I am dead, but oddly I am dreaming. I am dead but thinking that I did not know that dead people dream. There should be nothing, or Heaven or Hell, but not just an ordinary dream. I hope I am not stuck here forever. Maybe this is purgatory - an endless dream that keeps repeating itself on a loop. Around and round. A loop that is a birthday party - my birthday party. At least it is a good dream or starts off that way.
I am at my most recent birthday party, but Torin is not here. My mom and dad are here. I am opening my presents, and mom is just shaking her head at dad's presents. Dad is laughing and saying, "Trust no one. No one. Trust no one."
"Where is Torin?" I wonder out loud in my birthday dream, but I am still having a good time. I am laughing and eating a unicorn themed birthday cake that I realize was not at my last birthday because it says "Happy 10th Birthday Eliot". This is strange because I see myself in the mirror, and I am eighteen.
Steven is here, and he says, "I found some eggs. I made you a cake."
I say, "Thank you Steven. I am dead, and Torin has been stolen."
He says, "No, no you are not dead. Wake up Eliot."
This is where I realize I am not dead because I feel the slaps on my face and the water splash on my face, and I hear him.
"Wake up, Eliot. Wake up."
It is Steven. I am not dead, but Torin is still gone. Stolen. Torin is stolen. Jack Talyor took him. Someone killed me, no wait, I'm not dead, or is this part of the dream?
I wake up in what seems like hours later, but turns out to be less than a minute. My head hurts like a son of a bitch. I am sorry about thinking this thought, but I can't seem to quit cussing today. It is the end of the f-ing world, and I have a headache. From the lack of oxygen, I am guessing, because I am not dead.
Whoever did this to me could have killed me, but they did not know Sorenson could hit an apple in a tree from 600 yards away. He hit his target, and his target lies dead at my feet. Lying beside him and looking as dead as my attacker is my prince. I try to claw myself to him as Steven quickly runs off to join the battle.
Just as I think we have lost the element of surprise and that Cindy and Torin are already dead so what does it matter, I hear an explosion from behind the home side concession stand. I am guessing that Tommy has thrown strike one. And then, there is another boom behind me as Steven throws strike two. Another boom and Kyle throws the batter out at the plate. And then, I hear screaming and shooting and people running.
The battle for good over evil begins.
As I crawl to Torin, I see the battle below me. In the stands, there are people who only came for the food. They scream and run and knock each other over to get to the exits. Some of them have children in tow and pull or push them along. Some of the children cry as shots explode around them. But, there are some children who run along silently and act like they have seen all this before - like this is an everyday occurrence in the life of a child at the end of the world. Run for your life because that is what you are doing - running for your life. Their wide-eyed terror is all before my eyes like a fuzzy, slow motion scene from a movie.
There are people in the stands running away, but there are people there too who have had enough of standing by and watching, and they came for the fight, not the food. A few of them have guns and hide behind seats in the bleachers and fire. These people, I can tell, are comfortable with guns because they fire with a purpose at the enemy. Slow and methodical. Hunters, I am guessing, or former police officers or military who are used to firing at living targets. Right along side them are ordinary citizens, unarmed, except for bricks and rocks and whatever they can find to throw. One has a paint ball gun and, though he hasn't killed anybody yet, he has ruined some clean uniforms. I can't say the citizen soldiers are effective, but they are distracting the enemy who is having to avoid being smashed in the face as they try to take aim.
All of this - sheer pandemonium and chaos - takes place as I crawl in quicksand to Torin who lies still beside a dead man who has lost most of his face. I can see that Torin is breathing and this calms me, but I can also see that he is bleeding. I finally get to him, and place a hand on his chest to see if he is really breathing. He looks up and smiles at me with both dimples and says, "Why hello, my lady."
I am so relieved, I can't say anything back. He reaches up to touch my face, "Eliot, it is ok. We are ok. I am ok. Go help. I will wait right here for you." He shows me a handgun. "I'll be safe."
"I can't leave you," I sputter out. "How did you get here?" I ask.
"This is our plan. Jack's plan actually."
"Not much of a plan."
"No, I guess it isn't, but we are all in now, so go help the others, " he says. "Remember the rules."
"What about - Save the prince?"
"You already did that, my lady," Torin says as he kisses my hand. "Now, go make me proud. Kick some butt."
"You have blood on you," I say.
"His," he says and points at my attacker, "Mostly his. Now go."
I quickly kiss his cheek and run to join the fight.
I survey the scene before I run down the hill towards the fight. I think we must be winning because I can see some of the former hostages fighting and running. I can see the One Nation soldiers hiding behind vehicles. A group of them are behind the pig roaster that is now covered in bright yellow paint splotches. Please don't hit that pig - I want to scream.
I see Jim Newsome on the same hill that I am going down. He fires at the soldiers in the end zone. Everything is in slow motion again. I wonder if Jim Newsome ever knew what happened to Nana. I wonder if he went to pick her up to take her safely out of town, and he thought maybe she already left. I will not ever get to ask him because he is hit and drops to his knees, firing one last shot. He is on his knees like he is praying, but he is so still I know he is dead.
I bring my gun up to begin firing where he left off. I miss one of the soldiers, but I am close enough that he retreats. My vision is blurry, but I can see that someone is shooting better than me. Someone is behind me firing, and I glance over my shoulder and see Clay and Marla who have joined Torin. They hit some of the soldiers, and One Nation seems to be retreating to the field house. Since all the hostages are clear, Tommy and Kyle can sling those grenades right at them.
I want to shout with a joy that I am sure is the same joy a soldier feels in battle when the army retreats or surrenders. But before I do, I look through my gun sight, and I see something that stops me cold. Coming from behind the fieldhouse is a tank entering the fight. The tank turns its gun towards the stands where Kyle and Tommy are throwing grenades.
I scream like a crazy person because they can't possibly hear me from here, "Get down. Run! Tommy! Kyle! " I wave my arms trying to get their attention. It is too late.
There is an ear splitting boom that knocks me to the ground. When I look up, I see people hang in mid air for a split second and then fall or somersault end over end.
The stands have collapsed, and they are on fire.