Fractured

Chapter 59

Chapter 59

There was no comprehension, nothing I could do to make anything in my head solid.  I just knew we could, and most likely will, die here tonight. I knew that right away after Luke threw his body from the chair and tackled me to the kitchen floor.  Because after I hit the floor, the glass falling around us, the gun shots... they wouldn't stop.  It sounded like dozens and dozens of them and with that, in the shallow air beneath the heavy fire of rounds, was clear shouting behind the bullets. So many bullets.  Just... bang, bang, bang, bang... nonstop and continuous, multiple shots at once.  Through the window... and what sounded to be coming from every direction.  Through the walls even....  And I didn't process any of this until Luke was moving.

My eyes wide and looking above me, he was over me and he was moving fast.  He moved off me, and grasped my arm tightly as he dragged me in the direction of the counter top as fast as he could, staying low.  And it only lasted a moment when we rushed to a drawer, opened it, and he grabbed something, and we were off... Running and crouching low from the kitchen, into the living room, and making a run for it down the hall

The few steps we ran, he pressed what he took from the drawer into my hand.  And... if my heart wasn't jumping up and down in terror this whole time, it took another leap.  He gave me the gun he took from the drawer and in the next second, I heard shooting coming from beside me. All within a few seconds... and I looked up to see Luke looking behind us as we ran down the hall and shooting his gun in that direction.  However, with my eyes before us, and a gun in my hand, I knew it wouldn't be as easy as running out the backdoor (which was where we were heading).  In the darkened house, I looked in front of me in hope as we neared the back where the door was... only to have the door to the garage open not three feet in front of us.

It was a quick realization that if we were to get out of this... out of whatever this was... it meant death needed to happen.  It would mean us delivering it to whoever these people are.  And that couldn't be a one mans job on Luke's part; If we were to live, and get out of this, I needed to help.  I needed to do what I had to.  There wasn't a second to think that through twice.

The door opened and three men came flooding into the hall before us at once.  And before we could run into them, I halted in a scream and ended up sliding down to the floor, and holding Luke from running too.  He must have seen what was happening... because just as the men before us raised their guns and aimed them at us... Luke was firing instantly now in the direction before us.  And with how close we were, I couldn't risk our lives by waiting to see if Luke could shoot them all before one of them shoots us.  So... I did what I had to. 

I raised the gun in my hand, and knowing how to use it.  I fired it, effortlessly like Luke showed me.  And one of the two men left standing... the one closest to me fell.  The bullet I fired pierced his skin and he went down fast.  I killed one of them... yes.  I killed.  I-I killed one of them.  Luke finished the other.  But at that point, there was no time to sit and think about what just happened.  By the time they were dead in the hall, there were more men... more coming from the garage into the dark house.  And we didn't waste anymore time shooting at them. 

Before the men shooting towards the house could come in, Luke gripped my arm and backed up, running back out and towards the living room where we came from.  The men in the hall started to shoot at us as we ran away... and Luke shot at them as we went.  Until they were out of sight, and our legs moved automatically towards the stairs.  And towards the steps fast.  Especially when holes were constantly fired and ripped through the walls, the living room windows, and eventually men would come inside.  And... they did.

Just as Luke pushed me before him towards the stairs and we started to go up, a loud clatter reached us through the constant guns firing. And when our eyes darted towards the noise as we moved up the stairs, a man came in through the shadows of the house.  Who Luke instantly shot down.  But... more came through. Luke just kept shooting as we saw a few more file in from the front door.  By the time we both reached the top of the stairs, we didn't pause.  There was no way we could. The shots drowned out now that we were upstairs.  But not by much... and not when we knew there were people in the house, downstairs, and coming at us.