The Division

Chapter 17

One hour later, I was sitting in a Humvee, sweating my balls off. I was so hot that I took my uniform shirt off. It just made it worse. When we got close to city hall, I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. People crowded around us, yelling at us. When the doors opened, they screamed. We carried assault rifles and gas masks. If I were them, I would've ran like the wind. Harold stood next to me with jeans and an undershirt on. My soldiers around him dressed similar. "GO!" He yelled as my soldiers threw tear gas around us in direction of the Edgewood soldiers. I could see through the little glass in my gas mask that Edgewood soldiers were running around rubbing their eyes. Stupid. Rubbing your eyes in tear gas makes it burn ten times worse. I could barely breathe, but at least it was better than having tear gas in your face.

We ran up the stairs, shooting back at Edgewood soldiers. Once we got up to the door, Harold tried to kick it down, but it was no use. "Dammit!" He yelled. "I got it!" I said as I unhooked a grenade from my belt. I held it up to signal that I was going to blow the wooden doors open. My soldiers ran back towards the Edgewood soldiers as I pulled the pin to the grenade and sat it down. I ran and dived at the right time to avoid getting blown apart. As I got up, Harold signaled for me that I could take my gas mask off. I took it off with relief. "Thank god."

Harold inhaled. "Ah, you smell that?" "Fresh air." "Yeah..." Harold trailed off like he was going to say something else. Instead, he yelled at us. "ALRIGHT, TODAY, THE MINISTER DOES NOT LEAVE CITY HALL ALIVE!" I cheered. What did Harold have against the minister? I sure had nothing against him. I ran alongside Brittany as we stormed inside city hall. She killed with no pity for her victims. I tried to avoid shooting someone every chance I could.

I saw that the place was made of marble; there were tons of doorways to pick. A Edgewood soldier ran from a doorway, but he saw us and then ran back the other way. "Stop, I will shoot!" I warned. "Okay, okay!" He surrendered. "Where is the minister?" "I can't tell you." I punched him hard in the guts. That ought to make him spit it out. "Where is he?" The guard caught his breath and then responded. "I'll never give away the secret." I grabbed his hair and slammed his face against the wall. Then I took his finger and bent it in the wrong direction. I did it fast like I was going to break it, but I wasn't really going to. "OKAY!" He yelled the second before I broke his finger.

"He's in a bunker." He responded. "Where?" I asked. "Go to the right, then to the janitor's closet. Find a switch on the mop that will open the door." He said. "Shoot him if he tries to run." I ordered to my soldiers. I heard gunshots after that. I saw a few dozen Edgewood soldiers enter. They mowed a good part of my soldiers down, but then the rest of my soldiers finished them off. "Just go!" One soldier yelled. Brittany and Harold ran another way to find Trager while a team of twenty soldiers and I ran to the Janitor's closet.

When I reached it, I heard someone scream my name. Jesse ran it, panting like a maniac. He carried an M16. I was totally dumbfounded. After I explained what happened, he explained why he was involved in the fight. He panicked after I didn't come home that night and he saw Harold carrying guns into his basement. He then investigated Harold's house and found out everything. He had been tailing us the whole time. I had never expected Jesse to be so sly. "So you ready for the minister?" "You kidding Ry, I could kill him in my sleep." I chuckled.

I found the mop with the switch and flipped it. Once I did, I saw the closet door open. It opened slowly, but I didn't complain. My soldiers stood in front of me and got shot as soon as it opened. Half of them remained now. There must have been Edgewood soldiers down there. As we went deeper into the bunker, more of my soldier got shot. It was a game of cat and mouse. I never knew when more of them would die.

We started out with like one thousand people, and now we only had like thirty. It was crazy how many people had died for me. I was like a god to them. They would give up their lives just to save me. As Edgewood soldiers shot at us, as my guys shot at them. It was how it worked each time we entered a new room. Basically it was a full-out war. But at least it was scenic place to have a gun battle.

The walls of the bunker were grey, but the rug was coffee colored. It's a shame that it had to be ruined every time a soldier of mine got shot and bled on the ground. Still, war is war. "Jesse, be careful." I warned. "Be careful, oh I'm as careful as a-" But Jesse was shot at as he said that. He fell to the ground, but he looked like he was going to do something that he would regret. We dived behind a desk. I looked up for a peek; now I could now clearly see. I saw a man with jeans and a leather jacket. He had to be the minister. He hung a right as two guards shot at us once more.

One of my soldiers jumped in front of me. I took the chance to shoot one of the guards. He took a bullet to the head, killing him instantly. Jesse wanted to sacrifice himself too, so he did the same thing as the soldier did. "NO!" I yelled for him to stop. But he did it anyway and took a round to the chest. It was close to the same place that he had just gotten shot. I screamed and stood up. Then I pulled the trigger to empty my magazine. The soldier who shot Jesse was scared and dropped his weapon. Good. I hope I made him pee his pants. The five remaining soldiers around me pointed their guns at him, ready to pull the trigger.

"Wait, save him." I ordered. "Yes sir." The soldier replied. I ran over to Jesse and towered over him. "Buddy, you're going to be okay." I assured him. I knew that wasn't true, I could already see a pool of blood forming on the rug. "Riley." Jesse said weakly. "Always remember our friendship." He said. "I will." I said, crying. "Don't die on me!" I yelled. "Just remember right from wrong, never look back, and always look forward." Jesse said. "Don't you dare say that!" I screamed at him. That was something someone would say on their deathbed. Jesse was right now. "I'll get you back upstairs to medical help." "It'll be too late then." "You are the best thing in my life, you helped me grow into the man I am now." "Jesse..." "You are the greatest..." But Jesse couldn't finish the sentence. "NO!" I screamed.

I got up, my face red with anger. I looked at Jesse's killer. "HOLD HIM THERE!" I screamed at my soldiers. "Yessir!" One of them said quickly. I ran down the hall with anger. My fists were clenched tightly like a vise grip. There was a door, just like the one outside with Harold. I kicked it as hard as I could, send me flying back. Surprisingly, it got knocked down on my first try. I saw the minister in the corner, holding a pistol. "Freeze!" He said, but he looked like he didn't have the courage to kill me. "I'm not going to kill you; it's your soldier I want. Here." I said as I threw my machete on the floor. "Oh wait." I said as I picked it up. I slit my wrist, which helped with the pain of just seeing my lifelong best friend die. But I did it for a reason. "Some guy wants me to kill you, I have nothing against you. So lay on the ground and cover yourself in this." I walked over to him and smeared the blood all over his shirt and pants. He then lay on the floor where I bled on the ground around him. To stop the bleeding, I then took off my shirt and put it over my wrist. I then put pressure on it. Once the bleeding had stopped, I threw my shirt on the rug.

Minutes later, Brittany and Harold came in. An old man wearing brown khaki pants and a blue collared t-shirt came in. He looked to be around seventy or so. It had to be Dr. Trager. "Are you Dr. Trager?" I asked. "Y-yes." He replied. "Everything's going to be okay, as long as you cooperate." I said. "Okay." He replied. He smiled as he saw the minister on the floor. What did the minister do to Trager? I had no idea. But I would find that all out soon.

"Good work Riley, I knew you could do it." Harold said. Brittany looked sorry for the minister. "Yeah, he was a tough guy to kill." I held up my machete. "Now, where's that prick that killed Jesse?" I ran down the hall. Harold, Brittany, and Dr. Trager followed me. I saw Jesse's killer and held my machete out, scaring him. "Ready for some fun?" I could see pure fear in his eyes as I said this. "When we're done, you won't have any limbs left." I laughed.

He struggled, but the soldiers holding him were strong. I held the machete out and put it in the holster on my back. "Give me your gun." I ordered one of my soldiers. I slammed the butt of the gun into the cheekbone of Jesse's killer, probably breaking it. Brittany watched and covered her face. Harold smiled. Dr. Trager had mixed feelings about this.

What I was doing was sick. But he killed my best friend. The friend that I loved and could always rely on. Now he was gone because of this guy. I pushed the thought out of my mind and swung the butt of the gun at his face again, making the side of his face bleed. He definitely wouldn't be leaving this bunker with bones still intact.