The burn of danger

Nina

"Nina, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." Katy said.

I spun around without a word and grabbed my phone from the counter, dialing my sister's number.

Please pick. Please pick.

The sound of her voice message made my heart drop into my stomach. I grabbed my coat and purse immediately.

"Where are you going to? Nina, our shift isn't over." Katy barked. "You can't leave now. If the manager comes out the back and doesn't see you here, you'll lose your job. He's already warned you twice this month."

"Katy, I have to go. This is about my sister. She might be in real danger." I told her desperately.

Without waiting for her response, I rushed out. Out on the street, the sound of cars honking filled the air. The street was packed with cars stuck in a terrible traffic jam that didn't look like it was clearing up anytime soon. I couldn't afford to waste any time.

I took to my heels running. Sweat poured down my face and back as I pushed past passerbys, knocking some over. I yelled out an apology as I ran, but I never stopped.

By the time I got to the club, my legs were burning, heart pounding furiously in my chest. Police vehicles and ambulances were already outside the club, and I spotted a bloody body being carried out.

I tried to rush forward, but one of the cops held me back. "You can't go in there. There's an active shooting going on in there."

"You don't understand!" I roared. "My sister is inside."

"If your sister is in there, there's nothing you can do for her. If you go in there, you'll most likely catch a bullet kid." His voice was full of irritation.

"I'm not a kid!" I snarled. Even though I had only turned eighteen four months ago, I had felt like an adult for far too many years. Growing up in an orphanage and then having to fend for yourself would age anybody quickly.

Just then, I spotted a familiar face. I had seen her hanging with my sister a few times in the past. The blonde girl was standing a small distance away, sobbing. There was blood on the side of her head.

"You!" I snapped, heading toward her.

Her eyes immediately went wide as she saw me. "Rosa! You're alive!"

"I'm Nina, not Rosa." I corrected immediately. Even though Rosa and I were perfectly identical twins, we were completely different people. She had always been the wild one, while I was the responsible one, the one that dreamed of growing up to be a veterinary doctor while she wanted to be a popstar.

"Oh." The blonde girl said, then dissolved into more tears.

"Where's my sister? She came here earlier. Is she still in there? Where is Manuel?" I fired question after question at her.

When she took too long to respond, too busy sobbing, I grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Damn it, answer me!"

"Nina, I_" she whimpered. "Manuel lied to her. That bastard."

"Is she in there?" I asked impatiently

She nodded. "But it's not safe. Those guys want to kill Manuel. He scammed them of millions of dollars of product and was trying to resell the product he stole from them. That's why they showed up tonight. Everything has been a mess, and I_"

I didn't have time to listen to her sob story. I knew Manuel was bad news and I tried to warn Rosa. I just hoped after she got out of this, she'd begin to listen to me. In fact, it was for the best if we left Chicago altogether and started afresh somewhere else.

Without a second thought, I slipped to the back of the building, searching for an entrance through the cloud of smoke. I could hear screams and gunshots ringing out from inside the building, but it my sister was in there, I had to take the chance.

I just hoped I wasn't too late.

Finally spotting a side door, I rushed into the building, my eyes immediately watering as the acrid smoke hit me. I coughed as the smoke got to my lungs, fighting through the terror and heat to search for my sister.

My stomach turned as I spotted dead bodies littered around. Relief filled me as I didn't spot Rosa among any of them. The sound of a gunshot made me jerk, and I immediately followed the sound coming from the top level of the club.

I got there just in time to see a tall man fire at Manuel before disappearing down the hall. Manuel dropped to the floor with a groan of pain, and I immediately dropped down to my knees before him.

"Where is she? Where's Rosa?!" I barked at him. "Tell me you bastard."

"Th-they took her."

"Who took her?"

His blank gaze told me that he was dead already. The screech of tires drew my attention, and I immediately leaped for the window. A van was driving into the parking lot and another masked man was dragging some girls toward the approaching vehicle.

As soon as I spotted my sister, I jumped into action, racing downstair as fast as I could.

"Hey, you stop!" One of the cops called as I zoomed past him, going around the club building to where my sister and the other girls were being loaded onto the van.

"Rosa! Rosa!" I cried.

My sister turned, eyes going wide as she spotted me. "Nina! Nina no. No!"

Determination and terror for my sister was the fuel that kept me going even when I wasn't sure what I would do when I got to her. I increased my pace, lungs burning as I ran faster than I had ever run in my life.

I didn't see the masked man raising his gun until it was too late.

"Nina!" My sister screeched just as the sound of a gunshot echoed.

Pain exploded through my thighs as the bullet ripped through my leg. I immediately collapsed to the ground, screaming. I watched helplessly as the man holding my sister tossed her into the back of the van and shut the door.

I started to crawl, tears of frustration and defeat running down my face. By the time I heard the sound of boots running toward us, the van had already screeched away from the parking lot.

"Call an ambulance!" I heard one of the cops yelling. Someone was asking me something, but all I could do was stare at the now empty space where my sister had stood a minute ago.

"They took my sister." I whispered. "Who were they?"

"That was the black smoke gang, led by Rafael Santiago." One of the cops informed me. "Don't worry kid, we will get your sister back. We promise."

They never did keep that promise.