Chapter 5
Lila
screamed and jerked sideways, but she was too late. Blazing fire shot through
her side and knocked her to the floor. The wind rushed out of her lungs as she
impacted, and she felt the panic clawing its way through every cell in her
body. The pain was so great, that at first it didn’t register. Then she noticed
a red stain slowly spreading over the white tile beside her.
Lila
had never been the screaming type. She had yet to make a noise since the stick
up had occurred, but she screamed now. It was a terrible noise, one that she
was positive she was incapable of making. In fact, it took her a moment to
realize that she in fact was the culprit who was producing that hideous sound.
That truth frightened her almost as much as the fact she had been shot.
This
time, it took Brian a moment to realize that A.J. was not dead. When the shot
sounded, he squeezed his eyes shut, praying he would not have to open them to
the sight of his friend’s body. He knew if A.J. died in front of him it would
mean his own demise as well. A.J. was like a brother to him, and Brian knew
that losing him like this was not something he could live with. It wasn’t until
the feminine scream ripped through his eardrums that he opened his eyes, and
saw A.J. still standing in front of him, his eyes closed and his body shaking
ever so slightly. Seeing A.J. so unnerved made the situation that much worse.
A.J. never showed fear. He had probably also never come so close to losing his
life.
Brian’s
scanned the room frantically, looking for the recipient of the bullet
originally intended for A.J. He spotted the young girl he’d noticed earlier
down on the floor, trying to staunch the flow of blood from her side. Without
thinking, Brian vaulted over the scattered cans and debris and flew to her
side.
Brian,
don’t be a fool! A.J. wanted to yell. He was petrified for the safety of his
friend. This was not a situation that they could afford to toy with, one
mistake and they would all end up dead. His heart is always bigger than his
damn head. But his actions distracted the gunman, and A.J. seized his chance.
He batted the barrel away from his head and bolted towards Brian. Chaos ensued.
“Everybody
stop where you are!” the ringleader shouted hoarsely.
A.J.
froze where he stood, glaring disgustedly at his assailant. Brian had already
reached the girl’s side, and was trying to see how badly she was injured.
“Look,
man,” A.J. spat coldly. “The police are
gonna show up here in a matter of minutes. You have one body, and a wounded
girl who’s going to die if she doesn’t get treated. Do you really think you are
going to be able to walk away from here?”
The
second man started to curse.
“If
you run you won’t get far. Let us all go, and at least they can’t add
‘hostages’ to your list of offenses.”
“Oh,
no,” the leader said in a voice that made A.J.’s skin
crawl. “You got us into this mess. Now you have to live with the consequences.”
He pointed to A.J., the cashier, and the middle-aged woman. “You, you, and you.
Help me barricade these windows.”
“Shit,”
A.J. muttered.
This
was bad. Really bad. What would he do if he found out he was holding two famous
people? He might kill the rest and just hold him and Brian for some kind of
ransom to get himself and his co-conspirator to safety. A.J. prayed no one
would realize who they were.
“You!”
thief number one barked, pointing at Brian. “Make sure she stays alive.”
“I
need a first aid kit,” Brian said, his features contorted with hatred for his
captor. The crook turned his head toward the cashier, never lowering his gun.
“First
aid kit,” he ordered.
Wordlessly,
she reached under the counter and removed a small black box with a red cross
painted across the top. He snatched it and threw it over to Brian.
“There’s
band aids and some other stuff over there,” she said, almost inaudibly,
pointing towards one of the aisles. Brian nodded at her, trying to look
reassuring.
A.J.
and the others went to work dragging the shelves over to the windows, listening
all the while for the sirens that they desperately hoped would come.
***
