Just then, the gun opens up with a barrage. The building to our right takes the hits, cement and dust sputtering up everywhere. My ears rattle. They fire again, stopping in place, blocking our way into the hospital.
What is this? Target practice? It’s too loud to ask Cole what they’re doing. The wall begins buckling as the guards unload more rounds into it. I hear the gunner shouting while reloading his machine gun. He tosses shells out the side of his compartment and continues firing at the building, set on destroying it.
My insides twist, and my muscles ache, tense and waiting. Zeus paces, and I pull him to my side, worried he’ll take off if we have to sit here too much longer.
Then I hear it. The wall of the building he’s shooting at is thoroughly punctured. It begins to crumble. The upper floor comes down with a crash. The tank revs forward, the gunner screaming as he celebrates his victory over the scrappily constructed building.
Any other time, I’d roll my eyes at his lunacy, but right now, I’m ready to go. Cole waits until the tank rolls farther down the street. He glances up, checking for guards on the rooftops. When we move across the intersection, we’ll be completely exposed.
He waves us forward, giving us support while we bolt across the street, coming alongside the hospital. I inhale deeply through my nose, then exhale through my mouth. My quads burn from squatting so long.
Three bodies in typical dark uniforms lie in a pile near the entrance of the hospital. I smell cigarette smoke and notice their cigarettes still burning, the ashes tender and red beside their lifeless forms. One of them looks like he’s staring right at me. My breath catches in my throat. I slow my roll, hugging the wall, and focus on where to step next. Cole stops to examine them.
“Ahhhhh!” A figure comes bounding out of the darkness, yelling something unintelligible.
At first, my body freezes, unsure if he’s friendly. His hands wave in the air. Instinctively, I point my gun at him. He doesn’t slow down. Now, he’s so close I can actually see his guard uniform and the light shade of his eyes. He’s not stopping. I focus on the object in his hand and see the sharp outline of a gun, now pointed at me.
I squeeze the trigger and shoot him. He doesn’t stop. Shells pop off to my side as I unload on him. His body slows, but he still stumbles forward. This guy won’t give up. My pulse races in my throat. How many rounds did I shoot? His eyes lock onto mine, and his gun dangles from his hands. I finish him.
He falls forward. Blood flows from beneath him. I nudge the body with my shoe before firing off one more round into his head to make sure he doesn’t get up this time. I feel a tap on my shoulder and see Cole’s panicked eyes, his night-vision goggles off.
He shoves me forward. But I stop quickly and pick up the dead guard’s gun, shoving it into my pants.
Zeus howls. Another figure darts out of the shadows. I raise my gun, hands steady, finger stretching for the trigger.
“Don’t shoot!” Bill shouts. His outline becomes clearer. “It’s me.” I relax my finger and bring my gun down, shoulders sagging with relief.
“Where the hell have you been?” Cole asks.
“Getting us in,” Bill says. “The guards at the front? Yup, that was me.” So that’s why they were lying there with still-burning cigarettes.
“Are there more?”
“There’s always more, and the ruckus you just made won’t exactly help things.” Bill turns, and we follow him.
“He was going to kill us,” I say. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“The tank completely threw us off,” Cole says.
“See? I told you they’d go for a ride,” Bill says over his shoulder. “Remember?”
“You forgot to mention it was a tank,” I say. “Slightly different than an SUV.”
“Jeep? Tank? They decide that, not me. Besides, usually they take the jeep,” Bill says. He runs past the side doors and we see Bruno and Grace just as Bruno swings the butt of his gun into a window alongside the hospital. The crashing of glass splits the air. He lowers his equipment in and slides through afterward, waiting for the rest of us to do the same. Cole is through next, then Roméo.
Zeus sprints in front of me, corralling Grace and dancing around her. Zeus knows. I hurry to her side, relieved to see her. Her face is coated with sweat, and her shirt’s stained around the collar. We push our equipment through first, buying time so we can talk.
“Hey, how are you holding up?”
“Almost peed myself about a thousand times, but otherwise, peachy,” she says. She steps back and clasps her hands over her belly. Her eyes drift downward quickly and then we both jump through the opening. Zeus follows and then Bill.
Once we’re all inside the basement, chills chase up my spine, causing goose bumps on my arms. I let my feet settle beneath me before grabbing my flashlight and looking around. It’s still a mess. Boxes are piled up in heaps. The tables, beds, and chairs are in the same places I remember. I feel Cole’s eyes on me as I walk a few feet away from everyone.