It's not the size of the knife

            Larry  was a 27-year-old guy who loved traveling and other cultures.  Because of this, he found himself drawn to people of other nationalities and backgrounds.  Although he had some “White American” friends, for the most part he found it hard to relate to someone that didn’t understand what “Nationalism” was.  Both his parents were Greek and he was proud of his heritage, this is why he had to leave his small, sheltered town of Lakewood, Ohio and went to the melting pot that is New York City.  While attending college there, he met a variety of friends from different background.  One of these friends was named Alyssa, who was born in the Dominican Republic.  Alyssa frequently traveled back to her home country with her family but rarely invited Larry.  That is until 2010, which was eight years after being friends with him.  Larry readily agreed and had a great time with Alyssa and her family.  He was excited that the next year, Alyssa’s sister was to be married and Larry was invited to the wedding, which means he got to go back to the Dominican Republic with the same group plus some more people he knew.

            Larry had been to 26 countries and the one thing that stood out for him about the Dominican Republic was that the men were extremely forward with women.  He wouldn’t say it was the worst he’d seen but it was up there.  While at a party on the beach, the girls had to tie their purses to their wrists because guys would try to snatch it.  The girls took this in stride as just something that happened in the Dominican Republic but Larry felt his masculine instincts kick in and kept an eye on the girls in his group in case a guy got too out of hand, though what that entailed he wasn’t exactly sure.  Nothing fit his description and they returned back to the states without incident the last time, so now that he was going back for the wedding, he saw no reason why it should be any different. 

Larry was traveling with Alyssa and her eldest sister Jasmine.  They boarded the plane and landed in Santa Domingo in the hot June Caribbean sun. From there, they would have to take a taxi to Punta Cana for Jasmine and Alyssa’s sister Lizzle’s wedding.  The cab driver opted to go through the mountains, which although was the more direct route, since there were no railings, it was also the more scary route.  While they turned a corner, the cab driver slammed his breaks as three men stood in the road blocking the path.  The windows on the cab were open due to the intense heat and windows were cheaper than air conditioning.  While they were stopped, a man came out of nowhere and grabbed Alyssa by the arms and dragged her out the window; she tried to resist but the man held a machete to her neck, which stilled her.  Larry acted before he even realized what he was doing; he got out of the car and slid across the hood, the man screamed something in Spanish but Larry was within arms reach.  He grabbed the machete sticking his fingers in between the blade and Alyssa’s neck.  When he exited the car, he had already taken out his spring-assisted blade and snapped the blade out.  He swung his right arm, which wielded the knife and jammed it into the man’s carotid artery.  The man dropped the machete and fell sideways as blood sprayed out of his neck.  Another man came brandishing a machete and swung it at Larry; Larry instinctively put his left arm out and the machete dug into his forearm.  He then swung his knife and buried the blade into the man’s throat just as he did the first.  This time, Larry had the machete in his arm when the man collapsed.  He dropped his knife and used his right arm to take out the machete.  As he did so, he saw another man coming at him swinging a machete.  Larry raised his right arm and blocked the blow with his newly acquired machete.  Seeing as how the man’s neck was open and he had stopped the momentum of his arm, Larry swung the machete across the guy’s neck.  The machete cut deep and with ease through the man’s throat.  Larry anticipated him dropping his machete, so reached out with his left arm and grabbed it as the man let go.  This time the man was dead before he even hit the ground.  Again, a machete wielding Dominican came charging at Larry.  Larry blocked the machete blow with the machete in his left arm and swung the one in his right digging it in from the side of his neck to his Adam’s apple. 

 

When Alyssa was dragged from the car, she decided to fight until she felt steel against her neck.  She was scared stiff and her heart started beating fast.  Her mind raced at all the possibilities that could happen to her and none of them were good.  Before she knew it though, Larry was in front of her staring in her eyes.  She couldn’t see what was going on but she felt wetness on the back of her neck and cringed.  Even though she was out of danger, she couldn’t move.  Larry had stepped in front of her and she noticed in the corner of her eye that he had just stabbed another person.  She started shaking in fear but she was able to move and situated herself behind Larry using him as a shield.  She wanted to go back to the car but she was too scared.  Before she knew it, Larry was turning back to her and said, “Why are you still here? The question came as a shock and Alyssa didn’t know how to respond.  Larry continued, “Get back in the car” and that snapped her out of her trance and she walked back to the car.

Larry leaned over to one of the men he killed and wiped the blood off his machetes on the guys clothing.  He then tucked the machetes into each side of his belt and picked up the knife he had dropped.  He clipped it back to his waist and got back in the car.  He said to the driver, “Vamanos” (Let’s go).

The driver began driving.  Larry removed his shirt and wrapped it around his arm and asked Alyssa to tie it.  As the shirt filled with blood, Alyssa realized that Larry had been injured in the fight.  She immediately tied it in place and Jasmine, who was in the front seat, said, “Raise your arm Larry.”

Jasmine had studied medicine in the Caribbean and was a certified doctor.  She still hadn’t become licensed in the U.S. but she was still qualified.  Despite receiving her education there, she didn’t trust the hospitals in the Dominican Republic.  They arrived at the resort and Jasmine told Alyssa to check in and told Larry to come with her to the beach.  Alyssa paid the cab driver and removed the bags from the car.  Larry had only brought a backpack and both Alyssa and Jasmine’s suitcases were on wheels.  Alyssa took Larry’s blades and put them in a bag.  Although Jasmine and Alyssa believed men should carry women’s bags, this time, Alyssa would make an exception.  She put Larry’s backpack on her back and took her and Jasmine’s suitcase handles in each hand and dragged it toward the hotel to check in.

Jasmine led Larry to the beach applying pressure on the wound.  She knew the salt water would help clean the wound but she knew it would only be a start.  Jasmine told Larry to go into the sea and drop himself under the water making sure to get the wound wet.   He walked into the water and sunk himself to try to keep his arm elevated as much as possible but still in the water as well as his head out of water.  Jasmine didn’t follow and stood on the shore watching him.  Larry seemed strong enough to support himself but he had lost a lot of blood.  She knew she had to sew up the wound but she didn’t want to leave Larry alone.  All she could do now was wait. 

 

Alyssa checked into the room, dropped off the bags and ran toward the beach to check on her friend. She quickly found Jasmine and ran up to her.  Jasmine said, “Alright, you need to find Steven (their future brother-in-law) and get some rubbing alcohol, the strongest liquor you can find, a needle and thread.  The rubbing alcohol is the only thing that’s optional.”

Alyssa hurried to get the items.  She thought it would be hard to find a needle and thread in the resort but after what just happened, going out of the resort didn’t seem like an option.  She found Steven, who was with Lizzle, and told him what happened.  Steven said they would go with her out of town to find a needle and thread.  He had already bought a bunch of Johnnie Walker from duty free so figured they’d use that.  He also had rented a car, so they asked the hotel where to find the items and they obliged.  They drove out, got the items and found Jasmine where they had left her.  Larry was still in the water soaking the wound.  Larry was easy to find as many people had strayed away from him scared off by the blood.  A couple swimmers were worried the blood would attract sharks but Larry was an experienced swimmer and knew that sharks were only attracted to fish blood not human blood despite what movies tell us.  When they returned back, Jasmine signaled for Larry to come in.  He did as he was told keeping his arm above his head and pressing his shirt against it.  The wound was really deep but he tried to remain calm.  The only thing that kept his nerves in check is that he was okay with dying for one of his best friends and as far as he could tell, that was the worst case scenario. 

Jasmine, Alyssa, Steven, Lizzle and Larry went back to Larry and Alyssa’s room and Jasmine took a deep breath before saying, “Alright, Larry lay on the ground in the bathroom.  Steven and Lizzle I need you to hold his body down, Alyssa I need you to hold his arm and I’ll sew him up.”

 Larry walked to the bathroom and lied face down with his arm extended.  Jasmine took some string and tied it tight along Larry’s bicep suppressing the brachial artery, which is the main artery in the arm.  Alyssa put her hands on Larry’s arms and pushed down.  Jasmine said, “No, this is going to hurt really really bad, you need to literally sit on his arm.”

Larry cried out, “Hold on”

He grabbed the Johnnie Walker bottle and took a big gulp of it before handing it back to Steven and nodding while he lied back down.  Everyone smiled but they all agreed it was a good idea.  Alyssa dropped both knees onto Larry’s arm and pushed against the wall to apply as much pressure as possible on his arm. Steven put one knee on Larry’s back and the other on his right arm while his arms pushed against his shoulders. Lizzle wrapped her legs around Larry’s legs and leaned against his hamstrings using her full weight to hold them down.  Larry grabbed a hold of a pipe leading to the bathroom.  There was no possible way he could have been more restrained and felt that it was a bit much as his threshold of pain was pretty high.  Jasmine poured the rubbing alcohol directly on the wound.  Larry’s head was turned away so he couldn’t see what was happening but his restrainers saw no struggle.  Some of them were confused but Jasmine explained that the wound was too deep that it shattered the nerve endings so he didn’t feel it, which is why he needed to be sewn shut.  She said, “Alright Larry, you’re about to find out why doctors use Novocain before stitching up someone.  She took out a match and lit it putting the needle through the fire.  She threaded the needle and drove it through Larry’s skin on one side of the wound then brought to the other pulling it tight.  As the healthy skin was pulled toward each other, Larry cringed but that just caused his restrainers to push harder, he couldn’t move and suddenly he was glad it was over the top.  Jasmine didn’t hesitate; she kept sewing arguing that the quicker she got it over with, the less amount of time Larry had to suffer.  Larry grimaced with each pull and Jasmine asked him if he wanted a break before continuing.  Larry just said he wanted another swig from the Johnnie Walker, to which they obliged before assuming the position again.  Jasmine continued and each pull saw Larry try to resist less and less until she was finished.  She tied the knot and said, “All done.”

Everyone got off Larry and he got up shaking his arm.  They undid the thread and he stared at Jasmine’s sewing job.  He had an untrained eye, but it looked good to him.  Jasmine said, “Now, don’t pick up anything and try to use your left arm as little as possible.  I don’t think either one of us wants to go through this again.”

“Can I swim?”

“Yea, you should be fine but the second you get back to the States, go to the hospital and get properly stitched up.”

“Alright thanks”

Larry, in classic guy fashion, spent the day showing off the scar.  He couldn’t wait to tell people he got it in a machete fight.  Alyssa was still a little shaken up about what had happened on the ride over there.  It helped her to see Larry make light of it and actually brag about it, but all she kept thinking was what would have happened if Larry wasn’t there or if he didn’t react as quickly.  The other “what if” that went through her head is what if Larry lost?  What if he had been killed?”

Night approached and Alyssa and Larry were alone in their room.  They had planned this before the trip and knew nothing romantic would be involved.  She finally wanted to talk to Larry about what happened hoping it would make her feel better.  She started, “How’s your arm?”

“It’s fine, I barely feel it now.”

“That was pretty intense what happened.”

“Yea, but we’re okay, so that’s all that matters.  I got out of it with just a scar on my arm, which I’m actually kind of happy with.”

“Yea, chicks dig scars right?”

Larry smiled, “Exactly.”

“It’s just that, when he had that machete to my throat…well…I didn’t know what would happen.”

Although Larry noticed her nervous tone, he tried to combat it with lightheartedness but that wasn’t working so he switched to a more sympathetic tone.  “Ross, I know it’s easier said than done, but the what ifs don’t matter, bottom line is, we’re all safe.”

“Yea I know it’s just that…I’m scared.”

“Don’t be, you’re in the resort now, it’s safe here.”

“Yea, I guess you’re right.”

The talk helped Alyssa and she felt better but she still wasn’t completely over it but there was nothing else to say.  They started talking about trivial things when Alyssa felt the need to revisit the situation so she said, “I mean, do you feel bad?”

“About what?”

“You know, what you had to do?”

“Killing four men?”

Alyssa knew Larry to be a blunt person but his bluntness seemed to answer her question but she said, “Yea” anyway.

Larry took a deep breath, which at first signaled to Alyssa that he wasn’t as okay with it as he led on at first.  She was about to find out why he was uncomfortable.  He said, “Honestly, that’s the weirdest thing.  I really don’t at all.  I keep waiting for it to settle in and hit me but I just feel nothing.  Is that fucked up?”

“I don’t even know.  It was a fucked up situation”

“Alright fuck it, I’ll be honest, you’re one of my best friends, so I’ll just tell you the truth.  When he dragged you out of the car, it’s not like I thought ‘oh I need to protect you’ it was more of a reflex.  I was moving without thinking.  The first time I had a thought after he grabbed you was when I stuck my knife into his throat.  And you want to know what I felt?  It felt good, it felt right, it felt like I wanted to do it again.  Like it was some fix.  Like when you’re craving something and then you get it.  That’s why with the other three people, I looked at it as an opportunity to do it again.  All I saw was their throats and the second I got a clear path from a blade I was holding to the neck, I did it.  It’s not that I didn’t hesitate, I was anticipating it, I couldn’t wait to do it.  Each killing strike felt just as good as the first.  Like, I always knew I would want to die for one of my best friends, but dying just didn’t seem like an option to me.  Those mother fuckers deserved to die for even insinuating they wanted to hurt you.  Now, here I am, I got in a machete fight with four people, and all I got is a couple minor cuts on my fingers and needed stitches on my arm.  That’s not bad for my first time.  Now, here I am with you being forced to relive what happened.  And I still feel good about it, I look at you and the fact that there isn’t a scratch on your body and it feels right.  It feels so good that I contributed to that.  You’re focused on the what if’s, I’m focused on what happened, those machetes were sharp, and there isn’t a scratch on you.  That’s what I look at, and that makes it worth it.  I have no doubt that those men meant you harm, and for that, they deserve to die, that simple.”

“But from my point of view, you almost died defending me.  I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, I’m glad you did it, It’s just I would have been really sad if you didn’t make it.”

            “Well no shit, I’m a close friend.  When close friends die it sucks, unfortunately I know, I’ve had it happen.  But, I didn’t.  And even if I did, I would have wanted to.  This is an important point so listen to me because the cliché thing to hear when someone close dies is, ‘the deceased wouldn’t want you to cry, he or she would want you to live your life.’ Well let me tell you that is 100% true.  I would love to die for a friend, that’s a really good way to go out, but they got to earn it.  Those pieces of shit didn’t earn it.  I hope it never happens again, but if it does, the second that they no longer have you in custody, run like hell, leave me there.  If I lose, I want you to be safe, otherwise, I died for nothing.  In this situation, if I lost, you were still outside the car, they could have grabbed you and I died for nothing.  That would have sucked, but guess what, that didn’t happen.  So if there is ever a next time, run like hell.  Also, I didn’t even get close to dying for you.  I mean there are no major arteries in the forearm, there is no way I would have bled to death in less I was trying to and even then it would take days.”

            Alyssa hugged Larry and squeezed him tight resting her head on his chest.  Larry hugged back.  Alyssa knew that she could never do what he wanted, she never could just leave him.  Looking back, she reasoned she could have gotten back in the car, rolled up the windows and locked the door and just watched the fight but there was no way she would have let that cab driver leave him there.  She let go of her embrace and said, “I love you.”

            “I love you too.”

            Alyssa shook her head and said, “I don’t know how I could ever repay you for this.  I mean, you probably saved my life.”

            “One, you have no idea what they wanted you for and speculation is just stupid because there’s no way to know for sure.  Maybe they just wanted money.  There isn’t any reason to repay me because seeing you safe is enough but…” he said with a smile.

            Alyssa’s eyes widened, she really wasn’t expecting him to ask for something but she didn’t see how she could refuse now.  She said, “What?” with a suspicious smile.

            “You need to never give me any more shit about carrying two knives with me wherever I go.”

            Alyssa rolled her eyes, “Done.”

            The rest of the weekend went by uneventfully.  They had a good time at the wedding and returned back to the States and back to their routine of life.  Larry got properly stitched up once he got back and after two weeks, he got the stitches out and his arm healed with a visible scar, which he loved to tell anyone who would listen how he got it.  Alyssa and he remained really close friends throughout their lives.