No Escape

Chapter 27

They sat in the airplane, trying to process the shock of Rosanna's death. It was terrible to see her fall to the ground with blood spilling out of her like she was the

lead in a horror film. They were all silent, even the ones who didn't know Rosanna, it just felt like the respectful thing to do. Ellie Maisie was crouched down on the floor, hugging her knees tightly and shivering. Dominic sat down next to her.
"I'm sorry about Rosanna," he said, "I know you guys were close, and she was honestly the nicest person there."
"Yeah, she was," Ellie Maisie said, "All because she wanted to be herself. It's messed up."
"You probably blame me-"
"I do."
"I know, and you're probably not going to forgive me just like that, but I need you to know I'm sorry."

Ellie Maisie nodded, trying to ignore him and facing the other way. She wanted to forgive him because he wasn't doing it from the evil of his heart, and he was trying to fix his mistake, but she couldn't look past it. They flew for a couple of hours until they reached D.C. Ellie Maisie felt weird. Flying used to be a regular part of her life. Now it was a weird and almost new experience. They landed in a large field near the city. It was a shock to see the city after all that had happened. It was all chaotic. The fight between the soldiers and the people had just ended, and it seemed like their side had won, but none of that mattered if they didn't stop Keres, the priest, and Sister Davide. The city looked terribly kept and quiet. Like few people had walked around it.

There were government posters plastered all over the city, and rules prohibiting women from living their lives. And this was just one city in one state in one country in the entire world. Who knew what it was like elsewhere? It was repulsive and she just wanted it all to end. As they got off the plane, they saw another plane approaching them quickly, and they knew that Keres had followed them. They started shooting at them from the air, and once they landed they didn't cease the fire, and neither did the war. All the other people in D.C came to their aid and did everything possible to help. They shot back and added to the turmoil. The plan was still clear though, corner the people who carried this operation and end what they started. Keres,

the priest, and Sister Davide all ran in separate directions. Mo and Nanette ran after the priest. He didn't get far. They chased him down the street and cornered him. They pointed their guns at him, unsure of how to proceed. He fell to the ground muttering some scripture about sin over and over again. They weren't sure what to do, except to grab him by the arm and make sure he didn't get away.
"Sinners," he yelled incessantly, "You're going to hell. God looks down on you."
"Look, I don't believe in God, but if he does exist, you're the one going to hell," Mo said, "You made all our lives miserable, so screw you."

He was quiet after that. Ariana ran after Sister Davide who was shooting her way. Ellie Maisie observed how angry they both looked. Anger was common with Sister Davide, but not as common with Ariana. It was justified though, she'd been through too much. That entire day had been an emotional rollercoaster and Ariana just wanted it to end. She chased down Sister Davide, bullets flying between the two of them. Ariana didn't want to kill her, she wanted her to rot in a prison cell. Finally, they both ran into a dead- end, pointing their guns at each other. Ariana noticed how disheveled they both looked. Sister Davide looked like she was at the border of insanity. Like the internalized misogyny was eating her alive.

"You killed Rosanna Nunez!" she yelled, "I was the only one who saw that it was a bullet from your gun that murdered her."
"That girl killed herself," Sister Davide spat, "She ran into an open fire, like a coward."
"How could she be a coward? She saved all of us. Her death was an act of bravery. You're a sick person, you honestly disturb me! She had ambitions and dreams, we all did. Why is that such a bad thing?"
"Your son also had ambitions and dreams, didn't you forget?" Sister Davide said, a malicious smile curving at the ends of her lips, "But you just didn't agree with those. Most of this was his idea, why is that such a bad thing?"

"GO TO HELL!" Ariana yelled, shooting Sister Davide's foot. She dropped the gun and gasped at the sight of what she had done. Sister Davide screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground. Ariana covered her mouth with her hands and crouched down to get a closer look. Ariana heard the footsteps of Mo and Nanette who were holding on to the priest. Mo leaned down next to Ariana.
"Did you shoot her," she said, with a hint of pride in her voice.
"This isn't funny!" Ariana snapped, "I shot her in the foot."
"She's not going to die, she'll just lose a toe, it's not a big deal," Mo shrugged.

"How are you so indifferent!?" Ariana yelled, "Did you not hear? I SHOT HER IN THE FOOT."
"Don't worry," Nanette said, "She'll be fine."
"Where did you find him?" Ariana said, pointing to the priest.
"It wasn't hard, he's really slow," Nanette said.
"How are you both so calm?" Ariana asked with disbelief.
"We're calm because we have faith this is going to work," Mo explained.
She helped Sister Davide stand up.
"You should've just killed me," she grumbled.

"Yeah, well unlike you, I'm above such things," Ariana said.