Freedom Fighters League of the Exiled

More than a Scratch

We all hit the floor as fast as we could as more and more shots rang out. All of our ears were ringing as the loud guns kept firing. The bullets kept flying through the thin walls. I was laying over Eren trying to keep him as safe as possible. I just needed to get us out of here.

Hassam and Pixis were down on the ground trying to lay as flat as possible. He lifted his arm slightly and went to put force fields around us but I felt as he got hit, twice. With all the adrenaline I couldn't tell where he got hit, all I could tell is that he was still alive. The force fields went up around us. One around Pixis, one around Hassam, and lastly one around both me and Eren.

"I can't hold this long, we need to find a way out of here," Pixis said just loud enough for all of us to hear.

"Is it safe to stand?" Hassam asked and Pixis nodded. "I have a way out, but I would rather not get shot," he said double-checking.

"We're safe as long as these are up," Pixis said quickly.

Hassam nodded and made his way to his feet. He walked over to the wall behind the bar and pulled down one of the old beer spigot levers and a small doorway behind the bar opened up.

"Through here," he said quickly motioning us to follow him. He got down on his knees and looked to Pixis to remove the force fields so we could all get through. Pixis nodded and removed all of ours one at a time as we all crawled through.

Pixis was the last one to remove his. He went to crawl and crumbled the second he put pressure on his arm. We all looked down and saw blood dripping from it.

Shit, that's where he got shot. I could see two holes in his sleeve from where the bullets went through not only his jacket but his arm.

I leaned down and grabbed his bad arm so that I was holding him above the bullet holes. I helped him through the small opening so that he didn't have to put pressure on his arm. After we all got in the small space between the walls Hassam pulled another lever. I heard the beer spigot pop back into place before the wall slid back making it look normal.

We all looked to Hassam for answers. "That's why I chose this place," he said with a nod as he led us down the narrow hallways. "This used to be an old speakeasy back in the 1920s. When it reopened officially in the 40s they boarded it up. In the 90s this place was renovated and they found the old entrance."

"How did you know it was here?" Pixis asked.

"I worked here a few years back and the old owner told me about it. He was a very sweet man and he didn't deserve what happened to him. He loved this bar and everyone who walked inside it. He treated everyone equally and made sure to keep an eye on anyone who walked into this bar. I've never seen anyone more dedicated to their work."

"You keep talking about him in the past tense," Eren asked. I already knew the answer hanging my head low.

"They shot him. Right here in this bar. He refused to leave even after they made him close. I was no longer working here by the time everything happened, but when I heard the news about him I pushed to put out a story about him, his life, his death. They didn't let me. They told me no one wants to read about a vermin." Hassam's voice shook for a moment before he cleared his throat leading us down a narrow steep set of stairs that lead to an empty basement.

It was hard to see anything in here. There were no lights, the only source of light was Hassam's phone which was a weak burner phone. Pixis pulled out his burner phone to try and help with the light but it didn't do much better.

There were a few tables and some chairs pushed up against the walls. Tons of spiderwebs that made my skin crawl. There is a layer of dust covering everything. This place looked frozen in time. I could still smell the remains of stale alcohol that has probably seeped into the foundation throughout the many years of business.