Nifty is an incredible place to view free stories but needs money to keep up its good work. Please donate when you can to keep this service alive and well.
http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html
Jared the Paramedic III ~ Redemption
Copyright © 2018-2019 Snowblind. All Rights Reserved.
Chapter 34: No Way Out
THIS STORY IS COPYRIGHT © 2018-2019 BY SNOWBLIND. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DISTRIBUTION FOR COMMERCIAL GAIN, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, POSTING ON SITES OR NEWSGROUPS, DISTRIBUTION AS PARTS OR IN BOOK FORM (EITHER AS A WHOLE OR PART OF A COMPILATION) WITH OR WITHOUT A FEE, OR DISTRIBUTION ON CD, DVD, OR ANY OTHER ELECTRONIC MEDIA WITH OR WITHOUT A FEE, IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED WITHOUT THE AUTHOR'S WRITTEN CONSENT. YOU MAY DOWNLOAD ONE (1) COPY OF THIS STORY FOR PERSONAL USE; ANY AND ALL COMMERCIAL USE EXCEPTING EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS REQUIRES THE AUTHOR'S WRITTEN CONSENT. THE AUTHOR MAY BE CONTACTED AT: snowblind94@yahoo.ca
Jett walked slowly out the front doors of the school. The last door was being held open for him, but he didn't even realize it. Jett was always the example of politeness, and his lack of eye contact with Patrick as he held the door did seem unusual. Patrick watched as the young man shuffled through the door, his face drained of colour, with a blank expression and emotionless. He had a class to attend and was almost late already but something was nagging at him to stay. Patrick could sense something was wrong, but he wasn't sure what.
Tyler was on day shift and patrolling on the edge of the city in the industrial area. The dispatcher came on the air to advise of an unknown young man with a gun at the high school. It was an anonymous call which had come in, but the description of the suspect was unusually specific. The caller, a young unknown man, described the suspect as 5'10', 185 lbs, brown eyes and dark brown hair, bleached blond on the ends, short on the sides and bushy/long on the top. He was last seen wearing jeans, a beaded necklace, and a light blue T-shirt. Tyler reached over and flipped on all the emergency equipment. As he raced to the school, Tyler kept thinking to himself, "Please Creator, there is enough death and shootings... especially at schools. I beg, don't let this be another one."
Patrick stood and watched Jett as the young man walked slowly down the front stairs and along the sidewalk leading to the main parking lot. The movements of the young man as he walked were being made mechanically, without purpose or effort. He was just walking with his body limp, shoulders sagging, head hung, and Patrick knew this was very unusual for Jett. Patrick was still holding the door open, frozen in place while he watched Jett walking, trying to decide what he should do if anything. The final warning buzzer for class rang through the school, and Patrick thought, "Damn it, I'm going to be late." He let the door go and started off into the foyer.
Tyler was the first unit to arrive at the school. He had turned off his siren as he entered the parking lot in the back and drove cautiously around to the front of the school. He scanned the parking lot, as well as the front lawn and could only see one person walking down the sidewalk. He immediately matched the description from the dispatcher. He reached over and hit the mic. "Dispatch A-90, suspect in sight on front sidewalk."
He barely heard dispatch reply, "A-90, 10-4. Units responding E-14, A-101, F-3 – proceed code 4, front lawn area of school. Suspect 10-20 front lawn."
Jett had heard the siren approaching as well as more sirens farther in the background. He paused for a moment, a tear ran out of his eye and down his cheek. He hoped when he made the phone call to the police reporting a gunman at the school he had been convincing enough. He reached around and under his shirt, grabbing the object stuck in the back waist of his jeans. He stood still and watched the police car pull into the parking lot. Jett reached to his back pocket to check the letter was still there. "It will be ok, the letter will explain it all," he thought to himself.
Patrick suddenly stopped as he was moving through the front hall of the school. He thought to himself, "Was that a siren?" He turned and walked back to the front doors and immediately noticed a police car entering the parking lot. He also saw Jett standing at the end of the sidewalk, and reaching under his shirt. Patrick was stunned when he saw the object Jett had stuck in his waist.
Tyler saw the suspect and pulled the car up nearby. He used it as a block so he could confront the suspect and still be behind an object if gunfire started. He got out of the car and pulled his service weapon.
Jett saw the officer and tears were flowing from his eyes as he pulled the gun from his waistband.
Patrick burst through the doors and started to run down the sidewalk.
Tyler saw the weapon and yelled at the suspect to drop the weapon.
Jett couldn't see clearly due to the tears. He just wanted the pain to end, and he knew it would happen any moment now. He raised the gun and pointed it in the direction of the officer.
Tyler fired his weapon twice, in a standard double tap.
Patrick was watching the event unfold in front of him. When he heard the first shot, he screamed, "NO!"
Time appeared to stop as an uncontrolled wave of energy centred on Patrick spread out in a powerful wave. He continued to run towards Jett when he realized it was Tyler who had responded. When he got to Jett, the first bullet was just entering his friend's right shoulder but was frozen in place. The bullet was half in the skin, and the blood splatter from the impact was hanging frozen in the air. A second bullet was approximately 6" from hitting Jett square in the sternum. Patrick knew this spot was called the CX as his friends had described it when they took him shooting at the range. He looked around at everything frozen in place and was confused.
Misiminôs spoke, startling Patrick. "Patrick, what you are seeing is the appearance of stopping time; you have stepped out of sync with time. You are in between seconds, which will last for hours if you wish it."
Patrick moved to Max and embraced him. "Max, I am so happy to see you."
"I am never far from you Tadika; we are always one."
Patrick was rapid firing questions as he stood to look at the situation. "I know Max. What is happening here? Why does Jett have a gun and why is Tyler shooting him?"
Max stood and walked over to Tyler, and stood on his back paws. His front paws were huge, and he placed them on Tyler's chest. The Lynx let out a roar directly into Tyler's face, and Tyler stood back dazed. Max then pinned him against the police car.
"What the fuck?" Tyler yelled, looking around quickly. "Max?" He looked around again, "Patrick! Hit the ground!" he yelled in a panic as he raised the weapon again.
Max spoke, "Time is frozen, just like the day Jared did it in the hospital."
Tyler was watching Jett, and realized a bird flying over the suspect's head was not moving, but hanging in mid-air. He looked at the Lynx, "You did this?"
Patrick stepped forward to Tyler. "No... I guess I did. The bullets are stopped and hanging in the air."
Tyler moved around the car, and towards Jett cautiously, his weapon at the ready. Over his shoulder, he said, "I think you are a hell of a lot stronger than we realized, Pat."
"I don't know how I did..." started Patrick, but he was cut off.
Grandfather had appeared next to them and cut him off from finishing his sentence. "Your gift came to the surface because it was needed; we have been trying to control it until you got out of school. We could never anticipate a situation like this Patrick, but I'm here because you need me, Grandson."
Patrick turned and embraced the old man in a hug. "Jett is going to die," he cried.
Tyler spoke out quickly as well, almost panicking, "Grandfather, I had to shoot him. He has a gun, and he wouldn't stop."
"I know," the old one said. "Stop, both of you, my grandsons. Take deep breaths, and then let's talk."
The two young men stood, dropped their arms down, shook them out and took deep breaths, holding it, and then forcing it out before taking another.
"Better my children?"
"Yes Grandfather," they answered together.
"Lots of oxygen into the body like this calms the thinking, just like you were both taught in self-defence classes."
"Yes, Grandfather."
The old man moved towards Jett and stared at the weapon before saying, "Tyler, it's a toy which has been painted to look realistic."
Tyler couldn't help but blurted out, "God no! It looked real, and things were..."
Grandfather cut him off by holding his hand up. "Tyler, he planned this action, not the people involved." Tyler and Patrick both looked confused at the statement.
"In his back pocket is a letter to his parents and family explaining how he couldn't live with never meeting his dad's expectations."
"Oh my god Grandfather, he was committing suicide?" asked Troy.
"Yes, my son. He was committing suicide by what is been called death by cop."
"He wanted me to kill him?" Asked Tyler as tears rolled down his face. Patrick grabbed his big brother tightly in a hug.
"Tyler, he didn't choose you specifically to shoot him, he chose the profession. It was nothing personal with you, my grandson. The letter explains how much he enjoyed hockey but didn't want to do it as a gay hockey player in the NHL. He had told his father he thought he was gay and that confrontation set the stage for this action. His father, upon hearing the news, flew into a rage. He yelled at his son, demeaned and ridiculed his son with comments about his being a failure, a disgrace, and throwing away his options. While in a blind fury, his father backhanded Jett twice. His son stood there and didn't flinch as he was struck. Afterward, he just walked out of the barn. Jett drove away and has been living in his truck since then. Last night, he wrote the letter while locating the perfect toy gun to be used. He had checked many stores in town until he found it. He covered the orange safety pieces with flat black spray paint. In a hurry, it would look exactly like a colt 45 semi-automatic."
Patrick and Tyler were now standing beside each other, staring at Grandfather.
Tyler spoke, "Unbelievable."
Patrick added, "I didn't know about this. I knew he was having some difficulties and he had been really bummed out the last couple of days, but I had no clue."
"He covered it well, Patrick. For Jett, hiding his true feelings was not something new and this was no different."
"How do you know so much about this Grandfather?" Asked Tyler.
"Both of you listen to me, the most difficult thing I must do at times is to stand on the side of a person's path in life as things begin to happen. Sometimes I must allow things to happen because it is not yet at the critical time to intervene or to allow the end of the journey. My grandchildren, I have been at that junction more times than you may ever know, and it never gets any easier."
The two young men began to comprehend what was being said.
"Patrick, as your training continues, you will be in the same position. That is why we are all here today."
"What do you mean Grandfather?" asked Patrick as he took Tyler's shaking hands into his.
"Jett has an important path to walk, and he will become a role model and inspiration for others to follow him. In his heart, his father does not believe what he said to Jett. He has not only regretted it, but it has almost destroyed his family. His wife, who has stood by him all her life, is preparing to leave him in support of her son. She told her husband he has been remarkable the way he learned to live with his disabilities, and exceeded everyone's expectations after his accident changed his life. She said the time to deal with the loss of his hockey career is now, and to quit destroying his son because of his own lack of acceptance. She left the farm and took Jett's brothers with her to stay at her parent's home while her husband thought about their future. He has been at home the entire time waiting for Jett to come back. Jett dropped his phone when his father hit him, it's still on the floor of the barn where he was slapped. He has been living in his truck."
"I had no clue," Patrick stated quietly.
"He wanted me to kill him because he didn't have the ability to kill himself," Tyler stated finally. "He lacked the courage to do it himself, a coward," stated Tyler with anger growing in his voice.
"I'm not going to argue the difference between courage and his ability with you, Tyler. Understand this, Jett is a young man who is facing the intensity of a lifetime of pain all at once, and he is overwhelmed. He sees no way to escape the pain, no way to move on, no way to control the pain and definitely no way to stop it. He just wants the pain to end, right now."
"I understand that Grandfather, but his inability to stand the pain is causing pain for me. He is selfish in trying to end his pain at my hand."
"Yes, he is. But just remember, the pain he feels is overwhelming, and he has given up. He hasn't thought it through fully. He wants the pain to end and doesn't understand how his actions will affect his family, even his father. His immaturity is also considering his action to be revenge against his father's attitude, a specific act to create pain. But he hasn't realized the act is final, and he will not see the effect it has on his father. My children, it is very, very complex; but absolutely controllable with timely intervention."
"Grandfather, I fired my gun at him twice, with the intent to stop him from harming me or anyone else. If it wasn't for Patrick, this young man would be dead on the sidewalk right now. I would have killed him."
Grandfather placed his hands on each of Tyler's shoulders and said, "You responded the way you have been trained, and you interpreted everything correctly. He was acting in such a way for you to shoot him. He left you no options, Tyler."
Tyler moved to stand in front of Jett and stared at the bullets. Slowly, he reached up and touched a suspended droplet of blood, and then rubbed it between his thumb and index finger. "I have killed this young man, Grandfather. I have killed a human who didn't deserve to die." Tyler fell to his knees crying. "I have taken the life of a young man who didn't deserve to die. The media is going to grab this and..."
"Tyler, everything will work out. Trust me," said Grandfather as the old man placed a hand on Tyler's shoulder. "I am in control here now."
He turned to Patrick and asked, "What do you think I should do, my son?"
Patrick turned to look at Jett and the bullets. "It is what it is, Grandfather. Jett is about to die."
"That wasn't my question, Patrick. What do you think I should do? Think it through verbally."
"Tyler doesn't deserve to be the police officer who shoots and kills Jett, and Jett doesn't deserve to die."
Grandfather looked at Tyler, "What do you think I should do?"
Tyler looked up with tears rolling down his cheeks and said, "I didn't want to shoot him. He didn't deserve to die, but I had no choice."
Grandfather thought for a moment before taking a necklace off from around his own neck. The necklace had a 2-inch metal replica of a medicine wheel on it. The old man walked over to Jett and placed it around his neck. Then, he reached up and placed both of his hands on each side of Jett's head. A white pulse of light came from Grandfather's chest, up his body, down through his arms and into Jett. The white pulse travelled through the young man until it stopped in his chest where his heart would be. The white pulse dissipated. "The bullet will lodge in the medicine wheel now."
Patrick understood quickly, "You added a condition for a different reaction."
"Yes, my son. The one bullet will lodge in his shoulder but not cause any significant damage. The second bullet will be stopped by the medallion. There will be a cracked sternum and some bruising, but it will not be fatal."
Tyler rose to his feet and hugged the old man. "Thank you, Grandfather!"
"My son, you are also very important to the future. We will need to share some tea soon, and begin to talk so you may heal emotionally as well."
"What did you give to Jett, Grandfather?" asked Patrick.
"I gave him hope, something he had lost. He will also need to meet with the family and me so he may heal. He will need to join you at the cabin for a weekend of healing."
"Yes, Grandfather," the two men replied.
"Patrick, we need to accelerate some of your training. What you did today was a very powerful and good use of your gifts. But, I prevented it from doing what it would have done."
Both Patrick and Tyler looked confused.
"You unleashed enough power from your body that you would have shattered every window facing the yard, every window in every car parked in the lot, and turned both Tyler and Jett into – how should I describe this – stains on the pavement."
Patrick's face went white, and then he looked at Tyler with absolute fear, "I'm sorry Tyler, I would never hurt you."
"I know that little brother," he replied
"You are very powerful my grandson, and we will need to start your training. How soon before school finishes?"
"Three weeks, including final exams Grandfather. After that, I have to find a job."
"You don't need to find a summer job Patrick, you can work with me for the summer. You, Mark, Jett and one more may work with me, and be paid well."
"Doing what Grandfather? I would be more than happy just to spend time with you without pay but I need a paying job. Not charity."
"Thank you, Grandson. It will be a summer job, doing some work at the cabin and taking a few groups of disadvantaged youth on canoe trips in the area."
"I accept, Grandfather."
"Good. Now, to the present. We need to allow things to play out now. I will clap my hands three times, and on the third clap, time will continue as it was. Now move back to where you were."
The two young men moved back to their positions and stared at Grandfather. "Tyler, you did what you had to do, and we will stand by you, Grandson. That's what families do, stand by their family members through thick and thin.
"Thank you, Grandfather." He drew his gun, and began to assume the position using the door and the engine as a block when he called out, "Grandfather?"
"Yes, Grandson."
"I don't say it enough, but thank you and I love you."
"I love you too, Grandson." He clapped his hands three times.
The one bullet entered Jett's left shoulder, but the second bullet hit the carefully placed medallion. He spun to the left, propelled by the force of the impact. The gun flew out of his hand as he collapsed.
Patrick ran from the top of the steps and knelt next to Jett, beginning to provide first aid. He helped Jett to roll over and semi-sit leaning against him with his left side lower than the right. Jett was conscious, and crying due to the pain of the bullet wound. Patrick put one hand directly over the wound and applied pressure not only to control the bleeding but to prevent air from being sucked into the chest cavity if the lung had been hit. It was an injury he had learned to treat in his first aid class, but never thought he would need.
Patrick didn't realize other police cars had arrived on the scene and had quickly put tape up to prevent people from gathering. The school was moving all the kids from the classrooms overlooking the front lawn to minimize the impact upon them.
The ambulance crew arrived and took over from Patrick; the young man didn't recognize either of the paramedics. He stood there, covered in Jett's blood, watching the medics work on him. He felt a hand on his shoulder and saw the coach standing there.
"He'll be ok Patrick," said the coach. "Are you ok?"
Patrick turned and looked at him before he said, "I know he will be ok. He is at a crossroad today, with help he will follow the path in life he was meant to follow."
The coach looked into the eyes of his student and finally replied, "You have the soul of an old man. I really believe you know he's going to be ok."
"Coach, my soul is older than you or I would have ever guessed. Maybe one day after I graduate, we can talk about it."
The coach looked at the young man with an inquisitive look just as Frank approached Patrick, embraced him. "You ok little man?"
"I'm fine Frank, but thank you for asking."
"You sure, this is pretty serious stuff. We need to interview you and find out what happened."
"I'm fine Frank, but Grandfather was here. Check the necklace on Jett before they lose it, and the letter in his back pocket."
The coach looked around quickly, "Grandfather was here? Patrick, are you ok? No one else has been here with you."
"Coach, we really need to speak after I graduate. Until then, 'Looking behind I am filled with gratitude. Looking forward I am filled with vision. Looking upwards I am filled with strength. Looking within I discover peace.'"
Without hesitation, Frank had moved to where the paramedics were just getting ready to lift Jett onto the stretcher. The coach was watching with interest after what he had heard Patrick say to the sergeant. Frank had the paramedics stop for a second, quickly looking for the necklace. He found the metal medicine wheel, with a 9 mm bullet stuck in it. Frank used the medics scissors to cut the chain so he could retain the evidence. He also found the letter and took it.
The media were beginning to arrive, and running toward the tape line.
"Patrick, we need to get you out of here and to the office for your statement before the media get out of hand," Frank said quietly.
"Yes sir, whatever you need to do I'm fine with." He looked at his hands and shirt, "Can I get washed up first?"
"We'll do it at the office after photographing you."
"Patrick, I know your 18 now but do you want me to go with you to the police station? I mean you're still a student here," asked the coach.
Frank looked at Patrick and then to the coach, "We appreciate the offer coach, but between him being one of my adopted sons and his other adopted family, he has no fear of anything."
The coach sensed Frank was being truthful, "Obviously there is a lot more going on here I don't know about. Patrick, would you please answer my question yourself?"
"Coach, I have no fear with Frank around. I truly appreciate your concern for my wellbeing, but after graduation, I promise to fill you in more."
The coach smiled, "I'm sorry but I wanted to hear that from Patrick, Sergeant."
Frank smiled at him, "I really appreciate the concern you have for him." The Sergeant then turned to Patrick, "We need to get going."
"Where's Tyler?"
"Major Crime Unit just left with him for the office."
"He's under arrest?" Patrick asked almost panicking.
"No, he's subject to being interviewed by the Major Crimes Unit. Patrick, this is a very serious matter and they proceed as if this was a murder investigation. As they uncover the facts, they can downgrade the investigation. There is a criminal investigation, and a service investigation which is led by the Serious Incident Response Team, and potentially the External Complaints Committee."
"Frank, you're making it sound like Tyler is guilty of something."
"Patrick, we need to be careful what we say out here. The media sometimes use parabolic dishes to pick up conversations. Why don't we just change the subject until they get your statement."
"Ok, whatever you suggest."
The two men walked over to where Frank recognized more members of the Serious Incident Response Team arriving. He introduced them to Patrick.
A reporter got close to Patrick and yelled out a question. "Did you see the cop gun down the student?"
The police officers immediately started to tell the reporter, "No comment at this time. We've just arrived to start the investigation and have people to interview."
She then yelled out, "Was this another excessive use of force by the police?"
Patrick froze, and looked at the reporter. "You have no right to make false accusations."
The camera was filming as she asked, "Was this another excessive use of force by the police. The public has the right to know."
Patrick continued to look at her before saying, "When I find a reporter with credibility, I will be happy to give a statement to them, but not you."
Frank started to cough as he moved between the young man and reporter. The members of the Serious Incident Response Team guided Patrick to one of their cars and got him away from the screen. While enroute to the station, Patrick made a couple of quick calls on his cell phone. The SIRT police escorting him asked him not to call anyone, but Patrick continued without hesitation. The first call was to his mother telling her about the shooting, and he was going to the office with the police to be interviewed. The second call was to Jesse, who would make arrangements to meet them at the police station.
End of Chapter Thirty-Four
Comments Appreciated at Snowblind
Nifty is an incredible place to view free stories but needs money to keep up its good work. Please donate when you can to keep this service alive and well.
http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html
Comments Appreciated at Snowblind
Snowblind's stories can be found at nifty.org and storylover.us.
https://www.storylover.us/?t=4vbfNiC5nxlIwU9M