I groan loudly, my organs rattling due to the impact of my back thudding on concrete roofing. Writhing in pain, I flatten my palms against the ground and crawl back to my feet.
I stumble back to my gun, but it's too late. Battered vehicles rush to reclaim the city as bigger ones speed in from the distance. My eyes widen as the large vehicles corral fleeing citizens towards the middle of the city. Some drop their guns and surrender while others run maniacally with the tires on their heels.
"The bombs!" Delphin yells into my ear. A second swarm of tires begins to form a tight ring around the city, releasing three Screeners per vehicle to run in on foot.
"Throw the bombs in five..."
I pull back part of my coat and rip one from a strap just like Tanner instructed. I turn the baseball-like bomb in my hands to find the crank.
"...Two, one, now!"
I turn the crank and toss the mini bomb into the air. Ten other spheres are launched as well, descending slowly through the sky.
Then 50 guns fire at once.
As soon as the Screeners' bullets hit the bombs, flames and smoke explode into toxic clouds, sending shrapnel in every direction. I scream and throw myself on the ground as pieces of flaming metal zoom inches over my head.
I jam my ear piece back into my ear as Delphin shouts for us to release all of our bombs. At the sound of her order, my temples decide to ignite again, this time bringing blurry tears to my eyes
I freeze flat against the ground as bombs continue to shoot shrapnel over my head. The Enhancement lightning pounds at my skull, causing me to press my forehead closer and closer to the concrete. My face contorts in agony as I scream. As much as I expected throbbing, I didn't think I'd be in the worst amount of pain in my life.
"Make it stop, make it stop," I find myself mouthing silently against the concrete roof. The burning is excruciating, unbearable. I can't think as my eyes water and steam.
Deep, bomb-like booms switch to sharper pangs of guns around me. I feel every hopeless bullet shudder through every nerve in my body. They beat into my heart like it's their only target.
"Make it stop, make it stop." My wet tears fully coat both of my cheeks.
"Make it stop, make it stop." My nose sharply congests so that I can't breathe.
"Make it stop, make it stop." A scream escapes my throat, scratchy and rasped.
"Make it stop, make it stop." More electric punishes me.
"Why won't you stop?" I whisper inaudibly. I can't think, I can't see, I can't breathe evenly. Every thought in my mind is zapped away, forgotten, discarded because they don't matter. Pain presses in on me from every side, collapsing my lungs and stealing my thoughts. I can't think, I can't see, I can't breathe.
The lightning suddenly halts, and my crying slowly subsides, but my mumbling doesn't. I remain hunched over, eyes squeezed shut, waiting for the next bolt of electric. I thought the Project technology was broken, not more powerful than it ever was before.
Gunfire clogs my ears, drowning my thoughts. I crawl back to the ledge, shakily pulling another bomb from my jacket. I turn the crank slowly, wiping my wet cheeks with the back of my hand. I train my eyes on a target and toss the bomb as hard as I can, quickly ducking out of sight. It's shot down immediately, more shrapnel and bullets flying everywhere.
I slowly peek back over the ledge, pushing my hair out of my eyes. For a moment I swear I feel something move behind me. I don't even register the feeling.
Suddenly, a hand claps onto my shoulder. I whip my body towards my attacker, smacking the arm off of me in one instinctive motion. Panting heavily, I exhale in relief when I realize who it is.
Stephen, looking rugged and ash-covered, helps me to my feet. I can tell he's been crying, too. "C'mon, we gotta go." I want to hug him so tightly, but his voice is dire. I wipe away my tears.
Without questioning him, I grab my gun off of the ledge and bolt across the roof after him. We hurry into the open Screener elevator, pushing the holographic button to send us to the bottom floor. The doors shut smoothly, unaffected by the chaos.
I exhale deeply, pushing flyaway hairs out of my eyes as the elevator drops to the ground floor. I hand Stephen my gun, leaning my head back against the wall. "Can you reload this?" I ask him.
I watch him loosely as he opens a slot in the bottom of the gun. I hand him a cartridge from my pocket, and he clicks it in. The elevator doors slide open again, and my gun is back in my hands, ready to be fired.
Stephen and I jog across the lobby and peer out the glass exit doors. A massive Screener vehicle rolls by with some Screeners on foot. There's no way to tell if they're the real Screeners or not. "Stephen, where are we going?" I ask, scanning the roads again.
"I don't know," Stephen says, "I didn't think that far ahead yet."
It takes a few seconds for his message to click in my brain. "What? Far ahead?" I finally say, "Did you abandon your--"
"Yeah, but we gotta go, Holland, seriously. Before they catch us. Before any of them catch us."
"Alright, then follow me," I say after a moment, opening the door. "I think I know where to go."
Stephen and I rush out the door, and we make it past three buildings before we spot another set of Screener trucks. This time, they don't pass the street; they visibly slam on their brakes. Six doors swing open on either side of the street, releasing parasitic Screeners.
I don't even bother count how many Screeners trail us. I already know that this is not going to end well. All I have time to do is grab Stephen's arm and pull us into the nearest alleyway before bullets hit the stone, inches above our heads.
-- -- -- -- --
well, at least the next chapter will have a lot of action. please vote if you enjoyed this chapter; it's one of my absolute favorite pieces.
Question: Pick a number: 1, 2, 3, or 4.
Follow-up Question: Choose a phrase: another test, another fight, or another relapse.
On a different (and slightly happier) note, thanks to jamietastic , I was nominated for a "20 Facts About Me" challenge going around Wattpad. So here are my 20 facts that you may enjoy reading about me, @scifiwriter :
(Facts as of 2015, not present day!)
1.) My name is Kelly, NOT Kelli, Kellie, Kelley, Keli, Kellee, and most certainly not Keleigh.
2.) I have an identical twin sister ( jamietastic )
3.) I am an excellent braider.
4.) I can't whistle.
5.) I am the president of the Reading Olympics club at my school. And yes, we read competitively and we buy team t-shirts. This year, our team name is based off of the tributes from THG!
6.) I (finally) have an iPod 5.
7.) I wear glasses, but I only wear them when I need to see far because I hate wearing them :D
8.) I never wear make-up.
9.) I joined Wattpad on March 21, 2014
10.) My main characters are always dirty blondes because I have dirty blonde hair. It helps me envision their perspective a lot better.
11.) I only like 1st person writing/reading.
12.) I can sing the alphabet backwards.
13.) I play volleyball and have been on my school's varsity team since freshman year. I'm also the setter and sometimes an outside hitter. I'm too modest for anyone to say I'm good, but I know I'm good, so take that, society.
14.) My v-ball jersey number is 8 because it was the last small jersey left, but I tell people I picked 8 because an 8 on its side is an infinity symbol, and I'll always love volleyball :)
15.) My favorite TV show are probably Law and Order SVU, Criminal Minds, or Chicago PD and Teen Wolf! In essence, I know how to commit murder >:)
16.) I love math and science.
18.) I usually post chapter updates from my iPod.
19.) I read every comment I get and visit the profiles of all of my voters/reading list adders, aka I'm watching you!
20.) I've had some of my scifi short stories published in the teen section of my town's newspaper.
21.) I exceeded the 20 facts limit because I skipped number 17 :) Haha, I bet you didn't notice.
I nominate kaijuviper , unearthling , imploding-hearts and utopianism !