PART 49

IN THE HOUSE

When the gunshot from Brock Lesnar's gun rang out, Adam immediately dropped to the ground.  He could hear Lesnar's feet stomping down the stairs and out the back door.  Sitting up, he looked out into the hallway, and he saw that it was completely empty.  Brock had gotten away.  Suddenly, he realized that he wasn't in any pain.  Then it hit him… he wasn't shot.  He could have sworn when Brock was eyeing the two men from the door that he was looking at him.  He looked over at the two dead police officers, and then at Britney.  They were all still in the same spots.  Then, Adam heard a pained groan, coming from next to him on the floor.  He turned slightly and saw Shane laying there, gripping his stomach.

"He shot me Adam… that bastard shot me," Shane muttered in disbelief.  The bullet ripping through him hurt like hell… Shane couldn't remember a time in his life where he was in such pain.  That was saying a lot considering all the crazy stunts he'd done for WWE over the years.  Adam turned even whiter than before.  He was in a room full of blood, and it was making him sick.  He put his hand on Shane's shoulder.

"You'll be okay Shane.  I'm going to go get Chris and the EMTs… you'll be fine," he assured him.  Shane looked at him, his eyes glossing over slightly.  Moving his arm slowly, he touched Adam's arm.

"Adam… I can't feel my legs," he said, trying to move with no success.  "I-I feel horrible.  Maybe… maybe I won't be fine."

"No… Shane, don't talk like that.  You'll be okay.  We just have to get you to the hospital, and the doctors will fix you up and you can go home," Adam said, trying to reassure both of them at this point.  He was feeling incredibly guilty at the moment.  Three people were shot, two were dead, and one was possibly on the way, all because Brock hated Adam.  None of this would have happened if Adam just listened to Brock when he told him to leave Britney.

"Adam, listen to me.  If anything happens, tell Marissa and Brit and Steph and my family that I love them," Shane said.  Everything was suddenly growing darker.

"Shane, stop!  You're not going to die," Adam said, as Shane's grip on his arm loosened.

"You don't know that Adam.  Just please, do that for me.  I-I want you to know you've been like a brother to me over the past year… thank you for that.  T-take… take care of Britney for me," he said, and everything around him grew black.   Adam looked at Shane as his eyes closed and his arm fell to the floor.  Oh my God… what the hell have I done?  Adam knew he had to get help in there quick, or Shane wouldn't get to a hospital quick enough.  And Britney… Adam didn't even know what her condition was.  Picking himself up off the floor, he had to lean on the wall for support, as his knees were growing weak.  He made his way to the window, where he saw the EMTs preparing stretchers.  He pulled the window open, and screamed out to Chris.

"Chris!  We… we need help!"

ON THE WAY TO THE HOSPITAL

Chris grabbed his cell phone, trying to turn it on as he steered the car.  He and Adam were following the ambulances containing Britney, Shane, and the bodies of the two police officers to the hospital.  They had to get a hold of Vince and tell him what happened, as he would be waiting.  Chris didn't like talking on the phone while he was driving, but he knew that Adam certainly wasn't going to call and explain to Vince that Britney was unconscious and Shane had been shot.  Suddenly, the Canadian remembered that Vince didn't have a phone.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, causing Adam's head to shoot up.  "I can't call Vince… he doesn't have a phone.  Who else can I call that I trust enough to tell *only* Vince?"

Adam shrugged, "Try Stephanie's cell.  Or Jay's… they're probably together," he offered, unable to think of a better solution.  Chris nodded, finding Stephanie's name in his memory and calling her cell.  When she answered, Chris spoke right away.

"Steph, it's Chris.  Listen, I need to talk to your dad right now," he said quickly, hoping she wouldn't ask too many questions.

"For what?  And how come you're not at the arena?  I saw they took your name off the card," Stephanie said from the other end of the line.

"Steph, this is an emergency, please… get your father," Chris pleaded.  He didn't want to have to be the one to tell her that her brother had been shot and no one even knew what condition her cousin was in.  He didn't really want to tell Vince either, but he knew Mr. McMahon would handle the situation better than his daughter.

"Oh… okay.  I'm on my way.  But Chris, can you please tell me what's going on?" Stephanie asked worriedly.  She didn't like the sound of his voice.  She looked across the office she had, frowning as Jay sent her a confused look when she began to walk out of the room.  She gestured for him to follow.

"I-I… I'd rather not Stephanie," Chris said.  He didn't think she'd be able to handle it.  Stephanie sighed, looking at Jay as he sent her the same look of confusion.

"Chris, please… oh my God, it's Britney isn't it?  What happened?  And where are you, and Adam and Shane?" she asked fearfully, and Jay's ears perked up.  He was suddenly beginning to understand.

"Well… Brock kidnapped Britney, Steph," Chris said quickly, frowning as he saw Adam wince out of the corner of his eye.

"What?!  Oh my God, do you know where she is?!  Where the hell are you?" Stephanie cried, stopping dead in her tracks.  Chris sighed, he decided he better just say it all quickly.

"We found her, but she was unconscious.  We… we don't know how she is.  And Shane… Shane was… he was shot," he said, his voice shakier than he wanted it to be.  Adam's expression dropped at Chris's statement.

Stephanie's eyes widened, and she dropped her phone on the ground.  Jay leaned down next to her as she started sobbing.

"Oh God!  Jay… Shane and Britney… oh, Jay!" she cried, leaning into his arms.  Jay grabbed her phone from the floor after hearing Chris still talking on the other end.  He got the instructions to tell Vince and hung up.  Pulling Stephanie up off the floor as he stood, he cupped her face in his hands.  He knew he was scheduled for the show, but at the moment that wasn't his main concern.

"Come on… we're getting your dad and we're going to the hospital."

AT THE HOSPITAL

Adam and Chris sat silently in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting for any update on either Britney or Shane's condition.  They'd been there almost 45 minutes and so far, nothing.  Adam was going crazy… he just sat in his chair, rocking back and forth, telling himself over and over again that it wasn't his fault.  There was nothing I could have done.  Still, he felt amazingly guilty for everything.  He couldn't help but feel responsible for four lives.  Five, he thought, suddenly thinking of his baby.  If anything happened, he didn't know what he'd do.  He just wished he could sit still and calm down, but he couldn't stop shaking.  What bothered him even more was that he hadn't stopped Brock, and now he was on the loose just like Paul Levesque.

"Adam… do you want me to go see if they know anything yet?" Chris suggested.  He was just uncomfortable watching Adam fidget and shake like that.  Maybe if they knew something, anything, it would help him calm down.  Adam sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"Yeah, please."

Chris nodded and stood, leaving Adam in the chair.  He walked over to the desk where the nurse was seated.  He stood in front of it and waited.  When he realized that she hadn't noticed he was there, he tapped on the wooden frame, getting her attention.

"Can I help you Chris?" the nurse asked.  She was an older woman, and she knew Chris's name not because he was a wrestler, but because he'd already asked her three times whether or not she knew anything.

"I guess you haven't heard anything?" he asked.  He knew they would be informed if anything changed, but he figured it was just wishful thinking.

"No.  I'm sorry honey, but I promise I'll let you know as soon as I do," she said, smiling sadly.  Chris nodded, turning to walk away.

"Thank you."

He walked back over to Adam and sat down, shaking his head when Adam looked at him expectantly.  Chris sighed tiredly, rubbing his eyes.  He couldn't stand not knowing how they were, especially Britney and the baby.  Britney was one of his best friends… if something happened to him, he'd be just as heartbroken as Adam.  He'd thought of calling Jess to tell her what happened, but he didn't want to upset her.  He leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes as he waited for any news.  About twenty minutes later, he looked up to see Vince, Stephanie, and Jay rushing towards them.  He frowned at Stephanie… you could tell just by the look in her eyes that she had been crying the whole way there.  Jay had his arm wrapped so tightly around her waist it seemed that he was holding her up.  Chris couldn't imagine how she must be feeling at the moment.  She could very well lose her brother and her cousin, two of the most important people in her life.

"Have you heard anything?" Vince asked, eyeing Adam with concern.  He hadn't even acknowledged their presence yet… he was just sitting there, staring straight ahead.

"No… they said they'd let us know when they had an update on either one of their conditions.  I've asked about three times in the last hour, and I've gotten nothing," Chris answered.  He watched as Jay led Stephanie to a bench across from them in the tiny room, sitting down with her on it, kissing the top of her forehead as she buried her face into his chest.

"They'll be fine Steph, don't worry," Jay said, though he couldn't be too sure himself.  He felt horrible about what was happening.  The thought of Shane being gone scared the hell out of him.  And the thought of losing Britney… Jay knew that if he lost Britney, he'd be losing his best friend too.  There was no way Adam would be able to handle it.  He closed his eyes, resting his head on top of Stephanie's.  A few minutes later, a man dressed in a white doctor's coat came into the room.  He looked at the group, who all gazed up at him expectantly.

"You're all here with the people brought in an hour ago?" he asked.  When they all nodded, he sighed.  They already looked so upset… it made his job even harder than it already was.  He looked around at the people once more, before finally swallowing hard and continuing.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news."

Haha, another cliffhanger!  LOL, I think I'm getting good at them.  What do you think it is, and who is it about???  Let me know what you think!