Zac laughed as he ran from his older brothers. Maybe, I shouldn’t have dropped those water balloons on them. He thought to himself. His laughter echoing off the walls around him.
   “Mom!” He screamed as he ran into the front room. Looking for someone to stop his brothers.
   “No running in the house!” Mrs. Hanson warned from inside the kitchen.
   Their footsteps were thumping loud and angry, as if they were a heard of mad elephants.
   Zac chuckled as the vision of his brother’s heads on the elephants that were foaming at the mouth popped into his head.
   “Mom!” He screamed again as he ran through the living room into the kitchen.
   “Corner him, Tay!” He heard Isaac shout.
   “Uh, oh.” He said quietly to himself, he looked up at his mother guiltily. “I’m gonna get it.” He told her.
   Mrs. Hanson shrugged her shoulders and smiled at him. “Do you deserve it.”
   He wasn’t really paying attention to the question, when he got the brilliant idea, “Stairs!” He shouted happy that he found an escape route, he laughed as he started running for them.
   “And whether I deserve it or not, is highly irrelevant!” He yelled over his shoulder.
   Taylor appeared right below him as he got up to the fifth step. “I’m gonna get you!” He shouted, as he skipped the first three steps.
   Zac had turned his head at the sound of his brother’s voice, and missed the next step, tripping on a single rollerblade.
   His shoe caught the lip of the wood after he disentangled his foot from the skate, and he started to fall forward.
   Grabbing for the banister, he was able to catch himself slightly. His body swung under the grip of his arms on the railing, and then he collided with the wall.
   The blow shaking his hold on the banister, caused him to fall down onto the steps that he tried to avoid hitting.
   His forehead crashing onto the edge of one, and knocking him out.
   “Oh crap.” Taylor said worriedly. “Mom!” He shouted loudly. “Zac’s been hurt!”
   “What?!” She shrieked in near hysterics. “What happened?” She asked quickly as she stepped into the living room, and going over to the stairs where two of her sons were at.
   “He was running, and he tripped, he tried to catch himself, and he did, but then he hit the wall and then he hit the steps.” Taylor explained as fast as he could. His eyes sticking to his younger brother’s form.
   Isaac appeared at the top of the stairs, a water gun in his hands, waiting for Zac. But once he saw him laying motionless on the stairs he dropped the water gun and ran for him.
   “Zac?” He called. “Zac, are you okay?” His voice shaking as he checked him over. “Zac?” He asked again.
   “Ike, go get the car.” With that Isaac was running for the front door, his hand going into his pocket for his keys.
   “Tay, go call your father, and watch the kids for me okay, sweetheart?” Mrs. Hanson asked absentmindedly. Her thoughts mainly focused on her other son.
   Taylor nodded and ran towards the phone, while she bent over and tried to pick Zac up. Succeeding in lifting him up into her arms, she stumbled towards the door, before Isaac ran back in and took a hold of him.
   “I got him, Mom.” He said quietly, looking her in the eyes.
   Mrs. Hanson looked back and then slowly nodded her head, and removed her grip on him. She watched as her oldest son placed him into the middle part of their mini van, before sliding the door shut and turning to her.
   “You want me to drive.” He asked gently.
   She shook her head ‘no.’ “No, Ike. I can.” She told him as she ran around the front end of the car and got into the driver’s seat. Isaac slid in beside her in the passenger’s.
   Both of them looked back at Zac, and then turned to face the front. Each snapping on their safety belt and then Mrs. Hanson backed out of the driveway. Her heart was racing a mile a minute, while thoughts jumbled in her mind, confusing her.

   They waited in the waiting room. Thinking back to the rush of people, as nurses removed Zac from their arms. Placing him on a gurney, and running him down the hallway.
   “Isaac, honey,” Mrs. Hanson started softly, the tears welling in her eyes, but refusing to fall.
   Isaac looked up from his intent gaze on the floor. “Yeah?” He asked quietly, his voice thick from worry.
   “Go wash up, dear.” She told him gently. She pointed down at his hands, when he gave her a look of confusion.
   Looking down, Isaac saw the dried blood staining his hands. His mind raced, trying to figure out how he got blood on him.
   Slowly Isaac got up and started heading for the men’s room. Images flashed quickly in his mind, nearly blinding him.
   Zac…. Zac attacked him and Taylor with water balloons on the basketball court. We chased after him and Zac ran. Zac ran inside the house. We tried to corner him in the kitchen. Zac ran up the stairs. Zac fell down. Zac hit his head. Zac’s head was bleeding.
   He swallowed hard; Zac tripped over his rollerblade. He was supposed to have put it away before he went to play basketball with Tay.
   Vaguely he remembered thinking about it, but he didn’t remember if he did or not. Evidently, he didn’t.
   Without noticing it, Isaac had been scrubbing his arms and hands savagely. His nails scraping against his skin, causing more blood.
   “Oh, God!” He cried loudly. Instantly going for the paper towels to dry off he noticed the deep grooves running on the inside of his arms, and the scratches in the palms of his hands, as well as the numerous cuts on the back of them.
   Toweling himself off slowly and carefully, Isaac walked to the door with a cautious pace. Slightly fearing that something bad had happened to his brother, worse than what his imagination was conjuring up.
   He saw his mom sitting in the uncomfortable plastic seat, biting away at her nails. Sitting down carefully, he took his seat next to her and threw his arm around her shoulders.
   She looked up at him, and smiled weakly. Happy she wasn’t there alone.

   Twenty minutes passed and Mr. Hanson appeared with Taylor. The other kids had been left at the neighbor’s house.
   A man appeared before them, near ten minutes after they arrived, in one of those white coats, a stethoscope hanging from around his neck and a clipboard in his hands. “Mister and Misses Hanson?” He asked before looking up from his paperwork.
   She stood quickly-anxiously. “Yes, I’m Mrs. Hanson.”
   Mr. Hanson stood as well, and so did Taylor and Isaac, each anxious to know something.
   The young man nodded his head slowly. “Your son Zachary is awake now ma’am.” He told her, then he motioned towards the door. “I was just about to make a trip and check up on him, want to come and see him?”
   “Yes, yes of course.” She turned to Isaac and Taylor before she turned back to the doctor’s. “Can they come too?” She asked.
   The doctor looked over the two, as if their appearances determined his answer, he gave a sharp nod. “Yes.”
   Isaac let out a sigh of relief and followed his family members and the doctor down the unnaturally clean and silent hallway. The smell of disinfectants was burning his nose.
   Zac was sitting up in the bed, his legs crossed Indian style; as if waiting for anyone or everyone to tell him what had happened.
   “Hi Zachary, I am Doctor Walsh, and how are we doing today?” Asked the doctor as he walked up to him.
   “We?” Zac asked him, his tone both harsh and slightly fearful. “What’s the ‘we’ crap?” He questioned.
   “We aren’t laying in this bed. I am.” He stated. "And my name is Zac, not Zachary."
   Doctor Walsh laughed and started checking out Zac’s vitals. Making sure his blood pressure was normal, and that his heart rate was regular.
   Then he shined a little flashlight in his eyes. “How are you eyes?” He asked him seriously. “Can you see okay? Any shadows or bright spots?”
   Zac shrugged his shoulders. “I see a few shadows and a couple bright spots, but other than that I’m okay.” He admitted.
   “Okay then, Zac.” He said as he flicked the light off and looked at his forehead. It was already bandaged, “I think I want your eyes to be bandaged for a while too.”
   “What?” Mr. Hanson asked. “Why? What’s wrong with his eyes?”
   “I just want to make sure that he’s not straining them. He took that blow to his head, and it may have caused some damage to his sight." ”Doctor Walsh explained to them slowly.
   “How long do I have to keep the bandages on?” Zac asked quietly.
   “At least five days to a week.”
   His head snapped up then. “That long?” He whined coldly.
   Doctor Walsh was silent for a moment. “Zac, you understand I’m doing this just to be sure? I have to be certain, okay?”
   Slowly Zac started to nod his head. “I’ll be staying here, huh?”
   “Yes.” He answered.
   Zac groaned loudly, “Can I at least get a bigger bed? I'm not a midget, you know?”
   Laughing, Doctor Walsh commented, “I’ll see what I can do about that.”

   It was nine days that passed before Zac was allowed to have the bandages removed, when the day came, the whole family was nervous as they waited in the room quietly waiting for Doctor Walsh to come.
   “Why’s Zackie got his eyes covered, Mommy?” Mackie whispered loudly.
   “I told you,” Mrs. Hanson said softly, “Zac’s eyes are resting.”
   “Ohhh.” Mackie said, as if just remembering that he had been told that before.
   Seconds started to stretch out, and last longer than the last one had passed, before Doctor Walsh appeared in the doorway. “I see we’re having a party.” He said grinning.
   Their laughter was strained, wanting to hear more about Zac, then about the size of their family.
   “How’s it going, Zac?” He asked as he rounded to the side of his bed. Taking a pair of shears from one of his coat pockets.
   “I’m doing okay.” Zac grumbled. “I’d be better if I had these things off me though.” He stated as he bounced excitedly in his bed.
   Doctor Walsh laughed, “Well, I just want to go over the possibilities one more time with you all.” He told them calmly.
   “There is that slight possible chance that he may have lost his sight. Though horrible as that is, it will be only temporarily. But that chance is very small, and more than likely will not happen.” He stated as he looked around the room.
   Mr. and Mrs. Hanson nodded their heads slowly and silently, waiting in turmoil for the doctor to begin, while Zac nodded his had furiously, barely able to stop bouncing up and down.
   "Zac, you have to sit still for me to do this, okay?” Doctor Walsh asked smiling. "You don't wanna lose an ear."
   Zac groaned, but still tried to keep his excitement under control long enough to sit still, have the bandages removed, and then go home. He waited as patiently as he could for the doctor to begin.
   Not even two seconds later, he felt the doctor’s hands on his head, and the sound of the shears cutting away the gauze and the wrappings. He felt the cool air pound upon the once warm covered areas of his forehead. Then the cutting stopped.
   Looking in the direction, he thought the doctor was in and said, “Why’d you stop cutting? Why didn’t you remove the ones around my eyes?”
   “Zac,” He said gently, “All the bandages are off. You’re blind…” He trailed off.
   Zac didn’t know which was louder, the scream from his mother, or the one from him.