My heart beat seemed to drown out the gunfire and His harsh words. Thump thump. Thump thump. "Gotham, take back your city..." Thump thump. "...detonator held by an ordinary citizen..." Thump thump. It was as though a wave of expected silence had come over the ocean of civilian that was the crowd. All were frozen in fear and confusion, and I was no exception. My body might have cut diamond it was so stiff, and the basic function of taking in oxygen was put on hold by my perpetual shaking. A burly looking man with some sort of machine gun pointed his exotic looking instrument at my head. Note to self, never take an edge seat at a public event in Gotham City. In primary instinct, I threw my body and arms around my little brother to shield him. He was shaking too, and unnervingly silent. (As if my arms would do any good if they wanted to hurt him). The man grabbed my arm "Hey don't try anything stupid." My voice was a squeak as I shook my head. "I'm not I-". He kicked my shin. "Hey no talking!" I let out a whimper and nodded vigorously. But the urge to vomit was becoming uncontrollable as I watched in disbelief the football players being devoured by the playing field. Oh my God this is it. We are all going to die. I covered Kayden's eyes.
I felt a harsh hand on my shoulder and whipped my head around to meet a cold pair of cobalt eyes. "Shhh.." The tall man put a finger to his lips before placing something small on my lap. Looks like a remote... like a blinking…oh no. Not to me not real not real. "Put it in your pocket." I stared up at him in disbelief and terror. He must have found the expression humorous because he smirked a little crude smile. "Just do it." No. He bent down. "Want all these people to die?" Okay. Reluctantly, I put it in my jacket pocket. "What is that? What are they doing?" Kayden looked at me with a worried expression. I motioned for him to be quiet. "It's okay."
Then the gunmen began to clear out and panic found the crowd again as everyone was hit by the realization of what had happened. The thin man grabbed my arm. "Don't try to get rid of it. We will know." He paused as if contemplating. "Eden." A wink and he disappeared into the crowd. I didn't move. I sat for what seemed an hour in disbelief. He knows my name. Kayden's small fingers digging into my hand broke me out of my trance. "We have to go, Eden." I don't know how, but eventually we made it out of the stadium as if nothing happened. "Eden you're hurting my arm!" I hadn't realized the death grip I held on my little brother's forearm. Mom and Dad were waiting in the parking lot frantically looking around. When they spotted us, I thought for sure my mom would start crying. They sprinted over and caught us both in a death grip hug of relief. "Oh thank God! You're okay. Are you hurt? What happened? Is anyone hurt?" Words poured out of Mom's mouth like a worried spew of water. Ever logical Dad piped up. "Honey their fine. Let's get everyone home before something else happens." Mom nodded and hurried us to the car.
I had never been that close to my parents. And I had always felt sort of detached, like I didn't belong, but it didn't change the bond our little family shared, and I always felt cared for and loved. Dad, like half the men in the city, had a great job working for Bruce Wayne. Therefore, Mom never had a need to hold a job. Dad could have supported five more people with his salary if he wanted. So Mom spent the majority of her days volunteering at the hospital, planning our meals, looking beautiful, and managing donations to local charities. "A real trophy wife." That's what Dad's coworkers would always say. My brother and I never had a need that wasn't met. It was good of course, but in a way, it made me feel rather helpless. I had never really gone through anything. And it made me feel weak.
I was silent all the way home. Too lost in thought to speak about what had happened. Maybe it didn't happen at all. I imagined it. I was in a state of panic and I thought something happened but nothing did. My hand reached into my pocket. It's still there. What do they want me to do? They won't just leave me alone now, will they? No. But maybe it was just the fear factor. Maybe everyone on an edge seat was handed a remote. To make us afraid... "Eden?" My head jerked away from my hands. It was mom. "Eden, are you okay, sweetie?"No. I'm not, a terrorist put a detonator in my pocket. "I'm fine, mom."
