by W. J. May
The smell roused him and his body jerked awake. He smacked it away automatically before blinking around in a bit of a daze. Looking first at the fire. And then at his sister.
“What happened?” He tried to stand up, but he was still tied to the chair. “Is this…? How did…?” His eyes focused on her all at once. “Did you do this?!”
The moment of brother-sister bonding shattered in an instant.
“No! You ungrateful little bastard! I did not do this!” She pushed to her feet and started working again on the knots, muttering angrily under her breath. “Should’ve just left you here…”
A second later, the last of the rope fell free and he sprang from the chair. Eyes darting around. Ready for anything.
A few steps away, Devon was helping Luke get shakily to his feet. “That’s it,” he encouraged softly. “You’ve got it.”
A wave of nausea swept through him, and Luke bowed his head painfully to his chest. “My dad…can you call my dad?” His voice shook with every word, and his legs seemed in no condition to support him. “Dev, they’re just five minutes away.”
A strange shadow flickered across Devon’s face at the word ‘dad’ but he brushed it off quickly, throwing Luke’s arm around his shoulder instead. “Everyone who walked into this store tonight is trying to kill us,” he said quietly. “I don’t know if we want to be inviting people with powers to walk inside, too.” His glanced across the room and locked eyes with Rae. “The same thing goes for the police. The police carry guns.”
He was right. There was nothing more to be said.
With a shaky nod, Rae put an arm around Molly and pulled her closer to the group. “So, what’s the plan, then? Even if we can make it out the doors and to safety, we can’t leave all these people inside—the entire place is coming down in the fire.”
Molly left her side in a blur of crimson hair, throwing her arms around Luke. “I don’t care,” she muttered. “Let’s just go.”
Devon watched her for a second, then bowed his head sadly. “You will care. You’ll wake up tomorrow morning and you’ll care. We have to do something to get them out.”
“Something like what?” Kraigan demanded. He seemed far less upset about the fact that they were being besieged by an angry mob than he was that someone in that mob had gotten the jump on him. “In case you’ve forgotten, they’re all trying to kill us.”
As if to echo his sentiments, there was a sudden pounding down the hall. The gang ventured to the doorway to see the granite table they’d used to barricade themselves crack up the middle as it was struck with a dozen angry fists. Another crack started up along the side. It was only a matter of time before the entire thing gave way.
Kraigan raised his eyebrows doubtfully, and Rae punched him in the arm.
“I don’t care. We get them out,” Devon said firmly. “And we go right now.” His voice dropped an octave, twisting with fear. “Julian’s out there…”
Without another word, the five of them headed for the door.
But they hadn’t gone more than a few steps when there was a broken gasp as Luke’s legs gave out beneath him. “I can’t go with you…” he panted. “I’m just going to slow you down.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!” Rae exclaimed, rushing around to take his other arm. “Of course you’re coming!”
He pulled away. “You’re going to have to fight your way through each one of those people, knowing that they’re trying to kill you but you can’t hurt them. And on top of all that, the building’s on fire.”
There was a steely resolve in his voice that chilled Rae’s blood. A grim hardness to the set of his face that made her want to run right back into the closet.
“Get Molly out. Keep her safe. Try to put back the door when you’re done,” he said to Devon, trying weakly to reclaim his supported arm. “With any luck, the fire department’s already on their—”
“Are you kidding me?”
The room fell momentarily silent as Molly came to stand right in front of him. Her arms were folded in front of her chest, and she had apparently snapped all the way out of her shock-induced trance because Rae had never seen her so serious.
“Molly,” Luke’s entire body ached with the name, “there’s no time, love. They all know that I’m right. You guys make a run for it, and I’ll…I’ll try to hold them off as long as I—”
“Luke Armistead Fodder. If you say even another word, I’m going to kill you myself.” Her eyes flashed electric blue as she glared up at him, standing toe to toe. “You no longer have the option to try to sacrifice yourself. You gave up the right to be selfless when you told me you loved me. So I’m going to tell you what you’re going to do.”
She spoke in a tone Rae had never heard before. One that commanded the entire room.
“You are going to stay on your feet. You’re going to leave this damn grocery store. You’re going to be a father to this baby. And you are going to marry me.”
A ringing silence followed the commands. One that grew louder with each passing second.
Then Luke took a wavering step forward. “Are you asking me to marry you?”
There was a beat.
“…Now?”
Molly blushed slightly, but held her ground. “It’s more like I’m telling you.”
Luke’s mouth fell open and he blinked in shock, suddenly oblivious to the fact that the fiery room was coming down around them. There was a split second of silence then, despite the fact that they were all surely about to die, a little smile sparkled in his eyes.
It was a smile that Molly was quick to reciprocate. Smoke-smeared face and all. “Is that a yes?”
He grabbed her the next instant, scooping her up in the world’s most perfect kiss. It went on for almost a minute, and by the time he set her down they were both out of breath. “That’s a yes.”
A tiny squeak of excitement burst from her lips, and without thinking her hands flew again to her stomach. But just as quickly she sobered back up, looking impossibly stern. “Well, you have to leave this room to do it.”
That ended the discussion of whether Luke was going to stay. Looking like the deadly trip to the grocery store had somehow transformed into the greatest night of his life he threw his arm back around Devon’s neck with a vengeance, bracing his feet against the ground. When they were both ready to go, Rae and Kraigan stepped out to take the front while Molly fell back to the rear.
“Remember, no powers,” Devon said softly. “They don’t know what they’re doing, but they’ll remember this all in the morning.” His eyes flickered quickly between Luke and Molly before a little smile flashed across his face. “And congratulations, guys. When we get home, we’ll celebrate. I’ve got a nice bottle of Scotch saved for a special occasion.”
Rae flushed with a mix of absolute fear and utter joy, while Kraigan simply shook his head.
“You are the weirdest freakin’ people I’ve ever met.”
A second later they ripped down the door.
Chapter 17
It was complete and utter chaos inside the store.
The likes of which Rae had never seen.
She’d been in battles before. In her young life, she’d already seen more than her share. However, for whatever reason, those didn’t really compare.
Probably because all those battles had had two sides. One fighting for good, and one fighting for evil. There was a clear winner and a clear loser. And when the dust settled, the battle was done.
But if there was one thing Rae knew for certain as that granite wall crashed down and the five of them launched themselves into the fray, it was that no one was going to leave this place a winner. And even after the dust settled, she was afraid the battle was just getting started.
“Rae—behind you!”
In the time they had taken to recover their missing friends, the people in the grocery store had had a chance to organize themselves. They were armed now—in a manner of speaking.
Armed with things like kitch
en knives and gardening equipment. But it was armed nonetheless.
Rae threw up an arm to block the pair of pruning shears that swung her way. “Freakin’ A!”
They caught her squarely in the arm, slicing deep into her skin. Under normal circumstances, they would never have touched her. She knew at least five different blocks that would have turned the blade right around on her opponent.
But all those blocks would have injured the elderly grandfather swinging those shears to quite a serious extent. And with Luke huddled protectively inside their circle, it wasn’t like she could just dodge it by springing away.
“Are you okay?” Devon shouted over his shoulder, trying to combat a trio of cashiers who were stabbing at him with steak knives. “Rae, talk to me!”
Rae straightened painfully, bracing herself for the next round. But before the old man could wind up to swing again, Kraigan flew out of nowhere and knocked him off his feet.
Rae stifled a gasp as the old man landed on the floor with a little crunch, but even from where she stood it was easy to see that her brother had done no lasting damage. He’d simply knocked the man unconscious, then kicked him out of the way.
“Yeah,” she gasped, lowering her hands in surprise, “I’m fine.” The fighting continued, but between blows she cast a glance at her brother. “Thanks, Kraigan.”
“No problem,” he panted, ducking under a rolling pin. “What’s family for?”
She kicked a hefty stockbroker right in the chest, and sent him flying back into a pyramid of canned soup. “Careful. You’re starting to sound like dear ol’ Dad.”
A bark of laughter shot out of Kraigan’s mouth, one cut only slightly short when that same woman with the rolling pin caught him right in the throat. “Hey! You were the one who wanted a more normal home life.” He spat out a mouthful of blood, and used a can of minestrone to bash the woman over the head. “Now you’ve got one.”
“Let’s keep it moving, you guys!” Devon shouted. “The last time we saw the others, they were headed to the far side of the store!”
As a group they started moving as fast as they could across the tiles, slipping on food and spilled cartons of eggs and juice as they went. From a distance, it might have looked like the entire place had simple erupted into an especially violent food fight. Had it not been for all the smoke curling into the air.
…and the blood.
“That doesn’t look good,” Luke murmured, picking up the pace. Whether it was due to Molly’s spontaneous proposal, or simply the fact that the drugs were starting to wear off, he was moving much faster now. By the time they got to the other side of the store, he was standing shakily on his own two feet. “This doesn’t look good at all.”
Molly spun around in a circle, scanning every which way she could. “Where the hell are they?” A wave of panic tightened her throat. “We didn’t pass any more employee rooms along the way. There’s nowhere else for them to go.”
Devon’s eyes flashed to the streaks of blood staining the white linoleum before he threw back his head with a deafening shout.
“JULES!”
In unison, the others echoed his frantic cries.
“JULIAN!”
“GABRIEL!”
“ANGEL!”
The mob had almost caught up with them by now. If it weren’t for the fact that they’d been running faster than was permitted, they’d be upon them already. As it stood, they only had a few seconds. After that there would be nowhere for them to go.
“JULIAN!” Devon yelled again, straining to see over the tops of the broken shelves and collapsed wine racks. “JULES!”
It was then that they heard it. The sound of distant shouting. The sound of frantic screams.
The gang took off the next second, sprinting as fast as they could without any thought as to powers or exposure. Devon, who had warned them of the repercussions, was leading the pack. Less than a minute later they got to the front of the store, only to stop dead in their tracks.
Julian, Angel, and Gabriel were all alive. That much was clear.
…but that was about the only good thing you could say about their present situation.
To start, all the blood on the floor clearly belonged to them. There was hardly an inch of skin that wasn’t torn open or abused in some way. From light bruises and tears, to full-out breaks and lacerations. From the way Angel was cradling her left arm, it was surely broken. Julian had what looked like three shards of glass sticking out of his ribs. And the entire left side of Gabriel’s body was covered in a massive burn.
They had clearly tried to run for the front door when things started looking dire, but were slowed down by the massive barricade. Then came the fire. Then came the rest of the mob.
As it stood, they were standing on their last legs. Their movements had become instinctual, imprecise. Lashing out with rash strikes that spoke to blood loss, not training. They were back to back, protecting each other as much as they could. But they were trying simply to defend, and everyone around them was playing for keeps.
Every time they’d stop one attack, two more would spring up in its place. And every time they knocked someone down, they would get right back up on their feet and come back for more.
They hadn’t yet noticed their friends, standing half-hidden by the shelves. But judging by the looks of things it was only a matter of time before they’d be overwhelmed completely, and lost.
Devon took one look at them and then, like a seasoned general, he started giving out orders.
“Molly, Luke, Kraigan, you guys try to tear down that wall in front of the door. We’re going to need to get people out of here before the fire catches up.” They nodded and took off running while he held out a hand to Rae. “You got another fight left in you?”
Her fingers closed around his as a look of bloody determination flashed through her eyes. “I thought you’d never ask.”
With a mighty cry they launched themselves straight into the middle of the fray, taking the mob by storm as they started forcibly removing people one by one. Julian looked up in surprise, while Angel collapsed back against the barricade in utter exhaustion.
For his part, Gabriel took down three people at once with a dented hairdryer before flashing Rae a quick wink. “About time you got here. Thought I was going to have to do it all by myself.”
Rae let out a breathless gasp of laughter as she and Devon fought their way through the mob to join them. Leaving a trail of unconscious bodies in their wake.
“Hey, man,” Devon looked Julian up and down, simultaneously throwing a man trying to jump him into a row of potted plants, “I say this as a friend…you look like shit.”
Julian laughed painfully, using one man’s body to topple another. “Yeah, well, while you guys were off shopping for risotto some of us were here, fighting off Kent’s very own zombie apocalypse.”
Devon flashed him a quick grin. “You know there’s, like, an entire window sticking out of your chest, right?”
Julian grimaced, glancing down at the pieces of glass. “Yeah, I’ve decided to leave it.”
On their other side, Rae and Gabriel were making short work of the rest of the crowd. They might have been faltering before but the wave of reinforcements had revitalized them both, propelling them to new heights of determination as they knocked people out one by one.
“What about you, Kerrigan?” Gabriel panted, spinning around in a flying kick so fast it left Rae breathless. “You taking this opportunity to make any deep life revelations?”
A flying trowel spiraled towards her, and she caught it with one hand. “Yeah,” she hurled it behind her at the windows, shattering the glass, “I’ve decided never to try to make dinner again.”
He chuckled briefly, then they both lifted their heads to watch as the clouds of smoke that had been slowly enveloping them siphoned out into the cool night air. It was a good strategy, one that bought them all a little bit of time, but it wasn’t going to last. The entire place was coming down in flam
es, and if they stood any chance of getting these people out they’d have to move. Now.
“How’s it coming with that door?” Devon called over his shoulder.
Behind him, the others were almost through to the other side. Another minute or so, and they’d have created an opening.
“Sixty seconds,” Molly shouted. “Then we’re home free!”
Home free might be overstating it a little. What about the rest of the people?
It was as if she’d spoken out loud.
“Rae.”
Julian called out softly, but she still heard him loud and clear. The two of them took a momentary step back as the others filled their spots.
“All these people…” His dark eyes swept over the scattered bodies, lying helpless and vulnerable in various states of sleep. “You don’t want all that blood on your hands. Trust me.”
Their eyes locked, and she understood.
With a firm nod she turned back to Devon, who was just taking down the last of the two civilians still moving. “Dev, we’ve got to get these people out.”
His dark hair swung into his face as he dodged a frying pan, but one strategic kick later he straightened back up as the coast was finally clear. “Yeah, babe, I was planning on it.”
“No…” she put a hand on his arm, “we need to get all these people out.”
He stared at her for a moment before turning to gaze around the rest of the store. At this point, there were over a hundred bodies scattered all over the entire premises. Not to mention the man they’d left unconscious outside the breakroom door.
Getting them all out to safety might mean losing some people of their own.
“We have to,” Rae whispered, squeezing his wrist as her eyes teared up with smoke. “It’s our responsibility. It’s the right thing to do.”
“It’s also probably suicide,” Gabriel interjected quietly.
Devon pulled in a quick breath, gazing up at the quivering beams holding up the roof, before his shoulders fell with a silent sigh. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to try.”