Kirkby In A Nutshell: A Rewritten And Improved Edition.

Chapter 20: Divide, conquer, defeat and regroup...

Upon reaching the town centre, we realised how bad Sutton had become. There were smouldering wreckages of old cars, there were craters in the ground from Russian Artillery fire. In every building, there were cracks in the structure where it had been hit by gunfire. It seemed as though the Midlands took quite a beating from the War. I told Kayleigh and Jaydan to stay put as I got out of the car. I took the pistol i found in the glove compartment and pointed it in the air. I fired two shots and heard them echo into the distance. Upon receiving no return fire, I allowed for Kayleigh and Jaydan to get out of the car.
"What was all that about?" She asked.
"I was trying to see if there were any people nearby. Usually, there would have been a second or third gunfire if there were people." I said.
"Okay." Said Kayleigh as she grabbed Jaydan's hand. We slowly walked around, seeing the devastation that the War had caused. Blood boiled as once familiar sights that were loved had now been broken down into a war zone. The sundial had collapsed, and a few buildings were stood on the metal supports only. We searched around for a safe place to stay, but couldn't find one. We continued to walk around, looking, until the sun began to set. That night, we all slept in the car, after parking it in a secluded car park. I, however, didnt get a wink of sleep. I was so worried we were going to be attacked, that i kept my pistol loaded and cocked.
The sun broke the embrace between the land and darkness. I got out of the car and sat behind it, thinking.
How did we get here?
Why are we not dead?
Why did I have to be patient zero?
"Why are you awake so early, dad?" Asked Jaydan.
"Go back to sleep." I said. It was summer, so sunbreak was very early.
"Okay." He said, pretending to snore.
I sat and continued to think as a single dove wandered around near me. I took a piece of bread and held crumbs out in my hand, feeding it. It hesitated and came over. It took a chunk of bread and began to peck at it. It ate the full slice, and wandered off. It came back with another dove, and before i could break off more bread, the original dove was shot. A girl stood before me. Her presence caused fear in my heart as she towered above me. I reached for my pistol and she kicked it away.
"Why are you wasting our food Warren?"
In my blind confusion and connection , I hadnt noticed Kayleigh get out of the car and come stand next to me.
"I-I dont know." I said, as i felt a silver tear slide down my face.
"What's wrong?" She asked as she sat beside me. "Your crying."
"You killed an innocent dove, that was oblivious to its surroundings." I said, lying, for I wasnt going to tell her how i truly felt.
"Oh, get a grip." She said, as we stood. "I though of a place. The indoor market."
We walked over towards the market, with Jaydan who didnt return to his slumber. The door was locked, but there was a small shutter nearby, which i pried up and unlocked the door from the inside.
It was empty, apart from a few dividers. We walked in and sat.
"We can stay here for a bit." I said, "But be weary."
I wandered around, and saw a staircase. I retrieved my pistol, and creeped slowly and quietly up them. I felt a shiver up my spine as i saw the Russian mititary flag pasted onto the wall.
I rushed downstairs and told Kayleigh to get out of here and regroup. I rushed back up, and stabbed a Gaurd, who was gaurding the entrance to a meeting room. I burst through the doors, and pointed my gun at the man infront of me. He was a highly important military leader, as his name was Colonel Ytrovic.
"Anybody fucking moves we will see if Russian Blood really is Vodka." I said.
"Mister, you are clearly outnumbered.
"He isn't." Said a voice from the doorway. Mason, James and Elijah all stood there, outnumbering the three men.
We all had instinct kick in and shot all at the same time, slaughtering the men.
"Warren, this place is teeming with Russians. They are all under the miners clock, performing patrols."
"Give me a grenade." I said, reaching for the ones on Masons belt buckle. He handed it to me and I charged in the direction of the clock. I pulled the pin and threw the grenade and it blew just as it landed in the group of Russians. An alarm sounded as bodies flew everywhere.
"You might need this." Said James handing me an automatic rifle.
Russians ran towards us in waves as we fought for our lives. Bullets flew at us, and we returned the rain. Bodies began to pile up as we moved towards the entrance, bombarding the soldiers with bullets, killing everyone who stood in our way. Every bullet felt like a weight had been taken off our shoulders. A wave of armoured soldiers charged at us as we climbed the moumd of dead bodies we had formed. I stood on the top, firing my pistol at the heads of the soliders, slaughtering them anf picking them off one by one like fruit from a tree. Blood poured from skulls as the soldiers began to retreat. We barricaded the doors, and won the battle of the clock tower.
"Where are the girls and Jaydan?" I asked, as soon as we had finished.
"They're in One of the shops that was locked. I think that one over there." He said as a barricade lifted up. A single woman stood, with Kayleigh in her arms and a gun held to her head.
"Mister James. We meet again..."