A/N: Thanks for the reviews and alerts. Enjoy Chapter 3.
Chapter Three
Don and Colby must have spotted the guns at the same time. Charlie saw Don dive towards him, but Colby was closer and Charlie felt him pull him down off the step.
The sound of gun fire seemed to go on for hours, but Charlie knew it could only have been a few seconds as the SUV sped past. He flashed back to the previous day when Agent Wills had pushed him down and returned fire. The shooting then had lasted minutes not seconds. But this time Charlie realized there was a difference. No one had returned fire as the vehicle sped away.
Charlie was pinned on the ground against the bottom step with Colby lying half on top of him. He could just make out Don on the first step. Neither were moving.
Sick with worry, Charlie pushed at Colby to move him off. It was then he realized that he had a burning pain in his left arm. As he managed to roll Colby over, Charlie saw he was unconscious and there was blood on the front of his shirt.
Charlie turned to look at Don who was still lying on the step but trying to sit up. He could see his brother was breathing hard and there was pain etched on his face. He helped Don up and looked for a wound, just as Don grabbed his left side and doubled over in agony.
Charlie was feeling remarkably calm. A few years ago something like this would have sent him into a panic. "Don, lie down until help arrives."
"No, I'm good. You okay?"
"Yeah. It's just my arm." By now Charlie had moved over to Colby and was applying pressure to his shoulder. The blood pool beneath Colby was getting larger and Charlie was worried, especially as Colby still showed no signs of waking.
Don was now on his phone and Charlie could hear him talking to Liz, telling her what had happened.
Sirens were playing in the background and getting closer. Charlie felt relieved that help was almost at hand and looked up to tell Don. But his breath and heart stopped as he caught sight of the front of the Craftsman. There were bullet holes from one end to the other.
Don had been looking at him and saw the sudden heart stopping fear that Charlie knew must have shown on his face.
"What is it Charlie?" Don asked has he turned slowly to look at the house. "Oh no! Charlie, get in there, check on dad and Amita. I'll look after Colby." Don moved to take Charlie's place.
Charlie jumped to his feet and raced up the steps. This couldn't be happening. He shouldered his way in through the door hardly daring to breathe, afraid of what he'd find.
The inside of the house was like a war zone. Everything along the walls was shot to hell. Charlie knew that Amita and his dad had been in the dining room when he'd gone outside. Now he hoped they'd moved to the kitchen, but as he ran into the dining room he knew they hadn't.
He saw Alan first, lying on the floor in the doorway between the kitchen and dining rooms. There was a pool of blood spreading around him. But it was Amita that caught his attention the most. She was still sitting at the table and looked like she had just laid her head down for a nap, but Charlie could see the blood spreading on the side of the white blouse she was wearing.
Charlie ran over and fell to his knees beside Amita. Taking her in his arms he lowered her to the floor, cradling her against him. As he applied pressure to her side, he could feel the tears start to fall. "I'm so sorry, Amita. Please forgive me," he whispered. This was all his fault. Everyone was hurt because of him.
"Charlie?" The voice was so soft Charlie at first thought he was dreaming it. He'd had his eyes closed as he rocked Amita.
"Amita? Don't talk. Help will be here soon. I can hear them outside." The sirens he'd heard earlier had stopped outside now. This was good, help would soon be here.
"Charlie. You have to save the baby. It's alive, I felt it kick." Amita's voice was still very soft.
"You're both going to be fine Amita. Everything is going to be fine," Charlie whispered.
"No Charlie! Promise me. If it comes down to the baby or me, you have to save the baby." Amita's breathing was becoming laboured as she tried to make Charlie understand.
Charlie was lost. "Amita. Don't ask me to choose between you and the baby. I can't do that. You'll both be fine. Don't give up. Fight."
But Amita seemed to be losing the battle now. She couldn't draw in enough air, and her eyes fluttered closed.
"Help me!" Charlie screamed. He knew help was outside and they needed to be in here now. "Amita stay with me. Please Amita, you have to stay with me. I can't do this without you," Charlie sobbed, and suddenly there were EMTs and police everywhere.
Amita was pulled from his arms by two EMTs who immediately went to work on her. Charlie could only sit back and watch as they placed an oxygen mask over her face, then worked to stabilize her for transport.
As Amita was loaded onto a gurney and wheeled out, Charlie realized that the same process was taking place by the kitchen door.
Dad! Charlie immediately felt more guilt well up inside him. He hadn't even thought about his dad, he was so focused on Amita.
Trying to push himself to his feet to follow Amita out of the house, Charlie found he couldn't. He felt dizzy as grey started to creep in around the edges of his vision and his arm hurt more than he remembered. Guilt weighed heavily on his mind. He 'd caused all this. Everyone he cared about had been shot here today. It was his fault. Colby and his dad could be dead for all he knew. Don was hurt bad from what he'd seen. And Amita? What would he do if she died? He couldn't handle it anymore. So he let the grey push in and turn to black as he slumped to the floor unconscious.
TBC