Harrison dropped over Cassandra, dragging her under his weight and placed his palms over hers to cover her ears. The screams were louder every second, the blast of the gun drove around the area, and soon the police sirens went off as well. He was tired of that sound, tired of sending Cassandra over to the hospital. The car kicked up dust as the shooter blasted through the front of the hotel, many people had hit the floor just as he did, but he couldn't look or hear if anyone was hurt. All he could think of was the fact that he might lose his life on those floors without seeing his mother, leaving her behind as his sister did.

Deafening silence followed the shooter out into the street, then, within six seconds, the noise started up again, and Cassandra frightfully shoved him off her. Perplexed, she stumbled to her feet with the help of her hands, scratching at the floor and rails as she made her way up. Her heels had fallen off during the shooting, but she didn't seem to mind the heat of the floors on her feet, all she seemed to do was stare. Bright-eyed with tears dried on her cheeks and the burning sun on her face, she staggered around and watched the people as they shouted and ran to the injured.

"Miss Hernández!"

They both turned to look at their chauffeur, his white cravat was soaked in blood, but he had his suit bundled up and rested against Keon's neck. Cassandra wailed and began to run, dragging her skirt up to her thighs and crashed on the floor beside their bleeding guide; Harrison dropped to her side as well.

The poor girl was still awake, her eyes unfocused and roaming from left to right, but she didn't seem to notice anyone of them. Blood gurgled in her mouth, and her chest heaved before she coughed it out, little droplets seeping into her nose and running around her face. Cassandra wailed and tore off her shirt, ripping the buttons off in her hurry and pulling it from her skirt before she reached forward to wipe the blood off the girls face while she whispered words of comfort.

He shut off the shouts and blasts of noise coming from all around them and struggled to focus only on Keon so that fear and panic wouldn't allow him to mess up and cost the young woman her life. They all had to stay calm because the chances of screwing up and doing something ghastly was high.

"Have you called the ambulance?"

The chauffeur nodded and pressed the suit into her neck, then turned to answer him with tears swirling behind his eyes. "Three times, they would be here any minute, but I am afraid that she would bleed out before then. Look at the floor."

Blood covered the object in question, a tiled stone structure with crack patterns making up its texture. The blood pooled around Keon's head then parted into the various patterns etched in the stone. Keon's tears began to flow down the sides of her face, and they disappeared behind her ears while her fingers lightly squeezed his arm. It could have been a plea for him to help her or a way to tell him that she was in pain.

"Keon..." Cassandra patted the girl's hair, blood staining her palm as she did, "Do you hear me. We are going to make sure that you survive this, okay? We are right here with you; you are not alone right now. Please hang on."

Harrison's ears were buzzing as if a gun had just gone off right by his ear. His blood was roaring, his heart pounding in his chest as his mind travelled to the nearest memory of a chaotic situation. He heard the screeching of aeroplane engines, the moaning of the fans, but when he turned his head up, there was no plane flying above them. His hands shook. Revulsion building up inside him as he tried to separate his past from his present.

He looked down on the floor and immediately started to strip out of his jacket. "She is bleeding from the back."

Everyone looked around, finally noticing the blood that was seeping out from her back. It was a slow bleed because most of her weight had been on it, but she was still losing blood. Cassandra lifted Keon a bit so Harrison could stuff his jacket to hold it against the wound. Keon was already fading; the bloody hand she had on the chauffer's wrist was slipping off, even as she tried to keep her grip.

Harrison closed his eyes as he remembered the explosion at the airport when his sister's plane crashed. He could still hear the rumbling of the floor and see the black smoke that rose from the runway. A painful announcement for the tragedy that had just occurred.

"Harrison." He looked at Cassandra. Even through her fear, she was looking back at him with worry. "Are you okay?"

"I am fine." He kept his hand steady on the jacket and a comforting hand over Keon's shoulder. Chaos had broken out during the shooting, and everyone was trying to help the injured. He could hear sirens in the distance, or maybe it was hope conjuring the sound. "

"She is getting colder." Cassandra snivelled through tears, pressing her middle and index finger into the base of Keon's neck. The woman was bleeding out faster than they could help. The jacket was already soaked, the chauffeur was panicked, and it took a lot to stop her from fading out. "Her pulse is weak too."

Ambulance rode in, their sirens blasting as paramedics fell out of the back, rushing into the scene. One paramedic pushed him aside gently and took over his job. Harrison helped Cassandra to her feet while the paramedics made the chauffeur step aside as they began to prepare Keon for transport. With Cassandra wrapped in his arms, sobbing out her panic, Harrison looked around, finally having reality set in around him. Paramedics dropped out like firefighters and flocked to the bodies scattered across the front of the hotel.

Blood was everywhere, people fell down from the stairs trying to run, other's got a shot or two to their body while others were bruised from falls. Many others were fine, people watching from the safety of the glass, looking on from the hotel. Someone touched him, and he broke away from his daze, releasing Cassandra as a paramedic turned her towards an ambulance.

"Sir?" He turned to another paramedic that appeared by his side. "Please come with me, let's see about your wound."

He nodded and allowed the woman to lead him towards another ambulance. His only injury was a few scrapes and a sore rib from hitting the stairs with a rough force, along with a few scrapes on his arm. They looked at everything, checked him over then released him. He refused to go to the hospital, he didn't feel like his injury warranted going too far. They were people who needed the attention more.

As soon as he was done, he walked off and began to search for Cassandra. A lot of the ambulances that arrived had already driven off with their patients strapped in the back of the car. The police had also arrived on the scene a few minutes after the ambulance, but with a different task. A few of them went into the hotel to speak to the guests who weren't bleeding or suffering from an injury.

"Babe!" Harrison called out, jumping into the ambulance and kissing Cassandra, not caring about the salty taste or her stiffness. She was shivering, finally breaking down after the horrid ordeal. "How's your hand."

She dropped out of her daze for a while and swiped the tears away, reached up with the same hand and pulled him down so she could kiss him again. "Fine. I am alright, the nice guy here said my hand would be fine, and all I have to do is make sure I come over for some tests later in the day."

"Alright. I would drive you over there."

She sniffed while nodding her agreement, the man on her arm kept his eyes glued to his task as she leaned forward to kiss him again. This time, she rested her head against his and sent her fingers to the back of his neck.

"You have to get some stitches. I think I bullet grazed your arm."

He pulled her hands away and kissed her knuckles, pressing his lips into her hand and staying like that for a long second. Cassandra rested her head against his and kissed the top of his head. He looked up at her, and she repeated herself again, touching the scrape on his arm.

"You'll need stitches."

"No, it's just a gnarly looking scrape, no need for stitches." He pecked her forehead and massaged the base of her neck when he heard his name called. He looked over his shoulder, only for his eyes to an on a shiny, golden badge. "Yes?"

"My name is Inspector Williams, and I would love to ask you and your girlfriend some questions before you leave, please. My colleagues are also taking what information they can from other guests."

Cassandra nodded, but he shook his head and held Cassandra closer to him. "It's been a long day for everyone. How about we take care of our wounds before you start drilling us with questions?"

"I am sorry, but we have to take this now because I need it fresh from your mind. Whatever you forget, you can add on after you are... better."

Cassandra pulled him back and gave the office her consent to the inspector. "We will give you what you want. There is not much to tell you because I barely saw anything. I can promise you that your questions to us wouldn't have a different reply than the others you have already heard."

"I just want all you know?"

"The shooter started shooting at everything and everyone. My tour guide got hit, so when he drove into the street, we rushed over to help her. I am sorry, but there is nothing more than that."

He nodded, his finger held onto the top button of his recorder and shoved it back into his pocket. "Let me guess, all you can tell me about the shooter is that he was the angel of death, dressed in black from all you could see, even the tips of his fingers."

She nodded with surety and watched the paramedic, who lifted and dropped her hand while he bandaged it gently. He smiled at her when he was done, then gave them the rest of the time to talk with the detective.

"Just a graze, change the bandage after every shower and keep the wound clean. You will be fine."

Harrison shook hands with the man and helped Cassandra down. They discussed with the detective for another thirty minutes. He only left when they had nothing more to dish out, and Cassandra began to feel dizzy. With an offer from the paramedic to drive them to the hospital, Harrison didn't need to get a car from the hotel. They rode in the back of the ambulance, so they could check up on Keon and get some more pills. Cassandra took the opportunity to sleep on the available stretcher while Harrison remained awake.

Popping sounds ringing through his head. Blood colouring his vision.