ZERO DAY EVENT

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Hi! Thanks for stopping in! :)

It's been long enough that it was time for yet another revision of Zero Day. As I read it back, I realized the story needed to be in first person. If you read one of the other versions, I'd love your thoughts on the differences, which version you like best, and whether the tension keeps you interested. So without further ado, let's join the action.

Don't forget your weapon.

Ready?

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"Breather. On your right."

I swiveled clockwise, eyes trained on the cross-hairs. I lined up my sights with the red dot of the laser point and squeezed the trigger.

The man dropped.

His body writhed on the ground. He stretched out a hand. Like he was reaching for me. Tobi fired on my left, and I heard the sound of another body hitting the ground, but my gaze was frozen on the sandy sweep of hair falling across his forehead.

"Try again." Brown eyes looked into mine, his hair falling across his forehead the way it always did now that Mom wasn't here to smooth it back.

The radio hissed. "Large group moving in from the South."

Frustration burned its way across my face. "It won't help."

He gave a lopsided smile. "Come on, Chipmunk. Give it one more shot."

"I told you, it won't help!" Heat carried down my throat, spreading across my chest.

"Rio?"

"You can do this. I know it's hard, but—"

"No, you don't." I shoved back from the table. "There's no way you could know."

"We gotta go. Breathers on our six."

The breather had stopped reaching. His brown eyes fixed on mine, looking into me—into my head—into my soul.

"You have to stop fighting me, River. I'm only trying to help."

"Rio!"

A hand landed on my arm.

"He's good. You fried him. Release your weapon."

I looked, but didn't recognize the person next to me. Then the world flickered and I was back in my skin. The past was behind me. All there was now was this ... dust and survival. I pressed the red button along the side of the Taser. There was a soft whir and click as the barbs retracted and the probes fell onto the pavement, hissing as the wires wound back into my weapon.

"We need to move." Tobi's voice was tense.

He peeked over the top of the log before getting up, motioning for me to follow. I darted out behind him as he pounded across the street into the shadow of a burnt-out building. The darkness between what was left of the structures should have been cool, but heat pooled around us, shimmering like waves in the water. We ran down the alley, putting on a burst of speed when the far end revealed an open lot.

I'd slowed us down. If we didn't put enough distance between us and the group headed our way, the breathers would register our vitals. We might be faster, but there was no way we could outrun them once they had us scoped. They could run for hours.