Free Guardian Attraction by Stacey Summers Page A

shouted. "Don't scream again or I will empty
this clip right in you."
    All three girls dropped their purses towards the
man. He raised his sock cap above his brow to examine the contents of the bags.
Christine and Alicia were both crying and shaking. Jamie looked down at the
contents of her bag. The man, with a smile of yellow and missing teeth, grabbed
Christine by the arm.
    "You come with me. If you make a sound or
fight I will shoot you right between the fucking eyes."
    "Please no! Please!" sobbed Christine.
    The entire street lit up in a wave of red and
blue.
    "Police! Drop your weapon!"
    A tall police officer stood behind his car door, pointing
a gun at the suspect. He dropped Christine and took off running. The police
officer sprinted after him. He chased him until both were out of sight.
Christine and Alicia were both grasping each other, crying, and shaking. Jamie
stood and watched, as calmly as one could, flinching with the sound of a
gunshot, and the accompanying screams of her friends.
    "Holy shit!" shouted Jamie. Get up!
Stand up guys!".
    Both girls stood up. Just then somebody turned the
corner, waving.
    "We got him! You're safe!"
    The police officer walked towards the group. His
square jaw illuminated against the moonlight, almost angel-like.
    "Is everyone okay?"
    "Yeah we're fine. Christine may have a bruise
but we got off pretty lucky," said Jamie.
    "How did you find us?" asked Alicia.
    "I received a dispatch to come here. Somebody
called 911 and the GPS coordinates lead me here," responded the officer.
    "Nobody called 911!" Alicia said.
    "I did," Jamie said solemnly. "I
had my phone in my coat pocket and dialed with my hand inside. I wasn't sure if
it went through. You got here really quick," she said, still attempting to
catch her breath.
    "What about the man? Did you shoot him?"
asked Alicia.
    "He drew a weapon at me, so I had to use
lethal force. He is dead," the officer said regrettably.
    "Oh my God!" Christine shouted, muffling
her cries with the palms of her hands.
    Another police car pulled in. Seconds later, the
street was filled with red and blue flashing lights. Jamie sat on the curb,
opened her purse, and pulled out a half-empty pack of cigarettes. The flame of
the lighter illuminated her face a yellowish-orange, deviating from the
silver-blue the full moon was basking the street in. She took a drag, breaking
the promise she made to herself to quit smoking but rebuking that this was a
good exception to the rules. The smoke rising from her face revealed her blue
eyes, smoky in their own right. An ambulance pulled in. EMT's reviewed the
girls to make sure they were okay. The ambulance, sent with the intention of
picking up victims of an assault, instead picked up the body of the assaulter,
after the coroner and police were finished with him.
    The girls spent most of the night at the police
station giving statements. Jamie had learned the name of the fast responding
policeman, Officer Jason Chandler. By sunrise, the girls were escorted home.
Jamie laid on her bed and imagined Officer Chandler. She had heard once that
the average response time for a police officer in Evanston was 12 minutes. In
that deadly situation, where seconds feel like hours, he was there in what
seemed like 30 seconds from the moment she dialed 911. Nevertheless, she was
safe. She rolled over in her bed and went to sleep.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    2.
Allure
     
     
    The deadly encounter put an end to
the girls' social life. They all agreed they were not going out anymore. Alicia
and Christine had already been living this way since they had graduated, but
Jamie was disappointed. They had learned that the man who tried to attack them
was a sexual predator, William Raymond Kelsay ,
previously serving prison time for sexual assault against a woman. The story
appeared on the news. Officer Chandler was commended for his actions that
night. Jamie had not