"Justin!"

Justin turned to the sound of Brian's voice, not registering the fear in it.

WHAP

The sound of the wood hitting Justin's skull echoed in Brian's ears. He ran to Hobbs, taking the bat before more damage could be done. Swinging it to strike Chris's knee, then tossing it away.

Then he was at Justin's side, cradling the lifeless body. "No, no, no, no, no, no… God!"

Brian pulled his cell phone from his pocket, still cradling Justin to his chest. He pushed in 911.

"Please state your emergency."

"…."

"Hello? Do you have an emergency?"

"Yeah. Oh God. I need an ambulance."

"Okay, sir, where are you?"

"In the garage of the Crown Westin Hotel - where they are holding St. James' Prom."

"Are you injured?"

"No, it's my… It's Justin. He's been hit with a baseball bat. He took a bat to the head and now…"

"Is he conscious?" the operator asked.

"No. God. There is so much blood." Brian's voice was raw with emotion.

"Is he breathing?"

"Yeah. Yeah, he's breathing. Please, send an ambulance." He tried to choke back his fear.

"I have one in route, sir. Stay on the phone with me."

"I need to call his mother."

"Give me her name, sir. I'll see that she's notified."

"It's Jennifer, Jennifer Taylor." He could hear her typing on a keyboard.

"On Park Lane Avenue?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"I'll have an officer stop by and escort her to the hospital."

"Good. Thanks. I hear sirens. Is that the ambulance?"

"… Yes. That's the paramedics. They'll take good care of your friend. I'm going to free up the line now."

"Thank you."

The ambulance pulled up with a police car behind it. Two paramedics jumped out, each carrying a black bag. "Sir, we need you to step back, please," the darker haired one said.

Brian gently laid Justin's head back on the pavement and rose up on shaky legs. The other two men quickly went to work assessing Justin's injuries.

"Sir, I need to ask you a few questions," a young police officer walked over to where Brian stood.

Brian nodded.

"How do you know the victim?"

"He's a friend."

"Did you see the attack? Can you identify who did this?"

Brian looked over to where Chris had been lying. There was no one there. "Yeah, I saw it. He was right over there; he's gone now. His name is Chris Hobbs. He's a senior at St. James."

The officer took some notes then asked, "Was Mr. Hobbs acquainted with the victim?"

"The victim's name is Justin and yeah, they went to school together."

The paramedics had Justin on a gurney and were ready to load him into the ambulance.

"I need to go with him," Brian said, walking up to the ambulance.

"Are you family?" the other paramedic barked.

"Joe, shit, let the guy ride. There's no one else here."

The first medic shrugged and opened the door to the back of the ambulance. Brian stepped in and took a seat, watching as they loaded Justin's lifeless body. One paramedic jumped in after the gurney while the other ran around to the cab to drive.

"Is he going to be okay?" Brian asked.

"We'll do our best for him," the paramedic answered.

Brian saw the pity in the man's eyes and felt his world crumble around his feet.