Saving Chloe

Chapter Three

There was this sort of high-pitched scream laced with a deep throated growl that sent tremors through my body, leaving me with goose bumps and a scream on the tip of my tongue. Chloe cowered back into her blankets, shoving them over her head as if that'll protect her from anything that walks through her bedroom door. Slowly and cautiously, I made my way to the closed bedroom door, hidden behind a gazillion photos of Chloe with all of her friends from school. There were some of her and I, Calen and her, all three of us, and exactly one of Calen and I. That photo was strange, and probably the only one we took together, on purpose that is. He was wearing my name on the front of his shirt to support me in some lame knowledge bowl competition I was in. I was beside him, wearing my favorite fake black glasses, grinning like a mad woman because Joshua had just told the funniest joke. Calen was watching me out of the corner of his eyes, wondering if I still hated him. He was trying to make up for something, which I shall never mention not once ever again, that one of his fellow jocks did to me. This was almost three years ago, back when I was starting my freshman year of high school. The dorky kid. The younger sister to the varsity jock. The one everyone liked to pick on.

That was me.

And this is me now. Grabbing a hold of the first weapon I could possibly find in the most girlish room to ever exist. It was some sort of bat-shaped object that Chloe had made in summer camp last year, she was trying to impress some boy from the older side of camp. It didn't work, needless to say. The jagged edges were enough for me to realize that this should've been thrown out a very long time ago.

"Be careful," Chloe whispered, bringing me back to the present. She was peeking over the top of her blanket, watching me with those cautious green eyes she inherited from our exquisite never-around father. Calen had green eyes as well; in fact they got most of their looks from him, with Mom's features thrown into the mix. Not me. I look like my great-grandmother, so I'm told not that I'd actually met her. My mother had gotten pregnant in high school, married my father soon after, and was immediately shunned by my great-grandmother and grandmother on my father's side who didn't approve of such things. My grams, well, she's an entirely different story.

Now was not the time to think about her. I have to face the lurid footsteps approaching the wooden door that leads to my imminent doom. Didn't mean I'd go down without a fight. My arms raised the bat, perfectly positioned so the intruder wouldn't see me until it was too late. The nob started turning, sweat pouring out of me like a freaking waterfall. I almost lost my grip as the door opened and was just about to make a move when I detected the shadowy figure was actually someone I recognized.

"What the hell are you doing with that?" Calen whispered. The bat plummeted to the ground, bouncing up and down twice before lying flat. I stared at him, mouth agape and attracting flies. "Joshua says they're trying to break in and we need to take cover."

"Where's Mom?" Chloe whined, coming out of the covers to throw herself at Calen. He held onto her tightly before gently easing her off of him. Calen and I shared a look before he started ushering us out. "Where are we going? I don't like this."

Calen wrapped one muscular arm around Chloe, who looked delicate and fragile compared to him. She was tall, like him, although not as tall. They both inherited that gene from our father, only because it states that on my birth certificate.

Calen replied quietly to Chloe as I stopped moving, "We're just going to the basement for a little while." He needed to stop walking. Someone screamed and he froze, but just for a second before he was hauling Chloe off towards the basement. I didn't move. I couldn't. The sound. It was close. If I moved, a floorboard would be sure to creak and give away my position. I couldn't have that happen. I needed to be undetected. Unheard. Unmoving. Joshua's voice lingered in the air, although not loud enough for me to make out any of the words he was saying. He was close. Not that close, however. The stranger, who couldn't seem to walk quietly to save his life, was closer. I was kind of thankful he stepped on every single floorboard that creaked. Until the creak came from behind me, and I still hadn't been able to move one single muscle in my body.

Another gunshot goes off quickly, the sound so close I can feel the tears spring to my eyes. My head slowly turns to face the stranger, who is twitching violently on the ground. Blood was spurting out from his chest area. And in a matter of seconds he stopped kicking. He was dead. My eyes started to water as I turned back around to come face-to-face with Joshua. There was an insignificant smile there, hidden behind the ferocious look in his eyes. I let him take my hand and pull me towards the kitchen, where Mom was waiting at the basement door for me. Her arms went around me as she pulled me in, Joshua following closely behind. He closes the door as a loud crashing sound breaks through from what sounded like the living room. Joshua was quite proud of our living room but not once did he complain as we made our way down the crippled stairs. A candle was burning, already almost burnt out, and I could see Chloe silently crying her eyes out into Calen's chest. He petted her hair like she was an animal. He didn't know what do when either of us cried, it was exceptionally obvious.

Grams was there, though, which surprised me most. She was seated at the small wooden table in the middle of the room. There was no emotion on her face, none whatsoever as a brash pounding broke out right above our heads. Which could only mean one thing: they're that much closer to our secret hideout then we want them to be. Joshua glances up, squeezes Mom's hand, nods slowing in our direction as if saying goodbye, before returning to silently block the stairs. No one even so much as rattled the locked door. We were safe. At least for tonight. Until morning, which the sun was sure to be slowly rising again to a brand new world. One it would never recognize as the one before.

Nothing ever be the same from then on out. It all started with the Wave, and it seemed to be avalanching towards the Point of No Return.

Man, was it a bumpy road; and a long dreadful couldn't-hardly-sleep-with-all-that-racket night. The first of many to come.