To Take A Bullet

The lights suddenly dimmed.

The Porter family was there when it happened. They got caught up in it.

What a wonderful family they were! What a shame! Two loving parents with a playful ten year old son, Mile, and a responsible eighteen year old daughter, Emily. 

Everything was normal; the controlled rush of people for evening flights and the occasional bawling child in the crowded airport of Core city.

The family had completed all the necessary procedures, so with time on their hands, they sought rest. They were settling down on their seats when Emily noticed a light fizz. It blinked with uncertainty, and then with a pattern. A small dance. Emily stared at it. Off for a count and then on for two.

One, two, two. One, two two. One.

And the grand hall dimmed altogether.

The clamor in the airport stopped, and confusion stirred. 

Then there was a slam of metal gun and a distant shout.

"Everybody, hands up! Don't move."

Emily couldn't quite make out the figure in the light, but he had a chilling voice and was clad in black and had a few more men like that behind him. She could hear the panic his words caused, the screaming and rush of feet. She could feel it in the sudden thrum of her veins.

He caught her eye. An anger came over him. 

"I said hands up!" he roared, pointing the gun at Emily. Two gunshots followed it to make an example out of her. Emily flinched. She felt a warmth of coppery red seep through her shirt. Her brother was crying.

Mile looked at his parents. They were slumped in their seats, blood pooling from where they took the bullets for his sister.

The attacker had moved on, unbothered. Mile was horrified, stammering and hiccupping with tears and snot running down his face. He couldn't take his eyes off them. He couldn't accept what happened. It wasn't real. He would wake up soon and his parents would be right there, beside him, coaxing him into wakefulness. He shook his mother, begging her to do something. He hid under the chairs when she wouldn't respond, covering his ears and squeezing his eyes shut, hoping he would wake up soon. There were a few more shots before the security arrived and contained them. Overall, there weren't many casualties and the incident was over in a matter of minutes. 

The lights were back on. One of them flickered. Emily gazed at it as she waited for her brother to come out. It was enchanting. Entrancing. Entrapping.

One, two, two. One, two, two. One, two.