Chapter 19

I screamed and put my arms on the top of my head crouching down, mortified to the very core. What in the world is happening? Why in the actual fuck am I hearing what I'm supposed to hear in the action movies instead?

Carter frantically looks around, then looked at something, his eyes widening as if what he just witnessed is threatening. He grabs my upper arm and nods his head to the Ferris wheel, "Come with me!" he yells and harshly pulls me to the entrance of the Ferris wheel. I tried to stop him and pull away, but he didn't leave my arm.

"Why are we getting in there?? What the hell is the point unless aiming ourselves for them to shoot at us?!" I shouted at the back of his head, but no, his ears are stuffed with cotton, hardly listening to me.

The person who controls the Ferris wheel is hidden under the controller with his hands on top of his head, scared for his dear life. Carter pulled him up with his collar and held him tight with one hand, "We are riding up, do not make it stop."

The man nodded his head without hesitation and touched a couple of buttons, making the Ferris wheel work again. Carter pulled me and got inside one of the bright red carts. He closed it behind us and sat, I followed suit. I looked at him when he took out something from his back pocket.

A... gun.

And me, being the courageous girl I am, almost got on my knees and started to beg him, "Carter, please. I don't know what I did to you, but I am so fucking sorry, okay? No, wait.... you know what, I'm not sorry. I don't care what I did, you can kill me, but if you and your group hurt any of those people, wait, have you ever thought of Abigail??"

"Oh my fuck love bunny! I never tried to do anything! The fucking main reason to bring you here was that I just wanted to spend some time with you! Sorry to manipulate your friend for this but I needed it!" he yelled in frustration. Oh...

"But what about..." I asked lowly, but he interrupted me again.

"I do not fucking know! I already told you what I planned on doing. And do not worry, Cole and Xavier will surely take out the people and put them in a safe place, they know what to do." he said, "And this gun is to protect us. I chose for us to be in the Ferris wheel so I can shoot those,"

"No! That's worse! Why would you kill them?" I said hastily. He took in a deep breath and blew it out. "Listen, will you? I will just try to disarm them, maybe shoot, but no, not kill," he said and leaned up to peer from the door of the cart. He slowly aimed his gun somewhere down there, then shot. A yelp almost escaped my lips as I pull myself together. I can't do this, oh no, I can't.

"One down, they are like ten or something," he says as the Ferris wheel stopped suddenly and completely. Carter told the guy to not make it stop, so, did the guys there make it to....? My blood drained from my body when I heard the banging and clanging of metals from the bottom of it. Then in a swift motion, the whole thing moved, but not in its usual circle, it was back and forth. I wanted to scream and look down so I can get a clear image of what the fuck is going on, but my whole body felt numb. Why did we come here? Where are Jenny and Harris? Are they fine? Will we even survive from this?

"Carter," I whispered. He moved up again and shot some of them or none at all. "Fuck, those guys are psychos. They were trying to unscrew this." Wha...? They, the guys wanted to unscrew the whole damn Ferris wheel...?

"Carter," I whispered again, this time sticking my hand to reach and lightly tug at his shirt. I'm too terrified to even move.

He turned his head to me, and when he realized how I am about to freak out, he lightly wrapped his huge arm around me, "Hey, hey, it is okay. I will protect you, love bunny. I know these people, do you remember those drug dealers that you met a few weeks ago?" he asked.

I nodded my head gulping, "Well, I think they are coming for us, literally, you and me." he said simply.

I stilled. I badly want to puke all over this tiny place and pass out. But these guys, the people of those monsters are looking and trying to kill me, but why? I didn't... was it because Carter and I talked backed to them?

"I remember us talking back to them, was that the reason?" I asked him. He sat back and looked at me, "Unfortunately, I hate to say this, but yeah, it is because of that. But mostly mine got that square-faced guy. He is always the furious one."

"And what are we going to do?"

"There is good news here, they do not know that we are up here, so we will wait until they leave," he said.

"What? So, you are telling me that we are going to spend the rest of the evening here?"

"If you want to be killed, just give them a wave, they will surely return it with a bullet," he replies sarcastically.

I ignored his remark, "What if they hurt anyone here? Our friends to be precise?" I asked.

"They are way more confident than you think love bunny, but the only thing that I can assure you of is by the presence of Cole and Xavier with them," he said. I sighed and rested my head on the seat.

"Why did you want to spend more time with me?" I blurted the question. Had he not asked Jenny and made her bring us her, we could have been safe, eating lunch at Subway and chilling.

"I..." he started, but stopped. He seemed to be in a quick thought, thinking if he should tee or not.

"I get it, don't tell me. I am such a priceless person to talk about something like this with you, it's okay." I said, bringing my legs closer to me.

He gave me the blank face, his eyes shocked, "What are you saying? Is it not still clear why I made you come here?" he asks with an eyebrow fixed upward.

"I don't know... and, I don't want to." I lied.

"Why are you trying to make a barrier between us?"

"Carter, there is nothing called 'us', you are just making it."

"Maybe, because I want to..."

"Carter, stop. My plate is already full of worrying about us, I don't want to add other nonsense to it."

"You just said 'us'" he said smiling.

"I meant by the whole people here, ugh, stop thinking about everything too widely." I snapped.

"As you wish, love bunny," he said winking. I ignored him and closed my eyes taking deep breaths, trying to calm myself down.

"I do not understand why you were ignoring me this whole time," he suddenly speaks with his head resting on the same seat as mine, facing me, "We barely know each other, I know, I could be 'mean' sometimes, but we can start off with a clean slate again, you know, like friends?" he said, making me open my eyes wide.

"What?"

"I never felt or said this to anyone, but here it goes, the reason why I did not tell my real name to Cole and Xavier, and my whole old school community is because-"

Sirens of ambulances and polices grew louder and louder, the shooting of guns that was still being heard dying down, my heart felt a huge relief. Thank goodness they came and saved us. Carter looked at me intensely for five seconds or so, but then stood up and glanced downward, "Everything is clear, I will try and send help to us," he says waving down at somebody, I guess the guy that controls the Ferris' wheel, I hope he is okay.

We started to move around with a few strange movements and descend to the ground. As soon as we reached down, I barged the door open and ran. I need to find them, I need to make sure they are okay. If they are not, then I would never forgive myself because this is all my fault, it actually is.

My eyes teared up as I looked from one game tent to the other until I reached the gate of the festival. Where the hell are they?

"Kate!" I hear Jenny screaming my name from my far right. I didn't waste time and sprinted towards her voice.

"Jenny?!" I called her, but this time, she didn't answer. Oh Lord, please don't let my friends be hurt, I am so scared.

Jenny's and others' screams filled the air again, then a trigger was pulled, "NO!!" I shouted and ran as fast as I can to her. No, it will not happen, no, this will not happen, I won't let this happen.

As soon as I reached a ball-throwing game tent, I finally saw them all. I smiled at the sight of Jenny, Harris, Abigail, Allison, and the two boys, they are okay. But the knot in m stomach tightened more and frowned when I realized they were surrounded by men in black suits, with guns pointed at them.

And in front of them, there is a man, a very huge and a tall man pointing a gun at the middle of Cole and Harris, Jenny. They don't seem to notice me, so I hid under the hotdog machine, thinking of a quick plan to come up with and start doing it now.

"Please go away! You are scaring me." Abigail says as she hides behind Allison.

"Really? But I thought we were playing, now come here you little-" the guy neared them, but stopped with the pointed index finger of Allison.

"Get the fuck away from her," Allison threatens him.

"And who are you, miss sexy?" the man said licking on his lips and smirking, gross.

"If you say one more word," Allison starts, but the man cuts her off, "What are you going to do? Claw those fingers on me?" he laughs and gets closer to them, the gun still pointed in their direction.

"Hey! Stop getting closer!" Cole warns, but the man didn't listen.

Abigail and I caught eyes, noticing me, she smiles happily. I quickly put my finger on my lips to silence her, but,

"Kate! Help us!" Abigail shouts to me, shifting all the attention in my direction. Agh, fuck me...

There was no other choice, so I stood from my place and headed towards them. I am surprised at how confident I am being right now, walking to the group of armed people, with guns.

"Here she is! The one and only, Kate Anderson!" the man says getting closer to me now. I held in my breath, trying to control myself not to run away. He aimed the weapon he is holding, at me.

"Here I am," I said, clapping my hands once.

"No!" Harris and Jenny said simultaneously.

"Ah, what caring friends you have,"

"Cute, isn't it? Now go away from them and let them leave." I said, still walking up to him.

"This easily? Let's make a deal then. Either you let me hurt them all or I kill you. That's all I came for." he said.

"Kate! It's a trap! Run away!" Xavier yells. I glanced at them, at how Cole, Xavier, and Harris are surrounding and protecting them, and how Jenny and Allison put Abigail behind them. And where were Carter and I? Yes, we were not giving a fuck about them and having our time together, just thinking about ourselves. The least I can do now is to help them out and put them in a safe place as soon as possible.

"Well?" the man asked me itching his raw beard. I snapped my eyes to him, then sighed. It's either them or me, and it is obvious to me what I will choose.

I can't believe how my life is so short. I have heard when people say 'life is short', but this is way too short for me. I am still seventeen, didn't finish high school, and have never even been in a relationship. It's funny how things go all the way around when you think it otherwise.

"Shoot me," I said, gulping hard. How terrifying and calming it sounds, I can't believe I am pushing myself to death. I never thought sacrificing your life would be so, great. I know I will die, but at the same time, I would be saving souls, and that's the main thing.

He laughed, and with no hesitation, aimed the gun well at me, "Any last words?" he asks.

Oh god, this is so real. I feel like I'm in the movies, but more real and scary.

"Who the fuck are you standing for?? Go away! Run!"

"Kate!"

"Stop!"

I hear all of them scream and shout, even Abigail. It feels good to know that those people really cared about me, or maybe they are faking it. But anyway, I will do what I have got to do, it just feels right.

"It's alright guys, just tell mom and dad that I love them so much, you too," I said, the lump breaking on my words. I smiled and turned to the guy. I took in my last deep breath of this cool air and closed my eyes.

All of them were screaming my name, telling me to move away and to make him hurt them instead. But before anything, it happened quickly.

The man shot the gun, I tensed then gasped, opening my eyes in terror and falling to the ground. Strange, I still don't feel any sharp pain, I look down at myself, there wasn't anything. But when I looked up at what pushed me, I cried out loud.

It is Carter, he took the bullet for me.

We stared into each other's eyes, his blazing golden hazel eyes holding different emotions, no words spoken between us. His eyes reddened, then smiled, "Love bunny." he murmured and fall on me.

"NO!!" I screamed and tried to hold him up, to wake him, but he didn't move... no.

"What the heck happened?" The guy speaks startled, but I didn't give him half of my attention.

"Carter... what did you do? Please wake up." I whispered in his ear, looking at his face. His eyes were almost closed, but moving from one side to another. Where is he shot? I turned my hands and saw them, they were covered in his blood. Horrified, I tried to push him and touch and feel his body, and there it was, he is shot on his stomach. Oh Lord.. why did he do that?

"Put your weapon down and kneel on the floor! You are under arrest!" I hear the police say. Assholes, I heard them coming before now, and this is the right time for them to show up? Fuckers.

"Miss, is he okay?" A nurse looking lady came up to me holding a first aid case.

"No, he is shot," I said dryly.

"Two forty-eight, we need a stretcher now, another is shot," she speaks through the headset on her shoulder and kneels down.

Another? Are there many who are injured? Damn, what kind of a hot mess are we in?

"Help me lay him on the ground," she said. We hold him on both of his sides and turn him to put him laid on the floor.

"What the fuck," he groans and coughs blood. Oh, my, God, "Carter," I called out silently, tears slipping from my eyes.

"Hello there, what is your name?" the lady asks him, "Carter... Harrington," he answers breathing heavily.

"Carter? How are you? What are you feeling?" I ask urgently. He looked at me with lazy eyes and smiled, "Love bunnyyy," he slurs and closes his eyes.

"Please bear with us, you need to stay strong, Carter," I said, holding his hand and pulling it to my chest.

"Is she your girlfriend?" the nurse asks him.

"No."

"Yes, she is, the best girlfriend you would ever get," he said, shocking me with his reply. Is he hallucinating stuff now?

"I see," she says smiling at him. I see two people carrying the stretcher and coming to us, quickly spreading it and placing it down, "Rosa, here it is. Where is the patient?"

"Bring it over here, he is bleeding very bad. We need to take him right now," she says and stands up.

"Please, be with me." Carter whispers, his eyes drooping, "I do not know why, but I need you to stay with me."

"I will. Just, stay awake, okay? Please, for Abigail and Allison." I say, putting my other hand on his forehead and pushing his hair back.

"Damn, you are so good at doing that," he says chuckling lightly. At this tense and bad time, flirting with me?

"Shut up, stop wasting your energy," I said as the two men picked him up and lay him on the black stretcher.

"Will you be boarding with us?" The man asked me as we jogged to the ambulance car.

"I-"

"Excuse me, I am his sister, I will go with him," Allison says and pushes me back, disconnecting Carter and I's hand.

"Okay then. He looks in a bad shape, so as soon as we take him to the nearest hospital we need to ca...." their voices cut off as the ambulance door shuts on them, leaving me behind. I stood there as they left, completely clueless of what I should do now.

"Kate!" Abigail shouts my name and quickly clings to me. "I saw everything, I saw him when he, my brother, I," she couldn't speak, sobbing and hiccupping at each phrase she tries to say.

"Don't worry, love. He will be okay." I said, picking her up and holding her tight between my arms.

"I want to go to him," she says crying on my shoulder.

"Okay Abi, we will go to him, stop crying," I tried to shush as I went to where everyone was standing.

"Xavier," I called him, and he quickly turned to me, looking at Abigail and I frantically, "We need to follow the ambulance and go to the hospital," I tell him and put Abigail down, holding her head to keep her close to me. He scratches his chin and looked down, "Okay, but Cole and Harris would be staying here. The police wanted some of us as a witness of what happened here, and both of them agreed to go with them. So you, Jenny, Abigail and I will be going. I will take you, right now." he said as Jenny comes up to me, giving me the world's crushing bear hug.

"I thought I lost you forever," she whispers, "You are such an idiot."

"I would've given the world to save you, Jen," I said, letting go and putting my hand on her cheek.

"Kate," Abigail whines, "Yeah, yeah, Come on," I said. Xavier leads us to his car and, off we went to the hospital.

It has been so long since I went to a hospital. It has been so long, but I still recall that last time I visited a doctor. It was a bad and hard memory to forget. It was when I had this bad sickness in my stomach. My mom and dad got worried and decided on taking me to the hospital. When mom took me to the hospital and got tested for everything, the doctors told me that I needed a gallbladder removal surgery as soon as possible, because it has too many stones that it can burst at any moment. It was the worst time I ever had in my life. The pain, the terror of having surgery, the removal of one of my organs, and the overthinking of what would happen after that.

After I had my gallbladder removed, I thought that it would be better and I will be cured fast, but no, I had to eat food that was sparsely included in my diet, I had to puke them out over and over for weeks, and I even had to take injections to ease the pain and help me sleep. I shuddered at the memory and looked out of the window.

"The ambulance went pretty fast, but luckily I know where we are heading," Xavier said as he made a U-turn. Abigail is sat between me and Jenny, resting her head on my arm.

I feel so sorry for Abigail, watching her brother being shot is the worst thing for a child her age to see. She told me earlier that Allison told her to stick with me no matter what. And to be honest, it tugged a part of me, which made me smile. At least I gained a little trust from her.

We reached the hospital and all of us got out of the car. All of us marched to the hospital doors and the reception desk.

"A friend of ours was rushed to this hospital by an ambulance, his name is Carter Harrington," I said, holding on Abigail's hand.

"Carter what?" Cole asks, making me tense, shit. I looked at him and shrugged my shoulders, "Just a name I came up with, calm down." I said, turning my attention back to the receptionist.

"He is currently at the emergency room, so, you can take a seat until the doctor finishes his operation and allows you to enter," she says popping her gum and chewing on it loudly. If I wasn't so worried about Carter, I would've told her to shut her blasty mouth from chewing.

"Okay then, where is the emergency room?" Xavier asked.

"Head straight then to the corner left," she said, pointing behind her.

"Xavier and I will stay here. You and Abigail, go." Jenny says holding at Xavier's arm.

I looked at her gratefully, "Thank you." I said and walked down the hall with Abigail. As we took the left corner, I immediately spotted Allison sitting on the metal chairs, her hands on her knees, looking miserable.

"Al!" Abigail shouts and runs to her. She quickly glances up and looks at running Abigail. They hug each other for a while, making me stand awkwardly on my spot. After the quick debate I had with myself, I decided to leave, this is not my place to be, I am not his family member or anything closer than that.

"Wait." Allison stopped me. I turned myself and looked at her, "He was murmuring about a love bunny saying to not leave him alone, is that you?" she asked, smirking lightly.

"I don't even know why he calls me that," I said, feeling my cheeks flush in embarrassment.

"No, it is fine. Take a seat here, we definitely do not need a furious Carter looking for you, right?" she says jokingly. I chuckled and nodded my head. I sat at the far end of the seat, still uncomfortable about what to do.

"Well, I guess I must apologize for pushing you away from Carter, who Xavier and Cole know him as-"

"I know, I know. And, it's okay, I get it." I quickly replied.

"So, are you two a thing? It was very unexpected, to be honest," she said, brushing hairs from Abigail's face.

"No, we are not even friends for that matter," I said the bitter truth out loud. He asked me at the Ferris wheel about being friends. Now, I kind of wish I just agreed right away as he said it.

"I do not believe you. He does not shut up when he talks about you, girl. He always says there is a love bunny that is cute, funny, and loving, right Abi?" she says. Abigail nods her head and smiles, "I thought he would be finally bringing a pet home, since dad always says no, but never thought love bunny would be you, Kate," Abigail said sitting straighter to face me, "I think you would make a nice couple." I almost choked on my saliva.

"Oh no, Abi. It will never happen." I say, making her drop her smile. "Uh... no, I didn't mean it like that, it's just I do want to, but it's also a maybe-"

"Carter Harrington's family?" a nurse spoke from the emergency room door. Allison and I stood up abruptly and speedily walked to the nurse.

"What happened? Is he okay?" Allison asks hurriedly. The nurse looks at the papers she was holding, then sighed,

"Unfortunately, there is a higher chance of losing him, I am sorry."