by HJ Lawson
The police officer begins to stand up.
“Oh, looks like he wants more!” Big Red yells, as he punches him again. The man crashes back to the ground.
Jesus, don’t get up!
The crowd cheers once again.
“Dumb cop,” Big Red laughs, as he swings his foot into the man’s ribs, sending him flying backwards. “What was I saying… who’s next?” he yells again, angrier.
The police officer struggles to his feet once more.
“Screw this, boys!” Big Red roars, and instantly the prisoners rush toward the police officer. They grab each of his limbs and lift him off the ground.
“No!” His voice cries out in pain, but they don’t listen. Meemo’s house fire lights the path for them. They are running toward the wall, speeding up the closer they get.
Jesus, let him go! I want to scream out.
They don’t stop. Crack... They are slamming his head into the stone wall, crushing his skull. Then they run backward, laughing. They charge forward again, ramming his head in the wall, before dropping his lifeless body to the ground.
He’s dead.
A sinful cheer rings out from the prisoners. They are happy with the result… excited and ready to kill more.
Louis’s face is white, and I know mine is as well. We know what’s going to happen next.
“What are we going to do?” I ask, trying not to cry.
“We have to get Brandon out of there,” Louis says stoically. I breathe a sigh of relief.
“We have the element of surprise on our side, and weapons.” Louis smiles at our guns. I nod and grin back.
“I’ve been thinking about how all the sick people have been coming out from one side of the tunnels. Which means there may be hope up there. One section of the city may be okay… or the radiation hasn’t gotten there yet…” Louis says, a little confused. Clearly he’s not sure, but this is the only chance I have.
“Which way is it to get out then?” I ask.
Louis explains the directions, and I repeat it over and over in my head.
“Yeah…!” Cheers ring out once again. It sounds like they have selected another victim.
I say a silent prayer and squeeze my eyes together in fear. Please, Lord, don’t let it be Brandon!
I force myself to look, and breathe a sigh of relief. It's not Brandon, but another police officer. I feel guilty that I’m happy.
I drop down on the cold ground and cover my face. I can’t stand to see another brutal murder.
“Louis, we’ve got to get out of here and hide in the darkness,” I say.
“Sounds like a good plan to me. Have you ever fired a gun?” he asks.
“A few times with Dad, hitting tins and stuff in the garden. You?”
“Same, but down here.” Louis smiles.
Louis lifts some wood and bricks out of the way to reveal an exit. I wish Meemo had one of those.
He looks back and forth, and then nods back to me. Time to leave.
The glowing red lights from the flames are dim—but still, it’s better than pitch black. We climb over the rubble from the ceiling and up toward the wall.
Louis stops and holds his hand up. I freeze. Then he points over to the corner of the wall.
There are dots of white. People. They are watching.
Are they friend or foe?
Chapter 35
World Crumbling.
JADA
“Jada, are you sure?” Gérard whispers to me, as we kneel down in the woods.
“I’m sure. They are my family as well. I’m not leaving without them. I’ve lost one family already, and I’m not going to lose another.” This is my time for revenge. I clench my teeth together, and Gérard places his arm around me and pulls me in closer.
“Don’t leave my side. Do you understand? Not for one second,” he says, and looks over at Ali.
“I’m coming,” Ali announces.
“Stay close, okay?”
“Wasn’t planning on going anywhere.” Ali smiles.
Gérard looks around. “First group, with me.” With that, Gérard quickly runs through the woods, and my heartbeat rings though my ears… I feel like I can hear everyone else’s beating to the same rhythm. My eyes begin to feel dry, and I look at every branch to make sure it doesn’t hit me.
Before we know it we are out of the woods and at the white plastic fence… it's over seven feet high.
How the hell am I going to get over this?
“Climb!” Gérard orders, as he kneels down with his hands on the ground. “Ali first.”
Ali steps onto Gérard’s back and pulls himself up the fence. Other people are doing the same next to us, and everyone is helping each other.
“Grab my hand,” Ali says, as he sits on the top of the fence.
I climb onto Gérard’s back and reach for Ali’s hand. He quickly pulls me up.
Looking over the other side, I see it's a garden filled with kids' toys. I jump down to the grass, landing firmly on my feet. All my training is coming in useful.
Other people land nearby, but not as gracefully as me. I’m no longer the stumbling child I used to be.
“Damn, I’m getting too old for this.” Gerard smiles as he rubs his knees. He trains every day, but I guess years of battle are finally taking their toll.
Ali lands on the ground next to Gérard, looking like he just stepped out of a television ad. I really don’t know how he does it. I guess neither does Gérard, as he shakes his head at him.
“What?” he asks.
Gérard rolls his eyes in response. “Nothing, kid. I used to be like you… get inside,” he adds as he hurries toward the house’s back door.
Gérard pulls on the handle, but it doesn’t move. He looks over at the Chief, who’s waiting with the second group up the hill.
He glances around then gives Gérard the sign.
“Damn. Does he have his thumb up?” Gérard asks. Guess his knees aren’t the only thing failing him.
“Yeah, he does,” I reply.
Gérard quickly takes his gun handle and jabs it into the glass. With one hit, the glass shatters. Gérard looks back up to the Chief, who still has his thumb up.
“You’re still good,” Ali responds. Looks like the soldiers didn't hear anything.
Gérard takes his sweater off and wraps it around his hand, then pushes through the door and opens it.
“Wait here,” Gérard whispers.
Quickly he enters the house, pushing the plastic white blinds to the side as he goes.
“We mean you no harm,” Gérard calls out.
Screw this…
I follow Gérard into the house with my gun in front of me… ready for anything.
Gérard is standing in the living room of the house. There is a terrified mother and her children sitting on the sofa.
Swiftly I take a look around the room, looking for anything out of place… I can sense that soldiers have been here… the question is, are they still?
I spot a family picture on the wall. “Where is your husband?” I ask.
Gérard shoots me a disapproving look. Yeah, yeah… I know I didn't follow the rules.
I roll my eyes in response. As I’m looking over at him, something catches my attention… an object is moving. I can see a silhouette in a picture’s reflection.
I turn around, my gun raised, and Gérard does the same. He lifts his finger to his mouth once again. He edges forward with his gun ready.
“No, leave him alone,” the woman yells from the living room, as she gets to her feet.
It must be her husband.
“Sir, we mean you no harm,” I say in a deep, stern voice.
A withered man steps out from around the kitchen wall with a baseball bat in his hand.
“Get out,” he yells, as he moves toward us, waving his bat around.
“Calm down… Gérard, lower your gun,” I say. Gérard does as I request, and I follow suit.
“Have the soldiers been here?” he
asks, as the man moves over to his family.
“Yes,” his wife says. “They have rounded up all the men… they took them away into town.”
“Why didn’t they take you?”
The man lowers his head. “Because I hid,” he admits shamefully.
I wish my father had hidden...
A rustling sound comes from behind us, as the blinds begin to move. Ali and the other men enter the house.
“What the hell is going on?” the man demands.
“They are holding people in your town, and we are here to get them out,” Gérard explains. The man lowers his bat as he sees that his house is now full of men with guns… poor guy looks like he’s never had a fight in his life, and today the world is crumbling around him—right in his own home.
Chapter 36
Contain and Kill.
ANNABEL
I can see the fear in the whites of these people's eyes as they wonder the same thing about us… are we the enemy? Or a potential ally?
Louis waves his hand up toward them in a friendly gesture, as we continue to step closer.
They are well-hidden in the darkness. It's only when we are right in front of them that we see who they are.
Thank God, they are not the prisoners. Big Red would’ve loved that, us just walking right up to them like that...
It's a group of men, women and children, just like the hostages. Plus more police officers. They must have evacuated people down here, thinking it would be safer than up there… sadly, they were wrong.
“We’ve got to help them,” the police officer whispers to us. He looks different than the other people in the group. He’s not scared—he’s angry.
“How many officers are there?” I ask him. Funny, I’ve spent the morning running from them, and now I need their help.
“There are three of us.”
“They’ve got my friends… we have to get them out,” I quickly mumble.
The police officer nods in agreement. “Guys, in your places,” he says. The other officers scramble up against the wall and hide in the darkness. Then some other men follow them. It’s clear they’ve already worked out a plan to get the hostages back.
“We are going; attack them from all angles, except one. And then force them out that direction.” The police officer points his gun to his right. “There are more officers waiting for them. We need to contain them.”
Contain them and kill them!
“We are going to send them back to hell!” the officer says. I like his plan.
Another police officer is kneeled down in front of Big Red… the officer next to me raises his hand.
Bang… bang… They fire their guns toward Big Red and the other prisoners.
Big Red grabs hold of the police officer; he’s using him as a human shield. The other officers will shoot him. Damn!
There is yelling and shouting. “Get them!” Big Red yells though the commotion to his men, as he points to us.
The police continue firing their guns, one after another, forcing the prisoners back down the original tunnel which they came from. Away from the hostages.
This is our chance. “Louis, come on, we’ve got to get them,” I say.
“Watch our backs,” Louis tells the police officer. “I’ve got you covered.” He waves over to the officers with two fingers to indicate we are going down. I just hope they don’t shoot us; it's hard to tell who is who in the darkness. I’m grateful for the flames from Meemo’s house.
As the bullets whiz through the sky and over our heads, we scramble down toward the hostages.
Meemo is cradling Brandon in her arms. “Brandon…” I shake him, trying to wake him. He doesn’t respond.
I shake him harder. “Brandon!” I half yell, half sob. I can barely look at him… his face is raw and swollen. “Please get up,” I beg.
His eyes begin to flicker… he’s alive.
Relief. “Get up!” I snap.
“Jesus… always telling me off,” Brandon mumbles. Meemo lets out a sigh of relief as though she’s been holding her breath since she saw Brandon.
Oh, Brandon! I wrap my arms around him.
“Annabel, we’ve got to get out of here,” Louis says.
Bang… bang. The sound rattles though my ears as he fires his gun. Not all of the prisoners are retreating; some are running right at us.
Meemo and I start pulling Brandon up from the ground. He wraps his arm around my shoulder, weighing down heavily on me. But his body is too weak to hold himself up without my support.
“You’re a sight for sore eyes,” Brandon says, as he tries to smile at me.
“Go now, go the way I told you,” Louis tells us.
“Meemo, come with us,” I beg.
“Sweetie pie, this is my home. I’m not going anywhere. They are,” she says.
My eyes well up with tears, and Meemo just smiles as she gets to her feet.
“Kids, get out of here,” the police officer orders.
“Thank you for everything,” I say to Meemo and Louis.
Guilt riddles through my veins, but I know they are right… I have to leave them.
Chapter 37
True Enemy.
ETHAN
“Beep… BEEEEEP…” A familiar sound rings out ahead; even when they are close to death they still have to honk at each other, as though that will make anyone drive faster. On a normal day I could use this for choosing my next Uncle Sam.
I look toward the red brake lights on the cars. I select all of you… They will not get out in time.
I’m not going to get stuck with them. I turn off and drive down a side road. The car roars as I push my foot down on the accelerator pedal.
There is nothing on either side of the road but darkness. It must be farmland. For the amount of food this country produces, it's shocking that there are over half a million people here begging for food each night. The rich, obese stomachs get bigger as other people starve—they are the real enemy.
Would I think differently if my father was with me?
No…
Why did he abandon me?
I look up to the dashboard mirror, and my brown eyes look back at me.
Who am I?
I grind my teeth together.
“I AM MOHAMMED!” I yell, as I push down once again.
Father, we will be reunited and no one will stand in our way.
Chapter 38
Fathers’ Love.
JADA
The homeowners quickly fill us in on what has been happening. They have taken all the men out of the community, just as they did in my village.
“Is there any other way into or out of the complex?” Gérard asks.
“Nope. Just the entrances with the soldiers out front. We are trapped,” the man replies, as his young son sits on his lap.
“You have done what you need to. You must leave here. The nuclear radiation is heading this way. You need to leave town fast,” Gérard explains.
“How?” The man shrugs his shoulders, then drops his head into his hands.
“Over the fences. We have trucks up there. We will take you with us,” Gérard informs them, and the Chief nods in agreement.
“As the gentleman said, we will not leave your family,” states the Chief.
“Gérard, may I speak to you in the kitchen?” I whisper, as the Chief continues talking to the family and the others. Ali catches me whispering to Gérard and I shake my head toward him, indicating he is to stay put.
“What is it? You can go with them if you want to,” Gérard asks, concerned.
I smile and shake my head. “Quite the opposite. I have a plan. No one can go out the front. If any guard sees you, they will shoot you or alert the other soldiers.”
Gérard leans his head toward the ceiling as though he already knows what I’m going to say.
“You know only I can go out there. They will not suspect a young girl of doing anything. You and the others can take them by surprise from the other directions,” I
explain.
Gérard begins pacing back and forth. “I don’t like this at all,” he adds, shaking his head.
“You know there isn’t a better plan. And we don’t have much time,” I say.
Gérard raises his hands behind his head and squeezes them to the front, as though he is trying to make his brain work.
“Why now…why this?” Gérard voices his frustration. He places his hand over his forehead and looks over at me. “Faith is pregnant… that’s why she didn’t come with us. She found out today.”
Everything stops, as though I’m frozen in time.
“We will get them back,” I say with a lump in my throat. This baby will be my brother or sister. “Does Faith know about me, well, us? You being my father?” It feels weird just saying those words.
Gérard shakes his head, like I’m his dirty little secret. I look down at the wooden kitchen floor.
“Wait, it's not like that,” Gérard says as he comes toward me, lifting my chin up. “You only told me today that you knew. I just… hadn’t found the right moment to talk to you about your mother's letter. It's just so very hard… All these years she was alive, hiding from me.”
“She wasn't hiding from you. She was hiding from Abulafia. They had no choice,” I say, and Gérard nods his head in agreement.
“Once we get out of here, I will speak to Faith. Jada, I am very proud of you.”
My heart melts as he says the words every child wants to hear from a parent. Even though I only found out yesterday that he was my father, it feels like I read that letter a lifetime ago. He wraps his arms around me, and I hug him back… not wanting to let him go.
Cough… cough. We turn to see Ali looking at us, a little confused. I will have to tell him later— all this is probably starting to looking weird.
“Gérard, we are running out of time,” Ali awkwardly explains. He’s right.
“Gérard, I’m going now… get everyone ready,” I state, but his grip gets tighter around me. I look up at him and shake my head. “I will be fine,” I say as I wiggle out.