Shot

AN: I did this for fun. It will probably be not that great, because I was trying to cram in all my first-aid knowledge (i.e., nothing much). Anyway, enjoy!

Edit 2014: This chapter has been cleaned up a lot. Even so, don't base the quality of my writing on this one chapter, please. It was written years ago, and I have (hopefully) improved since then.

Disclaimer: I wish I owned this, but I don't. I owe this to my old teachers for the knowledge and all the other stuff belongs to other people.

Prologue

Alex didn't see it happen.

He was on his way to the football field where he'd been practising for almost half the year now. It had taken a while and a lot of persistent nagging, but Alex had finally convinced the coach that – despite his recent absences – he could be relied on to turn up. Alex felt a surge of pride that he hadn't missed a training session yet. His skill had spoken louder than the rumours, so for the first game of the club football season, he'd been promoted to co-captain.

As Alex headed towards the park, football bag on his back, something slammed into his stomach, knocking him to the ground. At first, he was sure he'd been punched and quickly looked about for his attacker. To his surprise, however, no one was there – and when he looked down, he saw blood dribbling out of a small, neat hole near his belly button in time to his heartbeat thundering drum-like in his ears.

Dully, he began to register a throbbing, burning pain as the hollow thudding of his heart increased, blithely rushing towards its end. Black spots danced across the sky like oddly shaped birds, and while he smiled at the sight, he faintly registered the sound of a voice asking for his name.

"Alex," he declared, and passed out.

xxx

Katy was first on the scene. Coming home from work, she'd noticed a boy dressed in football gear fall to the ground as if pushed backwards by an invisible assailant with a vendetta against football players. The boy's head twisted around, eyes futilely searching his surroundings for the invisible foe.

Automatically she rushed over immediately, noting the spreading pool of blood around him and his slowly paling skin. Taking a precautionary glance to check for danger to either herself or the boy, Katy followed the almost-forgotten instructions in first aid she had received.

"Can you hear me?"

No answer. She checked his mouth and throat. Nothing. At least he was still breathing, albeit faintly.

"Open your eyes!" she commanded.

Pale lids, veins showing through, fluttered. Dilated pupils focused vaguely over her shoulder.

She checked his body for major injuries; considering the way he had fallen, he could have hit is head on the ground. But he hadn't. Head, no. Neck, no. Shoulders, no.

"What is your name?" she asked, not expecting a reply. "Squeeze my hands!"

There! Above and to the left of his navel was a hole steadily oozing blood. What an odd injury, she observed. But, more importantly, how could she stop the blood?

"Don't panic," Katy hissed to herself, ripping the hem off the boy's already bloodstained shirt, efficiently bundling it up and pressing it to the wound. As she calmly told a bystander to call an ambulance and then to return immediately, a faint voice answered her.

"Alex…"

And with that, his faint breath and pulse stopped as he slipped into unconsciousness. Singing under her breath, Katy began CPR.

"You can tell by the way I use my walk…"

xxx

The sniper watched the panicked scene in a car nearby, having rid all evidence of his quiet presence in the building he'd occupied mere moments ago. It was a pity the lady had arrived, but it was simply too late to do anything about it. He contemplated the thick crowd surrounding his target. Now there was a prime place for a bomb.

Briefly, the sniper wondered about the inevitable explosion his client would undoubtedly make when they eventually learned of his failure. He would probably have to dispose of them. After his pay, of course.