Chronicles of the Fall- #1- Empty Night

Chapter 8: By the Skin of Their Teeth

"Lucas, come here," DJ says, sticking her head through the door of the bus. Lucas jumps from his seat, having watched the horrific scene from the smudged bus window.

    "We need you to go trade him for Faith," DJ tells him, turning to stare Lucas in the eyes, pointing at Justin's limp body draped against the bus. Lucas's eyes widen and he jumps in surprise.

    "Why me? I already went and got the guy and now you want me to take him back?" he asks, confused.

DJ brushes off his questions, "Drive a hard bargain; see what supplies they have. We always need gas, food, medicine. Anything useful. Make it seem like they need him much more than we need Faith."

    "I don't know why you aren't just sending me in to get the job done," Tripp growls through gritted teeth.

    "This is exactly why," DJ replies, grabbing Tripp's hand from his side and shoving his busted open, bloodied knuckles in his face. "We aren't trying to start anything, we're just getting Faith back."

    "Didn't seem like you weren't trying to start anything when you called me in to beat the shit out of their leader," grumbles Tripp, rolling his eyes at DJ. She pretends not to hear and turns her attention back to Lucas.

    "Be quick, we'll move the bus so that it's at the back entrance of the Belk, meet us there. Hampton will come help you take Justin, be careful," she says, and then she climbs the steps back onto the bus. A few whispers in Hampton's ear and then the two boys head across the parking lot, carrying a limp Justin between their shoulders.

    "You think it'll be dark by the time we get this done?" Hampton asks, looking at the yellowing sky around them. 

    "Hope not. I'll be fast," Lucas says, letting out a light huff as he adjusts Justin's arm around his shoulder. The two remain silent until they reach the outside doors to the Belk.

    They prop Justin up against the wall, and together the two boys pry open the door.

    "Good luck," Hampton says, and Lucas nods. He slips inside with his gun held tightly between his hands.

    "Hey!" he yells immediately upon entering. "I have someone of yours, you have someone of mine! We need to talk! Come out!" Lucas's voice echoes through the all but empty store.

Display racks are turned over, mannequins are thrown about, and only the emergency lights still barely illuminate the centre of the room. The various shapes and shadows make Lucas jumpy, and he clicks his safety on to ensure no accidents.

"Where is he?" someone calls an answer from the left. Lucas's head jerks in that direction. His eyes struggle to adjust in the dim light, but he doesn't see anyone.

"Come out and talk to me. We can make a trade," he says.

From his left, a boy and a girl emerge from behind a rack of clothes, both holding rifles on their shoulders. The girl is in a pair of sweatpants and a white tee shirt, and the boy wears olive green fatigues and a buzz cut.

"Where's Justin?" the boy asks, hoisting the rifle higher onto his shoulder.

"Where's Faith?" Lucas counters. The boy seems somewhat perplexed, as if not sure what to do next. He looks to the girl beside him for help.

"Look, just give him back and you can have the girl," she speaks up.

"That doesn't seem like a very fair trade," Lucas replies. He pretends to ponder the situation, although he has already has what he's going to say in his mind already.

"Just one small girl for a built boy; your leader, for one weak member of our group," he continues.

"What more do you want?" the boy asks; his voice sounds desperate.