Cartoon

Chapter Three

I instinctively dropped to the ground and let out a scream, as did a number of other people around me, Ace being included.

And then I heard another shot.

I screamed out, again, and threw my hands up by the sides of my head.

Nearly everyone else around me was screaming in terror.

"Shit!" I could barely hear Ace yell out, by my side. Soon after that, I felt a hand gently touch my back and his voice continue to yell more towards my left ear. "We gotta go!"

The hand on my back then migrated upwards, grabbed my left upper arm, and jerked my entire body upwards, forcing me to stand. I then dizzily snapped my head over to Ace and opened my mouth, even though I couldn't possibly even begin to formulate any words in that moment.

"'Nesia, come on!" he shouted, looking back at me and tugging on my arm.

Suddenly, another shot exploded.

However, this time I did not scream out and, instead, lunged forward to get beside Ace.

"Good job," I could faintly hear him mutter.

He then placed one hand on my back and the other back on my left upper arm, making him stand on the side where I had heard the bullets from. He quickly pushed me forwards, and I complied, the both of us beginning to run away from the ice cream stand. He kept his hands on me and his body hovering over and to the side of mine as we did so, as well.

More gunshots rang out but, this time, they were shot in a set of three, making them sound as if they were coming from a machine-like gun, which was completely different from the previous ones. I screeched out once again when I heard these ones, but I continued to sprint alongside Ace as I did so.

My heart was beating way out of control, and my lungs were way out of air. And, after about the first fifteen long strides on the sidewalk, my feet began to stumble a bit.

And that's when I heard another quick set of shots, which is also the exact moment when I stumbled a bit too much and fell onto the hard ground with my entire right arm smashed against the concrete.

I kept myself still a second, my head now pounding. After that second, though, I pushed my other arm, which was now detached from Ace's grasp, under my body and lifted my head slowly upwards.

"You okay?" Ace yelled at me, still having the need to overpower the screams of other people, wherever they were at this point. 

He then stepped in front of me and hastily crouched down to grab at my left arm, once again. 

"Come on, 'Nesia..." he more mumbled this time than anything.

He next re-found his grasp on my back and under my arm, and then gently heaved my aching body up to stand. After that, he basically had to carry me as he ran off again. He didn't have to haul me far, though, because he soon found an alleyway between a few empty stores on our right that he could throw us into.

"Okay..." Ace muttered as soon as we had both swung around the corner of the closest store. He then gradually released his hold on me as we walked into the empty alley. 

"Now..." he continued to mumble as he completely let go of me and stepped farther away.

I, too, walked, but I kept myself at a much slower pace than him in order to catch my breath. I looked around and saw nothing but two long brick walls on either side of us, which were connected by another shorter wall about thirty yards in front of me. I also noted that there were no dumpsters or fire escape staircases anywhere in sight, which was very much the opposite of what I'd expect from a slightly sketchy alleyway.