Chapter 11
Joshua arrived on the scene of a serious situation. There was a holdup in progress at the local deli mart and the robber had taken the cashier hostage. The new hero called to the man inside.
"You in there, I just want to talk!" The robber's response was to fire a few rounds out through the windows of the store. Joshua ducked as the bullets whizzed by.
"I just want to talk! No one needs to get hurt!" This time his words were greeted with silence.
"What do you want?" Joshua tried.
"I want my job back! I want my wife and kids to come home!" Came the reply.
"Well, why don't you let me get closer and we can talk about it?" The new hero tried as he carefully poked his head above the display in front of the shattered windows.
"You don't care about me! No one does!" The man shouted back.
"I'm just here to help. Why don't you let the nice lady go and we can talk about it. I promise we'll work it out." Joshua hoped that he was getting through to the man. The man just stood there and didn't say anything.
"What's your name?" The new hero asked.
"Henry." Came the answer.
"My name is Joshua. It's nice to meet you. And your name ma'am?" He asked.
"Ashley." At this moment, sirens could be heard coming down the street. This made Henry nervous and he pushed the gun closer to Ashley's stomach.
"Don't hurt her. She hasn't done anything to you. Why don't you let her go and we'll talk. That way when the police arrive we can talk with them too and reach an understanding." Joshua pleaded. "Don't make this worse for yourself, Henry." Slowly, the man relaxed his grip on the cashier and she ran out of the deli mart.
"Its just you and me. Now we can talk. Do you mind if I come in?" Joshua asked. Henry only shrugged his shoulders and the new hero hopped through the broken window.
"You're…" Henry couldn't finish his sentence.
"It doesn't matter who I am. I'm just another guy trying to talk to you, that's all." Joshua tried to keep him calm. Henry didn't say anything as three police squad cars came squealing to a halt outside the store.
"I'm going to jail and its your fault!" He screamed. Before Joshua could react Henry aimed his 9mm pistol at him and fired before he turned the gun on himself.
Sportacus suddenly had this horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was followed by Joshua's voice in his head. Help! Was the only word that came. Quickly, the above average hero moved from his seat and hobbled to the door and out of the apartment.
He heard the sirens and raced off in their direction. Something in the back of his mind told him that things weren't going well. Quickly, he shook those thoughts from his head.
Upon arriving at the deli mart, Sportacus saw emergency personnel everywhere. Captain Dogooder was there and he ran over to the above average hero.
"What happened?" Sportacus asked.
"There's been a shooting. Joshua was involved and…" The Captain trailed off. Quickly, the above average hero raced over to the front of the store. There was a sheet covering what looked like a body and some patrol officers working on another not to far away.
"What's the ETA on that bus?" One officer shouted.
"Five minutes!" Came a shout from another officer. This reply seemed to be unsatisfactory and the first officer cursed.
"Stay with me. Don't die on me. The ambulance is coming." A third officer tried to keep the person with him.
"Joshua?" The words barely escaped Sportacus' mouth. At this some of the officers turned around and noticed the above average hero for the first time. It was then that the ambulance arrived. Quickly, the paramedics rushed over to Joshua. The twenty year old was loaded onto a gurney and wheeled into the bus. Sirens blazed as the ambulance made its fifteen-minute journey back to FunTown.
To Be Continued…
