Keep Running

Chapter 35

"Are we gonna talk?" I found Dano in the gym, as usual. It's the early hours of the morning, but he doesn't necessarily sleep. The handlers are milling around outside. He's lying on a bench with his precious iPod on his chest.
"I didn't think so," he says, pulling out one headphone.
I sigh, "You don't have to do this."
"I am aware," he fiddles with the iPod.
"You should have just let me go," while I was gone. While he was here living his little captive life. He always did have to be dramatic.
"I think it's best this is over for both of us, don't you?" he asks, still looking at the iPod.
"I don't—," I always knew he'd self-destruct one day. I just didn't think this was what it was gonna look like.
"Don't worry about it," he says, winking a little, "You never know how things are going to play out. We didn't have a bad run, did we?"
"No, but Dano—," that's when he picks up a relatively heavy barbell and vanishes. Oh fuck. He's doing it now. That goddamn idiot. I should honestly stop him.
The lights flick out.
"You're coming with me," Carlos grabs my arm. I don't even know where he came from. And then the fire alarms go off.
Then the memories are coming back again.
"CAROLINE," she's standing in a field. But it's her. It's a five year old girl, she's in a blue dress, and it was starting to rain.
"Caroline—get inside," I called, over the wind. But the wind was not from the storm. It was from helicopters.
"Dad—it's the Americans," Ben said, he was holding a shotgun, looking up as the helicopters started to lower into the field. I ran for Caroline, but she was well away from me. She screamed, rasing both her arms, blood draining from her eyes. The helicopters crashed into one another, and plummeted to the ground.
"Get inside," I said, grabbing Caroline's arm and towing her back to the door.
"No, you can't stop them!" Caroline sobbed, "Let me help!"
"Just go? Okay? Go for me. I'll be okay, I promise. You both need to go right now and never ever look back. Go far away from here. And never try to find me because I'll be dead, all right?" I asked, kissing both of their heads and hugging them close. There was a knocking at the door.
"No, daddy," Caroline clung to me.
"Go," I said, to Ben, "Take care of your sister. Promise me? Promise me, you'll always take care of each other."
"We promise," Ben said, as I shoved another knife into his jacket.
"I love you both—so much. You need to run for me now, run. I'm gone, you only have each other," I said, as I shoved them into what must have been a secret passage, "The tunnel leads to the church. You need to go from there, leave town, leave the country when you can just go."
"What about mom?" Caroline asked.
"Your mother will probably be dead too. If not—she'll die if you come looking for her. There are your passports, you have different names, and enough money there," I said, putting a satchel around her neck. "Promise me, you'll take care of each other."
They both nodded, crying.
"Now go," I said, pushing them both into the tunnel, "Run."
I closed the door and moved furniture over it. Now to buy them enough time to run. I closed my eyes, as the first marines burst in the door. The volley of bullets hovered in front of me, then flew back from whence they came into the face of the young men.
I sighed, racking the shotgun in my hands. I knew I was going to die. I just wasn't going to go without a fight. And the longer I fought, the longer the kids would have to run.
They kept coming, and while I could turn their bullets back on them, I couldn't do it forever, nor could I catch every one.
After nearly a half an hour of it, I crumpled to the ground, bullets filling my chest, as blood poured from my mouth and eyes. And as I fought to stay awake and at least kick or hit them or in some way slow them down, all I could hope was that the kids had gotten away. Far away. Far away someplace safe. And when the light started to fade, I realized I would never know if they did make it.
But that was okay, at least they had the chance.