Dead struck

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven on Thursday, as promised. Enjoy!

A red Toyota riddled with bullet holes sat on the side of the road, and I rushed at Harlow, Lia, and Vega, pushing them into the side of the car. Ripley disappeared, hiding in the chaos. Blue and Lazlo stayed on the other side of the street and jumped behind a bloody sofa that had been left on the curb. The air was rattled with the sound of gunfire, none of it coming from Blue or me. Nobody had closed in on us yet, but I saw them running across the street or repositioning themselves amongst the garbage they used as barriers. I couldn't be sure how many there were, but I had seen at least three, not counting the mystery shooter who'd nearly blown my head off.

 He was the one doing all of the shooting so far. Our assailants appeared to be mostly men. They weren't army, but they had on military based outfits, with a hobo twist. Some kind of army surplus black and gray camouflage with dirty, ragged black civilian clothes layered with it. They came from the north side, so we could either retreat back the way we came or go over to the side where Blue and Lazlo were hiding. 

 Bullets peppered the car, making a horrible tin sound as they bounced off. Harlow covered her hands over her head and screamed. I crouched next to her, aiming my gun at the street in front of us. When one of the men ran across the road, I fired, hitting him in the leg. He pulled the trigger on his gun, shooting emptily into the air. 

 "Go!" I shouted, waving my arm for the girls to run across the street to the couch where Blue and Lazlo hid. 

Harlow was too curled up to notice me, but Lia was paying attention, so she grabbed Harlow and darted over, with Vega close by them. As soon as they started running, I stood up and looked over the Toyota, searching for the guy who had been shooting us. After I shot one of his friends, he stopped shooting. I didn't know where he was hiding, except the bullets were coming from higher, so I just started shooting out all the windows in the second story of the houses. I took a step back, walking backwards to the couch. 

The guy I had shot earlier sat in the middle of the road, nursing his leg wound. Nobody came out to help him, but in the bushes nearby, somebody started shooting at me. Blue shot at him. I'm not sure if he hit him or not, but I ran backwards, still pointing my gun at the houses, and nearly fell over the couch. 

 "Why are they shooting at us?" Lia asked, her arm wrapped tightly around Harlow.  

I was catching my breath, so I just shook my head. I didn't have an answer anyway, but Blue exchanged a look with me. If these people had anything to do with the Helter Skelter we saw earlier, they were probably doing it just because they could. Other than the injured guy moaning, the street had fallen silent, and I didn't trust it. 

"What are we gonna do?" Lazlo asked in a hushed voice. 

 "Shoot and run," I said. 

I went through my bag, pulling out the two clips I'd taken from the dead soldier at the quarantine. I didn't know how many bullets were left in the gun, but I had a feeling that I'd be out by the end of the day. Assuming I was even still alive at the end of the day. 

 "Run? Where?" Lia's eyes widened. 

 "That way," I nodded towards the house in front of us. "Don't go inside. Just run past it, and keep running." I shoved the clips in my back pocket for easier access, and I turned to Blue. "When I start shooting, they run. You go with and cover them." 

"You're coming with us, right?" Lazlo knelt on the ground right next to me, and his dark eyes met mine. 

"I'll be right behind you." I didn't know if that was true or not, so I looked away from him.