Wild Hart

Chapter 1

My brother and I wander around the small window-lit store, my mother and father stand by the register, ready to purchase the necklace they picked for my birthday. I haven't seen it yet because they are trying to surprise me. Today, I am officially seventeen. Every year we celebrate my birthday by walking around the big city. My mom and dad will select one thing from a store to surprise me with.
Seth and I amuse ourselves by examining the keychains, each of us showing each other the ones we think are funny; all of the basic ones for the people who tour New York City. I hold one up to him; it is a round keychain with the Statue of Liberty that says "I Love NYC", we both laugh at the discoloration of the green Statue of Liberty.
My parents make their way back to me, and they hand me a small bag, "Can I look?" I ask eagerly.
"Take a look." My dad smiles down at me, him and my mom give each other a look. They seem proud of their gift this year.
"You guys are the best! I love you both." I say smiling through my words, I can't even hide the happiness on my face. I begin to take the small white jewelry box out of the bag, before I can fully take it out; two men barge through the door, they are dressed in black from head to toe, their faces obscured by ski masks.
"Everyone on the ground!" One of them shouts, his deep voice cutting through the store, we all see the gun in his hand. I drop to the ground, crouching behind the display of keychains. Seth, a year older than me and much bigger, huddles close, shielding me with his body. I look up at my father, he looks down at Seth and I and gives us a reassuring nod. What does it mean? I think to myself. I start to feel a tingle run through me, like that this isn't real. But I know it is.
He leaves our aisle and walks out towards the men, I can't see him anymore. My mother kneels close to us, but more out of the aisle to keep an eye on my father. She picks up her phone and dials 9-1-1, she begins to have a conversation, her voice is a whisper, barely audible.

Boom!

The gunshot startles me; a thump is heard as a body falls to the floor. My mother sits there for a minute just staring at something, then, as she is still on the phone, she pulls herself as close to us as she can. I feel her body shaking next to mine. I've never been in a situation like this, fear rises in my body. I am going to die on my birthday. I think. My palms start getting sweaty and I can feel the sweat starting to ball up on my forehead.
Minutes stretch endlessly. We continue to hear the men on the other side of the store, they shout at people. Seth sits completely still next to me, we are all scared to even breathe, scared that if we make one single noise, it will be our last. I hold my breath for as long as I can, then I slowly breathe out, and slowly breathe in, then hold. The cycle repeats. Over and over again.
We begin to hear the wail of sirens in the distance, they grow louder as time moves. I begin to feel relieved. I might not actually die. I hear a pair of heavy boots running towards us, a relaxing feeling overtakes my body as I know that I am now safe. A man appears in front of my mother, except he wears all black. This is not a cop, this is the same man as before; he sees the phone in her hand, realizing she made the call. In a split second, he aims his gun at her.

Boom!

The second shot is deafening. Now this is where I die. I feel something heavy fall onto my legs, I look down to see my lifeless mother in my lap. I hold my breath, unable to believe this is really happening. Unable to believe that my mother is . . . dead, in my lap right now.
"Put your hands up!" A cop yells from the store's doorway.
The man gets distracted, and takes the gun's aim off of me and Seth, I can breathe again. The man still keeps his hands on the gun, refusing to put them up.
"Put your hands up!" The cop yells again, the cops voice closer this time.
The man still refuses to put his hands up, within a second, the man picks the gun up and aims it at my head. I close my eyes.
A gunshot goes off. I expect myself dead, leaving Seth all for himself. My entire body shakes, pain takes over. I slowly open my eyes to see that the man, lifeless in front of me, has fallen to the ground. The gun no longer points at my head. I feel relieved knowing that I am not dead, I still am living.
Then it rings back in my mind . . . I look down at my mother, I hear sobs; I can't tell if I am so numb that I can't feel myself crying, or if . . . I look over at Seth, and tears stream down his face, he stares down at our mother. I feel his body shaking next to mine. I look back down at my mother, blood begins dripping out of her mouth; her ears; her nose. Every hole that the face has. The blood begins soaking into my clothes, it feels warm to my skin. The warmth almost comforts me in the midst of all of this chaos right now. Her mouth stays open, refusing to close. I take my hand and caress her face, it is still warm. Her light blonde hair no longer seems as light as it was. Her once young face no longer looks young. People say that you look comfortable when you are dead, but I think the opposite. She lies so uncomfortably, her face seems unhappy; she no longer looks like the cheerful person she once was.
A shadow falls over us, I flinch in fear. An officer stands above me. His mouth moves, but I hear nothing; I look past him to see the ceiling, it is glowing with red and blue lights. I really concentrate on the ceiling and I see the blood splatter on the ceiling, bright red in color. The cop kneels down next to me, he continues to talk.
A buzzing in my ears begins, I can't hear anything, I can't get out of my own head. The officer reaches for my arm, he tugs at me slightly. I stand myself up as he leads me, my mother's body falls from my lap, she hits the floor. I can't tear my eyes away from her. The officer leads me out of the store. Once she is out of my sight, I begin looking around, my pants are still stained with blood, the color still feels warm on my skin.
I scan the store, my eyes dart from aisle to aisle. Finally, I see eyes staring back at me. The most beautiful blue eyes, the eyes that were passed down to me; now sit lifeless on the floor. I feel his stare pierce into my soul, I feel a stab of pain in my heart. I should have done something. I try to convince myself, if I did something then maybe my father would still be here, protecting me. A puddle of his own blood surrounds him. The man continues to drag me away, I catch one last glimpse of him.
We finally get out of the store, cop lights flash up and down the street; the entire road is lit up. Cops are running in and out of the store; so much is happening right now. My head darts from side to side, trying to see everything that is happening. My mouth moves to the officer as I say something, but I don't know what I said. He just stares at me. There is something about the silence, it is peaceful, calming. But that fades, slowly I hear the sirens, they get louder and louder until they pierce my ears. I hear people all around me yelling. Now I hear the boots running, the cops having side conversations, the sirens remain on. Everyone is talking at once. My head spins as I try to take everything in.