Her one night of fun turned into a night of chaos. One that can't be contained and one that took everything from her. And now she must fight for what she has left. Especially when it seems that the whole world is determined to leave her with nothing...
Footfalls pounded down the hallway, reaching the opened door. I somehow found the energy to turn and look. It was Leo. He stood tall with his eyebrows pinched. He held his ribcage, trying his best to breathe.
He was obviously shaken and jittery.
"Guys, the Reds broke through into the kitchen." Leo's voice was loud from anxious excitement. "Lacy and I were able to shut the doors on them so they wouldn't flood into the lobby. But I'm pretty sure those doors won't hold too long." He paused." I think more are coming, attracted by all the noise. Lacy is down there keeping an eye out."
Leo looks around at us expectantly. When we didn't give him the reaction he was looking for, maybe gasps or looks of concern, he seemed to freeze up. We all just stared at him, frozen ourselves. Leo's eyes finally zoned in on the area in the room we all tried to avoid looking at.
"What the devil is going on here?" Leo bellowed. His eyes fixated on the bloody mass of disfigured body. His face was ashen and pale with obtuse realization. "What-!" His sentence was cut by the puke that shook his body with its exit.
I blinked back tears.
His previous words about the Red's flooding the building finally registered. We have to get out of here. I peeked over at Cain. He had his back to the wall, and he looked in danger of falling to the ground. He was in shock. Even Frank, who was the instigator, seemed shocked... and maybe even a little afraid of his companion, who didn't look the slightest bit shaken by what he had done.
Paul had no compassion. And Frank didn't see that until then.
Parkson was a Red. But he didn't deserve to go out like that. No one did. Was he a danger to our safety? Yes. But what Paul had done was extreme. Swallowing back my repulsion, I focused. I needed to focus.
For the first time in my life, I had to take action. I had to be someone else's rock. I cared for most of these people and wanted them out of harm's way. So I dug through my small arsenal of skills and did what I was best at.
Pretend.
I pretended like I was strong and sane, pretended like a child hadn't been brutally beaten to death in front of me, and pretended like I knew how to lead.
"Come on." I slapped my face as if waking myself up. "We have to get out of here." I walked forward and picked up a bookbag from a cubicle. "Let's pack up our stuff and follow the plan. Right Cain?"
Cain's eyes met mine, and he nodded, understanding what I was doing. I was handing over the reins to him by mentioning his plan. Cain had us repeatedly rehashing our escape strategy for weeks now, in case something like this ever happened.
We would carry as much supplies as we could and book it to the two vehicles we have available. Cain's ratty pick-up truck and Frank's red, shiny sports car. Dianna had lost the keys to her car and we probably wouldn't have enough time to hot-wire. Not that any of us knew how to hot-wire.
Cain stepped forward. "Okay, I have my keys.... Frank, do you have yours?" The words seemed to be glued to his mouth. It was obvious he didn't want to ask Frank for anything, but he was the only other one with a working car, and we needed space for all of us.
"Yes." Frank's voice shook as he inspected us - distrustful. He probably thought we wanted to mug him, taking his keys and car, leaving both him and Paul to rot. Which wasn't far from the truth. But we couldn't take his keys because he had hidden them, saying he didn't trust us. And we couldn't waste anymore time fighting.
Cain nodded decisively. "Good. We're getting out of here... the best place to head now would be the compound you guys kept talking about." He clapped his hands together. "Let's move it, people."
Diana, Leo, and Sofia scurried out of the room like it had been lit on fire. Their eyes purposely avoided the red mass on the floor. Cain took a gray blanket, scavenged from one of the nice office couches, and covered Parkson. Or what was left of Parkson.
Will pulled Beth to her feet. She only moved when pushed or pulled, like she had no control over her body anymore. A marionette. She neither spoke nor protested when Will picked her up and carried her out of the room. Azula followed them, her doggy nails clacking against the floor, her tail and ears sagging.
She seemed to be grieving, too.
Frank and Paul dipped out and headed to the room they both started sharing. To either pack or get the key they had hidden. My eyes seemed drawn to the bloodied mess on the floor. The blood of innocence and sacrifice.
"Come on, Bri... before they break completely through and we're trapped here," Cain said, one of his large hands clapping me on the shoulder. "And uh - thanks for earlier."
"For what?"
"For taking the lead - when I couldn't." He gave Parkson's unmoving form a meaningful glance before looking back at me. "Thank you."
With that, he left. Left me alone in the room with the dead boy. His corpse was like a blinking red buzzer; attracting my eyes time and time again. I couldn't stop looking at him... A preview of a failed future. A promise of what's to come.
I felt everything at that moment.
The warmness of my tears as they flowed freely down my face. My clothes as they clung to me, chafing and damp from the suffocating humidity. My skin as it itched from unwashed dirt and inflamed mosquito bites. My heart as it beat against my will.
Keeping me alive to witness death and destruction capable of making any person insane.
Capable of making me insane.
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Questions:
Thoughts on Parkson's death?
How do you feel about them going to the mysterious compound?
Author's Note:
Hi! Thanks for reading! Sorry for the shorter chapter!!! It used to be a part of Chapter 29 but that chapter was getting way too long so I made this its own chapter.
