The Roman Project: The Wronged

Chapter 23

Jeen's hands were on her head as they ran through the delayed shots.

Wen and Roman both fired their handguns back at the automatons, taking down most that had weapons.

One stood in front of Wen, a knife protruding from his wrist and he swung the blade at Wen's head. But quicker than Jeen thought was possible, Wen ducked and grabbed the Wardens's wrist and shoved the knife into its owner.
Roman cried out as a bullet lodged in his forearm.

He let go of Isabella and ran at the two Warden's who were aiming for Jeen and Wen. He punched one, it's metal head flying off, and grabbed the other one's gun and shot it until it fell to the ground.
Jeen held the cylinder in one hand, and held Isabella's hand in a death grip with her other. She ran to the black door and shoved it open, and gasped and stumbled backwards as a bullet whizzed past her face and through the door. She shut the door and locked it with shaking hands as Roman ran up to her panting and bruised, Wen finished breaking an Wardens neck and sprinted over, looking unemotional and full of energy.
"There's more outside." Jeen breathed heavily.
"How many?" Wen asked as he pulled two knives out of his belt.
"Twenty. Maybe more. We can't-" a round of bullets was fired through the door and they all threw themselves to the floor.

"That doesn't make sense. We just finished off the last of them!" Wen yelled over the gunfire.

After a few seconds the bullets stopped when the loud booming of a large and far away gun shot through the air.

"What was that?" Roman said, his hands still covering his ringing ears.

"I don't know." Wen said as he clutched his knives tightly.
The gunshots stopped and someone began to ram themselves up against the door. Wen stood up, and brandishing his two knives he slid swiftly to the door and threw it open, cutting and stabbing every Warden in his way.

Jeen helped Isabella up and Roman was already out the door.

They ran out of the building and into the dry desert. They were on a mesa, sort of like a table top, the rest of the desert in view for hundreds of miles. Jeen and Isabella ran away from the lab knowing that Roman and Wen could fend for themselves.

They ran until they came to a fifteen foot chain link fence that surrounded the entire lab.
"We have to climb, Mom!" She yelled over the gunshots.

They both began to climb with shaking limbs.

They were half way when an Warden began to shoot at them from across the table top. Jeen screamed and hunched her shoulders.

She urged herself to climb faster with fear in her heart and mind. Her arms and legs were trembling as she swung her leg over the top of the fence.

Isabella climbed beside her as they made their way down the last part of the fence. Jeen grabbed Isabella's hand and turned and looked to Roman and Wen who were still dodging bullets, stabbing with knives, and shooting Wardens.
"Roman! Hurry!" She shrieked over the noise.

He gave her a frantic glance as he shot an Warden in the head. Then he made a run for it. The sound of a booming gun, now closer and more than one gun from the sound of it, began to take down Wardens again, giving Wen enough time to crawl up the fence.

Their feet thudded on the dry desert ground, cold wind slashing their faces. Lights began to come into focus from ahead, Jeen felt her heart skip as she realized it was Gabriel - it had to be. Wen was beside them suddenly, sprinting but looking completely un-winded.

They pounded across the dusted ground, the air cool blowing and Jeen's heart thumping, her breath ragged and her grip on Isabella's hand tight.

The lights came closer - it was multiple vehicles.

"Wait, stop!" Roman yelled in front of them, slowing down.

Jeen stopped, panting.

"What? What's wrong?" She gasped.

"Who'er they?" He asked breathlessly.

Jeen squinted and took a step forward. It wasn't Gabriel. He only had one ranger, and he should've come and picked them up by now.

Jeen screamed as more of the shots boomed across the wasteland, bullets cutting through air in their direction.

She immediately ducked to the ground.
"Everyone get down!" Jeen shouted.

As they laid flat on the ground, Jeen expected the vehicles to come closer, but they kept going. On towards Sykes Lab.

"Is everyone okay?" Roman asked, standing to his feet, his clothing covered in dust.

"I think so." Jeen began, looking back at her mother.

"Mom?" Her voice was a soft whisper, a eyes filled with terror.

Isabella didn't say anything as she looked down at her stomach, her hands covering a gunshot wound. 

Thanks for reading! Vote if you liked it! (BTW, this chapter was shorter than others, but had to end with a cliff hanger, sorry...)