when you met me

meanwhile

Meanwhile

The day came where Mara would be singing her own song to a crowd of people. Well, not a big crowd, but big enough. She put on her new army boots with black shorts and black tights underneath. She wore a dark purple long sleeved shirt and tucked it into her high-waist shorts carefully.

“Kind of a dark palate.” Beth said as she put some sort of conditioner in Mara’s hair to make her curls less frizzy and looser. Beth examined the red tips of Mara’s hair. “I like this outfit.” Mara commented. Beth shrugged. “Well, your hair looks good. When’s your boy getting here?” Beth chewed her gum loudly and sat down on the sofa.

“I think he’ll just meet me there. His shift finishes at five, so he’ll get there in time for my song.” Beth nodded with a look of indifference and Mara stood up and stretched. She put on mascara and a tiny bit of lipstick. She didn’t want any makeup that could run off of her face.

“You look nice.” Dax said in passing as he put his guitar into the case. Cole nodded and passed another part of his drum set to his friends who took them down to Cole’s van. “Thanks.” Mara replied, feeling nervous.

“I can’t come tonight, I already have a date.” Dud tried to explain to a complaining Jim. Jim groaned, “But Jack won’t come to see ‘nerd’ movies with me, I can’t go alone.”

“I’ll go tomorrow then.” Dud offered, which elicited another groan from Jim.  Dud rolled his eyes. Before he could say another word, a red alert sounded. ALL UNITS TO THE FRONT. “29th Street, South West. Two gunmen, holding hostages. No demands yet.” An Officer that Dud didn’t recognize barked.

The tension immediately rose as everyone marched to their cars and drove full speed to the scene, sirens on and blood pumping. Dud screeched to a halt and his partner glared at him. Dud ignored him and got out of the car.

“No one’s getting out of here alive if you don’t GO AWAY!” The stressed out gunman screamed from the door of the bank. Dud could tell that this wasn’t a standard bank robbery. The man was going crazy. He paced and sweated. Dud noticed that he and his silent partner had split the people in the bank into two groups. Except, where WAS his partner?

Dud’s head snapped over to the corner of the building, where a person suddenly stood out on the street, holding a rifle. Before Dud could shout out, the man had taken a shot. And he was a good shot too, as he hit an officer in the arm. Everyone else instinctively ducked. Then, an Officer that looked familiar popped up with his glock ready, and took a shot. The gunman shot back, and the Officer was hit in the chest, right above his vest, two feet in front of Dud.

Mara was through her first two songs, and had eight to go before she sang HER song. Dax nodded to her as she took a big gulp of water and looked around. She couldn’t see Dud anywhere. She shrugged off, thinking he had plenty of time to get there. “Okay, ready for the next song?” She asked. The crowd cheered enthusiastically.

It happened in slow motion. He stared at the Officer in front of him. A few Officers took notice, but no one could move. Then he saw the man’s face. Jack. Dud ran forward, still crouching. He knelt next to him and examined his wound. “We need an ambulance.” He said to another Officer, who was holding his position. “On their way, kid.” He whispered, keeping his eye on the gunman.

Dud remembered what he was supposed to do. He couldn’t let Jack loose too much blood. Though, he wasn’t sure he was still breathing. Dud pressed both of his hands on Jack’s chest and pressed down, feeling the warm, dark, thick blood seeping through the cracks of his fingers. He kept his hands firmly placed there, trying not to think too much about it.

Mara took in a deep breath and excused herself to the bathroom. Cole shot her a look, and Dax looked confused. They were meant to debut their song. And Dud wasn’t there. She begged herself not to cry. She couldn’t imagine why he wouldn’t show up. Mara accepted the fact that her best friend wasn’t going to show and went back on stage.

“Hi, again. So, this next song is our very first original, and you guys will be the first to hear it.” Mara said into the mic. A few whoops came from the crowd as well as some whistles. “Be nice.” Cole commented to the crows before they started, making them giggle.

Dud was in a trance. The first gunman was shot dead. The one that had shot the two officers. The other one quickly gave himself up, unable to function without his partner. After that, Jack was lifted into the ambulance, and Dud was ushered into a car that wasn’t his own after a senior Officer saw the blood on his hands and the look on his face.

He couldn’t get the blood from under his nails. After being silent for about an hour in a dark room, he finally awoke from his trance. “Is Jack okay?” He asked, looking around. A woman with blonde hair and soft features walked in. “Welcome back.” She smiled. Dud said nothing. “He’s alive.” She said, “You did a brave thing today. Could’ve been shot yourself.” Dud shrugged.

The crowd had loved it. Her song, they’d cheered and cheered as Mara grinned and said goodnight. Cole and Dax waved too and they all got off stage. Beth gave Mara big hug. Mara hugged her band mates (and Beth). “That was incredible.” Dax commented, still grinning.

Cole looked at Mara. “How about we all go out for a late night snack?” He asked. Beth and Dax agreed. Mara nodded, “Okay, just let me make a quick call.”