The next morning, Alex is awoken by a light nudge on his shoulder. When his phone rang, he yanked his phone from the side of the bed to see it was his colleague from the station Walex.
His eyes fluttered open but stayed closed as he groaned into the pillow.
“What?” Alex asked without opening his eyes as he buried his face in the pillow.
“Alex!” Walex said with laughter. “Are you still asleep or did something wake you up?”
“I'm awake… What's wrong? Do I need to go back to sleep so they can catch me sleeping and send someone else instead?” Alex asked, cracking an eye open to try and gauge Walex's reaction.
“I got to tell you something Alex and you got to control your emotions” Walex halt his speech. “Maggie was attacked yesterday, she's at the hospital in a critical condition.”
Alex couldn't believe his ears, his sister was attacked and she was in a critical condition?
He sat up quickly and turned on his heels.
Then rushed out, towards the hospital.
The first thing that struck him was how quiet it was. Normally there would be patients moaning and yelling throughout the ward, not silence.
The second thing was how pale Maggie looked lying on the bed, her skin almost as white as the sheets beneath her. She was hooked up to several machines which gave off a steady beep in rhythm with her heart rate. Her breathing was shallow and slow. A large oxygen mask was wrapped tightly over her nose and mouth.
Her hair was pulled back from her face and lay across the back of the bed like dark silk. Her brown eyes looked glassy as her eyelids fluttered occasionally. She was clearly in pain.
Alex rushed forward and took a seat in the chair next to the bed. He stared down at Maggie's chest and let out a sigh.
"Hey," He said softly, reaching out a hand to touch hers. His voice cracked. He swallowed hard and cleared his throat before speaking again. "It's okay Maggie. Everything's going to be fine."
The sound of footsteps approaching brought Alex's attention away from Maggie. He turned around and saw Walex standing just outside the door, his face was grim. He opened his mouth as if he were about to say something, then shook his head. He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. He didn't speak until a few moments later.
"She'll make it, Alex," Walex said softly. "She has to." He paused for a moment, looking down at the floor. "I know this must be difficult, but we have a case to solve…" He trailed off as if he wanted to continue talking but couldn't find the words.
They both fell silent. The clock ticked loudly in the background as they both waited for Maggie to regain consciousness. After what felt like hours, Alex's phone buzzed beside him. The text notification popped up on his screen.
Unknown Number
We found another body. We're heading to the crime scene now. Can you meet us there?
Alex sighed and nodded to himself. He knew this had been coming. It was only a matter of time.
Alex stood up and grabbed his jacket.
"You should go home. Get some rest," Walex suggested when he noticed Alex getting ready to leave.
"Yeah, I've gotta talk to my team. I think I have some leads for our investigation," Alex replied.
Alex didn't reply; instead, he just nodded.
A few seconds later the door clicked shut behind Alex as he exited. He made his way over to his car.
Once he reached the car he leaned against it and let out a heavy breath. He felt tears welling up in his eyes. He rubbed them away with his sleeve and turned on his phone, checking for messages.
Nothing.
Of course not, because who cares about Maggie. she's in a critical condition.
He punched in a number and held the phone to his ear, waiting for whoever answered to pick up.
"Hello?" A sleepy voice came through.
"J'onn, it's Alex," He whispered.
There was a pause on the other end before J'onn spoke again.
"Alex? How are you doing?"
"I'm good," Alex said, though he sounded anything but.
"If you ever need anything, Alex, you know where I live." J'onn told him and then hung up.
Alex tossed his phone onto the passenger seat, climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine.
Just then, Alex's phone buzzed in his pocket. It was one new message. He took his phone out of his pocket and read the message.
"We're done searching the house."
Alex typed a response.
"Good, I'll meet you at your place."
It was a short drive to J'onn's place but Alex drove as fast as he cou
ld.
When he arrived, Alex therew open the front door and raced inside.
"J'onn!" He called out.
There was no response.
"J'onn?" Alex called out again.
Silence.
Suddenly, Alex heard a thump upstairs, followed by a loud bang and swearing. J'onn was in his room.
Alex ran up the stairs and barged his way into J'onn's room. There was a pile of books on the ground. The lamp on the desk was on its side. A picture frame lay shattered on the ground near the window.
"J'onn!" Alex yelled.
No answer.
Alex went to the window and flung it open. He pushed it open all the way and jumped out onto the fire escape. He climbed down it and dropped down to the ground. He sprinted across the street, ignoring traffic laws and pedestrians, and burst through the front doors of the police station.
"J'onn!" He shouted again. He ignored every officer that tried to stop him. He burst through the double doors leading to the cells and searched the area frantically.
His gaze finally settled on a man slumped over on the bottom bunk of a cell. A pair of handcuffs was loosely clamped round his wrists.
"J'onn!" Alex called out again.
Slowly, he approached the cell, holding his hands out, palms facing upwards.
"J'onn?"
He reached out to pull the man up but before his fingers could touch the man, a gunshot rang out.
Blood splattered across Alex's shirt as he felt the bullet graze the right side of his chest. The impact sent him reeling backwards.
He hit the wall with a grunt and slid down to the ground. Blood flowed freely out of the wound.
Everything seemed so slow motion to Alex. He was vaguely aware of people shouting his name but all he could focus on was the pool of blood spreading rapidly from his wound.
A pair of hands grabbed Alex by the shoulders and spun him around until he was face to face with a uniformed policeman. He didn' seem very concerned with the fact that Alex's blood was dripping on his shoes and staining the knees of his pants.
Alex felt himself being lifted back to his feet and led out of the building. He tried to turn to see who was taking him but it became more difficult than he expected as he felt himself swaying on his feet.
He glanced back once to see that the officer was guiding him along the sidewalk.
Eventually, they stopped walking and Alex was placed gently onto the steps to one of the ambulances. As soon as Alex's legs buckled underneath him, someone grabbed his arms to pull him upright again and helped keep him balanced. Once he was back vertical, the officer let him go and stepped back. He gave Alex a worried look before leaving him alone.
He tried to call out to J'onn as well, but it was impossible. His tongue felt thick in his mouth as he struggled to get any sound past his lips.
A paramedic knelt down beside him and Alex saw his face come into view.
"Can you hear me Alex?"
Alex managed to nod his head, even though he didn't know for sure whether he could speak.
"Good, we've got your sister stabilized but we need to take care of the bullet wound first," The paramedic said, gesturing to his chest. "How's the pain?"
"It hurts," Alex whispered through gritted teeth.
"I know it does buddy, but we need you to stay still for now," The paramedic responded soothingly. "We're gonna run an IV line through your arm, alright?"
He put an arm under Alex's shoulder and pulled him slightly closer to him. Alex felt as if he was in a dream as the paramedic carefully inserted a needle into the crook of his elbow. His vision blurred and his body began to shake violently. Alex's hand shot out and gripped the paramedic's coat tightly, desperate to hold on to something.
After a minute, everything stopped moving and Alex felt numbness spread across his entire body.
When the pain in his shoulder had disappeared, Alex blinked slowly. He raised his hand to touch the gauze covering the wound. It was soaked with crimson.
"Well," The paramedic said with a grin. "That wasn't so bad was it? How about you lie down for a bit while we get your wounds cleaned up and wrapped? Your sister might wake up and want to see you when she wakes up."
He smiled warmly at Alex, his eyes crinkling slightly.
"Sure," Alex muttered.
The paramedic helped Alex lay down on top of his blanket.
A moment after he did this, J'onn entered the cell carrying an oxygen mask. "Hey," He said quietly, leaning against the bars.
Alex turned towards him, trying to smile, though the effort seemed almost too much for him.
"I'm glad you're okay," Alex managed to say
. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, just shaken up is all."
Alex looked away again. When his breathing slowed down, he turned back to face J'onn again. "So, what happened?"
"Someone broke in to the house while we were investigating," J'onn explained.
"Apparently he had already broken into another house earlier that night. So we tracked the suspect's movements from their apartment and then found him here. But when we arrived he fled, apparently."
"Do you know who he was?"
"I think it's possible. He was dressed in dark clothing, which we found odd considering that it was a bright day outside, and his hair was cut short."
Alex nodded slowly. "Maybe he works here or something."
"Possibly, but I don't think it matters. If we catch him, we can use him to locate the killer." J'onn paused for a second. "And maybe bring him in alive. We don't really know who he is yet, do we?"
"No. But we will find out soon enough." Alex reassured him. "You should rest now. You deserve some rest."
J'onn opened his mouth to reply but the words never left his lips.
Alex yawned and stretched his arms high above his head.
"Thank you for the ride home," He said.
"It's no problem," J'onn waved off, but Alex noticed how his hands were shaking ever so slightly as he wiped away the sweat on his forehead. "Are you sure you're going to be okay driving?"
Alex nodded. He had already made it half way home before he crashed his car into a tree. Thankfully he had been able to land safely on the pavement.
The drive back to Alex's place took longer than usual, especially due to the traffic. They only made it in five hours and they both wanted to spend every second they could together.
As he pulled up to the driveway, Alex hopped out of the car. He locked his door and turned towards J'onn.
"Thanks again, J'onn. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah," J'onn mumbled.
Alex gave him a tight hug before rushing into the house. He kicked off his shoes and took off his jacket.