A Spy's Home--Book 1: Beyond the Borders.

Chapter 30

One hour later...

Rory came through the door, a plastic bag in one hand, and his car keys in the other hand. I turned off the TV, and dazely looked at him; he looked at me and chuckled. "Head still sore?" he asked. "Is that even a question? Your head can't be better than mine." I answered, leaning my still throbbing head against the wall behind the bed.

I was dressed in a comfy, long-sleeve shirt, and some sweat-pants; my hair was damp from just getting out of the shower. My lip was busted, but it had stopped bleeding, and my scratches had closed and were less noticeable. My bruises were still there, though, but at least I would not get a black eye; neither would Rory.

"Alright, I know we had these already this week, and I told you that we would only have soda on special occasions, but..." Rory's voice trailed off, as he sat next to me on the bed, and held up two lemon-lime sodas. I took one eagerly, and we clunked them together. "...To our first win against the Academy." he finished, before glugging the soda. "May our number of wins out number our number of defeats." I added, before taking a small sip.

"You hungry, Little Z?" Rory asked, playfully nudging my shoulder, and getting off the bed. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, put my half-empty soda can on the lamp desk, and responded with, "Depends; What did you bring?" Rory sat his soda can on his table and went over to the plastic bag; he pulled out two small, foil, dinner bowls with plastic lid. "Remember Chicken Alfredo?" he asked, with a wide smile on his face.

My face lit up and I answered, "Of course I do. It was our third mission when we first had it." I walked over to him and took one of the warm, delicious smelling bowls into my hands. "Thanks." I said. "No problem, Little Z." Rory answered, patting my shoulder. We sat down at the table, and we ate the delicious noodles, the tender chicken, and creamy sauce happily.

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11:00pm at night...

It was easy for me to fall asleep; I had longed for the cease of pain in my head, and the calm it made me feel. A small creak woke me from the peace however, and I moaned; sometimes I hate being a light sleeper.

I was sleeping on my stomach, and my arm was dangling off the bed edge; I was about to doze off again when I heard the same noise. I lifted my head and looked over at Rory's bed; Rory was there sleeping soundly. Something was wrong, very wrong; The awful feeling in my gut grew stronger, as more noises around the motel room grew more and more frequent.

"Zylina, are you alright?" I heard Rory's voice. I turned my head and saw him looking back at me concerned. "I have this awful feeling in my gut." I answer. Silence filled the motel room again....Bang! A gunshot off and a bullet shattered the window.

Several more bangs rang out and caused sparks to appear around the room. I had my eyes squeezed shut and my ears covered; I was in a Fetal Position, as glass shattered around me. Suddenly while the shots continued to threaten our lives, I felt a body slam into my body and we both crashed to the ground. I opened my eyes as I was catching my breath and heard Rory say, "Zylina get to the door, I'll be right behind you."

I didn't hesitate, and began crawling toward the door on my knees. I looked back, and I saw Rory with his phone out; he's dialing 9-1-1! I then witnessed a bullet hit his back, and he let out a gasp of pain as the phone crashed to the ground. "Rory!" I yelled. I got to my feet and sprinted to his side; Rory had been hit at the top of the shoulder blade and had already passed out from blood loss.

I ducked further behind the bed, and with tears streaming down my face, I finished the dial Rory had started. "9-1-1, what's your emergency?" the operator answered on the other side of the line. "I'm...in the....motel on 19th street in Findlay, Ohio. Someone....is shooting into our room....My brother is wounded." I stuttered, between gaps from the bullets startling me. "What room are you?" the operator asked. "19." I answered. "Hold on we're sending forces now." the operator told me, before hanging up.

I cradled Rory in my arms, as bangs echoed. Tears streamed down my face, and Rory's blood was getting on my hands from me covering it. "Rory, stay with me. Please, I don't want to see another person's death." I whispered, my non-bloody hand gripping the back of his head.

The banging stopped and I looked up; sirens filled the air outside the shattered windows, and then I heard footsteps running away. Trying to slow my breath, I continued to sit there and grip Rory, terrified that he would not make it. Police busted the door open and shined flashlights on us. They rushed over to us, and helped me and carried Rory outside. Police cars and an Ambulance truck were parked outside.

A police man walked towards me and said, "Hey, kid, can you tell us what happened?" I was about to answer, when a nurse came over, put her hand on my shoulder, which I flinched at, and said, "Officer, she needs to go to the hospital. You can ask her what happened when she's less in shock." I felt warm blood drip down my lip, as she ushered me to the Ambulance. "Rory." I mumbled, tiredly, as she sat me down in the truck. "Rory's is your brother?" one of the doctors asked. I weakly nodded, but my eyes went wide as I saw Rory unconscious on a stretcher, and he was pulled into the Ambulance in front of me.

Tears formed in my eyes, as I saw him; A nurse was checking my wounds, and was asking my questions, but I barely heard them over the beating of my own heart. 

To Be Continued; Will Rory survive the wound? Will Zylina ever be the same again?

The End...