by M.J. Fontana
locate the door except Thomas who is at far left side of the room. The rest of my team near the stairwell fires at the disoriented guards.
“Don’t know how I ended up over there,” Thomas says making his way toward the stairwell. I laugh a nervous laugh as we continue to climb the stairs. My watch reads eight minutes until the bomb goes off. We reach the door to the last floor, floor 100. I think that we have a better chance to exit the building from the front, but without the elevator working it’s an impossible feat. Our desire for revenge is going to get us all killed. We could have planted the bomb and watched as the building collapsed from the distance. “We all knew it was going to end like this,” Alex says. He opens the door and fires randomly around him with the sound of guns firing right back at him from different directions. The rest of the team and I fire explosive and smoke grenades around us.
Alex drops onto the ground, and clutches his hands to a wound near his chest. “Finish them for me and Leo. It’s my fault Leo is dead, let me die,” he whimpers. His eyes close shut and never reopen.
To my right in the meeting room that takes up half the floor I observe Joey Fontane sitting patiently and peacefully at a large boardroom table while he watches the chaos unfold in front of him. “We had a deal,” he says as I open the door and walk into the room, assault rifle aimed at his head. “We both knew it wasn’t going to end like that,” I say. I step my way closer toward him. “If you’re only stalling to kill me because you want to know for sure if I’m responsible for your girlfriend’s death, the answer is yes. I aimed and fired my Bazooka aimed right at the bottom of the limousine. But aren’t you glad I taught you something about yourself,” says Fontane. “You only care about yourself. I mean to not attempt to save her. You’re no hero.” He looks straight into my eyes. I look at my watch as it reads a minute and a half until the building goes down.
“Your right Fontane I’m not a hero, but I’m going to die while I watch this organization get destroyed,” I say. “Your right about one thing, you’re going to die,” he says grabbing my gun and throwing it across the room.
The windows in the room shatter from rounds of bullets firing from a helicopter outside near the window. Papers fly around me from behind cover in the room, my hair moves around crazily from the wind. Fontane and I both are in cover until the round of bullets stop.
“Dads here,” he says running toward the shattered window. I get up and run after him. He jumps into the opening of helicopter that then turns away from the building. Without hesitation I jump from the window, and grasp onto the landing skid. The helicopter with my entire body hanging with my hands clutched tightly to the landing skid move further and further into the distance from the Pyramid building. Moments later I hear the sound of an explosion behind me. I turn my head slightly and watch as the building crumbles toward the ground.
The helicopter is now flying over the clear blue Miami water. I could attempt to pull myself into the helicopter, but I have no gun and no clear play as I dangle unnoticed from the landing skip of the helicopter containing Joey Fontane and his dad.
I’m in my fifth grade class. Mrs. Doogle with her dark rimmed glasses and curly red hair reads pairs of names for our next group project. “Matt James your partner is going to be Victoria Rose.”
Back in the present day, I let go of the helicopters landing skid and fall from the sky into the clear, blue Miami water. I swim and emerge to the surface of the water for fresh air.
“Hello,” I say nervously as I take a seat next to Victoria. I didn’t know how much this girl Victoria would mean to me in the future. That she would eventually save my life as I let my hands free from the landing skid into the calm, clear water.
From the surface of the water I cough and attempt to get my breathing under control. While I float in the still, clear water I watch as the helicopter containing the Fontane’s get smaller and smaller in the distance until it’s completely gone from sight.
Epilogue: 11 years later
Victoria sits on an empty green lawn chair holding our first child, 2 month year old Tucker in her arms. “Honey could you hold him for a second.” I take him from Victoria’s arms and hold in mine. Victoria’s dad stands by the barbeque grilling hotdogs and burgers for his daughter Brianna’s friends. Victoria’s mom is conversing with some of her friends. Brianna comes up to Victoria and I. “I’m glad you’re here,” she tells me. The sounds of splashing and laugher could be heard from the above ground pool in front of us. “You’re a big college girl now. What are you going to major in,” I ask. “Public relations like my sister,” she says proudly. “Brianna, come in the pool,” a boy shouts from inside the pool. “I’ll talk to you both later, even you Tucker,” she says before racing toward the pool. Victoria gets up, “I’m going to get some food, did you want me to bring you back something,” she asks. “I’ll take a cheeseburger, do you want me to get it,” I ask. “No I got it; Tucker is quiet when you hold him.” I look down at Tucker, his eyes looking back at me with a smile. I watch Victoria as she talks to her dad near the grill. I can’t help but be excited to begin the next chapter of my life with her.
