17. A Turn for the Worse!

Things just got seriously bad and Chrissy must act fast to save her family.

The three of them watched as Becka drove off down the street. “What a day!” said Chrissy, “I'm sure glad it's over.”

“Let's go get some pizza before we go home,” said Ian.

“Yeah!” responded Emily with hungry eyes.

The only other people on the street were a young couple walking in their direction holding hands. Just as Ian, Chrissy and Emily started toward their car, a black sedan came speeding up to them and screeched to a halt. A man with short hair, goatee and sunglasses jumped out of the passenger side, pointed a gun at Ian and fired. Chrissy watched in shock and horror as Ian spun around once and collapsed to the sidewalk. The young woman screamed while the young man shielded her with his body. Emily shrieked in terror. The man then pointed the gun at Emily's head. He looked at Chrissy and said, “Give me the card!” He spoke with a heavy accent.

Chrissy was frozen with shock. “I... I don't have it,” she stammered.

Her heart nearly stopped when the man cocked the gun. Emily closed her eyes and her lower lip quivered in terror. “Give me the card!!” he repeated angrily.

“I don't have it. I swear!! I gave it to Jonathon! Please...!” she begged.

The man grabbed Emily by the arm and shoved her into the car. Then he turned the gun on Chrissy and said, “You have one hour. I will call. If you do not have the card by then... I will kill the child!” He got into the car and it sped off. Chrissy finally snapped out of her shock and reacted. She drew the gun from her pocket and ran into the street. She carefully aimed the gun at the receding car... then slowly lowered it. Emily was in that car. She couldn't take a chance on hitting her. Goddamit!

She looked over at Ian. He was lying on his back in a widening pool of blood. The young man was kneeling next to him while the woman looked on in horror. Chrissy ran to him and knelt down. She looked up at the woman and angrily snapped, “Call 911 for Christ's sake!!” The woman began fumbling for her phone.

The young man was tearing Ian's shirt open. “I was trained as a medic in the army,” he explained.

“How bad is it?” asked Chrissy, her voice thick with fear.

“It hit him in the shoulder, but awfully close to the lung. There's no exit wound.”

“That's not good, is it?” she asked.

“It's usually better when the bullet passes through,” he answered, “He's losing a lot of blood! I need a scarf or something for a compress.”

Chrissy couldn't think of anything she might have. “I... I don't...” she stammered. The young man pulled his t-shirt off over his head, folded it a few times and pressed it against Ian's wound. Ian gave a sharp cry of pain.

“Yelling's a good sign.” the man replied, “It means his lung's not pierced.”

Ian opened his eyes a little. “Christ, that... hurts!” he said with an effort.

“Pain is good my friend,” the man said to him, “It means you're still alive.”

“Ian! Don't you leave me, you son-of-a-b***h!” Chrissy ordered, “Don't you dare leave me!” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had never felt this confused and helpless before in her life. Her husband was dying and her daughter was going to die. Her whole life was collapsing right in front of her. S**t! S**t! S**T!! C'mon, Chrissy! Get a grip! GET A GRIP!!

She let her breath out and opened her eyes. She had to act! NOW! “Ian! They took Emily! I have to go get her back!” she said to him.

He gave her a faint nod and whispered, “Go.”

She turned to the young man and put her hand on his shoulder. “Don't let him die!” she said, her voice cracking.

“I'll do the best I can,” he answered. Then he looked her in the eye. “Good luck!”

She took one last look at Ian and jumped up. No time for crying, she thought as she blinked back tears. As she ran to the car she heard a distant siren approaching. Others would be taking care of Ian soon. She had to worry about Emily now. She jumped in, started it up and sped off.

Author's Note

Suggestions and constructive criticisms are always welcome.

Reviews

[C. Rose]

An amusing parallel - the first time some is shot near Chrissy a bystander is tapped to deal with the injury so Chrissy can keep moving. The second time this happens a competent bystander is tapped. I think this helps the suspension of disbelief. Because you recently tapped a barely competent bystander, I am not suspicious when this medically trained bystander shows up to help Ian.

They just came out of a tense situation, personally I'd like more than three lines to decompress before Emily is kidnapped.

[SpeedyHobbit Armstrong]

Oh damn, s**t just got REAL! Guessing that was one of the Serbian sociopaths? Possibly the star of a later chapter? Great job highlighting Chrissy's terror.

[Craig2591]

Yeah, these guys aren't going to be as easy to deal with as Jonathon and company.

[Tina Kline]

Jeez!! Who would have seen this coming!!!! Good chapter!

[John Lauterbach]

My kind of chapter! Everything went bad for all of them at once. I really like the intensity created by the guy repeating himself and shouting - he felt unpredictable, especially after capping Ian. I feel like the army nurse on hand is a little too convenient, but at the same time I know doctors and nurses are everywhere these days. Those three went through a lot already.

[Craig2591]

I was hoping it didn't go from lighthearted to ultra serious too fast. Thanks.