They Walk

Chapter Seventy Two

We all get to our feet, when the floor finally stops shaking, and I admit that my ears are ringing again.





Gabe steadies me as I struggle to get my balance, and when he sees that I’m fine, he leaves me for the gym doors. I watch him make his way over to them slowly, and out of the corner of my eyes, I see my parent’s unease over what we will find.

“Are you all ready for this?” Gabe asks quietly.

When none of us says anything, Gabe opens the door and peers out into the hall, with a heavy sigh, he leaves it open. He turns back to us and steps off to the side, and I get a good look at what we did. There hallway is filled with smoke, and at first I can’t see anything. Once my eyes adjust though, I notice the burnt bodies lining the floor, and most of them are still on fire.

Bile rises up into my throat, and I force myself to not get sick, I mean I’ve seen worse right?

But have I ever cause something like this?

The answer would be no.

I have to breathe through my mouth now too, since the smell of charred flesh is pungent in the hall and it carries quickly towards us. There is no movement from anyone out there, and I guess that would make sense, after all the damage is pretty severe. The lockers are all bent at an awkward angle, and most of the doors were blown open.

Looks like not all the doors were well built.

My parents both look like they are going to be sick, but thankfully neither one does, I wouldn’t be able to take if they were either. Looking grave, Gabe faces the open gym door again and this time he pulls out one of the guns.

“Let’s get out of here.”

He raises it up defensively and immediately heads for the opening. With nothing else to do, my parents and I follow close behind him. I grip my ax tightly in my hands, and pray that I don’t drop it because of my sweating palms. I’m directly behind Gabe, with my parents behind me, and I’m glad that they too have drawn out their guns. We can’t know for sure if everyone is down for the count, not that it’s a good thing to hope that they are, we’re not complete monsters.

When I cross the threshold of the gym doors, I hold my breath and follow Gabe as he weaves around the bodies. Staying close to him, I don’t glance behind me to see if my parents are keeping up, I’m too busy looking down. As I don’t want to step on anyone and I wish I didn’t have to, all it does is give me a better view of what we’ve done and it’s not pretty by any means. The hallway seems longer this time, and it feels like it takes forever just to go a couple steps. But eventually, Gabe is reaching the exit doors, and my entire being gears up in relief and I let myself relax a little. I watch as Gabe is reaching for the doors, and when he is just pushing them open I hear the popping sound of gunfire.

It radiates through the silent hallway, and it makes Gabe and I spin around in alarm to face behind us.

I am halfway turned around preparing to search out who shot at us, when I see something that pulls me up short. It’s my mother. She is the only one of us, who isn’t turning around, and instead her body is arched up and her eyes are wide in surprise. I notice then that there is a red spot swelling through her shirt on her right shoulder, and for a moment I don’t know who is more confused her or me.

Gabe and my father are both yelling and shooting back down the hall. And I realize there is movement at the end of the hallway where we just came from, but I don’t pay it any attention. Because my mother suddenly begins to wheeze and she jerks as if she is just getting shot now, and she falls towards me.

I catch her to me and look up in time to see that one of Gabe or my dad’s bullets took out the shooter, who happened to be Vin Diesel. They hurry back to my mother and me, as he falls to the ground motionless.

“What was that? Karen, are you alright?” My dad says.

All she does in response is to groan in pain, and as I support her still, I can start to feel her blood soaking through my hoody. I share a frightened look with my dad, and I know he is just as worried as I am.

“She was shot.” Gabe says darkly. “How bad is it Maggie?”

He and my father get closer to my mother and I, and she is quivering in my arms now.

Feeling tears in my eyes, I let them help me ease her back so we can check the damage. She cries out from the movement and I can’t stop the tears as they fall in waves, when I see all the blood coating her shoulder. It is running down her arm, and already is pooling at her feet, and it can’t be good that she is paling quickly. Sharing a look with the guys, it pretty much goes unsaid that it is bad, and we need to get the hell out of dodge and fast.

“I don’t feel very good.” My mom whispers, oh so quietly.

She is leaning on my dad now, and he and Gabe are just standing there is shock, so I rip off my hoody and gently press it to her bleeding shoulder. She cries out again, but doesn’t pull away, her eyes droop a little though and I know it’s a matter of time before she passes out. Gabe wakes up all of a sudden and heads for the exit door again.

“We have to get to the car before she passes out. I’ll take point, just everyone stay close. Mark can you take the back?” Gabe says over his shoulder, as he doesn’t slow down to wait.

As gently as he can, my dad supports her, while I position myself on her left side and put her arm over my shoulder. She is limp in my arms, but manages to stay standing while I hold on to her tightly. Gabe pushes open the exit door then, and the dark hallway is filled with late afternoon sunlight. My dad wraps my hoody around moms shoulder, and she jerks in pain as he makes sure it’s tight enough to stay on. He then gets behind us, and raises his gun high and waits for Gabe to move. Who is out the door quickly then with his gun raised, and making sure my mother is secure in my arms, we follow close behind him.

I don’t bother wiping away the tears that are still falling.

Just like I try to not let it bother me that my own mother’s blood is soaking through my clothes already.