20. Lucas
Lucas
20
My body is moving before my brain processes what’s happening. My training kicks in without thought. I still feel like I’m moving so slowly it’s like running underwater. Allen reaches for something inside his coat. I shove Ezrah out of the way just as the shot rings out. He falls to the ground, head connecting hard with the side of the car, bouncing onto the pavement. There’s blood everywhere. The glass in the window just above his head shatters, sending shards everywhere as the bullet finds it.
Ezrah moans in pain. My heart clenches but there’s no time.
I dive for Allen before he can get another shot off. The gun clatters to the ground, out of his reach.
His fist swings out, connecting with the side of my chin. Skin splits. Blood drips down my neck and onto the concrete. It’s the last hit I let him land.
Allen's blows kept coming. But after the initial shock of the first, they were easy enough to dodge, the wild swings of someone not used to the person they were aiming for fighting back.
It only takes one well-placed blow for him to fall to the ground in a heap.
I look around for a way to restrain him, but to my surprise, someone from one of the other cars is already on it.
"I've called the police and my wife has the whole thing on video," he says, binding Allen's wrists with jumper cables.
"Thank you," I tell him, and turn my attention back to Ezrah.
He’s lying so still and there’s so much blood. My heart sinks.
"I'm a nurse," a woman kneeling beside him assures me. "Your husband's not dead, but he is in shock. The baby looks fine too, but I didn't want to take her out of her seat."
"Thank you for checking on them." The ringing in my ears is so loud I almost don’t notice the way she assumes he’s my husband.
"Everyone deserves a helping hand."
As I kneel down beside Ezrah, I realize he may not be moving but he is speaking. Mostly he’s just whispering Dil's name over and over again. It’s barely audible over her shrill cries.
"Dil’s alright." I assure him, stroking his blood-soaked hair. I was careful to avoid the open wound where he’d hit his head. "She didn't see anything. All she knows is a loud noise woke her up and she's cranky."
"Dil. I need to see Dil."
I hesitate, glancing at the nurse who gives me a nod. "Alright, wait one second and I'll grab her."
It’s difficult with all the glass, but after a careful cleanup, I finally hold her. She’s still upset but calms down quickly with my arms around her. I can hear Beatrice protesting in her carrier, but I can only grab one of them right now. Still, I take a second to check on her and make sure she isn’t hurt before taking Dil to Ezrah.
"Here she is. See, she's safe." I hold her where he can see her.
He reaches a shaky hand out to her than stops. "I'll get blood on her."
"Why don't I set her somewhere safe for now?"
He tries to shake his head and winces. "If you do that, how will I know if she's okay?"
"Let's worry about you for a second, Ezrah." The nurse takes Dil for the moment. I give a quick thank you, turning back to him. "How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?"
"I think I might be dying. I got shot but I don't feel anything."
"You're not dying. The shot missed you, but you did hit your head and lost a lot of blood."
I can see he’s not hearing me. "Listen to me, if I die, I want you to take care of Dil."
"You're not going to die. It's probably just a concussion."
"If I'm not dying then why am I so tired?"
"Hey!" I gently pat his cheek, but his eyes start to slide shut. "Ezrah, stay with me now. Didn't you hear me about the concussion!"
But it’s too late. He’s drifting off. "Shit!"
The sound of sirens rip through the air.
Next thing I know officers are everywhere. One of them comes over to me while the paramedics are getting Ezrah loaded into the ambulance.
"Hate to be the one to tell you this, but we need to separate the two of you until we can get statements," she says.
"Statements? He's unconscious!"
"He's going to get treatment first, and so are you. That jaw looks like it might need stitches."
"Fine. Can we at least ride in the same ambulance?"
She shakes her head “I’m sorry, until we know what happened, we can't risk it."
"I understand. Take good care of him."
"We will, so just worry about yourself for a minute."
I nod and let myself and Dil be loaded into a separate ambulance. "Will we at least be at the same hospital?"
"Absolutely. As soon as you're patched up and tell us what happened, you'll all be back together."
"What about Dil? He's going to be worried about her when he gets up."
"We can take her to him as soon as he’s awake, though I'm not sure he's going to enjoy being around a baby with a head injury."
I shake my head. "He's going to want her there."
The first medic descends on me, tilting my head to inspect my chin.
“Alright,” the officer says, backing away. “We can talk more once you're done here."