Oompa Loompa Takeover

Chapter 14

XIV

"FUCK YOU! STOP! PUT ME DOWN NOW!! STOP! WE HAVE TO GO BACK!!" Gerald cried hysterically from Wonka's shoulder as he pounded on Wonka's back with his fists.

"Fucking lay off will you?! I've been shot back there!!" Wonka said as he ran.

His words seemed to take the fight out of Gerald, and he slumped down then, his screams replaced by sobs.

Wonka felt bad for the kid, he really did. He himself felt like he'd been torn. In the brief few hours that he'd known Miles, he'd found himself growing attached to the kid. Miles had—

Brrrrt! Brrrt! Blam, blam, blam!!

But the fact remained that they were under heavy fire and being hunted by The Renders. If they didn't keep moving, they'd end up joining Miles.

"This way!" He cried as he made a sharp turn and cut through the lawn of one of the houses. The few slaves that were fast enough to keep up with him and hadn't fallen to gunshot raced after him. Wonka knew he had to find that Wonkavator fast. It was their only way out.

But how many of them were going to make it?

"Hey, Gerald!" Wonka cried as he leapt over the yard's little hedges at its end. "I need you to help me out here! Take this gun!" Wonka pulled a handgun from a holster at his thigh and handed it back to Gerald. "Shoot them if you can! If not, just give us some cover fire!"

Gerald took the gun Wonka handed him. His hands were shaking like he had palsy, and for a moment, he worried he'd drop the weapon. He heard Wonka say his name again, but he just couldn't seem to get a grip. Everything around him felt so unreal.

It had to be a dream. Miles couldn't be dead. And if he was...

Gerald just wanted to join him.

Their mission had failed. They'd not hurt the Oompa Loompa's like they'd wanted to. Miles and his own vengeance had not been satiated. And now Miles was gone...

"Gerald!!"

Gerald managed to raise his head, his hand coming up to brush away the hair that had become a curtain over his face.

"Help us out!" Maybelynne cried. She was 20 feet behind them, running with all her might. Beside her was a dark skinned girl. They both looked completely exhausted, their breathing labored as they struggled to run for their lives. They'd been slaves in the factory for a while likely, and no doubt were weak from lack of food and sleep. Bullets hit the house right behind them and both girls shrieked and stumbled before regaining their speed. The dark skinned girl tried to turn and fire back with her rifle, but it was almost impossible to do so and keep running.

Gerald's hands had stopped shaking. He raised his arms, sighted an Oompa Loompa in the distance, and fired. His bullet caught the creature in the shoulder and it was flung back.

Maybe their original mission had failed. But he'd forgotten that they had a new one. Save the slaves.

"There it is! That building there!" Wonka cried as he leapt over another hedge, causing Gerald to bobble up and down on his shoulder like a rag doll. "Go, go, go!"

Gerald jerked his head to the side to catch a brief glimpse of a building that was taller than the rest, and had real tiles on its roof unlike the thatched ones on the others. It was still a short distance away. He turned back and focused completely on giving cover fire to protect the slaves.

It was hard to hit them. The others, not the guards. The regular guard Oompa Loompas Gerald could see and shoot. But there were others that he could only catch glimpses of sometimes. Their bullets seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once. They were something new.