II. The Sharp Abdominal Pain

Ivory screamed for the person to unhand her, and Rover jumped onto the intruder. Two other men attacked Rover from behind as Ivory shouted, "Watch out, Rover!"

Rover fell to the ground.

The sky was dim; it was getting too hard to see. Ivory struggled to fight off three grown men, but her capture ended when one of the men fell to the floor after a gunshot. Rover held his gun, and Hawks and Lucky started firing their pistols. Ivory was released as the masked men took out their guns.

"Ivory, run inside!" Hawks shouted.

The door opened, and she saw Blue, and she sped through the front door.

Blue started shooting at the masked men as Ivory covered her ears. She turned and the door was closed, but she heard the loud noises from outside. It sounded like a war zone.

"Ivory, are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Lily asked, grabbing the shorter girl.

"I'm okay," Ivory said. "One of the men hit Rover."

"Rover will be fine; he isn't bleeding," Lily said.

The two girls fell to the floor at the sound of gunshots and shouting heightening. Harley ran over and dragged them with her; the three girls ran away from the front door and downstairs. The stabbing feeling didn't fade, but Ivory ignored it. Her winter coat quickly warmed up her body, but her abdomen felt wet. Ivory didn't think much of the odd feeling and kept running, thinking that she was sweating.

The three female gang members ran into room thirteen and shuffled near a corner, panting. The loud shouts and shots faded; Ivory wondered if the Blue Dragon's members that remained outside were alive. Harley told the girls to stay in room thirteen because these three men would face questioning and that they would be safe if the men tried to attack them. Harley also added that there would be an interrogation, and the men would be surrounded; these intruders won't hurt anyone.

"We must help the men!" Lily cried. "We're being attacked."

"Lily, those men are too big! We don't stand a chance. Let our men handle them," Harley turned to Ivory, and she made a face, "Ivory, you're bleeding."

"What?" Ivory said, feeling a sharp pain in her stomach. Then, the blood dripped down her legs. Lily gasped and her hands covered her mouth. "Oh no, that pain in my stomach! I thought it was because I ate too much at dinner."

Harley ran over and had lain her down on a table, "It's a silent gun. They probably shot you when you were walking back. Call Oak, Lily!" Harley turned and Lily was out of the room. Harley called Oak, who told her Lily called her and that she was on the way. Harley turned to Ivory, "You're a target for bullets, you know."

"Oh, you know, I love bullets," Ivory grunted.

Oak ran inside and said, "We don't have much time to move Ivory into the hospital room. If the bullet is in her abdomen, she'll die if we wait. I'll numb her; you hold her down and I'll remove the bullet."

Harley held Ivory's shoulders as Lily held down Ivory's ankles. Ivory had never felt so scared in her life, but she was silent. The process was quick, and by the time the bullet was removed, and Ivory was sutured, she didn't feel dizzy, and her stomach didn't hurt. Ivory felt hot and was sweaty; Lily hugged her and wiped the sweat from Ivory's face. Harley still had Ivory's small shoulder pinned down.

"The wound is mild; she can walk but she'll be sore," Oak said, smiling at Ivory. "Kid, stop getting shot."

Ivory gave a weak laugh.

"Harley, how many times have you been shot?" Lily asked, and Oak laughed.

"More times than I can count," Harley said. She sent Ivory a small smile, but the peaceful conversation ended when the three men that ambushed Ivory were dragged into room thirteen. Red held onto the biggest one; Hawks and Lucky held another, Spike and Rover holding one more; the men didn't acknowledge the women. The men were too busy dealing with the captives.

Blue entered and his eyes widened when he saw the women huddled in the corner.

"What happened?" Blue asked, running over. "Ivory, what's wrong?"

She was groggy and tired, but spoke, "They shot my abdomen."

The men gasped but said nothing. The Blue Dragon's members were too shocked to speak.

"That's why her stomach hurt. She said she felt a sharp pain," Rover said, coming over after kicking an intruder in the head.

Then, the Blue Dragon's men attacked the three intruders, who tried defending themselves. There was punching, kicking, and yelling. The men were acting like wild animals, and the situation overwhelmed Ivory. Lily and Harley stared as the three captives got beat but said nothing. The two women didn't seem to care.

"It was a silent gun," Oak said. "Did any of you find it?"

The fighting continued; it was like the men were at the zoo, but the women and Blue were silent and calm. Ivory used to think that she was too calm to be a gang member. That thought proved her wrong; she guessed some people were calmer in some situations than others. She was happy that Harley was nurturing rather than cold and aggressive; Ivory was grateful that she would live.

Blue held it up, "This one? Oh, well, these men will have such a pleasant time in this room."

"You don't scare us, Blue," one of the men said as he was tied to a chair.

The fighting stopped and it was silent. Rover and Hawks had blood on them, and Lucky was holding a huge spear. Ivory wondered where Lucky had gotten that spear, and what he planned on doing with it, but she decided not to ask. Then, Lucky held it and shoved it in the intruders' faced, threatening to hurt them if they moved.

"Right, but the smallest female does?" Red asked but said nothing else.

"We didn't try to hit her; we were after the man with her," a second said as he was chained to the wall. Ivory felt sick and looked the other way. Ivory was sure she'd vomit. "We hit her by accident."

Rover hook punched the man that spoke, and the man grunted.

"Lucky, Rover, and Harley, guard the doors. Lily, come with me," Blue said as he picked up Ivory, "I'll come back down after we get Ivory upstairs."

"Sure thing, Boss," Red said, smoking a cigarette. He removed the third man's mask and Ivory gasped. She recognized that man. The man sneered at Ivory but said nothing.

"Chris? Blue, that's the man from the strip club."

All but Ivory, Blue, and the attackers snarled at Chris, who rolled his eyes.

"I'll handle this later, Ivory, we need to make sure you're okay," Blue said and turned to Spike, "Make sure he's extra restrained; he's special."

Chris sneered at Blue but said nothing as he hollered at Spike and Hawks, who attacked him. Blue and Lily took Ivory to her room, and Lily helped Ivory dress into her lounge clothing. Lily helped Ivory wipe down her abdomen and legs, and soon, the blood was gone. Blue took her bloody clothing and placed it in a bag.

Blue called someone on his phone and waited outside the bedroom. Oak came over and handed him supplies for Ivory to make sure she would be okay. Ivory didn't feel sweaty anymore; all it felt like was a terrible menstrual cramp. Ivory laid down on her bed, and Lily told her to feel better; Lily got a thank you and ran to the basement. Oak hooked up an I.V. line in Ivory's room, and now, Ivory had a mini hospital in her room.

"Blue, I think Lily should stay here with Ivory," Oak said; however, Blue assured Oak that Ivory would be fine alone; no one else was outside, and he had people guarding the base. Oak said goodbye and left.

"Blue, I'm okay," Ivory said.

"You got shot in the abdomen. You're not okay. Lay down; you'll feel the effects soon."

And Ivory did. She felt exhausted and fell asleep.