Days of Darkness: ¡Viva la Gloria!

Chapter 6:

*Before reading, make sure to finish the chapter before listening to the song above; this makes the song fit into the ending. Thank you, and enjoy the final chapter of "¡Viva La Gloria!"*

We all get back into our cars, and once again drive towards our destination. I decide to take a nap until we get there; so I close my eyes and rest my head against the headpiece to the seat.

To my surprise, I fall asleep rather quickly. As soon as I do, I begin to dream. But what I was imaging wasn't a dream, but just a replay of today's events.

First came the first sign that everything was going to crash down: the phone call telling us the teachers weren't there. The look and actions of my panicked classmates vivid in my brain. All the murmuring, the worry; all of it was a clear indication that we knew we were screwed from there on.

Next came the scene where I accidentally stabbed Calvin, closing my eyes and plunging the knife into his throat. I recall the scream of a female classmate, so clearly that I almost think it was real. I picture opening my eyes to see the knife in Calvin's throat, and blood oozing out of the wound and bubbling in his mouth. Another painfully vivid detail was the sound of him gurgling on his own blood; an unstoppable flow of the crimson liquid as it drowns him, added the metal blade lodged into his windpipe. He slumps to the floor, lifeless, a look of shock forever stuck on his deceased face.

Then the images of the shootings began to play. Watching Mr. Jacobs' neck being cut in half by a bullet and shards of glass; the sound of dozens of my classmates and former teachers being gunned down while I helplessly hide in a janitor's closet. And opening the door to see what it truly looked like. It was too horrific a sight to be real, for me to comprehend. So many people I knew, gone.

I snap my eyes open and gasp for air, too shocked to muster a full on scream. It's a mix between a deep breath and a scream of bloody murder. Jimmy gets startled by this, and accidentally jolts the steering wheel, causing the car to swerve a bit.

He regains control of the car, and looks at me with a worried expression. "What was that? Are you okay?" he asks desperately.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reply, running my hand through my hair, "I just had a nightmare of today. It's fine."

"Doesn't sound 'fine' to me. Just try to think happy thoughts. You're safe, that's all that matters now," Jimmy says, trying to calm me down.

"Alright, I'll try." I close my eyes again, trying to think of happier things. I think about living in a quiet, middle-of-nowhere small town. It's quiet, secluded, and free of problem and stress.

I'm suddenly woken up by Jimmy slamming the breaks. I look out the windshield, darkness engulfing everything, the only illumination is the headlights of the car. I must have been out for longer than I had thought.

In front of us sits a military grade armored Humvee, roof mounted .50 caliber turret pointed right at us.

"Step out of the vehicle, slowly! Show me your hands before you step out!" a soldier with a loudspeaker snarls. Jimmy and I both slowly open our doors, hands raised above the door for him to see, then we carefully get up as not to set off the turret-man.

"What business do you have in Nevada? Escaping from the panic in the cities?" another soldier inquiries, stepping out from the shadows.

"Y-yes sir," Jimmy says nervously, his hands folded on the back of his head.

"How many you got in this convoy?"

"About twenty, plus a police officer who escorted us here, but he's leaving once we get through," I reply.