“How?” asked Marcus, his voice frail.
“Them,” hissed Isaac. The man did not wait for others to follow his lead. He drew his pistol and seized one of the terrified little boys. Seth followed, keeping Theia close.
“Close your eyes,” he told her. Theia obeyed. Seth lifted her up, then began carrying her away. He heard Marcus calling his men to prepare to follow Isaac’s lead. Every adult had at least one child-shield. Glancing back, he saw guns pointed at their heads. For this alone, he wanted to kill Marcus, though it was Isaac’s idea. He forced himself to ignore it and press forward, for he had responsibility for at least one.
Seth and Isaac stepped out first, Marcus and his men immediately behind them. The soldiers advanced until Marcus screamed, “STOP!”
“Release the hostages. NOW!” ordered an officer.
There were still several kids in hiding and running amok. Behind him, Seth heard Marcus growling, firing his gun skyward. Then he heard a child cry as Marcus tightened his grip. “I said stay back!”
“You heartless scum!” another troop shouted. “I’m gonna kill you personally.”
Isaac spoke calmly to them. “Let us go, and no one else gets hurt.”
Finally, the troops lowered their weapons and stepped back.
Seth pitied Theia as she kept her face buried in his shoulder, trembling fiercely. Slowly, they all made their way through the troops. Most kept their focus on Marcus, and their weapons aimed at his head. The hostages whimpered, except Theia. They’re not the enemy, Seth forced himself to admit. We are. He nearly surrendered to the troops, but understood that Marcus would not take that well. More bloodshed would come of it, one way or another, and he couldn’t risk that with Theia.
When the group was approximately twenty feet away from both waves of troops, halfway across the overpass to I-405, everyone scattered. Isaac, along with half the others, released their prisoners as they fled into the inner city. The soldiers pursued, but solely on foot. Half collected the innocents, while the other half kept their weapons raised to protect them. Not one fired, and Seth knew they wouldn’t until every child was collected safely.
Seth followed Isaac to a particular building on the right side of Couch St. When he glanced back toward the troops, he saw someone familiar emerging from a distant vantage point. It was a cause for greater alarm… He paused. Calling to Isaac, he said, “HEY!” The man turned. “Take Theia, now!”
“We don’t have time. We need to get–”
“TAKE HER!”
Isaac sighed, but grudgingly stumbled back to Seth and took Theia’s hand.
“What’s happening?” asked the girl.
Before she could see what he was seeing, Seth ordered her, “Run! Just run!” Both she and Isaac obeyed at once.
Seth prepared his shotgun as he turned around. The dark figure continued to approach, even faster than before. He could recognize that silhouette anywhere. “Fuck you, Ethan!” he shouted, firing a round at the target. Ethan took cover in an alleyway. For a moment, Seth wondered if he should continue to confront his foe or tend to Theia. Whatever Ethan wanted, it somehow meant coming after him. Looking back, his weapon still aimed in Ethan’s direction, he saw Isaac enter the building, Theia’s face expressing more fear than ever.
Seth fired another shot, blasting chunks of brick in the direction he last saw Ethan, then ran back to Theia. To make sense of it, he thought, Ethan wants me dead…
As he ran inside, he heard Ethan charging toward him again. He aimlessly fired more. Isaac and Theia were only ten feet from the entrance. “Upstairs, now! Get to an upper level!”
“What the hell is it? The troops coming after us?”
“No, Ethan is. Get her out of here!”
His answer triggered an anxious reaction from Isaac. Theia gasped, her eyes widened. Seth heard Theia start to say something, trying to resist as Isaac dragged her away.
Seth concealed himself in the darkest corner he could find, then waited patiently. He heard nor saw anything except the battle outside, which he prayed wouldn’t reach that building. Several minutes passed, still nothing. Finally, Seth chose to investigate, carefully. Walking on his toes, slowly toward the entrance with his shotgun raised, he walked toward the entrance.
Before he sensed a tremor or sound, Ethan already took hold of Seth’s gun and twisted it out of his hands. Seth, too restrained to counter, got kneed in the belly, then dragged a few steps over to a window as Ethan thrust his face into the glass. Ethan slammed his head again, shattering the glass. Next Seth knew, he was lying on his back, drowning in his own blood, and Ethan was gone.
“No!” he coughed. He stumbled onto his feet, then headed for the stairs. Ethan must have heard him order Isaac where to hide Theia.
He pushed himself until he reached the second floor. But he heard absolutely no sound from there, not even faint echoes. So, he went to the third floor, where he heard Ethan was still above him. He ran to the fourth floor, he determined. Upon reaching that level, he saw Ethan running down the hall toward two figures. “Give her up!” the monster demanded.
Crawling on his knees toward them, he heard Isaac retort, “The hell you want with her anyway?”
Seth attacked, seizing the opportunity to catch Ethan off-guard. Mustering all his remaining strength, he charged at Ethan, pulling his knife. Ethan, reacting seamlessly, grasped Seth at the wrist, halting the swing. He kicked Seth in his diaphragm, which dropped him, but did not inflict any further serious harm. Seth, struggling to breathe or even sit up, shouted toward Theia, “Run!”
She didn’t move…
Seth refused to surrender. He refused to back down. Ethan had to be defeated at all costs. Being the inferior combatant, he expected he wouldn’t survive this confrontation. As long as Theia escapes… He saw Ethan charge at Isaac, who pulled his pistol hastily and fired two rounds into Ethan’s chest.
Theia screamed with terror. “DAD!”
Isaac shoved her aside, slowly stepping toward Ethan who had dropped to his knees.
No… thought Seth. That can’t even be possible… Seth actually believed for a moment that Theia was delusional, or hallucinating. Her father just couldn’t be Ethan.
Clutching his chest, Ethan cried out, “Hide, Theia!” The girl obeyed immediately, running further down the hall. That confirmed it in Seth’s mind. Theia couldn’t have been making it up, or been too hysterical to discern reality. Ethan was a father. Her father.
He saw Isaac breathe a sigh of relief watching Ethan hunching over as if to vomit, soaked in nearly as much blood as Seth was. He did not pity Ethan, but still despised him.
No. Seth thought quickly, correcting himself. This is Theia’s father. She longed for him most. He couldn’t let Ethan die. Not by his hand; not at all. Isaac slowly gathered his pistol, then cocked it once more. “Nothing personal,” he said.
Seth tried to speak, to tell Isaac not to shoot, but he had no breath. Thus, his only option was to interfere. He sprang up and charged. Isaac did not react, and must have assumed he meant to attack Ethan. Surprise came over Isaac’s face when Seth tackled him. The gun shot off before they hit the floor. Seth felt the bullet puncture his belly and reach far into his back. He lost use of his legs in an instant.
Isaac, enraged, punched Seth multiple times, trying to push him off. Seth hadn’t meant to start a fight, but now finding him in one, fought back with all the strength he had left. Isaac reached for his gun, but Seth kicked it away. Realizing Isaac was fighting to the death, Seth tried to at least incapacitate him. He tried to gouge Isaac’s eyes, but Isaac countered with the same attack. Seth was powerless as Isaac threw his body on top of him, pressing his thumbs down with tremendous force into Seth’s eye sockets. He screamed in agony as his vision permanently blackened. But then, Isaac dropped at the sound of a gunshot. He felt bits of bone and blood splatter his face.
Screaming, holding his face, and trying to blink, Seth felt himself starting to suffocate. “Don’t panic,” he heard Etha
n say. He calmed some, trembling, but ceased flailing.
“Cough. My eyes. I can’t see! I cough cough, can’t… cough!”
He felt a hand on his shoulder. “Seth…” said Ethan. He waited to listen. “Mercy forgives you.”
Part of the pain faded, though he continued to shake. As he writhed, he felt a slight sense of happiness for the first time. He was forgiven. He was happy to have been wrong about Ethan. He wished he had known Theia meant him when she spoke so fondly of her father. As his consciousness drifted, as he began to forget where he was, or who he was, he was at peace.
Please forgive me too, Kristen.
Another gunshot sounded. Pieces of his head coated the wall. Seth became still, never to move again, but forever spared of further suffering.
THEIA
As the sun rose, its glimmering glow illuminated the dark hall. Theia felt uneasy. She was safe and free, yet the nightmare continued. Pressed against the wall, taking small breaths, she loathed every second she was there.
A gunshot sounded. She jumped, becoming consumed with fear. Dad… Theia nearly rushed to him, but remained in place until … she didn’t when. Her order was clear, and absolute. Moments later, a second gunshot. Two shots… But there’s only three people over there… She was used to being afraid by now, but this was a new kind of fear. What if they shot him? I have to… I have to do something! If he needed her help, how could she know? But he told me to hide… It was too much. The chance that he was dead… It was too much.
Then, she heard, “Theia?”
Her heavy heart could beat a little easier. Her state of shock faded.
“Theia!”
Her father’s voice was weak and despairing. Swiftly, she rose, then nearly tripped as she sprinted back down the hall. “Dad!” she cried out, and then again. He was crawling out into view, a trail of blood behind him. “DAD!” she screamed with joy and horror. Reaching him, she threw her arms around him, squeezing with nearly enough force to suffocate him. “You’re alive! You’re here!”
Ethan embraced her gently. He looked into her eyes, placing his hand on her cheek. “It’s over, Theia. It’s over.” She looked at him, tears swelling up.
Then, looking down, she gasped. His shirt was almost completely soaked red. “I’ll go find help!”
“No, baby, don’t.” Ethan had grasped her wrist when she stood.
“I have to, Dad. You’re going to die.” Ethan was silent, only staring at her. There was no fear in his eyes. “Please…” she begged.
With great reluctance, Ethan relaxed his hand. “Don’t look to your right until you’ve reached the stairs.” Without delay, Theia ran as fast as she could, obeying her father’s command.
When she returned to the first floor, she found the open exit and ran through it, nearly tripping again on the glass shards covering the ground. She couldn’t notice her draining stamina as she crossed the bridge over the Interstate. At the church, soldiers rounded up the mobsters, interrogating some. She worried most of them had already departed, with their vehicles. Many outside the building saw her frantically running up to it. “Help!” she heaved. “I need help!”
A soldier approached her quickly. “My god! You’re covered in blood. What is it? What’s wrong?”
“My dad!” she cried. Her words were nearly unintelligible. “He’s dying. Please, please, please help him!” Two soldiers took immediate action, though for some reason they looked a little suspicious of Theia.
She ran faster than they could keep up. Entering the building, charging up the steps, she then passed what Ethan had tried to keep her from witnessing: the bodies of Seth and the other man. Fortunately, the sight was only fleeting; far more importantly, her father was unconscious when they located him. Theia had never felt such fear; not in the past several weeks; not in all her life. She was truly convinced he was about to die…
–––––––
When all was over with, she found herself waking up in a car, driven by a stranger. For a moment, she panicked, attempting to escape, but the driver abruptly pulled over. “Theia, Theia!” he said, gently touching her shoulder. “You’re okay. Everything is fine. I’m Lieutenant-Colonel Tyson Corwin. I know your dad.” She felt no less confused, and no less afraid. Whether or not his claim was truthful, he was not her father; the only person she wanted to see. Though she was anxious, not knowing where she was nor who this man was, she remained in her seat, watching him closely. “You passed out,” he added.
When? Where? she thought. When did I fall asleep? WHERE’S DAD?
She panicked again, frantically pulling on the door, but it would not open. “It’s child-safety-locked, Theia,” he told her, gently. “We’ll get you to your dad. He’s wounded, but he’ll survive.”
Finally, she calmed. Her mind scattered, being everywhere, and simultaneously nowhere. She had shut out so much. Nothing made sense. When the man had spoken of her father’s condition, she recalled seeing the wounds, then running to find him help. “Is he okay?” she asked, inhaling deeply, holding her breath, with a raspy voice and tense muscles.
The Lt. Col. nodded. “Yes, Theia. He will live. He has the best care available. Will you let us take you to him?”
Theia studied him a moment, then nodded. The car immediately sped off down the cleared road. The man shifted into second gear as they crossed a bridge to the other side of the river. It reminded Theia of all the times she had watched her father drive the car, shifting its gears by hand. Yet another memory with him, though fleeting and trifling at the time, that was so immensely significant now.
As the car crossed the river, Theia squinted, looking back at the city which had been her nightmare for far too long. Gone now, shrinking into the distance. The buildings reminded her of the faces of everyone she had encountered, both living and dead. It’s over, she told herself. Finally over. Like being driven into heaven after purgatory. To her, the commander may as well have been driving her into a completely different world. Above all other feelings, she was thankful; thankful to have seen her father in the midst of that hell, but know that he had not been left behind in it. He was already out. Already on the other side, waiting for her.
Remembering her notepad, she pulled it up, smiling as she marked: 1/1/13. A good time to stop keeping track; there was no longer a need. Not only was she on her way to see her father, but was on her way to the life and people she knew and loved. With peace of mind, already prepared for things to return to normal, she dropped the notepad, intending to never pick it up again.
“Mercy watched over you after you passed out,” she heard the man speak again. “She carried you to the back seat there. If she hadn’t been caught up helping the doctors and nurses treat patients, she would be the one driving you right now.”
“Mercy?” asked Theia. “Who’s that?”
“A friend of your dad’s,” replied the Lt. Col.
It wasn’t much of an explanation, but it didn’t seem worth further inquiring about. Theia sat there in the back, extending her legs across the other seats, quietly observing all they drove past. It felt good to see, and to be driven on, such clear roads.
Life was returning to normal. The world was returning to normal.
The commander stopped the car in front of a large house down the street from a hospital Theia recognized. Standing in front was a woman who seemed to be waiting for them. “Everyone in that house,” he began, “is waiting for loved ones to recover in the hospital. Mercy should arrive shortly to take you to your dad.”
Theia stepped out slowly, reluctantly, without another word to the man. After he drove off, she stepped closer to the woman, who greeted her kindly. Theia asked, “Are you Mercy?”
“I’m sorry?”
Theia shook her head. “Never mind. I’m kinda … out of it right now.”
“I understand. You’ve been through a lot. Are you waiting … for your p......” That was when Theia ceased to pay attention to her surroundings. The lady seemed to be asking questions, bu
t Theia could hardly hear the voice directed at her. Before she knew it, she was inside the house, already sitting in a corner, blankly watching people interact. There were even kids. Innocent, happy kids, freely running about with laughter, playing with their friends and siblings and parents. Am I still on Earth? she thought, truly doubting for a moment. She did not envy these people; not while knowing she would soon see her father. The hospital’s right there. Why do I have to wait here? Don’t hospitals have waiting rooms?
Though she seriously considered running out, she never moved from that corner, having not moved at all except to breathe and blink. She felt safe there; curled up, nose half an inch from her knees, arms tightly holding her legs. She took comfort in the wall behind her. Unless someone shoots me through the wall, she thought, I can’t be hurt here. Theia additionally felt safety from the happy scenes before her eyes. Then, her thoughts betrayed her. She didn’t trust her situation and location. She couldn’t. Anything could happen at any moment. The house could be broken into, the families assaulted with gunfire. For further reassurance, she studied the layout of the house, mapping and devising means to flee in such an event.
“Theia?” she heard, but seemingly not the first time. It seemed she had heard someone say her name at least twice already. Looking up, she saw a woman before her, looking at her with an affectionate expression. “Are you Theia?”
“…Yeah? How did you know?”
“Your dad told me what you look like. And I just … I didn’t picture you playing with these other kids.”
“Why would I?”
The woman slowly shook her head. “I guess I don’t know. You remind me of my niece. She would never have been found playing with the other kids, either. She was very … independent. You remind me of her.”
“I know. You already said that.”
“I’m sorry…” She paused. “My name’s Mercy. I … I know your dad.”
“So, I guess that soldier guy wasn’t lying,” replied Theia.
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