Chapter 16

 

A.J. sat up slowly.  His heart was beating so quickly he thought it would leap out of his chest.  When the gun was fired, he had thrown himself across Brian and Lila.  He hadn’t been entirely sure who the bullet was intended for.  Both guns had been drawn and pointed, one at the three of them, one at the other two seated a little further down the wall.  In his panic, A.J. had been unable to figure who was the designated executor, and his reaction was instinctive.

 

In the moment before the reality of what had just happened, Brian gazed in wonderment at his friend.  A.J. had volunteered to sacrifice his own life to save his.  In the middle of the chaos and fear that surrounded them all, Brian suddenly felt more loved than he ever had in his life.  He had always known that what the five of them had was special, something that not everyone was lucky enough to find.  He knew that all of them shared the same belief that any of them would do anything to help each other, but thankfully none of them had had to make good on that unspoken vow, until now.  Sure, when Brian had gone through surgery, he had known just how much the four of them loved him.  But all they could do was be here for him.  It had been enough, and they had all gotten through it, but this was different.  A.J. had just tried to take a bullet for him.

 

The moment passed, and the panic took over.  Brian grabbed his shoulder as he tried to sit up.

 

“Are you ok?” he asked urgently.  He too needed a moment to figure out that nether of them was hurt.

 

“Yeah,” he said after a moment.  He turned to face Brian.  “Are you?”

 

Brian nodded.  They book looked over and saw the other woman who had been shopping lying lifeless on the linoleum.  One of thieves was in the process of dragging her out of sight.  It wasn’t that much better, she had left a big mess on the floor.  She had been shot in the head.  It was the second person Brian had seen killed that day.  He didn’t know how much more he could take.  He shut his eyes and looked away from the hideous sight.  When he opened them, he found himself looking down at Lila, who lay limp in his arms.

 

Terror overtook him.

 

“No!  No, no no…”  He shook her, and got no response.  “No!” he cried again.  “A.J., help me!”

 

They wasted no time in resting her flat on the floor.  A.J. took her pulse.  He shook his head tersely.  Brian swore.

 

“CPR,” A.J. murmured.  “She needs CPR.”

 

Brian didn’t hesitate.  He straddled her waist, placed one hand over the other and used the palm of his hand to press on her chest.  A.J. tilted her head back to clear her airway.

 

One, two, three, four, five, Brian counted silently as he thrust upwards with his palms.  He pinched her nose and breathed into her mouth.  Still nothing.  He repeated the process, growing more frantic with each try.  A.J. swallowed with difficulty.  He said a quick prayer.  No one else needed to die today.

 

After several more attempts, Brian almost gave up, but some inner force drove him to continue.  The two criminals noticed the problem and had moved over in their direction.

 

“Remember, she dies you die.”

 

A.J. wanted to kill him right there.  “You kill him you lose out on more money,” he said angrily.  They relaxed their hold on their guns ever so slightly.  He was fairly sure they saw the sense in his claim, but he had no doubt his friend would suffer if Lila died.  The thought made him bristle with a newfound source of hatred.

 

Brian was working furiously, and A.J. knew that it had nothing to do with the fear of losing his own life, despite the threat.  A minute passed, and he began to give up hope.

 

“Brian,” A.J. said brokenly.  “Brian.  Enough.”

 

“No.”

 

The determination in his voice surprised him.  The look on Brian’s face plainly said that he was going to save this girl’s life if he had to grab onto her spirit and force it back into her body with his bare hands.

 

Brian leaned back from her mouth and prepared to continue chest compressions.  All of the sudden, her still form gasped.  A.J.’s heart did a somersault.

 

Lila sputtered for breath, and A.J. propped her up a little.

 

“Thank God,” Brian exhaled.  “You scared the shit out of me.”

 

“Wh-what happened?”

 

“Say hello to your savior,” A.J. said, a joyful smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.  “Brian here just brought you back to life.”

 

She stared at him, her blue eyes wide in disbelief.

 

“Don’t make me do it again,” he warned.  She smiled weakly.  Their two captors backed off a bit, and Brian checked the wound on her side again.

 

“Who died?” she asked him quietly.

 

He refused to look at her.  “The other woman who was shopping in here.”

 

“I want to get out of here,” she said softly.

 

“So do I.  Believe me, so do I.”

 

***

 

 

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