Heroes Like Me

  Chapter One: The Knife in the Spotlight The crowd didn’t know whether to scream or applaud. For a heartbeat, everything seemed like part of the act. Matt Harris stood still, his outstretched hand frozen mid-gesture as the assistant slowly drifted down from the rigged suspension wire. The lights dimmed automatically, but it was too late. The red pool beneath the elegant figure in yellow was already spreading. Then the scream came again — not from the woman, but from somewhere in the crowd. A shrill, human wail. That was no illusion. The spotlight operator — Jimmy, a kid from Bronzeville — swung the beam downward, illuminating the body more clearly. Gasps broke out like fireworks. A man tried to shield his wife's eyes. A white child pointed and asked if this was “another trick.” It wasn’t. Harris descended from the stage in slow, deliberate steps, careful not to run, careful not to panic. His years in front of crowds had taught him how quickly fear spreads. He knelt beside th...