The End Of Us

Escape

I fire the gun behind me recklessly, one hand on Charlie's back pushing her in front of me.  I gaze back constantly trying to find a glimpse of anything moving, firing randomly to slow them down.

Charlie yells ahead of me, "Phoenix, there is a car over there with lights on, it looks like it may be running, and I am going to check it out. Cover me!"

I stop in my tracks and turn around sliding momentarily to a stop. I fire as many bullets as the gun has left.  It's pitch black. Our surroundings only illuminated by the moonlight and some of the street lights that still have power after the attacks.  My hands pulsate with every trigger pull, squeezing the gun as hard as I can. 

Click. Click. Click.  The gun is out of bullets.

Taking a deep breath while the gun smokes in front of me, I throw the gun to the side. I scan the horizon like a predator looking for its prey.  My breathing is deep. I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my blood.  Every muscle in my body is on high alert.

"Phoenix this car works, come on! Get in now!"

"We need to get back to central" I yell running towards the car.

I run to the car and slam the door shut, shattering the passenger side glass window.

"GO. GO. GO!" my hands trembling with fear.

Charlie pushes down as hard as she can on the gas pedal.  The tires squeal and echo off into the distance.

"Wait. Wait! Please don't leave us!"

We hear screams behind us, and we both look into the rearview mirrors.  They look like a family holding groceries in their hands; a man, a woman and what looks like two teens, a boy, and the girl.

Charlie slams on the breaks and the car slides to a stop. 

Charlie yells, "Hurry Up! They're coming!" 

In the distance, I hear shots firing.  A couple of stray bullets hit the car as the family drops everything and bolts toward the car.  Charlie puts the car into reverse.  Gunshots continue to fire in our direction.

I glance at Charlie, "There must be at least fifty of them Charlie, we have to get out of here, we are going to die!"

"I won't leave them Phoenix, it's not right. You came back for me even when I told you not to.  I will forever owe you for that, but I will not sacrifice these people for what happened to me."

The family is closer now, only about twenty more yards away, and closing fast. Charlie slams on the breaks again, and the car goes into a backward slide. 

At this moment, bullets fly toward us in swarms, hitting the father, and he falls to the ground. The bullets hit their remaining targets, and the rest of the family members goes down, one by one. 

I can see a tear roll down Charlie's eye.  I can tell she blames herself.  She punches the steering wheel in defeat causing the horn to honk.

We sit there for a moment taking in what just happened, then quickly come back to reality.  Charlie puts the car into drive and accelerates as fast as the car will go. 

As we begin to distance ourselves from the horrific scene, I see the teenage girl in the rearview mirror. She yells at us and tries to get up and run.  It's too late; one of them pounce on her immediately.  I see her head slam into the ground as they both go head first into the concrete. 

The man gets back up quickly and throws the girl over his shoulder. They fade into the distance beyond our eyesight.  I could only imagine what will happen to that girl if she is still alive. 

I yell as loud as I can out the window.  "We will come back for you. I promise!" 

It was a desperate cry to save my humanity, than an actual pledge.  The chances we will ever actually go back to the re-population camps were slim. The Commander would never spare the resources of his best for one girl, especially not for night scavengers. 

I look over at Charlie, dirty and beaten. She looks just like Father, a stern face that is more mature than other seventeen-year-old girls her age.  They cut her beautiful brown hair to a short mess. It's a bad cut, but it goes with her rebellious attitude she has carried since she hit her teens. 

I look over at her, smiling with a small expression of concern on my face and say "Hey Brown Bear, are you okay?"

I notice she's holding back the tears and puts one arm around me. She pulls me in with her right hand and hugs me tight to her chest while maintaining the other hand on the wheel.

"I will be big sis, because of you.  I would not have lasted another day in that place. You have no idea the types of experiments they were doing on women and children.  We need to stop those areas as soon as we get back. There has to be a better way."

"I am not sure we can, Central is suffering as well.  Resources have gone weak and many people have died due to famine and attacks on our defenses. Central is dealing with its own crisis's right now with the scavengers. We cannot spare the resources and our defenses keep breaking down, leaving huge gaps in coverage on the perimeter.  Central is at a critical point right now.  Any further attacks on other sectors or our own could mean the collapse of what we believe to be the last centralized society on Earth. They only approved my mission to get you back, because you were the best horticulturalists we had. Central was still under attack when I left."

I bow my head in concern. "I can only hope it's still standing when we get there."

She replies with worry in her voice. "What's happening in Central, Phoenix?"

"People are becoming desperate, Charlie.  The only thing keeping us safe is the walls and automated turrets, but the maintenance of them has become problematic.  We just do not have the materials we need to repair them as fast as they break.  I lost Joseph in the last attack. He was protecting me. He—" I get interrupted by Charlie's scream.

"Oh shit! There's someone standing in the middle of the road."

Charlie hits the breaks, but it's too late; we are headed right into him.  We both brace for the impact, but the car just stops.  The inside of the car illuminated with what looks like a hologram, flickering in and out.

Charlie shrieks, "What the hell is that Phoenix?"

I panic. "I don't know. Check your surroundings. Do you see anything?"

"No."

I methodically check every angle visible outside the car.  Glancing at Charlie, "Let's get out of here now!" 

I hear the engine roaring, but we are not moving.

"What is wrong Charlie? Why are we not moving?"

"I'm pressing the gas pedal all the way down. I am not sure what is going on."

All of a sudden, a figure appears from the darkness and before I have time to react the butt of a gun hits me straight in the face. The dizziness clogs my head as Charlie's screams fade into the darkness.