In Death's Grip

In Death's Grip: Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Everyone is fighting all around me. Nikolai hits Hank in the jaw. Men carrying ladders and firearms are running toward the wall. Tony is firing at them but they don't stop what they're doing. Bullets rain down from the top of the wall but most of them miss their targets. A few rounds hit the dirt near Nikolai and Hank, probably Haven's rifle. All of these things happen within seconds. All I can do is stand here and watch.

My body is frozen to the spot where I'm standing. Not because of the cold but because of shock. I never thought that Nikolai would be so bold and stupid to launch such an attack. I also didn't know that he had the resources for this kind of thing.

I need to act fast before I'm swarmed by enemies. Dozens of men keep sprinting toward Charleston but I don't know what to do. Do I stand and fight or do I run and hide? My father grabs my shoulder and turns me around to face him.

"Keaton! We have to get back to the city! We have to protect our family!" he shouts at me through the earsplitting sound of gunfire.

He doesn't mean to fight for the people of Charleston. No, he means to fight for the ones I love. The ones that matter to me. My mother, Taylor, Julie, Amy, and Cho. They have no idea what's going on. I can't let them die. I won't let them die. I draw my sword.

Tony and I rush into the fray of men. I thrust my sword through a man's chest before he realizes what happens. My dad fires his assault rifle and kills three adversaries. The enemy seems to be running with the ladders in teams of four. Hopefully they'll be too busy with their ladders to notice us coming.

Tony rushes forward to confront another ladder team but this time they're ready. They throw down the ladder and abandon their task to deal with my father. Two of them pull out knives but the other two unholster pistols.

Tony fires at the two with guns first. He shoots one right between the eyes and the man instantly goes limp. He shoots the other in the chest a few times.

When he goes to fire at the two remaining men he realizes that he's out of ammo. I sprint to Tony's aid. I slice a man's foot off in one clean stroke. As he screams in agony on the ground I bring my Katana down into his chest and watch his life fade away.

The last man at Tony but he's not quick enough. My father hits the man's knife from his hand with the but of his gun, breaking the enemy's wrist in the process. Tony proceeds to knock the gun into the man's jaw. He grabs the man's feeble neck and twists it with a snap.

He looks at me. "We need to get back to the gate. We're outnumbered out here."

We both turn and run back to the heat of the battle. The main gate is being hammered upon by a crowd of people. The survivors atop the wall are sending down gunfire to hold them off but it's not working. The bullets can't reach the enemy at that angle.

I take a look back at the truck. Felix, Ford, Amelia, and Daniel are hiding behind the table with their guns ready. They lay down supressive fire at the other leaders. Demitri, the woman named Clare, the two large men that seemed to be guarding Nikolai, and Zach. They're all hiding behind the military truck.

Somehow they manage to get a hold of some weapons, except Zach of course. Felix and the others need to keep them pinned down or they might get bold and advance on us. I look to my father for guidance.

"Best we leave them, son. They can handle themselves. We need to get back to your mom and the rest."

"No dad. I'll go. You need to stay here. I'll take Alex back to the house with me. Got it?" I order him. It feels strange to boss my dad around. I mean, I used to tell him what to do before but that was all in good fun. This time when I do it, it's serious. I'm commanding him to do something.

He looks around worriedly at the battle for a moment. "Fine. Be careful. I love you."

"I love you too dad."

An extremely loud, bloodcurdling roar emits from Felix's mouth. He stands up from his cover and exposes himself completely. He equips his rifle and begins firing madly at the opposing leaders. Most of the shots miss their mark but a few graze next to one of the large men.

The enemy fires back and Felix goes back behind the table for safety. He reloads his weapon and waits for the enemy to run out of bullets. When they do he goes to shooting wildly again. The shots hit the large man closest to Felix in the chest. The shots travel up the man quickly and his head explodes. Bits of brain fly everywhere.

"Howard! No!" the surviving large man yells, "I'll kill you!" he shouts at Felix. He bursts forth from behind the truck, gun blazing. Demitri and Clare follow his lead. The three of them advance on my comrades.

"Time to run!" Daniel cries. He turns and sprints for the gate. Felix, Amelia, and Ford are on his heels. The three enemies continue to advance.

Zach is left unguarded and he makes his move. He rushes forward and jumps on Clare's back. He manages to wrap the piano wire binding his wrists around her neck. She screams but quickly regains her composure. Her elbow flys into Zach's gut and she flips him over her head. Zach lands with a hard thud onto the dirt.

The four leaders keep a quick pace and make it back to the wall in no time. Ford is panicking and pounding on the two giant wooden doors.

"Let us in! Hurry!"

The gate creaks open just enough where all of us can fit through. After we re-enter the city, the guards slam the gate shut once again. Bodies of our enemies crash against the wood. They push on the gate but the door holds, for now.

I look around at the crowd of people standing at the base of the entrance. I see tons of survivors. All of them are familiar, but one is missing. Hank, our leader, is still outside, fighting the Russian.

Felix notices this too. "Hank is still out there!" he shouts, "We have to go get him!"

"Calm down Felix," my father says, "We'll think of some way to save him."

I look at Tony and he looks back at me. "Got it. Go get mom," I say, "Alex, you're with me."

The two of us take off running down the street. Men and women are everywhere trying to push back the invaders as they climb over the wall. Seeing more and more of them scale our fortress only makes me run faster to the house where my family is waiting.

"Behind us!" Alex warns.

I do a one-eighty degree turn to see five men chasing after us. They're all armed with melee weapons. Alex nocks an arrow and lets it fly. It lands right in the throat of the lead man. The guy behind him falls over his friend's limp body. Alex takes advantage of the man's blunder and fires a second arrow into his chest.

I cross swords with two of the grown men at once. I manage to disarm one and decapitate him with ease. The other swings his blade down but misses me because I stumble backwards. Alex jams his dagger deep into the man's head and turns and does the same to the last man standing.

I don't stop to thank him and he doesn't stop to ask for it. We sprint for the house. I can see it on the edge of my vision. Cho is standing outside in the front lawn, helpless. She's not even carrying a weapon.

"Cho! Get inside!" I yell at the same moment a dozen men and women scale the wall. They land on both sides of the house and make their way to the front of the building. Time for me to fight. Time for me to not be afraid. Time for me live.