I’m frozen in place, processing what Rocky was saying.
“Fuck!”
“Let’s go!”
We don’t hesitate as we sprint out of the garage bay and towards our bikes.Not one brother stays behind as we charge out of the parking lot and onto the street.Stone is weaving in and out of cars as are the rest of us.By the time we make it to our neighborhood, several of the neighbors are out on their lawns.Blaze and Allison are in the middle of the street next to someone.
“Oh God, no!”I say before hopping off my ride and rushing over just as Stone does.Numbness spreads across my body as I look at one of my brothers.My stomach threatens to empty the small breakfast I had with Zane this morning.
“FUCK!”Stone screams as Allison is rocking back and forth with Rocky’s prone body in her arms.Blaze is saying something to his baby brother, but the noise in my ears buzzes as I see a lifeless brother in front of me.“No, no!”Stone grabs Rocky and lays him flat on the ground.His eyes are open, but he’s staring through us.Stone starts CPR yelling for someone to do something.“Stay with me, buddy.Please don’t go, not like this!God, don’t do this to me!”
The sound of sirens come into earshot as Blaze stands over both his brothers with his hands in his hair crying.Reaper moves Allison out of the way.He takes off his cut then shirt to apply pressure to the gunshot wound in Rocky’s chest.
“What do we have?”Both an officer and paramedic come rushing over.
“Step aside and let us help,” one of the paramedics says.
“I’ve got him,” Stone screams when a medic tries to move him out of the way.
“Sir, we need to get him on the gurney and to the hospital.”
Somehow Stone moves just enough, and they are able to get him in the ambulance.Stone is covered in blood as are Blaze and Allison.We hear the medics say that there isn’t a pulse as the door slams shut and the vehicle takes off.
“Oh my God!”Allison repeats over and over as she looks down at her bloody hands.“Who did this?”She starts to look around at all the people watching.“Who did this to our brother?”
Blaze comes over right before she falls to the ground and sweeps her up into his chest.She’s hitting against his torso, demanding answers.
“What the fuck is happening?”Brass looks around.“Go talk to them and see if anyone saw anything or heard anything?”he directs the brothers to spread out to cover the street to hopefully find answers.
I don’t feel like I’m in my own body right now.Like I’m in a nightmare, watching all this unfold.It’s like a few months ago when this fucking house blew up.
Stone hasn’t taken his eyes off the spot where his baby brother was just at.
“What is going on now?”I hear the voice of Turner, and my hazy fog starts to lift.“Who’s in the bus headed to the hospital?”
“Rocky,” someone says.
Turner’s face drops in shock, and he scrubs his face with his hand.
“Do we know anything?”he asks.
“The brothers are asking around,” I say then turn to Stone and Blaze.“We need to get to the hospital.”No one moves so I walk over and grab Stone by his cut.“We need to leave now!”
His eyes meet mine, and I see nothing behind them.Without a word, I drag him over to the motorcycles.
“Call Crusher,” I instruct Ledger to call Rocky’s parents, then turn to Twitch.“Escort Blaze and Allison to the hospital.Call Martha to pick up Annie when she gets Zane at school.”
Stone goes through the motions mounting his bike.Me, Chains, and Bull, the club’s enforcers, all make our way to my home away from home.
It only takes us seven minutes to reach the hospital parking lot.Once we walk in, a flurry of activity is buzzing around the emergency room.As doctors and staff move quickly around each other all heading somewhere with purpose.
“Our brother was just brought in with a gunshot to the chest,” I tell the gray-headed lady standing next to the computer and charts.
She looks over upon hearing my voice.“Honey, we’ve had three come in with a gunshot in the last hour,” she says.
“My brother, Rocky, has Down syndrome,” I inform her, hoping that will help.
Her eyes soften, “Let me go ask around.”