Stay...Alive

Chapter 9

Parker ruffled Victorine's short, messy hair as they walked back through the halls. Victorine glanced up at him, and they exchanged a smile. The few people in the halls stared at the two, but Victorine shot a death stare right back. She ran ahead to kick open the door of the huge room, but it opened on its own. And out poured a parade of children. Victorine flinched and jumped back before grabbing Timothy's arm. It didn't stop him, it just dragged Victorine into the crowd.

"They're taking the kids outside again," He explained.

"The day after," Horace pointed out, sarcastically.

"Oh, shut up. We'll be fine."

"You're gonna die of awkward silence, I swear," Anita commented.

"Shut up." Timothy knit his eyebrows into a scowl for probably the third time that day. They were shoved around the halls and burst out the door into the courtyard. A few feet out, Victorine finally took a breath of fresh-ish air. It was muggy out; the air almost felt solid. If she moved her head too much, she'd get a tiny migraine that came and went. The clouds were scattered across the sky. Her eyes dotted around the crowd until she saw the boy who towered over almost everyone.

Victorine skipped through the people and tackled Primus in a hug. He hugged her back until Anita sarcastically exclaimed, "What the heck? Is that allowed?"

Victorine chuckled as she pulled away. She started maneuvering to the corner to witness yet another bitch-fight between three middle-schoolers. However, she stopped mid-way when she saw, (again), Timothy standing on his own outside a group of kids. Rolling her eyes, Victorine grabbed his wrist and dragged him towards her.

"You're hanging out with us now," Victorine eerily declared.

"What-" Victorine yanked him towards the fence of the courtyard. She released him when his back hit the fence.

"Y-you guys are weird," Timothy panted. Victorine flashed a smile in response. "You want me to talk or something?"

Victorine nodded, shrugging. Primus mimicked her doing it.

"Is this 'cause I'm not making friends?" Timothy questioned. "I've been here for a few days and during one of them we all almost died!"

Victorine winced a little as she remembered. Timothy held his palms out, genuinely a little distraught. "Not to mention I'm still not over the fact I lost both my little cousins. I mean, Horace is all I have left and he isn't exactly the best for emotional support."

Victorine glanced over her shoulder at Horace, who had indeed already gotten himself into a bitch fight.

"But hey, at least you guys care," Timothy pointed out.

BANG!

For a second, time stopped.

For the longest second, Victorine stared in shock as a big red stain grew on Timothy's shirt.

For a second, Timothy looked up at Victorine in shock and pain.

For a second, Victorine felt a big hole fill her stomach, too.

But during that second, Victorine had time to grab Primus' wrist and Timothy's arm and yanked them towards the door.

More shots rang as a herd of kids scrambled for the doors, covering their heads and screaming in terror and pain. When Victorine almost tripped, Primus took Timothy's other arm and the two tried to carry him inside as the crowd of children raced to get to safety. Luckily, Victorine and Primus had a head start and were pretty much the first inside. Thinking fast, Victorine turned corner after corner, navigating to the hallway where she followed Parker. The sound of gunshots and screeching echoed through the halls as soldiers filed out. The world a loud, violent blur, Victorine found the closet, limped inside, and slammed the door behind her.

Locking the door, Victorine and Primus gently set Timothy down on the ground. Blood had completely soaked through his shirt. He kept staring wide-eyed at the ceiling at the ceiling, his jaw hanging open. Victorine fell to her knees and cradled his head in her lap. Timothy's panicked eyes turned to Victorine. He struggled to speak. '

"T-tell me brother...I-I love him," Timothy blurted out, his face cringing in pain. He clutched his wound with his left hand. Victorine held his right hand and squeezed. Timothy squeezed back. Timothy's eyes were filled with so much fear and sadness that it hurt Victorine to gaze into them, but she couldn't look away. Not when it might be the last thing he may ever see.

Suddenly, Timothy's facial expression softened. His body relaxed and the fear drained out of his eyes. The fear was replaced with an odd air of acceptance. He broke eye contact with Victorine and stared up at the fluorescent light on the ceiling. He opened his mouth to speak, trying to force the words out of his throat.

"I-I'm sorry, Anias," he breathed. "I'm sorry."

With that, Timothy squeezed Victorine's hand one more time and then released. His eyes ceased blinking or twitching. Every muscle in his body became bereft of tension and he became a dead weight in Victorine's arms. With that, he was gone.

Victorine's body felt completely stiff as she panted from a mix of exhaustion and shock. Her eyes were wide as saucepans as she stared down at Timothy's lifeless body. Her hands started shaking and wouldn't stop. She breathed heavier and heavier as this weight settled in her chest. She had an urge to scream or cry but there was a huge lump in her throat.

Primus ran over and hugged her tightly from behind, his arms wrapped around her shoulders. She gripped the arms around her as she heaved, barely able to breathe. Her eyes were fixed on Timothy's body, frozen in shock. She stayed in Primus' arms with Timothy in her lap for who knows how long. Outside, the gunshots had ceased but the screaming had not. There were screams of terror, and commanding screams that caused screams of terror. But Victorine blocked it all out as she looked down at Timothy. He looked so empty but so peaceful for once...

The door aggressively swung open, but Victorine didn't even look up. When they ordered her to get up, she didn't hear them at first. It took a man yanking Primus off of her to get her attention. Hastily, she gave Timothy a peck on the forehead and stood up. They shoved Primus and Victorine out of the closet and pushed them into a group with others from the haven. As she merged in with a bunch of people bumping into her and rubbing shoulders, all she could think was Timothy.

As a soldier yelled for them to go faster all she could think was Timothy.

When they were pushed out of the doors and the burning sunlight blinded her mind kept screaming, Timothy! Timothy! Timothy!

And every time she closed her eyes, she saw the bloodstain on his shirt. And the fear in his eyes after he was shot. And the look of peace when he finally left...

"Victorine!" a familiar voice yelled, snapping Victorine out of her trance. She stood on her toes and looked over her shoulder, trying to find Yolanda. Of course, that was incredibly difficult when a mob of people was being forced against her. But Victorine saw the tall woman maneuvering her way through all the people, using as much force as needed. Victorine started simply walking backward, unable to walk towards Yolanda.

"Victorine!" Yolanda finally reached Victorine and the little girl practically leaped into her arms. She wrapped her legs around Yolanda's waist, and the woman pretty much carried Victorine as they were led into the back of a truck, with a metal fence acting as a wall. They forced inside and all the way to the corner as hoards of people filed into the truck after them. The noise and the heat were overwhelming. When the doors were slammed and the truck sputtered to life, Yolanda let Victorine down and knelt to her level.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? Where is the rest of the kids?" Yolanda questioned, anxiously. Victorine nodded, barely able to speak or look Yolanda in the eye. Slowly, their group found their way to their corner. Parker and Jacey followed close behind Yolanda, and Lane and Anita had run after them, barely making it onto the truck. Gina and Asha found their way there, with Frankie tagging along, and Horace had been the first on the truck.

Once they regrouped, Frankie asked, "W-what was that? Are we being captured?"

"Looks like it," Yolanda breathed. Victorine leaned on Yolanda, and Yolanda leaned back on her. Victorine felt Horace grip her shoulder tight and turn her around. Horace glared at her and demanded in the most serious voice he could muster, "Where's Timothy?"