Chapter 6
Scooter and Marianne walked up the stairs. Scooter in front. Not because he was braver, but because he was more anxious to get there.
They crept along the second floor once they got there. Yet, even if they ran at full speed, no one would have heard them. The guns from downstairs echoed through the school, as did the screams.
When they got to the staircase at the other end of the hall, Scooter stopped and stuck his head through the doorway. There wasn't any sign of anyone.
He turned to Marianne. She stood there without any fear in her eyes. He didn't even need to ask if she was ready. He simply nodded his head. She did too.
They went downstairs.
*
Claire followed Adam. She knew that he was trying to protect her. And she didn't mind. It was nice to know that someone was looking out for her.
At that, her thoughts shifted to Big Mike
.
He had killed her brother. He had taken her prisoner. He had…
Her anger built. She gripped the shotgun tighter.
*
Adam came to a stop at the corner of the hallway. He put up his hand an motioned for Claire to stop as well. He placed his finger to his lips. It was somewhat of a useless gesture since the fighting was so loud, but he wanted to take every precaution that he could.
He glanced around the corner, though didn't see much. Near the front entrance, a creature ran into view, then out of it again. A bullet slammed into the wall.
Another smile came to his lips
.
The men would be too busy to notice them. Taking them by surprise would do the most damage.
His smile grew.
*
When Scooter and Marianne got to the bottom of the stairs, the sound of fighting got louder
.
It sounded bad
,
Scooter thought
.
Lots of gun shots. Lots of screaming. Some out of anger. Others out of fear. And pain.
He looked at Marianne, his heart racing. "Let's get closer," he mouthed, pointing to the door.
She nodded.
*
Adam and Claire made their way toward the fighting. Adam still a bit ahead of her. He was trying his best to prepare for any danger that might come their way
,
trying his best to keep Claire safe.
*
As Claire moved forward, her gaze fell upon pieces of art work from the students at the school. They lined the walls. Paintings. Drawings. A couple of short stories.
It was strange for her to think that this was the same hall where children used to run to class, where they used to play
.
Now she was going to kill a group of men in it.
Adam took a few more steps forward and Claire fell behind. She told herself that it was because she wanted to take it slow, be quiet, not draw any attention. But it was really because everything on the wall was beginning to affect her.
This was a school...
She tried to push the thought from her mind
.
Thi
s
had bee
n
a school. Now it was a
…
She wasn't sure
.
Another place to stop on their journey? Their home? A war zone?
She told herself to think about the fight. It was getting unbearably loud. The shots. The screaming. No matter how much she wanted the men to die, the noise was horrible.
She took a few more steps. Then a few more.
Adam was still up ahead, but had stopped. He was waiting for her. He raised his hand to tell her to take her time, to keep quiet. She nodded back.
Yet, at that exact moment, everything changed.
Claire saw the door across from her open. A man rushed out at her, gun pointed at her face. It happened too fast for her to react.
She fell backward.
This was it
,
she thought
.
He was going to shoot her. In the face. Right now.
Nothing happened.
Claire waited a moment, trying to figure out why she was still alive.
As she did, the man lowered his gun and stared at her. "Claire?" he said.
Through her surprise, she saw it was Big Mike. He had a wide grin on his face. A gleam in his eye.
Claire didn't hesitate. She raised her gun and pointed it at him.
His eyes opened wide with surprise. His jaw dropped. He took a step back.
She didn't notice any of it. All she could focus on was pulling the trigger
.
Kill him
,
she commanded herself.
There was a loud blast and the gun jumped in her arms. Though she was certain she had hit him, she shot again…and again.
She got to her feet.
Big Mike was lying on the floor. A hole had been blasted in his chest. Half of his face had been torn from his body. Part of his jaw hung loosely over his shoulder. His shotgun had been thrown from him by the impact.
That's the least of his worries
,
Claire thought
.
That damn shotgun of his…
Her heart stopped when she realized that he wasn't dead. He took a haggard breath. Blood bubbled from his mouth. His eyes swirled in their sockets until they came back upon her.
She took a step toward him and aimed her gun at his face.
"Claire," he muttered. "Claire, it's…"
She didn't wait for him to finish. She took her final shot.
*
Adam got to her as quickly as he could. He had seen the man come out of the room. Had seen Claire shoot him
.
Four times
.
It had all happened so fast. And by the time he had gotten to her, it had ended.
He placed his hand on her back and she jumped a little at the touch.
When she turned to him, she let out a deep breath and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Are you okay?" Adam asked, whispering into her ear.
"It was Big Mike," she replied.
Adam looked down at the man
.
So this was the guy
.
He felt a strange calm as he watched the blood spill from what remained of Big Mike's face
.
He wasn't going to be causing any of them any more trouble.
He turned his attention back to Claire. "Are you okay?" he asked again.
"Yes."
Adam thought that she was telling the truth. At least for now. She might not be okay later. None of them might be. But for now she was fine.
He held her a second longer, then parted.
They still had more killing to do.
*
Scooter looked around the corner and saw the men standing there. They were hiding behind a barricade they had set up at the doors at the front entrance. The creatures were on the other side of it, trying to get in.
He looked at Marianne. "On the count of three," he said, holding up his fingers.
Before he finished counting, they charged out of the stairwell and started firing.
*
Adam and Claire came to the front entrance. Yet, before they had much of a chance to do anything, they saw Scooter and Marianne rush out of the hallway, shouting
,
shootin
g
.
Adam raised his gun as well.
Claire joined him.
*
The sound was deafening. The shots echoed off of the main hallway. The screams did too.
Adam, Claire, Scooter and Marianne stood a little ways back from the men and the creatures, but they could see them clearly. And they could shoot them easily.
By the time the men realized that they had another enemy had come to attack from behind, it was too late. They tried to shoot in both directions. It wasn't good enough.
Some of the men got hit by bullets. Others got attacked by the creatures.
*
Adam, Claire, Scooter and Marianne kept shooting. They couldn't stop. The
y
wouldn'
t
stop. Not until everyone - and ever
y
thin
g
- was dead. They screamed themselves. Their voices tangled in with the other sounds, all to make one big blur.
They continued to shoot.
And shoot.
And shoot.
And shoot.
Chapter 7
When it was all over, Adam, Claire, Scooter and Marianne stood there. The guns had stopped. The screaming had stopped. Their ears rang.
The dead were everywhere. Blood flowed, covering the floors. It had spattered against the walls, dotted the few windows which hadn't shattered in the fight.
No one spoke for a while
.
So many bodies
.
While they all knew that it had needed to be done, it was one thin
g
knowin
g
and another thin
g
seein
g
.
They kept quiet, staring at their work.
*
Adam spoke first. He wasn't sure if he wasn't sure if he could trust his voice at the moment. It felt like it was going to give out on him. But he had to try.
"We did what we had to," he managed. His words lingered for a moment.
Then they headed back to the library.
Chapter 8
As soon as Shelly saw Adam round the corner, she lowered her gun and ran to him, throwing her arms around his waist. "I'm so happy that you're okay," she said. "I was so worried."
"I was worried too," Adam said, his voice stuttering slightly. "But we made it."
"Everyone? I
s
everyon
e
ok?" She turned to Claire, Scooter and Marianne who had come round the corner as well. Aside from the blood that covered their clothes, they looked fine.
"We're okay," Claire said.
Shelly let go of Adam and gave her a big hug as well. "I was so worried!"
Chapter 9
When they got to the library, Julie rushed over to them, Emily in her arms, Cookie in her grasp. Charles took Robert's hand and led him to them as well. Buster ran at Marianne and jumped up on her, pressing his muzzle against her her hips and legs.
"Everything okay in here?" Adam asked. Control of his voice was slowly coming back to him.
"We didn't see anyone after you left," Charles said. "No bad guys. No creatures."
"Good. I'm glad you didn't have to see any of the fighting."
"Was it that bad?"
Adam didn't answer straight away. He thought about the blood that coated the front entrance. The dead bodies that we scattered around it. He thought of Big Mike.
"It was bad," Claire said for him.
"Really bad," Scooter added.
They turned back to Adam. "It was so bad that I don't think we can stay here anymore," he said.
Those that had remained in the library looked shocked. Everyone who had been in the fight understood.
"I thought that was why you fought them," Charles said. "So that we can stay."
Adam nodded. "It was. But there's no way we're going to be able to clean it all up. And, even if we did, I don't know how much I'd want to stay here, anyway."
"It'
s
tha
t
bad out there?"
Adam nodded again.
There wasn't much more to say about it after that
.
It was time for them to leave.
Chapter 10
As they went to grab their things, Shelly pulled at Adam's arm and turned him toward her. Tears had started to form in her eyes. He didn't know why
.
Was she upset about leaving? Did knowing that so many people had died disturb her? That he had had to kill them…
"What is it?" he asked.
She pulled him closer. "Was Sam out there?"
Adam didn't know. He hadn't been looking him. He had been too focused on making sure that his shots hit their mark.
Claire answered for him once more. "I didn't see him," she said.
Shelly turned to her. "You didn't? Are you sure?"
Claire touched the young girl's cheek. "I'm pretty sure."
"But you said that Big Mike was out there. You shot at him."
"
I
kille
d
him," Claire said. She explained what had happened in the hallway. "But I didn't recognize anyone else."
"Really?" Shelly asked.
"Really."
Shelly lowered her head, crest-fallen. "But why wouldn't they have been there?"
This time Adam answered, "They could have been killed before this. Maybe they had had an accident. Or maybe one of the creatures had gotten them."
When Shelly turned back to him, he thought he could see something that resembled hope in her eyes. Again, that look played on his mind. But, once more, Scooter interrupted it.
"Come on," the young man said. "We have to get going."