by Hope Stone
“I heard three pops, like gunshots, and everyone is screaming and running!” That sounded like Chalupa but I couldn’t be sure.
Sure enough, people were starting to pour out of the exits, running and screaming. My heart froze and I instantly sprung to action. Lily. I needed to find Lily.
I didn’t even wait for Padre. I just started running toward the first door I could get to.
If the outside of the convention center was chaos, the inside was ten times worse. All of the lights were up and a voice was speaking over the sound system. “Please exit the building in an orderly manner. Do not panic or run. Proceed to the nearest exit.”
No one was listening. I was pushing my way through the crowd, but there were so many people trying to get by me that I was being pushed backward anyway.
Finally, I stood flat against the wall and crept forward that way.
“Was it a shooter?” Trainer asked, on the walkie talkie. “Has anyone been shot?”
“I don’t know yet. The LPPD are securing the scene. I am inside and don’t see any injuries except for some people who fell while running. There are gonna be some broken bones and stuff.” That was Hawk.
I had no idea how I was going to find Lily in this mess. Part of me wanted to just take off and go to the meeting point, but I also knew I couldn’t leave until we knew what was going on.
“Please exit the building in an orderly manner. Do not panic or run. Proceed to the nearest exit.”
People were panicking and running. Finally, I made it to the internal door of the arena and pushed my way through the throng of people coming up the stairs to get out the door. I was on a higher level and could see the floor seats below me. People were scrambling to get out, but I saw no evidence of anyone who’d been shot or bleeding. Swole was down there guiding people out, and I could see several of the other guys doing the same thing.
Still no sign of Lily.
“Help me!” A young woman was pinned against a barrier. “I’m stuck.”
“I’m on my way,” I shouted, grabbing people by their jackets and shirts and literally throwing them to the side. As I got close, I saw that the woman had a child with her that she was shielding from getting trampled. They were both pressed tightly up against a barricade and the crowd was pressing them into it. The little girl was crying.
“Here, let me have your hand,” I said to the girl. She appeared to be about eight years old or so and had black braids all around her head. I pulled her close enough to grab her waist and then lifted her up over the crowd. “Put your legs on my shoulders and I’ll give you a piggyback ride out of here, okay?”
Her mom was cradling her left arm with her right and I asked,”Are you hurt?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I think my arm is broken.”
“Okay, let’s get you out of here.”
“My friend. My friend is still missing,” she said, looking around frantically.
“That’s okay. We need to get you out of here and to see a doctor. MOVE ASIDE,” I said in my most commanding voice. “We need to get through.”
One of the main advantages of being six feet tall and covered with tattoos is that people pretty much did what you said. They took one look at me with the little girl on my shoulders and her injured mom and made room for us.
Just outside the entrance to the venue, there were police cars set up in a perimeter. We walked up to one of the officers and I said, “This lady is hurt and needs medical attention.” He took the girl from me, nodded, and then escorted them to a nearby ambulance.
I was relieved that there had been no more reports of gunshots, or what sounded like them. But the scene was still crazy and no one had any idea what had happened.
For a moment, I stood there torn. I wanted to rush off to the Starbucks where Lily and Bailey and I were to meet up. But there was no way I could leave now, so I headed back inside to see who else needed my help. Before I did, though, I sent Lily another text.
Are you guys okay? Please text back.
Unfortunately, my first text hadn’t gone through, and this one came back “undelivered” too.
Where are you, Lily?
Twenty-Six
Paige
I couldn’t catch my breath. I’d managed to drive the short distance home from Southgate, but I was having a full-blown panic attack in the car. I couldn’t even get out and go into my apartment. I was just sitting there, frozen in fear, with my hands covering my face as I tried to regulate my breathing. I was almost raped in a parking lot! I couldn’t stop feeling his hands on me.
Knock knock knock. Someone rapped on the car window and I almost jumped out of my skin. I was surprised I didn’t scream.
“Hey, are you okay?” It was the woman who lived on the first floor, directly under my apartment.
I couldn’t move and so I just shook my head no. I was definitely not okay.
“Hey. Unlock the door. Let me help.” She was standing right outside my window, crouching down. “It’s okay. I can help you.”
My hand felt around on the car door for the lock and I pressed the button. As soon as she heard the click she opened the car door and kneeled down, facing me.
“What happened? Are you hurt?”
I shook my head no, and she touched my arm. “Come on. Let’s get you inside. You can come to my place for a few minutes.”
Her words and her touch woke me out of the shock I was in. I unbuckled my seat belt and grabbed my bag and purse. “Thank you, I’m sorry. I just…”
She put her arm around me protectively and we walked into the building together. My knees were weak and my legs were wobbly, and I was very happy when she locked the door behind us at her place.
She took my bags and set them on a small metal card table in the living room. “Your name is Paige, right?”
I nodded, “Yes. I live right above you.”
“I know! My name is Maria.”
I’d seen her a bunch of times coming and going, but we’d never actually talked.
“Come sit down. I’ll make you some tea.”
As I crossed over to the plaid couch, I got a look at her place. It was the same layout as my apartment, but of course it looked different with her furniture in it.
She had a television going with a Spanish channel on it, and on the bookshelf next to the TV were pictures of Maria with a young boy I’d seen with her before, and had assumed was her son.
My apartment hardly had any furniture and felt bare, but hers felt homey and lived in. “How long have you lived at Banner Manor?” I asked.
“Oh, about five years. I came right after Mario was born.” She nodded to some photos on the fridge. “He is with his Tia this weekend. His dad may have run off on me, but his family has been good to us.”
My heart rate was starting to calm down as she handed me the tea. “Thank you.”
“So what happened to you?” she asked, sitting down next to me on the couch.
“I was…attacked in the Southgate parking lot.”
Her eyes flew open wide. “Ay dios mio! Are you all right?”
“Yeah, he just scared me. That’s all.”
“You should call the cops. Or see a doctor?”
I didn’t need a doctor, but I did wonder if I could call the police. Then again, it had been about half an hour and I wasn’t even sure I would be able to recognize the guy. On the other hand, there might be cameras in the parking lot of Southgate.
“I don’t know. Maybe…”
Just as I took my first sip of tea, some breaking news interrupted the show that was on the TV. I didn’t understand what they were saying, but there was a reporter standing outside the La Playa Convention Center. There were a ton of cops and firetrucks and ambulances there.
“Oh my god.” My heart started pounding again. “My sister is there.”
Maria looked at the TV and grabbed the remote to turn up the volume.
“What are they saying?” I asked. It appeared to be sheer chaos.
“They
are saying that there was a shooting at the concert. They don’t know how many casualties there were but that the shooter has not been captured.”
I started shaking uncontrollably. “I have to go. I have to get to my sister.”
“You are in no condition to drive, Paige.”
I had my phone out and my hands were shaking as I tried to text Bailey. The message didn’t go through, so I tried to call and it went straight to voicemail.
I was full on panicking now, so I tried to call Ryder. Same thing. It went straight to voicemail.
“I’m sorry, Maria. I have to go.” I stood up and was patting my pants to find my keys. “Where are my keys?!”
“Paige. Look. If you must go, let me drive you. You really are too upset to drive. You were upset when you got here.”
She was right. “Okay, thank you. But please, let’s hurry.”
What a terrible night. I’d insisted on listening to news radio on the way downtown. Maria had a Toyota truck and I was in the passenger seat, flipping from station to station trying to get news on the shooting. Every station had a different story.
One station was saying that it was a gang-related shootout. Another was saying it was a lone shooter. A third station said that there was no evidence of a shooter at all, that no one had been reported at local hospitals with gunshot wounds and it was likely all a hoax.
A hoax? Who would do such a terrible thing? I kept trying to contact Bailey and Ryder. If I’d had Lily’s number, I’d have called her too.
The freeway was jammed because the exit to the convention center was closed off. Not surprising, really.
“Maybe if we take the next exit and circle back we can get close.”
We got off the freeway and were going down Pacific Drive and I could see some building burning in the distance. The sky was filled with helicopters—probably both news and police. The air smelled like burning rubber.
The inside of the truck lit up from an incoming call. It was my mother. As much as I didn’t want to talk to her, I knew she’d probably heard the news and was worried. I had to take the call.
“Hi Mom.”
“Oh my god, Paige. I’m so glad you both are all right. What’s going on? Did you and Bailey see anything?”
“Hey. Yeah. There’s something I need to tell you…”
Twenty-Seven
Ryder
We were all standing outside in the parking lot. We’d helped get everyone out of the convention center and then the LPPD took over, working with venue security. Our night here was over.
“Did they ever catch the shooter?” Chalupa asked.
“There’s not even evidence that there WAS a shooter. Witnesses said they heard three loud pops that sounded like gunfire and then everyone started screaming and running.” Hawk lit up a cigarette.
“So, no victims with gunshot wounds?” Trainer asked.
Hawk shook his head. “I can’t say for sure, but it doesn’t seem like it.”
I was listening, but I wasn’t. I needed to get to the Starbucks to meet up with Lily. “Look, guys. I need to take off. I’m supposed to meet my sister at that Starbucks.”
“Oh my god, that’s right. Your sister was here!” Swole said. “Have you seen her?”
“No. And her phone is going straight to voicemail.” I’d tried so many times that I killed my own battery.
“No worries, Ryder. See you back at the shop. Take care of Lily.” Chalupa said.
Padre was strangely silent and for a minute I remembered the conversation I’d overheard. But I didn’t have time to worry about that. I needed to find my sister.
Not for the first time tonight, I was regretting that I had the car instead of my bike. If I’d had the bike, I would have already been parked and inside Starbucks. But, because of everything that had gone down tonight and the streets being blocked off around the convention center, it took me half an hour to find a spot four blocks away.
The clock in the car said it was 11:30 pm. I hoped the Starbucks would still be open and that the girls knew to stay safely inside until I got there.
Judging from the number of people milling about outside, it was a good chance that the place was still open. Hopefully, I could find the girls, get back to the car, and be at Paige’s place within the hour.
Paige… I wondered if she had heard the news. If so, she must have been so worried. There were tons of helicopters still overhead and news vans everywhere. Plus, given the number of rumors flying around, who knows what she thought happened?
It was a terrible time for my phone to be dead, for sure.
As I approached the Starbucks, I had my eyes out for Bailey. She was tall and blonde like Paige and would be easier to spot than my dark-haired sister.
“Bailey!” I said, as I walked up to a blonde waiting outside the front door. But when she turned around, I saw that it wasn’t her. “Sorry.”
“No worries. Everyone’s looking for someone tonight.”
I scanned the crowd outside and didn’t see them so I figured I’d go inside. They were probably sitting there having a Frappuccino and tweeting about their adventure.
The place was packed, but I didn’t see Lily or Bailey anywhere. I was getting worried and I went back up to Not Bailey and tapped her on the shoulder. “Excuse me. Can you do me a favor?”
She smiled, “Sure. What?”
“Can you go into the ladies’ room and see if my sister and her friend are in there?”
“Oh, sure.”
I followed her over to the small hallway where the bathrooms were. Most Starbucks have gender-neutral bathrooms these days, but this one had a throwback ladies’ room, too.
“What are their names?” she asked.
“Lily. Lily and Bailey.”
“Pretty names. Okay, hang on, I’ll be right back.”
Instinctively I checked my phone before I remembered that it was dead. One minute later she came out and shook her head. “Unless your sister is an old Asian woman, she’s not in there.”
Dammit. Where could they be? “Okay, thank you for checking.”
I decided to charge my phone. Maybe they sent a text message about where they would be. I plugged in a nearby outlet and looked around at the people hugging and crying, reuniting with loved ones. There were still so many questions about what happened tonight. What was the explosion at the waterfront? Was it the Las Balas compound? If so, who did it? Was it related to the event at the concert? Was there really a shooter, and if so, where did he or she go? Was anyone actually shot? What was the motive?
Despite all of that, there was only one question I cared about getting the answer to. Where was Lily?
Twenty-Eight
Paige
I hated to have to tell my mom that we’d lied to her, but there was no way around it. “Mom, I didn’t go to the concert with Bailey.”
“What? Yes you did. You picked her up this afternoon.”
“I know. But, Bailey went with a friend.”
“A friend? What friend? Was it a boy?” My poor mom sounded confused.
“No, it was a girl. Her name is Lily. I met her and we had dinner together.” It seemed like a month ago that we’d gone to La Passarelli.
“Why would your sister lie about going to a concert with a girlfriend? Is she a lesbian?”
“God, Mom!” I swear, that woman is stuck in 1978. “She didn’t want you to know because Lily lives in La Playa and she thought you would be judgy about it.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone and I could hear my dad in the background. “Is everything all right? Are the girls okay?” he asked.
“So you’re telling me that you dropped Bailey off at the La Playa Convention Center with some girl you just met tonight and now you don’t know where she is?” my mom continued.
I decided to leave out the part about the guy from the motorcycle gang that dropped them off instead of me and just said, “Pretty much, yes.”
“That’s it. We’re coming down.”
“Mom, I’m not even home. I’m looking for Bailey.”
“This is not up for discussion, Paige. Bailey is still my child and your father and I are coming down.”
I knew the tone of her voice meant she was serious and there was nothing I could say that would dissuade her. “Do you still have a key?” They’d insisted on having a spare key to my place “in case of emergency.” Looks like they were right to do it. This was definitely an emergency.
“Yes. We’ll be there within the hour.”
“Okay. I’m almost to the convention center now. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“Good.” She sounded pissed.
“Oh, and Mom?”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry we lied.”
“I am too.” The line disconnected and I felt like I was ten years old again and had broken a piece of her favorite china.
Except this was her daughter, and if something serious happened to Bailey, they would never forgive me. I’d never be able to forgive myself, either.
It wasn’t too surprising that the entire section of the city where the convention center was was blocked off. Maria pulled her truck up to one of the barriers and I rolled down my window to talk to one of the police officers.
“Excuse me. Where did the people go who were attending the concert?”
“Some of them have been taken to La Playa Memorial. Some are still inside being interviewed by police. But most of the crowd dispersed two hours ago. Are you looking for someone?”
“Yes. My sister and her friend.”
“My recommendation would be to start with the hospital and then go from there.”
“Were there any… fatalities?” I hated to ask the question.
“I’m afraid I can’t say.”
You can’t say, or you won’t?
“What about the Outlaw Souls? They were here helping with security. Where are they?”