FIRE & BLOOD • EVAN 'BUCK' BUCKLEY / 9-1-1

51.

Buck:

"Stella!" I reach for her arm to stop her from going towards the sound of the gunshots but she slips from my reach and disappears past those doors not too far behind Kelly.

"Buck" Eddie's eyes are wide with concern as he looks to Gigi who's eyes were glued on the doors. Panicking.

"I can't lose her, not again" I turn to run inside after her before Eddie could mutter another word to me.

People rush past me as they fear for their lives, their only mission to make it out to safety. My only mission was to find Stella.

In a matter of seconds the whole first floor of the hospital has become empty. No sign of a shooter which means they're on another floor. One nurse rushes past me with two terrified girls behind her, rushing them towards a storage closet. The nurse looks back at me,

"Sir it is not safe for you out here, you need to find safety now!"

Before I could ask her if she knew where the shots came from, another round is fired.

***
Stella:

The doors to the elevator slide open. A nurse was face down in her own pool of blood on the floor. My heart sinks as I recognize the purple butterfly clip in her hair. Maya. We had only spoke a few times when I would do my rounds in the NICU. She was a sweetheart. Innocent.

I wipe the tears from my face as I carefully peep my head out the doors, scanning the area. It seems to be empty. Before I could move a muscle, a voice from around the corner causes me to pause.

"Please, hand her over to me. We can talk this out and get you out of her-"

"No! No! I need to leave with her or else he will kill me. So please, step out of my way or I will shoot"

Victor. The other voice belongs to a female. By the way her voice is trembling, she has no clue what she is doing. Which is why Victor is probably trying to reason with her. He knows she doesn't want to hurt anyone.

For his sake, I hope he doesn't underestimate her. I carefully tiptoe around Maya, trying to avoid looking down at her lifeless body too long. I breathe out slowly as I make my way towards the nursery.

As I approach closer towards the nursery window, I slowly get onto the floor. Victors back is facing towards the window so he cannot see me, but the shooter can. I catch a glimpse of her. She can't be older than 22.

In one arm she is cradling a newborn. Surprisingly, not one scream or cry was coming from the babe.

"Please" the girl begs Victor, "move or I will shoot."

Victor shakes his head, his arms tensing up. "I can't let you do that."

Without even thinking, I find myself rushing into the nursery and throwing myself in front of Victor. I am whipped around and throwing behind him in a quick motion.

"Whoa WHOA" Victor shouts, "please!! Don't shoot" the terror evident in his voice as he faces the shooter. When he looks at me I can't tell if he's mad or horrified. Or both.

"Stella, why the hell would you run in here like that??"

"I-"

"If you don't let me go I will shoot her!" The girl shouts, the gun shaking in her hand. She can't even hold it up right. The baby starts to fuss in her arm.

Victor advances towards the girl but immediately halts as she raises the gun to his face.

"Do not move any closer" she warns. Her green eyes are glued on me. "Tell him to let me go."

I step in front of Victor and shove him away when he tries to pull me back.

"Stella what do you think you're doing?" He whispers to me.

I ignore him and keep my eyes fixated on the young girl. "What's your name?" I ask her, keeping my voice even. The girl scoffs and looks down to the baby.

"I'm not here to become friends. Just move the hell out of my way and you two will make it out alive." Despite her attempt to come off as threatening, her voice betrays her.

"Okay, okay" I say. "But can you at least tell me why? Why are you doing this?"

The girl closes her eyes, shaking her head. Pieces of her sand brown hair stuck to her forehead. Her skin was glossy. "I can't" she says quietly. "I can't... he will kill me" she whimpers. Her face twists up in pain as she thinks to herself. "I have to leave this hospital with her or else"

"We can help you" I cut her off. "But you have to trust us."

Her hand tightens around the handle of the gun. "No!"

Victor's hand wraps around my arm, pulling me closer to him. He tries to push himself in front of me but I don't budge from where I stood.

"My name is Victor" he says calmly, "her name is Stella. And that innocent baby you're holding" Victor's eyes fall on the baby, "her name is Amelia. Her mother's name is Savannah. And she is terrified right now, wondering if her baby is okay"

I look to Victor as he reveals it is Savannah's baby in this girls arms. In the arms of danger, threatening to be taken away from her mother. My throat closes up as I look to the baby, wrapped up in a white blanket.

"And she will be once she is far away from her mother. She will be better off without that self-absorbed manipulative bitch!" The girls face turns red with anger.

"So, you know Savannah? Is that why you're doing this? Did she do something to you?" The questions fall out of my mouth as I wrap my head around all of this.

"Who put you up to this?" Victor asks.

The girl shakes her head. "I'm done. I'm done with all the talking. You have five seconds to get out my way or I swear to god I will blow both your heads off!!"

"Stella, I need you to get out of here. Now." Victor demands as his eyes don't stray away from the gun. His jaw locks and I know what he's about to do.

"No" I whisper. "I'm not leaving here with-"
"I'm not going to ask you again."
"And I told you-"

"three seconds"

"STELLA" Victor shouts at me.
"No" I say through clenched teeth. "She's not leaving here with that baby and I am not leaving you here with-"

"One."

Victor throws himself in front of me just seconds before the gun is fired.