by Hunt, James
“I have to get back to my family,” Mike said.
“I can’t let you go in the middle of this.”
“It’s not your decision.”
“You see that!”
The lieutenant pointed over to Bram’s forces who were gathering at the end of the road. Some of the vehicles were being mobilized.
“I need every available man to stop those bastards from getting to us. And you’re available.”
He shoved a rifle into Mike’s chest. Mike flipped the rifle around and aimed it right at the lieutenant’s head.
“You gonna shoot me, Mike?”
“That’s why the gun’s aimed at your head.”
“You’re not gonna shoot me. If you do that you’ll never see your family again. But they’ll see you, or what’s left of you after my soldiers pump you full of lead.”
Mike’s finger itched over the trigger. He wanted to pull it. He was sick and tired of the shit that he had to go through in order to be with his family. Maybe this was the only way out.
No.
He lowered the rifle and the weapon was taken from him. His hands were tied behind his back and he was shoved down onto the ground, hard.
“Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. You help us, and I make sure to get you back to your family as quick as possible. The sooner that building is rubble, the sooner you can find your kids.”
Mike knew what Anne would want him to do, so he just decided to go along. And he figured if he managed to take out some of the soldiers who would be looking to hurt his family, then that was a plus.
“I’ll need both my hands to help,” Mike said.
***
Bram spotted the rebels through the streets on his way to the factory. He radioed for soldiers immediately and almost crashed through the gate when he arrived.
Beth met him out front with a group of men and immediately started to mobilize against the rebels.
Bram made his way into the factory and met with the head engineer.
“Where are we at with completion?” Bram asked.
“We weren’t scheduled to load the missiles until tomorrow, sir.”
“Well, I want them loaded now! Do you understand me?”
“Sir, we don’t have anywhere to take them.”
Bram grabbed the engineer by the throat and slammed him against one of the piles of missiles. He was choking the life out of him, and the engineer clawed at his arm.
“Anywhere but here will do just fine.”
***
Joey had the radio close to his ear. He was waiting for any sign of action. Cain never assigned him a post. All he was told to do was scour the city and look for any signs of the people from Carrollton.
He wanted to find them more than his mother did. He was consumed by it. Ever since he killed Jung’s children he needed more.
When the radio call went out for soldiers to head to the hotel to gather the Grants, Joey followed them to the address given.
His short legs pumped as hard as they could against the pavement and his rifle was tucked tight under his shoulder.
It took him twenty minutes to make it to the hotel. The soldiers were already out front when he arrived. He recognized a few of them, but when he saw Bram he knew it was serious.
Cain had introduced him when they first arrived. Out of all the people Joey met, including Cain, Bram was the one who frightened him the most.
He couldn’t put his finger on exactly why. It was the combination of his expensive clothes, the massive apartment, the way he spoke. Bram embodied a way of life that Joey had never seen before. He didn’t like it.
Joey tucked himself in an alleyway two buildings down from the hotel. He was glancing north when he saw Freddy, running as fast as he could toward the hotel with his sister right behind him, and then they disappeared in an alleyway themselves.
Time to hunt.
***
The artillery from Bram’s forces blasted the buildings the rebels had scattered to for cover on their march toward the factory.
Dust, concrete, and rebar scattered the ground. Chunks of asphalt were sent flying into the air, landing on cars and smashing through windows, when the explosives hit.
Mike was covered in dust. He could barely keep the rifle in his hands. His fingers felt as if they were made of steel. He wasn’t even sure if he’d be able to pull the trigger.
“We need to get the hell out of here now!” Mike said.
The lieutenant was still by his side, barking orders to his men.
“We can’t turn back now,” the lieutenant replied.
“You told me you’ve never lost a man in your unit. We’re sitting ducks here. We need to get out.”
Mike could see the turmoil in the lieutenant’s eyes. He could tell the man wanted to pull out, but his orders overrode his instincts. They couldn’t retreat.
Mike crawled over to the front of the building. The military trucks were pushing forward down the street. It wouldn’t be long before they were right on top of them. He went back over to the lieutenant and grabbed his shoulder.
“Have one unit stay here to continue pressing fire. Tell the rest to retreat to the rear of their buildings and head up the streets behind us to the factory,” Mike said.
“Our building doesn’t have an exit. We checked,” the lieutenant answered.
Mike yanked one of the grenades off the lieutenant’s belt and put it in his hand.
“Make one,” Mike said.
***
Once the sirens went off Anne pulled Sam to the side. She begged the soldiers to go in and look for her children, but they wouldn’t budge.
“I have to find them, Sam,” Anne said.
“We don’t even know where they went,” Sam replied.
She had to do something. She couldn’t just sit there and wait, not with everything that was happening.
“Sam.”
“All right. Where do we start looking?” Sam asked.
***
Beth was right up front, leading the soldiers and vehicles down the street. Her rifle was up, firing into the group of rebels to the left.
She picked off as many as she could. That focus that fueled her was still burning slow, steady. It marched over her, stepping in unified rhythm.
Each time she pulled the trigger the burn intensified. With every bullet that flew from the rifle’s barrel the desire to kill grew.
The pieces of lead flew through the air, slicing the flesh of the rebels. In her head she pictured the faces of all the people she’d ever wanted to hurt. All of the individuals who belittled her, any who thought they were above her.
Every rebel that fell to the ground was someone from her past. Now she was in control. Now she had the power and she wasn’t afraid to use it.
But when she heard the gunfire behind her that power she held so dear began to fade. The rebels had flanked them from behind, and while some of her men ran for cover, Beth moved forward to meet them head on.
The succession of her shots became faster. Her heart was pounding. In between each pull of the trigger she could hear screaming. It wasn’t until her clip was emptied that she realized that the person screaming was her.
***
Kalen didn’t know why she ran toward the sound of the gunfire, especially with Freddy still with her. As soon as they heard the sirens go off she grabbed her brother’s hand and jumped onto the fire escape.
She knew whatever was happening must have been bad when the soldiers at the hotel drove right past them and didn’t even stop to wonder why a girl and young boy would be headed in the same direction.
“Slow down, Kalen!” Freddy yelled.
She heard him, but she couldn’t stop. She had to keep going. If she slowed down she felt she would be caught. And she couldn’t let that happen.
The gunfire was becoming louder. She could feel the blasts from the artillery that shook the ground.
Then there was another gunshot that sounded as though it came from
behind them. Freddy’s grip went limp in her hand and she felt herself get pulled back from the weight of Freddy hitting the ground. When she turned around there was a red stain on his back.
“Freddy?”
He wasn’t moving. She bent down and flipped him over. His face was pale. His skin was clammy.
“Kalen?”
His voice was quiet, weak. Before Kalen could do anything another shot rang out that ricocheted off the ground next to them.
Kalen looked up and saw Joey a few blocks down the road behind a car. She picked Freddy up in her arms and carried him into the store next to them.
She laid him down gently on the floor and ran her hand along his cheek. His small body started to shake. He was going into shock.
“Hang on, Freddy.”
They were in an old electronics store. Kalen looked around for anything she could use to stop the bleeding. She found a pack of cleaning cloths used for computer screens and tore it open. She tilted Freddy on his side and stuffed the small rags into the wound.
“I feel cold,” Freddy said.
The tears rolling down Kalen’s face landed on Freddy’s shirt. Her arm was shaking as she tried to keep pressure on the wound.
“It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.”
“Where’s Mom? I want Mom.”
“She’s on her way. She’s looking for us right now.”
The shock was wearing off and the pain was starting to set in as Freddy started wailing. Each time his body convulsed from the cries, Kalen could feel more blood spill out of the wound.
The boy who was always so filled with laughter and love was experiencing the most painful moment of his life and she couldn’t do anything to help.
“Kalen?”
She wiped the tears from her face, trying to compose herself.
“Shh, it’s okay.”
“Don’t tell Dad about the watch.”
Kalen couldn’t help but smile. Through all of this, Freddy was still worried about disappointing their father.
Freddy’s eyelids started to flutter. Kalen grabbed his hand.
“Freddy, stay awake. You have to stay awake, okay?”
He didn’t respond. He closed his eyes and his hand and head went limp in her arms. Kalen shook him.
“Freddy!”
Her brother, whom she loved and fought with so much, was no longer with her. He would never date a girl, learn how to drive, go to prom, graduate from high school, or experience anything in life again. His future was gone.
Kalen’s breathing accelerated. She could feel the rage burning through her, igniting every cell inside her body. A chain reaction had been set off that couldn’t be stopped now.
Whatever commitment tied Kalen to the rest of the human race was severed the moment Freddy’s heart stopped beating.
Kalen closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and kissed her brother on the forehead. She set him down gently and grabbed the watch out of his pocket.
***
It wasn’t hard tracking them. When Joey realized what they were running toward it was pretty simple. When he saw them heading down the street he parked himself next to an idle car and brought Freddy into his crosshairs.
He knew if he could bring him down, then it would slow Kalen up. Wound the weak, and the strong will follow. Those words from his father echoed in his ears.
The moment Joey squeezed the trigger and Freddy hit the ground he knew he had them. They wouldn’t be able to go anywhere, and he knew the sister would stop to save him.
That’s when he realized what Cain was trying to tell him. That type of love and attachment is weakness. It was a weakness he didn’t have, and that’s why he was so strong. That’s why Cain chose to bring him here. To purge those that had weakness.
When he saw Kalen on the ground with Freddy he lined up another shot. He had his elbow on the hood of the car and Kalen fell into his crosshairs.
Just before he fired, his elbow slipped on the hood and he missed.
Joey watched Kalen carry Freddy into the store next to where he was shot. He inched along the sidewalk close to the storefronts and made his way to the building she’d entered.
He didn’t see a weapon on her, and he felt that if she did have one she would have fired back. Regardless, he still wanted to be careful. There wasn’t anything more dangerous than a wounded animal.
There was an alleyway right before the building she entered with a side door that led to the store that Kalen dragged Freddy inside.
Joey kept the rifle tucked under his arm as he pulled the door open. He stood frozen as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.
Once he had a better look he could tell he had entered some type of stockroom. There were rows and rows of shelves with boxes on them.
He stepped lightly, rifle up, scanning the room. When he made it to the end of the aisle he could see the outline of another door.
Joey knew that’s where she was. He knew she was just sitting in there, exposed, crying over her brother’s body.
He figured Freddy would be dead by now. The shot was right in the back and the .223 caliber bullet would create a hole too big for that small body to contend with.
Joey’s hand reached for the doorknob. He turned it as quietly as he could. The barrel of the rifle was the first thing that poked through the door. When Joey took another step forward, pushing the rifle farther into the room, he felt a force knock the gun upward.
***
Kalen yanked the rifle out of Joey’s grip and he fell to the floor. She swung the butt of the rifle and brought it down on his face.
Joey’s cheeks immediately swelled up and his nose was broken and bent. She watched him crawl around on the ground, grasping at anything to help pull him up. She brought another smashing blow into his gut, which stopped him from moving again.
“You little bastard!” Kalen screamed.
She brought the butt of the rifle down on him again, smacking the back of his head. Each time she hit him the force of the blow was harder. Her screams grew louder. Joey’s blood splattered across her shirt and face.
When she was finished she couldn’t recognize the boy’s face anymore. It was nothing more than a bloody stump.
Kalen’s screams of anger were replaced by silent sobs. She looked down at her bloodied hands and they started to tremble.
Kalen crawled back over to Freddy, lifeless on the floor. She picked up his body and cradled him in her arms. She stayed like that for a few more minutes.
Once all of the tears in her were gone, the only thing she could focus on was the gunfire echoing in the distance. She rested Freddy on the ground gently, and then picked up the rifle. She racked the chamber, making sure it was loaded, then walked out the door.
***
The first place Anne thought to look was the hotel. When they arrived it was empty. Even the guards had left.
“Where else could they have gone?” Sam asked.
Anne could hear the gunshots in the distance. She was afraid she knew the answer to Sam’s question.
“Come on,” Anne said.
Sam pulled her back once he saw she was heading in the direction of the fighting.
“We can’t go there, Anne,” Sam said.
“That’s where they are.”
“Why would they run into a war zone?”
Anne wanted to tell him that it was because her daughter had changed. That it was because of the types of atrocities the world allowed, and that they had scarred her daughter, but she didn’t.
“I just know,” Anne said.
Anne led the two of them up the street and after a few minutes of jogging Anne slowed down.
“What’s wrong?” Sam asked.
Anne’s eyes were focused on a pool of blood staining the sidewalk. She stood there frozen, then sprinted toward it.
A streaked trail of red flowed from the sidewalk into the store.
“Anne?” Sam asked.
When Anne pushed the door open she fell to her
knees. Freddy was on the floor, motionless. His skin was white, drained from the blood that no longer pumped through his veins.
