In Death's Grip

In Death's Grip: Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Tony! Nikolai is at the gate. Hank wants you at the top with him while we talk with the enemy," Felix informs us shortly after he barges into our home.

"I'll be there in five!" my father shouts back at Felix from upstairs. Felix turns and runs in the direction of the main gate.

Tony practically falls down the stairs. He's carrying a semi-automatic rifle his hands and has a knife strapped to his belt. He looks at me when he gets to the base of the stairway.

"Keaton, you're coming with me. Jonny and Alex, come with me too. I have no idea what to expect from Nikolai or Hank so be on your toes."

"Got it dad," I say.

I walk to my room to get my sword. Cho is sound asleep in my bed. Ever since we kissed, she likes to sleep in my room now. Her dark black hair falls across her closed eyes. I gently brush it away from her face and watch her sleep for a minute.

She's so peaceful. I see her there in her slumber. She doesn't have anything to worry about. Me looking at her gives me hope. She makes me believe in myself, like I can beat this world. With her, I can survive.

I lean over and kiss her forehead ever so carefully. I don't want to wake her. I turn to walk out of the room but something urges me to say what I'm feeling in my heart. I know she can't hear me while she's sleeping but I need to say out loud. "I love you Cho."

Tony, Jonny, and Alex are waiting for me at the front door. Alex has his bow and a large quiver of arrows strapped onto his back. Jonny has a rifle like my father's in his hands. We're all locked and loaded for whatever is waiting for us.

My dad goes to put his things in the red Chevy Camaro that sits in front of our house. We found the car gathering dust in an old abandoned body shop. It needed quite a few things to get it going again but Jonny managed to fix it. He made it look brand new. I never knew that Taylor's dad had that kind of skill with machines.

I hop into the vehicle just as Haven comes running out of the house with Nathan in tow. She has her high-powered sniper rifle slung over her shoulder. I wonder what that girl has planned now.

"I'm coming too," she states confidently.

"No way. I don't want you anywhere near Hank. He already doesn't like you. Don't try to cause more trouble for us," my father says.

"I think we caused a hell of a lot trouble already by going to rescue someone who didn't even want to be rescued. I'm coming with you. That's final," she says glaring at Tony.

"And if Haven is going then you know I'm gonna have to go too. I have to keep her safe," Nathan says.

Tony sighs and rubs his eyes. So much stress pushed onto one man. I don't see how he can deal with all of us. We don't listen to him. He tries to lead us down the right path but we keep doing whatever we can to disobey him and plunge him further in nothingness. He can't take much more of this.

"Fine, get in," Tony says hastily.

We all pile into the car with Haven, Nathan, and I stuffed in the backseat. Alex climbs on the middle of the front seat and situates himself. My dad gets in the passenger's seat and buckles up the seatbelt. Jonny slides into the drivers seat and meshes the key with the ignition. He turns the key and the Camaro roars to life.

A sly smiles grows on the man's face. "Hold on everyone. I'm about to have myself a little fun." He slams down on the accelerator and we take off down the lonely street.

As we race across the large walled city I take a moment to think about how we got to this point. When we arrived at Charleston, we didn't know what to expect. What we found was a ginormous wall fortifying the northern part of the city.