Jimmy seemed to ponder his options for a split second before the sound of footsteps coming down the subway stairs caught him off-guard. Panicked, he dropped the knife. It clanged twice on the hard concrete before coming to rest. He followed his friends, who were halfway up the subway stairs by then. I heard a voice yell, “Hey!” followed by the sound of someone being punched and falling to the ground.
I collapsed onto my knees and closed my eyes from sheer exhaustion. A shock of pain uncoiled from my stomach and shot up my spine. I felt the restless flutter of my distressed baby and placed my hand on my cramping belly. It felt hard. There was a smell of dirty metal around me, rubber burning somewhere. My senses were suddenly heightened—or were they just now dying down? Bending forward in b
