**Sorry this is late and shorter than my other posts usually are. I got home early this morning and was too tired to write it then. Hope you enjoy it anyway. Happy Monday all!**

Two shots rang out and the yelling stopped. Everyone looked around to see where the shots were coming from and saw an older black man walking from his front porch with a pistol in his hand aimed right at us. The screaming picked back up, but this time it wasn't racial slurs or threatening words, it was panic. Everyone was scrambling to hide. Car doors flew open, kids rolled over hoods and some dove under the bus. I didn't know what to do or what to say, I was in complete shock. This had gone too far!

My brother shoved his door open and began to climb out but I grabbed him by his sleeve and tried to pull him back in.

"Don't go! You'll get shot!" I pleaded

"J, I can't just leave my friends out there!!" he yelled back

"Drive over to them and try to get them! But don't get out of the car! PLEASE!!"

"What if they're hurt!? What if they're shot!!!!!" I could hear the panic in his voice and it was making me even more afraid

"PLEASE!! JUST DON'T GET OUT!! You won't be any good if you get shot too!!"

He paused briefly, apparently trying to decide if he should chance it, make a run for his friends or take my advice. I was relieved when he slid back into the driver seat and put it into gear. I looked to my right and the black man was approaching fast.

"GO! GO! GO!" I yelled, willing his little 4 cylinder car like it was a race car

He punched the gas and we took off, swerving around the bus missing it within inches. He stopped just on the other side of the bus and his friends scrambled to get inside. I don't know how we did it, but we had 8 people inside the car, everyone checking for bullet wounds. The other car that belonged to his friend pulled up beside us, honked and speed away. My brother hit the accelerator once more and we began to speed around the front of the bus. Just as we rounded the corner another shot rang out, hitting the trunk with a loud bang. Everyone screamed and my brother lost control of the car.

His right tire slammed into the curb and he over corrected, sending us into the other side of the road. When we hit the curb on that side, we were going too fast and instead of bouncing off the curb we went flying into a small ditch. He apparently never took his foot off the gas because the impact of the curb OR the ditch didn't slow us down.

None of us had our seat belts on so bodies were flying all over the car as we did a 360, bouncing off each side of the embankment. Our car took flight and we landed in the middle of an intersection, everyone yelling and screaming. I looked out the window to see a car headed straight for us. The driver side of the car. The side I was on AND my brother. I closed my eyes and braced for the impact.