Open Season

Calamity 2

OMG.

OMG.

Oh my GOD!

Moving as fast as her two legs could carry her, Staphanie raced against the constant horde of people fleeing in the opposite direction. The screams are defending, as more shots ring out.

This is an outright disaster! No amount of training can prepare you to see people panicking. Trampling, pushing, shoving... the things that fear makes them do to each other.

Self-preservation may be the strongest impulse on the planet, but we are about to find out how it stacks up to a mother's love. A mothers will. A mothers determination.

As the crowds thin, somewhat quieting, Staphanie knows she can't slow her pace, even for safety's sake. Response time is critical, to whatever incident she may find when she finally arrives at the scene. Her legs just won't move fast enough.

Screaching into her radio, she calls for backup, " Sherrif Ambergate, 10-72, Melrose City Park, Baseball Annex, Unknown assailants, scene active, Active Shooter possibly plural, proceed with caution"

"First Response team in route,"comes the response. As the police radio continues to chatter with the various agencies and players going into their various active stages.

Sirens emanate from the parking lot as the other active duty officers respond to what they've already seen and are now hearing. Trusting the event staff and planners with crowd control, the officers sprint in the direction the sheriff detailed over the comms, active shooters were going to trump the frightening and injured from the crowd surge.

With Texas being and open carry state, situations like this were always so much more complicated. The State agreed that citizens had the right to carry their arms. There just wasn't much digression required these days for people to approve of themselves justifying use of those born arms.

And just like that... we were going to be the next shattered community on CNN. Atop the list that no one wants to even be on.

A few scattered bodies caught the Sheriffs attention as she rounded the next corner. Oh God, there are casualties. She could already tell by the amount of blood and lack of movement from the three bodies present.

Wait... how could this be. This was one family. The whole family slaughtered. Staphanie knew this family. The mother was a local relator; the father a teacher at the high school... and

NO!

Their daughter, only in second grade lay partially beneath them, staring awkwardly at nothing in the distance.

Immediate sorrow slept into her heart, her eyes watered for this family so senselessly cut down.

She could no longer hear any shots. She could see no shooter. But she could see a group of young boys up ahead unmoving staring at something on the ground.

A couple steps from the chainlink fence inside the right field within the biggest diamond, she could see a variety of uniforms as the boys unwaveringly stared at something on the ground before them.

"Boys" she called. "Boys! I need you to take cover, we need to get you to shelter" she shouted as she rounded the fencing to break into the group.

"Don't you move an inch Sherrif," a man said from his safe perch inside the circle of terrified boys.

The terror that greeted Sheriff Ambergate was exactly what she should have expected. The shooter was holding a boy hostage. Her boy.

As officers continued to move in their general direction, Staphanie lifted her gun aiming away from the boys and the shooter.

Hostage negotiation wasn't her strong suite. She had no stomach for lies or flattery. She would just as soon giver herself permission to use her fire arm as give this murdering prick what he wanted.

But what did he want?

Raising her hands in surrender she continued to creep closer to the scene, speaking softly and calmly. Ignoring the orders from the other officers to stop her movements, that backup was on the way.

All she could see was her son, with this assholes gun pointed into his chest.

My brave Ethan wasn't even crying. His face was several shades of red, indicating how Angry and Scared he was. But his tears glimmered in his thinly slit eyes, refusing to give this creep the satisfaction of making him cry. That was really important to 10 year old, no one could see you cry anymore. For any reason. He would never live it down. And he didn't intend to spend the rest of his life fighting from being teased... he could hear it now. "You remember that time..." He let out a hostile breath through his nostrils.

"Boys, your all going to slowly walk back towards to officer, okay" she smiled making eye contact with the frightened youths. Gently but forcefully shoving them toward the officers who had taken up posts behind her.

"Sir, " she says trying to get the shooters attention off the retreating boys and back on her; allowing them their best chance at escape.

"Can you and I talk about what's going on today? Let's get the kids outta here so we can chat, " she ventures reaching toward Ethan slowly and steadily.

Making direct eye contact with the shooter as his grip on Ethan loosens in relationship to his widening eyes. As she almost has Ethan extricated from his grasp, her Ex runs in around the officers trying to coral him...

TCHEWT

TCHEWT

TCHEWT

He shoots wildly at Ethan's dad, as Ethan screams, breaking in that direction to protect his dad.

BANG

BANG

BANG

The deputies fire, killing the assailant.

4 Dead in Opening Day m******e read the CNN ticker. I f*****g knew it. Now, we're really going to get to go to the circus. Staphanie thought to herself as she sat beside her Ex's hospital bed. He'd suffered 2 gunshot wounds, one minor, one superficial.

Meeting the entreating eyes of her Ex over her son's sleeping head she inhaled to confide in him.

"I'm sorry you were hurt. But, this changes nothing." she exhales dispassionately. Unable to ignore the crestfallen nature of his gaze, her wounds were much worse than his physical ones.

Hot silent tears wet the hospital bedding as Ethan secretly cried into his fathers legs, hearing his mother confirm again that his hopes of family restoration were still not going to happen. Why couldn't things just be the way they used to be?

Leaving the silent, now solemn hospital room Staphanie decided to venture down to the morgue to speak with her detectives, there had to be a reason for all this madness today.

Lingering back from the corner, she caught the tail end of a conversation between two of her officers.

"Son of a b***h, serves him right you ended him. He's just a f*****g week early. Almost ruined the whole damed thing." Collins said grumpily.

"I don't know about this Collins, " said the second officer you know to be Williams, a young new recruit from the academy less than a month on the job.

"What's there to know. Your on the inside... the whole network is aware of the date and the whole country will act together to obliterate all these mongrels at the same time." Collins chuckles

"President Surpass has really approved this? I just can't believe we can do like the f*****g Purge Movie. It's fiction for christ's sake." Collins complains.

"Well, the powers that be think it's time to stop talking a good game & act. And I for one can't wait." He tones in smugly. " I know exactly whose life and property I'm taking over." he chuckled, rubbing his leathery hands together.

Banging the door to alert them of my presence. I emerge from the dark hallway passage, eyes slanted and address my subordinate officers.

"Collins, uhh... remind me of your name kid." I say feigning ignorance.

"Williams, ma'am." the young man begins to blush the evidence spreading to his ears.

"No need for the formalities, you can just call me Sherrif. Has the assailant been identified? Next of kin contacted? A motive identified?" I rapid fire questions as the two inept officers.

"Sherrif, the detectives are still do a workup. They said they'd brief you a little later this evening." Collins mumbled in response to my sharp gaze.

Nodding in affirmation, turning to leave then quickly swiveling to catch the guilty expressions of relief on their faces & posture I ask one final question, "So what are you two doing out here?"

They square gazes with each other, then Williams motioned me closer indicating they'd like to whisper...visually clearing the darkened hall sweeping one direction then the next.

"It seems we have a problem, Sherrif." Williams whispered for my ears only.

Indeed, we do.