Setting Fire to the Stars (mxm)

Chapter 18: Survive

**(note: this chapter contains underaged drinking, profanity, and blood)**

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Peter
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A loud explosion rocked the night sky behind me as I sprinted down the road of fractured concrete. Ducking my head, I managed to dodge a large chunk of rubble that shattered on the ground beside me.

Whitt stumbled, pieces of splintering shrapnel sailing over his blond head. "Holy shit holy shit holyshit—"

"Get up!" Wyatt yanked his younger brother up off the ground, pulling Whitt behind him as he ran.

The twins led the way, Reva following behind with her hands firmly strapped to her gun. I did my best to keep up with her, swerving around abandoned cars and bodies as I gripped my bleeding shoulder.

Reese and Josiah brought up the rear, each with an arm wrapped around a hobbling Flynn.

Pure agony laced through my body with every winded breath, my ears ringing like a church bell on Sunday morning. The hunter's knife remained in my chest with the black blade embedded below my collarbone, my punctured hand bleeding heavily. The shattering of stone echoed behind me as the sound of destruction ripped through the darkness. Gritting my teeth, I pushed the muscles of my legs harder. At football practice, I was used to sprinting long distances. However, running a play and running for your life were two completely different experiences.

B O O M

The loud explosion lit up the night in a hazy orange glow. I raised my arms above my head to protect myself from falling debris, the exploding sound of rock smashing onto the concrete booming behind me. Casting a glance over my shoulder, I turned just in time to see the roof of the Foundry collapse on itself in a fiery inferno.

The initial detonation had set off a series of chain reactions streaming from the clinic to the whole downtown area which included the brewery, the surrounding buildings reduced to flaming piles of rubble. Thick tendrils of smoke rose into the dark sky. By morning, it would be a beacon visible for miles.

"Move it or lose it, pretty boy!" Reese barked, bringing me back to the present by shoving me forward.

An agonizing grunt left my throat as pain coursed through my chest wound. If we weren't running from a literal explosion, I would have decked Reese right then and there. Unfortunately, I had bigger problems than Reese to worry about; like being crushed by a pile of burnt wreckage.

The smell of smoke hung heavy in the air as our feet beat against the pavement. I didn't bother to check to see if anyone was following us. No one could have survived.

"Over there!" Josiah instructed, his head nodding towards an alley to our left.

Whitt and Wyatt veered down the narrow passageway while Reese and Josiah struggled to get through with Flynn. We soon regrouped on the other side, taking off together down the darkened street.

After running a couple more blocks, we finally came to a halt in front of an abandoned corner store. The sign above the door read 'Sawyer's Convenience'. Whitt slumped against the cracked sidewalk, groaning tiredly while Reese and Josiah carefully lowered a barely conscious Flynn to the ground. Reva's tear-stained face was tight with grief as she moved her gun to her back before enveloping Flynn in a hug. His arms came around her, holding her tight as she cried.