. The jury had come up with a decision. “Would the jury please give the verdict,” the judge asked.
    One juror stood up and read off a paper saying, “We, the jury, have come to a unanimous decision. We find Leo Kathering not guilty.”
    With that, the entire courtroom breathed out a sigh of relief and shook hands with each other and gave hugs all around.
    “That concludes the court case of Leo Katering versus the state,” the judge said. “Court adjourned.”

    The Katherings went back to the hospital with Hunter to celebrate the victory with Leo. They got to his room and came in to find him still lying down but still awake.
    “The case ended, honey,” Laura said to Leo. “The jury found you not guilty.” The entire Kathering family then came in and gave Leo a great big family bear hug. “Could I please talk to Hunter?” asked Leo in a raspy voice.
    “Sure,” said Laura. She turned to Hunter and said that Leo wanted to talk to him. Hunter came over to Leo’s bedside and Leo put up his arms, sort of asking for him to come in for a hug. Hunter reluctantly bent over and gave Leo a hug.
    “Thank you,” said Leo.
    All of a sudden, Leo’s head and arms went limp and slid off of Hunter. The machine next to his head started beeping like crazy and the line that measured Leo’s heart rate was spiking very unnaturally. “What’s happening!?” asked Laura in a very shrill, shocked voice as the doctors rushed in and started frantically working on Leo. They started doing CPR to him and got out an AED. They prepared Leo for the shocks and warmed the machine up. “Clear!” said one doctor that had the pads on Leo’s chest and pressed a button to let the electric current go through him. ‘Shu-kunk!’ went the pads. The zap didn’t do anything except change the irregular heartbeat to no heartbeat. They did this over and over, not getting anywhere.
    “Are there any other suggestions?” asked the lead doctor. “No? Time of death, 10:42 A.M.”
    “No!” screamed Laura as she crumbled to the ground. The entire Kathering family went to the ground to sob over the loss of their son, their brother, and a great kid. The doctors unplugged the machines and tubs and covered Leo’s body up with a white cloth.
    Leo had died on May 9th at 10:42 A.M. It was his birthday.