When I Die

Ch.4

Perry

What was this place? 

I asked as men wearing camo came charging at the jeep with guns in hand. 

"Get out of the vehicle!" They screamed and before I had time to do as they demanded, my door swung open and I was grabbed. I felt the burn of a cut in my legs and arms as I was thrown to the ground. I groaned and attempted to sit up but something hard came down on my back and pushed me back into the gravel.

"Perry!" I heard Keith call my name from the other side of the vehicle, "Get the fuck off of her." I heard the crunch of boots and grunts. I think Keith was now on the ground with me. I turned my head to look under the Jeep and his eyes were already on me.

"Are you okay?" He mouthed and I nodded, the action sending pain down my spine.

"State your purpose." The man who was so rudely stepping on me spoke. 

"Sanctuary." I said, breathing becoming difficult. How much did his boots weigh? I'd have to invest. 

"Sanctuary?" He repeated and I nodded. 

"We saw the post. The coordinates were listed and we came." Keith shouted, his eyes still locked with mine. 

"You know how to read coordinates, boy?" I couldn't tell where this voice was coming from. I turned my head to hide my embarrassment. How did I let this man do this to me? 

I noticed the bushes in the distance were shaking. I heard a branch snap and my heart began racing. 

"I do, Sir. My father was a Sergeant." Keith's words were a whisper to me as my focus turned to the bush completely. I watched while they talked, still pinned to the ground. I noticed a figure standing just behind the bush. 

The silhouette of its' head was crooked. It had to be one of those things. No human stands like that.

"Hey," I spoke trying to move but the man dug his boot deeper into my spine. I gasped from the pain and grabbed a handful of gravel. With tears in my eyes, I watched as the figure emerged from the bush. 

I could see the distorted shoulder blades and the blood oozing from its mouth. This oblivious motherfucker would be the reason I died today. 

I could feel its' eyes on me, staring right back at me. It unhinged its jaw and let loose that signature screech they all seemed to make. 

"Boss!" The man above me called and I could hear the men began to panic. There is just the one, Could they really not handle it?

"There's too many sir! We have to retreat!" Another voice called this time and the real panic began to set in.

"Alright, Bring them with." A rough older voice ordered and the pressure of my back was released. A few seconds later I felt warm hands on my hips and I was lifted up. I looked behind me to see Keith. For some reason, I felt calmer. 

"Go," He said and pulled me forward. I nodded and we ran after the uniformed men. Someone behind the gate opened it up and once we were inside, it was pulled closed and the sound of bullets being fired began.

"Are you okay?" I hadn't noticed that Keith was now in front of me, hands on both of my shoulders and his eyes piercing into mine. I thought about everything that just happened. This wasn't normal. Life wasn't supposed to be like this.

Keith placed a hand on my cheek, "Perry, Are you okay?"

"Sorry. I'm fine." I looked down and pulled away from him. 

"Well," The 'boss' cleared his throat, "You guys seem alright. I think we can let you stay at the compound." 

"Really? Thank you." I said quickly, this place did seem safe.

"But if you try to pull anything or break a rule, I will put a magnum round through your skulls." The boss looked between the two of us and we both nodded. 

"Thank you Sir," Keith extended his long arm and shook the guy's hand. I did the same out of respect. Don't get me wrong, dick move stepping on people. But, letting us stay here was a pretty good way to make up for that. Although I doubt they'd see it that way.

***

"Alright, These are your rooms. The walls are thin and the windows aren't sound proof. So limit the noises you make." One of the soldiers had given us a quick tour of the compound. There were hundreds of people living here and plenty of rooms for more to come.

"Thank you, We appreciate it. But we will only be needing one room." Keith said and my head shot towards him. 

"Okay. Ill give the other to the next people that pop up here." The solider gave a smug smile and headed down the hall.

"Keith! We aren't sharing a room. I hardly know you!" I was shocked he thought this was alright. I was just as much a stranger to him as he was to me! I could kill him and he wouldn't have done anything to prevent it. 

"Then get to know me," He said and opened the door. My eyes widened as the door revealed the room.

It had a dining table and a refrigerator, there was a king size bed in the corner, and a bathroom. This was like a mini penthouse. The walls were painted a light salmon color and the furniture was white to compliment it. 

"Wow," I said and followed Keith into the room, closing the door behind us. I quickly locked it for safety measures. Those people were strangers too.

"Not bad for a compound. I've seen better though." Keith shrugged and walked over to a dressed with a blue tab on the side. I noticed one on the other side of the room with a pink tab. I followed suit and walked over. The drawers were filled with clothing from sweats to t-shirts. I saw some shorts and tanks in there too. I was grateful there was a drawer for socks and panties. I desperately needed to shower and change out of everything.

"You want the first shower?" I called over my shoulder while picking clothes. A white tanktop, black shorts, and knee socks seemed like the best choices. The sweats would all be too long or too short. 

"How about we preserve water and shower together?" I felt warm air on my neck and jumped. I quickly spun and smacked Keith in the chest. He began laughing and my face turned red. This man has shown little to no emotion all day and now he's laughing?

God was it a beautiful noise. 

"Mind if I shower first?" He asked when he settled down from his laughing fit.

"Yeah, Ill find food." I said and walked past him to the kitchen, I was flustered and I hated that. 

I waited until I heard the click of the door shutting before I opened the fridge. 

"Holy fuck," I felt like a child on Christmas morning. The fridge was stocked with water and Gatorade. Some of the shelves had fruit and premade dinners. I closed the door and moved to the cabinets. I opened each and every single one of them to find chips, bread, jelly, pancake mix, and other goods.

They were prepared for this, weren't they? Who else stocks stuff like this? I sighed and grabbed the bread and jelly. I prayed we wouldn't run out of this stuff while we were here. God knows the stores would be empty by now and there wouldn't be much left.