Dead Girl Walking ― Aaron Minyard

45. little soldiers

it was a march we made towards ruin and despair,
but we held hands all the while.
i swear that i loved you
― the crane wives

♦

THE RAVENS' FANS RETALIATED BEFORE RIKO COULD.

Early Saturday morning, Mara was startled awake by shouting outside of the dorm and sudden movement from Renee's bed across the room.

She opened her eyes to see Renee scrambling out of bed, phone in hand and screen lit up too bright for the pre-sunrise of their room.

"What...?" was all Mara could manage through a haze of sleep.

"Someone vandalized the cars in the parking lot," Renee explained, shoving her feet into the first pair of shoes she could find.

"Wha—whose cars?" Mara asked, forcing herself to sit up.

"Everyone's," Renee answered. "All of them. Allison's freaking out."

Mara rubbed her eyes viciously, trying to wake up all the way. As Renee disappeared from the room, Mara made herself stand. She pulled on her team hoodie and a pair of sandals, heading after Renee. Dan and Allison were nowhere in the dorm, so Mara figured they were already assessing the damage.

The hallway was filled with residents of Fox Tower, some yelling but most making a beeline for the stairwell.

Mara followed.

She wasn't sure what was worse: the sight or the smell. A layer of raw meat, broken eggs, and rocks covered the parking lot and stuck to the athletes' cars. Some cars got by with a couple dings and scratches; others had cracks and holes in their windows and windshields.

Enraged athletes swarmed the parking lot, half of them on their phones, others raging at the state of their vehicles. Someone had already been inside long enough to get a bucket, and she was steadfastly scrubbing beef off her hood. Squad cars and campus security were on the scene, with a dozen officers taking statements and pictures.

Any thought that this wasn't retaliation from the Ravens' fans for Neil's comments died when Mara saw Matt's truck. Someone had taken extra time to wreck it. Every window on the cab had been busted clean out, leaving only glittering spikes of glass around the frames. The tires were long-deflated from wild slashes. New dents were pounded into the frame from whatever tool the rioters had used on the windows.

Allison's car was in the same sorry state two spots down from Matt's. She stood by the trunk with her arms folded tight across her chest and her face a stony mask.

Hesitantly, Mara joined her.

"The hell," Matt said in a strangled tone as he, Dan, and Neil reached his truck. He reached for his truck but drew up short, not wanting to actually touch the mess. "How did no one hear them?"

"They saved the windows for last," Allison said. She jerked her chin to indicate the men standing across the row from them. "Paris called the police when he heard glass break, but he couldn't get down here fast enough to see any faces. Just a lot of cars peeling out of here, he said. At least four, maybe five."

"Oh, Jesus." Matt made another aborted reach for his truck, then settled for raking his hands through his hair. Dan pressed herself up against his back and wound her arms around him. He held tight to her wrists. "Are we really going to do this again?"

"I'm sorry," Neil said.

Allison curled her lip at him in scorn. "Shut up. No you're not. You're not," she insisted when Neil opened his mouth to argue. "If you'd let them steamroll you yesterday, I would hate you."