UN LUCKY

chapter 7 After the fire

Everyone in the Factory heard the gunshots ring out. The sound cut through the night like a knife.
Noone was sure of what to do. Some odviously wanted to run as far away from the sound as possible. While the curiosity killed the cat ones were there even before the gun stopped smoking.
They reacted exactly like anyone would who had come upon a man shot to death on a floor. Shouts and screams filled the air. Vibrating and echoing off of the walls with an eerie cry of finalization.
"Oh holy mother of God!"
"Jesus christ!"
"What the hell happened!?"
"Are you okay?" Crab meat picker with the strong garlicy breath asked.
"Is he dead!?" Anorexic grandmother chimed in.
Fortunately, almost immediately, a couple of the guys started to take charge of the situation. They apparently realized that Julian was way too gone to be of any use.
The thing was that they rightfully assumed that Trey was the cause of the whole mess. This Lead two muscular maintenance men to mercilessly  throw him into a hold of submission.  Although , not once did he resist or fight back.  He was a man who had surrendered ,in more ways than one.

Someone had called the police. So despite everyones antsyness all that they could do at that point was to wait. It was probally the longest 15 minutes of any of their lives.

Julian shoved his hands into his pockets and tried not to throw up.  But he could taste the bile already slidding up past his tonsils . He must have looked like death warmed over because one of the women led him to a seat and wrapped a sweater around him. Words of comfort were whispered at him but Julian couldn't manage to comprehend their meaning.
He was officially in shock mode. That feeling of being outside of himself and looking in over powered him.
So while the world around him turned upside down his body made things very real by grabbing a hold of his guts. Twisted them good and tight. It forced him to jump up and stumble to outside.  Several people followed him out into the parking lot. Confused or concerned.  None of them had ever seen him not in conrol.
They looked on when Jule began gagging and sputtering up more vomitt than any one person should ever produce.
Within the time frame of a minute  it was over, as abruptly as it had started.
He dropped down onto his knees that hit on the cement too hard. He winced in pain, but never spoke.

Purely exhausted. He had no choice but to let nature take over. It was unforgiving, and teased him into a semi consciousness .

Time passed, but it was now a thing of little meaning.
He couldn't answer the police bombardment of questions because his mouth would not form words. The officers understood and told him that they would catch up with him  the next day.
His hearing was becoming selective.  Bits and pieces,that had started out whole, sank in.
He heard one of the cops call the robber Treynum Taylor .
During all of this Julians eyes remained latched onto Treynum.
The man with the long black hair and the tearful eyes. He watched him as he mourned the loss of the shooter. Jule had never seen anyone so broken apart in his entire life. To some extent he pitied the man, and he had to vigilantly remind himself of the fact that the men had attempted to rob him at gunpoint. Did he really deserve any compassion?
Maybe it wasn't even about pity. Maybe the thing that was making Jule start to feel a bit conflicted was something that he had never even experienced before. So how could he be expected to put a name to it? Maybe it had no rhyme or reason. Not everything in this world made sense. Right?
'He didn't know a lot at that moment but he did know that he didn't  want Treynum Taylor to go to jail.' Things couldnt get more plain and simple than that. Nothing more, nothing less.
While all of his thoughts were going ariye he watched the dead man being bagged and carried away in the coroner's van. And then he watched them shove Treynum into their patrol car.
It was over...

Later, somewhere between here and there,the place was quiet once again.
The police, the owners of the Factory, maintenance, some tv news people who had sniffed the homicide out, and even the crab pickers filtered away. Leaving a hole so deep that it could never be filled again.
The only evidence that any of it had even occured was his roped off office with the chaulk outline drawing of the dead man. And the blood. More blood than Julian had ever seen in one place before.
He stood at his doorway, leaning with his arms wrapped around himself.
Only then, did he allow himself the release of breaking down into a loud and relieved river of tears.
He had almost died! And Treynum Taylor had almost taken but saved his life. How could he have known at the time that Trey had saved his life in more ways than one .