“That was to show we’re serious people!” Freddie G said. “You’re all going to stay down! It seems that me and my boys need to stay here a while longer, and you’re gonna help us. There’s no way the police would barge in here with all of you at risk.”

By now, most of the hostages were holding onto each other or whatever petty thing they could find for support. These men obviously didn’t have a problem killing to get their way. Many of the hostages thought of their families and prayed that they would get out alive, however unlikely that idea became.

“As for you,” Freddie G said, aiming his gun at Clarence. “You won’t have the same chance.”

“Wait, boss!” Clarence said, kicking against the ground to safety. He made it three feet before he ran into the thug standing behind him to block his path. “Just listen please! I can help!”

“You can die.”

The crowd cried out again in fear, but no hostage screamed louder than Chloe as five bullets ripped through Clarence’s chest. The young man tried to beg for help, but his lungs had both been pierced and were quickly filling up with blood. Tears formed in his eyes as blood soaked into his jumpsuit. He twitched like a stiff branch as his body went into shock. It was an incredibly painful death.

“Clarence!” Chloe shouted, breaking from the crowd. She tripped over a nurse in her way and crawled to the dying young man’s side, cradling his head in her arms. “Clarence! Hang in there! Hang in there, sweetie!”

Clarence’s blank eyes looked up at Chloe hopefully, like he had when she said he could become a doctor someday. She wasn’t sure who she was trying to fool. Even if she could give him treatment, which the gang would never allow, his chances were slim at best.

Chloe gently stroked Clarence’s cheek like a mother, trying to keep Clarence, and herself, calm. However, when she noticed his eyes again, she realized that they were empty and looking beyond her. Her hands pawed at his neck, desperate to find a pulse, but there was none to be found.

Clarence was dead.

“The fuck d’you think you’re doing?” one gang member asked. Chloe looked up just in time to see the nearest thug kick her in the ribs. She released Clarence and fell onto her back, looking up as Freddie G stood over her.

“So we have a hero!” the leader mocked. He stepped onto her shoulder, causing her to yelp in pain. “Are you gonna save the day Dr. Hero?”

Chloe looked over at her colleges and patients. They watched her, not moving an inch to help her. Instead, they looked longingly, silently asking her to save them somehow. She had always been a strong figure in the hospital, but only as a doctor. She had no idea how to save them from this.