Ace:
Screaming as I throw my metal ace, the man fires his gun.
"Watch out!"
Stepping forward, Micheal shoots his hand out and shoves me to the side. The man hits Micheal in his shoulder. He screams and leans back, but catches himself. He keeps holding onto Alex, despite the wound in his shoulder.
"Ahhh!"
The gunman screams and is using one of his hands to cover his face. Remembering that I threw a metal ace, I rush toward the gunman. Pulling back my hand, I throw my fist forward and punch the gunman across the face. He falls to the street like a bag of rocks, and thankfully, I can pick up the metal ace I threw.
"These aren't easy to make," I think, putting the ace back in my cardholder. Turning around, I jump when I see Micheal's arm bleeding. Not wasting another second, I run over to him.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Micheal answers.
"You're bleeding!"
"I'm fine! Don't worry about me. Worry about him!"
Micheal looks down, so I follow his gaze and look at the little boy. Gently placing the boy down on the street, Micheal puts his hands all over him.
"Uhh, what are you doing?"
"Checking for damage."
First starting at the head, Micheal goes down to the neck, then to the arms.
"As far as I can tell, there are no wounds. No cuts. No scratches. A bruise on the head, but that's about it."
"You know how to do this?"
"I learned a thing or two. Wait! Why am I wasting time talking to you? Ace! Do you have a cell phone? Please, please tell me you have a cell phone!"
"No. I'm sorry. I don't."
Getting an idea, I turn my head.
"But I can get one. Stay here!"
Getting up and running over to the downed gunman, I start checking his pockets. It doesn't take me long to find his phone in one of his side pockets. Pulling out a flip phone, I open it and start dialing. However, before I can hit the call button, sirens and flashing lights stop me.
Watching a bunch of police cars and ambulances skid to a stop in front of me, a police officer jumps out of the leading car. Pulling out his firearm, he takes cover behind the car's door while aiming at me.
"Freeze," he shouts.
"Wait! I'm--"
Before I can finish, the police officer raises his gun and fires a shot into the air. His partner, who also gets out, and the paramedic standing nearby all jump.
"I say freeze!"
The police officer isn't taking cover anymore. He standing upright, and aiming right at me.
Putting up my hands, I do as the police officer orders and freeze.
"Where are my son and daughter?" The police officer yells.
"Son? Daughter? What?"
"Where are they!"
The officer yells as he steps out from behind cover and walks toward me.
"I don't know! I don't know who your son and daughter are!"
I want to explain everything to the police officer. I want to tell him it wasn't me, that it was the gunman I knocked out, but every time I open my mouth, the officer screams at me.
"Where are they!"
"It wasn't me! It was--"
"Where are th--"
"Dad!"
"Dad? What?"
I turn and see Micheal running toward the police officer with Alex in his arms. Passing me, Micheal turns and winks at me. He then nudges his head.
"Dad!" Micheal yells. "We need help!"
The police officer, the Dad, sees Micheal and Alex.
"Wait. Alex is his daughter?"
Micheal Peterson:
"Micheal!"
My Dad holsters his pistol and runs over to me. Gently taking Alex from my arms, he turns to the paramedic.
"Hey! We need some help over here!"
The paramedic don't waste anymore time and run over to us. They take Alex and bring him back to the ambulance.
"Alex should be fine. I examined him after Ace saved us."
"Ace?"
"Yes. The one there--"
Turning around, I try to point at Ace, but he's gone.
"Ace! He's gone. Oh no."
"Darn it!"
My Dad yells as he stomps on his foot. Growling, he walks over to his police cruiser and grabs the radio.
"This is Officer Peterson. I need immediate helicopter backup! I repeat, I need immediate helicopter backup! The suspect is roughly five feet, wearing a white hoodie and pants! He--"
"Dad, didn't you hear me! Ace saved us! He wasn't the one chasing Alex and me and shooting us! That bastard was!"
I clap my hands, grabbing my Dad's and the other officers' attention. I then point at the downed gunman.
"He was the one that was chasing after us! He was the one that shooting us! He was the one that hurt Alex! He was the one that--that--"
For some reason, I have to stop. I'm having trouble breathing, and need to catch my breath. Despite being out of breath, I can't stop. My fingernails are digging into my palms and my teeth are grinding against each other.
"He was the one that hurt Alex! He hurt Alex! He hurt Ale--"
"Micheal, you're bleeding!"
"What?"
My Dad points at my arm, and I see a thick trail of blood running along it. Grabbing and pulling me, my Dad drags me back to the paramedic.
"Hey, my son is bleeding!"
The paramedics see my arms reach for me, but I pull back.
"No! Don't focus on me! Focus on him! Her. I'm fine."
"Micheal. You're bleeding! You are not--"
"I'm fine!"
I turn from my Dad and the paramedic to the downed gunman.
"If anyone else needs medical attention, it's going to be him!"
While my Dad and Ben arrest the gunman, one of the paramedics is addressing my wound. He wraps part of my arm in dressings.
"You really should go to the hospital," the paramedic says. "You're shot."
"I'm fine. You literally just wrapped my arm."
"You should still go. Even though the wound is wrapped, you should still go to have yourself checked out."
"I'm fine."
I repeat this for what feels like the thousandth time today. Looking past the paramedic, at Alex, I look back at him.
"Please. Don't worry about me. I'm not in shock. I'm not hurting. Just, please, help my little brother."
The paramedic, looking at me, nods. He and the other paramedic climb back into the ambulance and drive away. Looking behind me, I see my Dad shoving the bastard gunman into the back of a cruiser. Stepping to the side, I hide behind a nearby car.
When my Dad doesn't see me, he jumps back into his cruiser and drives after the ambulance. Meanwhile, two other officers are driving away with the gunman.
Watching they drive away, I step out from behind cover.
"Ahhh."
My wound stinging, I suck it up and start walking.