Page 49 of Tucker
“It’llhappen,” Frannie says confidently. “Ohh! Look at these!” She points out a setof navel rings when we approach the counter. “You should definitely get one!”
Aydapulls Sadie toward the door. “You guys do the piercing thing. We’re going to goto the department store. We need some dancewear.”
“We’llmeet you in the swimwear department!” I call out.
Myattention returns to the rings and a few minutes later, I’m lying on a tablesqueezing Frannie’s hand while an older guy stabs me. Okay, he doesn’t stab me,but it kind of feels like it. It’s over quick and it’s not too painful onceit’s finished. I pick out a couple of different rings to wear after it heals. Ican’t help but wonder what Tucker will think when he sees it tonight. Idefinitely need a two piece swimsuit to show it off.
Zoechooses a new set of earrings and the three of us head out the door.
Thesound of shattering glass stops us in our place. ‘What the hell?” Zoe says,looking around. Before I can reply, the air is torn by an explosion. It takes amoment for me to realize it wasn’t an explosion, but a gunshot. Screams echofrom one of the stores on our right and suddenly we see him. Across the mall isa person wearing what looks like black body armor, pointing an assault rifle inour direction. I feel my heart leap in my chest and everything takes on a sloweerie quality.
Iturn to Zoe and grab her arm but it feels like we’re moving through syrup.We’re surrounded by instant chaos, people screaming and running, hitting theground, trying to shield their children. There’s an exit near the elevators,and I manage to clear my head enough to grab Frannie’s hand and start runningtoward it, still grasping Zoe’s arm.
Theymust see where I’m headed so they don’t hesitate to follow my lead, but theshooter sees us as well. He sprays bullets across the food court as we runthrough, dodging chairs and tables. A huge part of me wants to stop, to crawlunder a table like many of the other customers have done, but I’ve seen thisshow too many times on too many news broadcasts.
Thereare shots coming from an upper level as well as from the opposite side of themall. Three shooters at least. These guys obviously just want to kill. If wehide, they’ll just pick us off one by one. We have to get out of here.
We’reso close to the exit when I see two things that suck all the hope right out ofme. A security guard is dead, the top half of his head gone, his body leanedagainst the glass doors. The glass doors that are chained shut. We’re trapped.
Ican’t see the gunman’s face but I swear I can feel him smiling when he sees usreverse and look around frantically for a way out. Our only two choices now arethe elevator or the women’s bathroom. I’ve been in the bathrooms here enough toknow there are no windows. We’d be sitting ducks.
Atthat moment the elevator dings and the doors open to show a terrified middleaged woman cowering inside. Before she can step out into the line of fire, Ishake my head and she steps back. A second later the explosive sound rings outagain, echoing through the high ceilinged space and making it feel like my earscould bleed. I’ve never heard anything so loud. We all dive toward the elevatorand I hit the close door button as soon as we’re inside. We’re trapped, in oneof the worst positions I can imagine until I look down and see the blood.
Themall has three levels and as far as we know there could be shooters on allthree. The woman quickly hits the third floor button before the shooter on theground can get to us, if he ever intended to. He still had plenty of targetsaround him.
Whenwe get just past the second floor, I hit the emergency stop button and we stopbetween the second and third floor. I breathe a tiny sigh of relief. I doubtthe gunman will know how to override the emergency stop.
It’sthen I look down to see where the blood is coming from and my breath catches.Zoe is on her knees, blood soaking into her shorts as she tries to stop theflow pouring from Frannie’s calf.
“Helpme!” Zoe cries, and I drop down beside her.
“Here!”the woman says, reaching into her shopping bag and handing me a cord meant tohold back a curtain. It’s gold and braided and it’ll have to do.
Franniescreams when I tighten the cord around her leg, and I feel myself get a bitdizzy, but the last thing they need is for me to pass out. Taking a deepbreath, I try to calm myself down while holding tight to the makeshifttourniquet.
Itslows some of the bleeding, but doesn’t stop it completely. It’s the best wecan do though and after I tie it so it won’t come undone, I sit back and lookaround me.
Zoeis crying and talking to Frannie while the woman is standing against the doors,watching with wide eyes through the glass wall of the elevator.
Ialways thought that was cool, that the elevators had one side made of thickglass until this moment. We’re three floors up with a perfect view of thecarnage below us, but that also means the gunman can still see us if they lookup.
“Doyou think it’s terrorists?” she asks.
“Idon’t know. I wouldn’t stand where they can see you though. We don’t know howthick that glass is.”
Asif one of them heard me a line of bullets rake across the glass, making us allcover our ears and cry out, but they just ricochet off, leaving chip marksbehind. Thank fuck.
“Ifthey don’t figure out how to make the elevator move, we might be okay,” I say.My voice is so shaky and high pitched I don’t even recognize it. My brain can’tgrasp what’s going on. Two minutes ago I was laughing with my friends on anormal day and now we’re in the middle of a war zone.
“She’sstill bleeding.” Zoe looks up at me with pleading eyes.
“Bastards,”Frannie mumbles as she starts to lose consciousness. “Fucking cowards withtheir fucking guns.”
Iwhip my phone from my back pocket, kicking myself for taking so long to thinkof it, when it’s actually only been three or four minutes since we heard thefirst shot. It just seems like hours.
Anemergency dispatcher answers immediately when I call. “I’m in the Shipley Malland there are guys shooting! My friend has been shot in the leg. She’s bleedingeverwhere! We need help! Please!”
“Whereare you in the building?” the dispatcher asks, remaining calm.
