by Amber Garr
“My money’s on Nathan’s gang,” Zach said.
I punched him for the second time today. “Are you serious?”
A hint of smirk passed over Zach’s face and he lifted one eyebrow. “I don’t know, maybe?”
“We need to get out of here,” Mr. Lenhart said like a robot, staring at the door and apparently experiencing the first signs of shock.
Zach and I exchanged a look and then assisted the three others out of the room. A wave of shoving and pushing followed our entrance into the stream of people trying to leave the school. “So much for our organized drills,” I grumbled when someone slammed me and Jessa into the side of the hall. My shoulder throbbed from the force and that only made me angrier. “Move!” I yelled to no one in particular.
The five of us shuffled along with the mob, holding on to each other despite being jostled back and forth. When we finally reached the front doors, the crowd cleared as people began running in all directions.
“Come on,” Zach said to me.
“I’m parked over there,” said Brent, pointing to the opposite side of the building.
“Me too,” Jessa said.
“So am I,” Mr. Lenhart added. “I’ll take them,” he told Zach and me.
“Do you need help?” I asked.
“No. Go ahead, get out of here.”
I hesitated, feeling uneasy about letting them out of my sight. Why? I didn’t know. But something in my gut told me today would be the last time I’d see them.
“Come on!” Zach pulled me toward his Jeep. For a moment, I felt overwhelmed by his eyes that showed so much concern for my safety. I struggled briefly with the fact that he’d gone out of his way to find me. But just for a moment, because I knew I would have done the same for him had he not beaten me to it.
Another explosion rumbled the streets, a ball of fire shot a mile up into the sky. The ground trembled beneath our feet, causing me to stumble into Zach’s side. He wrapped a long arm around my shoulders and pulled me tighter.
“Look!” he shouted and pointed to the smoke in front of us. “Something closer than that bottling factory is burning.”
As if on cue, a loud crackling reverberated around us. Flames dashed out of the shattered school windows at the far side of the parking lot. Either the school had been attacked or the fire had spread. Either way, we had to escape.
A car swerving erratically to get away from the chaos nearly sideswiped Zach and me moments before we reached his vehicle. “Asshole!” Zach called out, beating his hands against the trunk of the car as is sped past. Turning to me, he asked, “You okay?”
For a split second, the world around us disappeared. Explosions quieted, the screaming ceased, and all of the running bodies blended into the background. Zach’s worried eyes and focus only on me took me by surprise. And my reaction to him twisted something deep inside.
Snapping out of it, I said, “Yeah. I’m fine. Let’s go.” I pushed past Zach, running into a few students in the process. With elbows flying, I made my way to the passenger side and climbed in just as Zach did. He started the Jeep and slammed it into gear. The roar of his horn caught the attention of people scrambling passed. Thankfully they moved out of our way.
Something crashed to the ground behind us and I turned around in my seat to see the last remnants of the east wing of our school crumble to the ground. “I hope everyone got out,” I whispered to myself.
“What?” Zach focused on zigzagging around people and debris and emergency vehicles trying to enter the same way we were trying to leave. All around us the world had changed in an instant. No longer could we hide in our little safe haven pretending that what was happening in the rest of the world would never happen here. The gates had only delayed the inevitable.
War had reached our doorstep.
“We need to get home,” I said, sitting back in the seat and trying to ignore the grim scene.
“Where do you think I’m going?” Zach snapped.
I ignored it. He had every right to be upset and I had no doubt that we both had the same fears racing through our minds right now. Were our families all right? What would we find when we reached our compound?
“This is it, isn’t it?” I asked after a long stretch of silence.
Zach turned and quickly looked at me. Whatever smart-ass comment he had ready to dish out disappeared when his gaze landed on my face. I knew he saw the tears brimming in my eyes, and although I hated showing any weakness in front of him, my fear of what lay ahead trumped my ego.
He reached across the seat and grabbed my hand. “Yeah, I think it is.”
“We have to leave, don’t we?”
“Yeah.”
A thought suddenly danced in my head and I laughed. “I guess we don’t have to go to school anymore after all.”
Zach squeezed my hand, a small smile lighting up his face. “You can’t fool me, Vee. I know you liked learning things.”
“No, I didn’t,” I teased.
“You’re a nerd disguised as a slacker.”
“Am not.”
This time, Zach winked and raised a brow. A small dimple in his cheek caught a hint of sunlight. No wonder all of the girls swooned over him. I looked down at our clasped hands and for a moment wished that we would have been born a generation earlier. Like our parents, who didn’t have to worry about rations and wars and could simply enjoy life. Perhaps then Zach and I could have escaped to California where I’d be a veterinarian and he’d be a doctor. But as we neared our complex and the blaring signs of a world breaking down surrounded us, I knew those dreams were lost to us forever.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amber Garr spends her days as a scientist and nights writing about other worlds. Her childhood imaginary friend was a witch, Halloween is sacred, and she is certain she has a supernatural sense of smell. Amber is a multiple Royal Palm Literary Award winner and author of the bestselling novels The Syrenka Series, the award-winning Water Crisis Chronicles, The Leila Marx Novels, and the Death Warden Series. When not obsessing over the unknown, she can be found dancing, reading, or enjoying a good movie.
Connect with Amber Online:
www.ambergarr.com
www.facebook.com/AuthorAmberGarr
@AmberGarr1
TITLES AVAILABLE NOW
The Syrenka Series:
Promises
Betrayal
Arise
The Leila Marx Novels and Novellas:
Touching Evil
Scorched
The Water Crisis Chronicles
Waterfall
Waterproof
The Death Warden Series
Hidden Souls
Furthermore: An Anthology
Twisted: A Collection
Somewhere South of Normal: An Anthology
Somewhere South of Sane: An Anthology
Candy Cane Kisses: A Short Story Anthology
