Chris Bradford - Bulletcatcher

Troy knew from the TV news that A.F. stood for Army of Freedom a terrorist group that launched random violent attacks on Terminus City and its people. Hed never been caught up in anything like this before. Hed always imagined that such horror and tragedy happened to other people. Not to him and his family.

Troy stared out the window of the comic store as five people in black combat trousers and black hooded jackets marched down the glossy walkways of the mall. Their faces were hidden behind blank white masks. Only their eyes could be seen through the two slits in the plastic. The lead terrorist strode along like some faceless terminator, firing his compact F4000 assault rifle at anything that moved.

Troy watched helpless as the terrorist swung the gun to point at his parents. LOOK OUT! he screamed.

But Troys warning came too late.

The F4000 thundered in the mans grip. Bullets flew.

Troys mother went down first.

His father stopped to pull her up. A bullet clipped his arm and spun him round. But he still managed to dive on top of her body to shield her.

The terrorist fired again.

His parents bodies jerked in the storm of bullets, then lay still.

A cry of horror rose up in Troys throat. He pounded at the window in despair. Then the terrorist turned to face him and opened fire. Troy threw himself to the floor as the store window shattered. Shards of glass rained down on him.

He heard screams as the other customers fled for the back exit. But Troy was frozen rigid with fear, too horrified by his parents deaths to move.

The store owner slammed the front door shut and tried to lock it. In his panic he seemed to have forgotten that a glass door would be no match for an automatic rifle firing ten rounds per second. Bullets shattered the door and flung the store owner back. He landed in a bloody, broken heap by the sales desk.

The masked terrorist stepped inside.

Only now did some survival instinct impel Troy to move.

He scrambled to his feet, shoved away a comic stand and darted for the rear exit. The stand skidded across the floor and hit the terrorist. It knocked off his aim, and bullets ripped into a shelf of magazines instead of Troy.

Troy looked back and saw that the mans hood had come down. He caught a flash of shaved blond hair and a small black tattoo behind the mans left ear before the terrorist batted away the comic stand and took aim again.

But Troy wasnt the target any more. It was the cute girl whod smiled at him earlier.

She was curled up in a ball on the floor. Troy could see that she was trembling with fear. He sprinted in her direction, flew forward and landed on top of her. The terrorists machine gun roared and Troy felt the first of the deadly bullets hit him.

Troy woke to a strange electronic beep beep beep

His eyes flickered open and he saw that there were sensors attached to his bare chest. He lay in a hospital bed in a white room with no windows. A bank of hi-tech medical monitors displayed his heartbeat and other vital signs. The screens gave off a soft green glow.

As his eyes came into full focus, Troy saw a tall woman standing at the end of his bed. Her hair was a shock of twisted white spikes. This extreme style seemed at odds with the smart silver-grey business suit, leather gloves and long silver earrings that she wore. Her thin lips stretched in a friendly smile but the warmth didnt reach her eyes, which were as cold and grey as stone.

How are you feeling, Troy? she asked in a clipped English accent.

All right I think, he replied, as he sat up in the bed. His muscles felt stiff and sore and he could see a dark line of bruises on his left-hand side, but that seemed to be the worst of it.

A miracle, after what happened to you. The woman held up an ultra-thin glass pad and pressed the play icon on the screen. This is

Who are you? Troy interrupted. Are you a doctor?

Im Medusa, she said, and she thrust out a gloved hand as if she had only just remembered her manners. Then she pointed to the screen. As I was saying, this is from a CCTV camera at the time of the terrorist attack.

Troy looked at the screen and saw a scrawny white kid with sandy cropped hair and a gawky manner in the comic store. Himself no wonder he had no luck with girls!

On the screen, the shop window shattered and Troy dropped to the floor.

Fast reactions, Medusa remarked.