Brooklyn's POV
"I find it quite remarkable, having once been a timid freshman at Central City University, to be standing before you now, the regents choice for Man of the Year. While I very much appreciate the award, the real honor for me is knowing that my work in organ transference helps give people a second chance at life. Thank you all very much for coming," Simon Stagg gave his short speech before raising his award in the air, the action dismissing the crowd as the applause rung out around us. I was trying to get a few good snapshots of Simon Stagg when Barry and Iris began walking away, leaving me behind.
"Okay. All right, first things first, Simon Stagg's work in cellular cloni--where's Brooklyn?" Barry started, before he cut himself off. He immediately spun around looking for me, while Iris did the same.
"Guys, I'm right here," I called out to them. They both spun to face me and Barry marched over to bring me to where Iris was standing
"Don't do that, especially after what happened last week," Barry told me as we walked.
"I know, I'm just trying to get a good shot of him. All those rich snobs and rude reporters are in the way," I grumbled. Barry rolled his eyes but put his arm around my shoulders as we reached Iris. Iris shook her head in amusement at my grumpy expression and Barry's slightly annoyed one.
"Anyway, as I was saying, Simon Stagg's work in cellular cloning has led to huge advancements in the future of organ replacement..." Barry trailed off when Iris grabbed two glasses of champagne from the tray of one of the servers. I bit back my smile while Bare looked exasperated.
"Are journalists allowed to drink on the job?" Iris asked. Barry immediately took the glasses out of her hands before responding.
"Okay. If you are bored already, just wait till we get to the science behind cellular regeneration." Barry put the two glasses on a table and I grabbed one without him seeing. Just as I was about to take a sip, he took the glass out of my hand and set it down on another table. "Hey-No, you are under-age," Barry reprimanded.
"That didn't seem to stop you," I mumbled under my breath but both Iris and Barry heard me.
"She's got you there," Iris agreed. I grinned at her and she returned it while he looked betrayed.
"It was one time. And I regretted it immediately," he defended himself. I rolled my eyes but smiled when Iris hooked her arm around Barry's.
"I have missed this, you two. I feel like we haven't spent any quality time together since you woke up from the coma," Iris said. She soon stopped walking and turned to stand in front of Barry and me.
"Yeah, I've had a crazy few weeks, I know," Barry agreed. I decided to let them talk so I, once again, left Barry's side and began taking pictures of the building and the set up. Soon Simon Stagg passed me, and I immediately spun around to get Iris's attention. She had already spotted him and caught his attention, trying to stop him from walking away. I quickly took a few pictures of Mr. Stagg as I reached Barry.
"Mr. Stagg, I was wondering if I could get a quote from you for my article," Iris asked. Simon Stagg didn't respond, but instead kept walking while his body guard gestured for Iris to stop following them.
"Not now miss," the bodyguard told her. Barry and I walked back up to her as she watched them walk away.
"I'll just make something up," Iris brushed off, causing Barry and me to laugh. "So, what were you going to tell me? You looked like you were about to say something." I looked at Barry, now intrigued. Barry saw the look I was giving him and pushed me gently, silently telling me to knock it off. I smiled but obeyed.
"Yeah-" Barry breathed out before we heard gunshots erupt from behind us. My eyes widened, and I grabbed both Barry and Iris's arms as the other guests grabbed each other and ducked down.
"QUIET DOWN! ALL OF YOU!" one of the gunman yelled from near the stage.
"Oh my god," Iris said quietly, holding my hand. Barry pulled both Iris and me behind him as all three of us got on the ground. He crouched in front of us, with his back to us as we watched the other gunmen inspect the crowd. My breathing began to quicken as I looked down, seeing the bottom of Iris's dress, her legs, and the ground, I was on the verge of a panic attack. Iris seemed to realized this when she put her arms around me, almost sheltering me. I wrapped my arms around her waist while Barry was holding both Iris's hand and mine. Iris pet my hair as she hugged me while Barry kept his eyes trained on the gunmen, almost as if he was going to stop them.
"QUIET!" the first gunman yelled one more. "How considerate! You're all wearing your finest jewelry!" The crowd slowly rose to their feet, Barry, Iris, and me included. "Almost like you knew we were coming to rob you! Now everybody line up!" We all got in two lines as the gunmen walked around, patrolling. Every time they passed us, Iris would back up, still holding me, while Barry put himself in front of us. The guests had to walk up to the gunman at the front of the line, and drop their jewelry and valuables in the bag he was holding. Another gunman walked past us and when Barry made a move to stop him, Iris quickly stepped out to stop him.
"Don't. Don't," Iris told him, pulling him back to us. I grabbed Barry's arm and pulled him farther back as Iris came to stand beside me.
"FREEZE!" a lone security guard yelled as he turned the corner. All the guests, including us, got down on the floor as the gunmen lined up near us. They all stopped and turned around to face the security guard simultaneously pointing their guns at him. "D-D-Drop your weapons!" the security guard stuttered. Barry, Iris, and I backed up farther until we hit the wall. We soon heard gunshots, felt a gust of wind, and saw a flash of yellow lightning. The security guard was thrown out of the way by something and all the bullets hit the glass behind him, except for one, which was shot in the direction of Iris and I. I felt something hit me and the force made me stumble backwards. At first I couldn't feel anything, then the pain hit me with the force of a ton of bricks. I touched the top left part of my chest and looked at my hand, only to see it covered in blood. I looked down and saw that the bullet had embedded itself in my shoulder. Iris and I made eye contact, both our eyes wide, as the guests around us screamed and ducked for cover. Iris immediately applied pressure to the wound as we both fell to the floor. My vision got blurry as I felt tears fill my eyes.
"You're going to be okay, Brooklyn. They left, an-and the cops are coming-my dad is coming, and so is the ambulance and you'll be okay," Iris cried. I nodded, as I slumped against the wall, leaning my head back. I could feel the tears fall down my face, which cause the same to happen to Iris.
"I got shot...." I mumbled to myself, not quite believing it.
"Yeah, you did. And you'll be fine. Help is on the way and you're going to be fine," Iris reassured me, tears streaming down her face. I nodded once more, not knowing what to say, until I noticed Barry wasn't with us.
"B-arry, Iris, Barry," I realized as I started to get up. He wasn't next to us or any of the other guests who had started to get up and check to see if their friends or family were okay. I took deep breaths and my eyelids began to feel heavier
"I don't know, Brooke, I don't know. He's-he's not here, but he'll be fine, he'll be back, just stay awake for me, okay?" Iris told me when she noticed my eyelids drooping. I nodded, and tried to steady my rapid breathing. After another minute of Iris and me trying to stop the bleeding, the cops had finally arrived with paramedics in tow. "DAD! EDDIE! BROOKE, SHE GOT SHOT!" Iris yelled out, the second she caught sight of Joe and Eddie. Joe ran over to us as Eddie grabbed a paramedic's attention.
"No, no, no, Brooke, honey, you're going to be all right," Joe said softly as he put his gun away. The paramedic had run over and taken Iris's spot in trying to stop the bleeding. Both Joe and the paramedic helped me up and quickly took me over to the ambulance. Iris and Eddie followed us as we reached the ambulance. They slowly helped me up and sat me down on the stretcher. The paramedic had called over the other two paramedics. As they started boarding the ambulance, the one who helped us turned around to face Joe, Iris, and Eddie.
"Anybody want to ride with her?" he asked. Iris immediately raised her hand and climbed into the ambulance. She sat beside me as the paramedic closed the doors and we drove off to the hospital. The paramedic did what he could to stop the bleeding as much as possible as Iris was saying reassuring things to me while holding my right hand. I tried to listen to her but I couldn't, only two things clouding my mind. The first thing was the pain, the second thing was a question that kept repeating over and over again: Where is Barry?