Sudden Bloodshed

Chapter 13

The sun was setting. A cool breeze was flowing throughout the city. The buildings and trees were casting long eerie shadows. I was still running. At a more slow pace though. I wanted to get as far away from that house as possible. Barely any thoughts buzzed in my head like usual. I didn't think about Oliver, Zayjay and D'Anna, my family, my school, my friends, the girl at the house, the man and his dart gun, none of it.

The only thing that lingered in my head was the Tasitalens. They caused all of this. At the house, I promised myself, and the girl, that I would put an end to this. How? I didn't think of that now. I'd do my thinking later.
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Eventually, my energy and adrenaline was drained and I slowed my run into a slow walk.

The moon was shining brightly as I made my way through the city. I didn't have a place to stay and I wasn't in the mood for house hunting, so I just kept myself in the middle of road.

I was getting awfully thirsty and hungry. I stopped and keeled down. Food and water had to be in the backpacks right? I went through my backpack. Seeing all the food me and Oliver got at the store relaxed me a bit. So I had food. What about water? I dug through my backpack. Nothing.

Of course. How could I be so stupid to not get water when we were at the store. Why did I focus so time on the food. I could go weeks without it! I groaned with frustration.
Why is this happening to me? I tossed my things aside and looked though Oliver's backpack instead.

Relief shot through me as I felt something bottle-like. It was cold and plastic. I pulled the bottle out.

A water bottle.

I gasped and quickly opened it. I drank about half the bottle before I was satisfied.

Oliver got the water and his own stuff while Zayjay and D'Anna where going through the cash registers.

Smart kid.

I put the bottle away and took out a small bag of chips. I was starving and these chips seemed to always fill me up. I ate as I walked.

The city was calm that night. No sounds or obnoxious lights. Just silence and peace. I again decided that I would still not try to think too much. If I was going to save my country, I couldn't be stressed. Besides, I didn't want to think about anything anyways. I was afraid I would break down and start crying about the recent events. I wanted to stay strong for as long I possibly could.

As I walked down the broken city, I got the feeling that someone was watching me. I glanced around occasionally, but saw nothing. It was too dark anyway. After a while, it was getting to the point where it was too much. Paranoia made its way to my brain and I picked up my pace.
I heard a twig snap somewhere behind me and I lost it.

I abandon my chip bag, and bolted to the nearest building.

The doors were glass and were shattered, I was careful to not get any on my boots and hopped inside the building.
From the look of the design and structure, I guessed that it was a hotel. It was a pretty big hotel. As I expected though, it was a wreck.

I jogged further into the lobby.
There was burnt couches and furniture. The front desk was still there, just a few burnt edges. There was also a waterfall sene and is had fake trees and bushes. Small ponds around the waterfall too. With real fish! Some were dead, but the alive ones just swam around care-free.

I found the elevator nearby. I doubted that it still worked but I tried it anyways. I pushed the button. Saying that I was surprised would be an understatement. The doors slid open and I stepped inside. The doors closed.
I pushed the button that lead up to the highest floor-the 7th floor-and waited.

I was beginning to feel tired and my eyes were dry. I was thankful that I chose to run here.
The little bell sound rang and the doors slid open again. I stepped out and glanced around. The hallway was big and curved.

I went over to the edge of the balcony that ran throughout the whole hotel. I looked down. I could see the lobby and the waterfall.
Each floor had a balcony. I smiled.

I could stay here for a long time. I turned around and walked down the hallway. It wasn't exactly a hallway. It was more of a balcony all the way through. You could see across to the rooms on the other side of the building too.

I was surprised to find that the floors in this hotel were in really good shape. Only the first floor was chaos. I picked a room and opened the door. The room wasn't awful looking but it could use work. The table was turned to its side and there was water all over the place. I walked in, closed the door behind me and locked it.
In case I was being followed, I didn't want to be found too easily.

I did an inspection throughout the place, just to be sure that I was alone. I didn't want to find a dead body in the closet or something.

I went to the bathroom. Everything seemed in order. The bedroom looked good too. There was two large beds, a window, a night stand with a lamp and phone, a tv, and a desk. I relaxed a bit. After I set the two backpacks down onto the floor, I ran and jumped into the bed closet to the window. It was soft and the blankets were fluffy. I sighed.

"This is what I need."I breathed.
I lifted my head and crawled up further into the bed. I hugged one of the pillows. It was puffy and soft.

I kicked my boots off and cuddled up into the bed.

I held the charm of my necklace in my hand and closed my eyes. Maybe if I prayed hard enough, I'd be able to wake up tomorrow, unharmed.