Bloodhearts

Chapter twelve: Everything.

My dad has to pull away from me and yell out orders. I use this moment of confusion to take out my own gun and then run straight for the enemy. I'm gonna tackle these assholes head on this time. No time for fear. 

I fire as many bullets into the black creatures as I can and scream at everybody to be ready. My hands are shaking again, but this isn't training anymore, so I can't miss this time around. There are so many that we have to work together and to my dad's surprise, some of 'his' boys choose to follow my orders to move forward and attack. I catch my father's eyes and can't understand what I see in them. It's like he doesn't know me anymore - but he never knew me, never took the time to. Now look where that's brought us.

The fight continues and it is very equal. When we shoot some, more pop up out of the blue. And they are vicious. They fight with a ferocity that we try to send right back in their faces. Everyone is doing their bit in this fight. Even my dad joins in on the shooting once he collects himself. Not because he believes me, but because he is left with no other choice. I yell at everyone to aim at the heads. My shaking is still bothering me. I can still shoot, but when white flashes begin to appear before my eyes again, I get confused and stumble. This has not happened to me since I realized I remembered my past. My body goes almost rigid and it's hard for me to move. Cory yells something at me and runs over to protect me from a few boneys.

"What the hell is happening?!" Jason asks before he storms towards a new group of boneys and shoots them in head mercilessly.

I think back to the moment when Sadie worried about my bad health. The reason I can't do things so well anymore. My body is on constant overdrive and it is wearing it out fast. I think about what Jason told me about my death. I do my best to focus and I point my gun at a boney's head. I fire... it hits the creature's shoulder and it lunges forward... I shoot again and it collapses and goes limp. Black goo seeps out from its head. 

I fight my way towards my goal on wobbly feet; my dad can't move because the enemy is everywhere and I am now the person closest by him. I am risking getting shot. But he needs to understand and I need look him in the eyes when I talk to him.

"Dad!" I call after him.

For the first time I see a change in his hard expression and it looks a lot like regret. 

"Help us, h-help me... need to..." I stumble over the words and a boney almost bites a chunk off my neck - but my dad shoots it first.

I blink a few times to try.

"Please, don't--" he begs when I reach for him. I could swear he is about to start weeping in front of me. But of course Spencer has to ruin the moment.

"Sir, don't listen to him!" he snarls with a very well directed glare at me. He pretends to be something resembling a bodyguard and I roll my eyes. Well, isn't that ironic.

"If you touch him," Spencer continues, directed at me. "I will kill you. I'm not bluffing." 

He gets 'his' men to form a protective circle around him, my dad and unfortunately also me. I'm pretty sure he wants the pleasure of killing me for himself. Although, this situation could prove useful to me as well. He may think he is better because of that big gun he points at me and the gun I point at him is small, but wars are as much about intelligence as it is about weapons. The Spencer I know likes to shoot first and ask questions second as I recall. Just like my dad.

Cory breaks into our little circle of sacrifice. His gun is pointed not at Spencer, but at my dad. "General," he says. "This is your last chance! Your son is the one that gun over there is pointed at! Your one and only son! Do you really want to lose a person that valuable? Can you really go through that again? Losing him? Like Spencer lost his parents? Like Jason lost his mom, and like I lost mine?!"