Shattering Me

6~ their Plan B

    "It's a Krag!" he shouted and started flailing frantically. He wailed a series of words in Japanese, but they were too fast and slurred for Ryan to catch.

    He heard his last name screamed one more time and his grip tightened. He thought Spray tan must have lost his mind, but there was more to it. Members of the Helix always travel in groups of three.

    He didn't even hear the shot fire, but he felt the bullet whiz pass his side. It tore through Spray tan's right arm leaving a burning hole and grazing Ryan's left before burying itself into a sofa. When they looked at the furniture, it smoked for mere seconds before a small fire erupted from the bullet wound.

   The moment of distraction was not wasted as Spray tan made one final desperate move to free himself. He raised his legs into a crouch and planted the soles perfectly against the teen's broad chest. Ryan didn't have a chance to react before the advocate kicked, violently prying himself from the grip.

   Instead of fighting, he turned tail and ran. Now aware of a sniper, Ryan crouched low and sprung forward in chase. Another bullet came close to his head, planting itself deep within the thick dining room table.

   The table didn't take nearly as long to burst into flames as the two passed it. Just as they entered the main part of the house's kitchen and Ryan was close enough to reach out and grab the Helix criminal, his panic flared. It took an instant for his mind to catch up to his instincts and come to an abrupt halt. The room was filled with the stench of gasoline and there was a hissing sound coming from the direction of the stove.

   Had Ryan been there when Pale face came back with his knife soaked in oil and gas, he might have realized what they were doing sooner.

   As it happened, he barely had time to dive back out of the kitchen before another flaming bullet found its new home. The eruption shook the entire house as the kitchen itself exploded. A furious pillar of flame spewed out of the doorway mere second after Ryan flung himself through it.

   He didn't have a moment to rest or think about anything before getting to his feet and sprinting for the exit. A second smaller explosion rattled the large home as the fires found something new to devour.

   Kyle was in such a state of shock that he didn't process his home burning up until Ryan grabbed him by the collar and threw them both out into the open air. His world was smothered by an extremely warm and heavy yellow blanket as he was pressed into the floor of the driveway.

   One last explosion to put all the rest to shame consumed the entire building. Four floors erupted in a 50-foot blaze of aggression. Whatever had been kept secret within that home, and whoever remained, was gone.

----------------------------------the Troublesome Tree --—--------------------------

When the explosions had finally stopped and the danger seemed to have faded, Ryan rolled off of Kyle. He'd thrown himself over the smaller male just in case any shrapnel came flying their way. It felt like a natural thing to do, but his back was sore from the door that had slammed onto him for it.

The two sat down beside each other staring at the burning house from the safety of the driveway. Soon, sirens began wailing in the distance and Ryan resisted the urge to scoff. Every department on the island could probably see the fire or hear those explosions.

"Madilyn and Margaret were on duty today... oh my god, please don't tell me they were in the house. We have to-" he cut himself off. Kyle wasn't stupid enough to try running into the house to check if anyone was still inside. He'd barely made it out himself. Guilt swelled his eyes as he turned to Ryan and asked, "They're gone too, aren't they?"

Ryan couldn't think of anything to say, so he just nodded and looked at the ground. "I'm sorry Kyle, but I don't think Helix thugs would have let them escape at all."

The boy cringed when he realized what that meant. "You mean they were dead before the fire started...Damn it!" he rose to his feet and stormed down the driveway. He didn't even have anywhere to go, and sooner or later he'd have to acknowledge that, but at the moment he just needed to move. He needed to do something- anything, to get himself together.

There was still the problem of a Helix sniper somewhere in the area, but Ryan doubted the advocated would stick around with the sirens incoming. He decided to let the last surviving Cane throw a tantrum at least for a while. Though, he cringed when Kyle started angrily punching and kicking the hedges that lined the path. He actually looked like he might hurt himself somehow and lose to the foliage.

"Stupid, damn, evil Helix tree! Why don't you take my memories away too?" he cried. At that moment, the fight nearly left him entirely. Kyle was in no way, steady. His entire life felt like it was frozen stiff, standing upon a layer of thin ice that separated him from the deep sea of emotions that swirled below the surface.

Every time he kicked the hedge's ugly roots, or punched a stupid branch right in the leaf, he hardened that ice with anger...but it was still breaking. Exhaustion was starting to take its toll and his eyes were burning with restrained tears. How much could he have left to lose?

"Dude, you're not about to lose to a bloody bush in front of me. Come on now," Ryan spoke up from behind him. He'd risen to his feet and approached without making much of a sound. His hand slipped over Kyle's right shoulder while the other latched onto the left side of his waist. "Punch like you mean it. Pull all the way back, and throw your weight into it...well...throw whatever you got."

Kyle threw his weight into his next punch and a branch actually snapped off. He smirked, "Yeah, take that you shitty tree."

They both paused and glanced at each other. Then they broke into laughing fits without much left to say. At the very least, Kyle didn't lose anything to the gardener's hedges.

--What do you guys think...Did that tree deserve to be destroy..? I mean it was just minding its own business right? I totally think that was plant brutality!   lol ;) --