Safe Street - A Purge Fanfic

Chapter 4

Nathaniel knew the real reason his mother had sent him to help Jay, he was further away from the blockade there. There was one medical set up near both blockades, he was supposed to be manning one of them. So much for trust, his mom was such a freakin' worrywart.

He grabbed a shovel and started to help Jay dig, They still needed to get about a foot deeper and a few inched wider but is was amazing that much had already been done. Jay must have been extremely focused. They would be done before an hour was up.

Gunshots were still echoing in the distance, closer by Nathaniel could hear the sounds of things crashing and breaking. He had heard a few of the kids at his school talking about using the Purge to blow off some steam by vandalizing property's, that was generally the worst damage done in their neighborhood. Sure, they sometimes found a body, some homeless guy who was beat up by the vandalizing teenagers, but that hardly ever happened. After all, the kids had to sneak out to do anything.

That one gunshot from earlier, that had been what had scared Nathaniel. He had seen his mom pounce on an ax that was always nearby. It was terrifying. It was no fair.

Maybe because he was the youngest, Nathaniel was always treated like a helpless baby in his family. He was already 14 and Mason and Julietta were out guarding with guns, yet his mom ordered him to a safer place. It was really, really not fair. At least Jay was stuck in the same position, though he had overheard him asking Mr. Heartsford for a gardening job so maybe not.

POP

Another gunshot sounded. It sounded super close by. They could hear shouting, the sound of people running. It faded off in the opposite direction. They were safe. 

On the other side of the blockade there was a loud metallic clang and more shouts. A group of teenagers must have found a homeless guy. This conflict also headed in a different direction.

Rather than relieved, Nathaniel was surprised to find himself disappointed. 

'If only something would happen,' He found himself thinking, 'Something exiting. Maybe I could prove myself. Make my family sorry they ever doubted me. Or at least feel like coming out here with all this planning is worth it.'

They finished the hole and went to help the other half of the tree team.

"We can't quite get the roots out," Mr. Heartsford said as they approached, "Oh, hey Nathaniel. I thought you were on medical duty."

"Mom sent me over here." 

Mr. Heartsford nodded. "Makes sense after all that ruckus earlier. Since things have died down again why don't you go back to your original post. Who knows, maybe one of the people we heard earlier will crawl on over asking for assistance."

Nathaniel felt his spirits rise and nodded eagerly saying, "Thanks Mr. Heartsford!" before running back to what was originally supposed to be his post. He had always liked Mr. Heartsford, he seemed to be the only one who didn't treat Nathaniel like a kid.

When he reached the table he found that Jenna, the oldest of the Newman kids, was already there. This was going to be a pain.