Before We Fall

Chapter 17

"Grace, I want to sign off here today. I want you to get on that plane but you got to help us out. Look, we got to do our job here, okay? We got to go through this. I need to know that you are comfortable, calm and safe before I leave here. And I need to know that you understand the rules before you get on that plane. Please, just please, sit down. And let us get through our questions." She pleaded with me. I eyed my chair, then back at the woman.

"Okay." I sat down. A moment later, my arms were grabbed by them. "Get off me!"

They forced my arms up in the air, and held them there. John forced me to the hold the gun, aiming it at my head. I resisted myself from going into defense mode and just let them do it.

"Ready." John said. I continued to struggle.

"Set." The woman said.

"Get the hell of me!" I screamed at them.

"Set." John said back to her.

They forced the gun onto my head, and they forced my finger on the trigger. Then someone jumped out from the side hallway, hitting John away from me. They both let me go and fell to the ground, from not properly sitting on the chair.

Guns are fired then mine lands a little away from me. I looked at the man who jumped out and crawled towards it. I grabbed it and aimed it at the woman. Shooting the gun, I missed but I aimed it at the man. He runs outside before I could even shot the gun.

I quickly got up and ran up the stairs as I heard more gun fire. I hide in one of the rooms and cursed this mission. Having to be a damsel in distress. I held the gun in front of me, pointing it at the door. I leaned against the wall as more gun fire reached my ears.

Looking around, I found a phone that I had placed up here for emergencies. I pressed it to my hear but didn't hear a dial tone. I throw it across the room and listened to the gun fires.

"Jake! He's in the basement!" I heard someone yell.

"Go!" Another yell. "Honey."

"On your right!" I heard the woman yell. Then it was silent. No gun fires and I just waited. I jumped when more guns went off.

"FIND HER! FIND HER!" A man yelled. I guess they were talking about me. From the third floor, I heard the power saw I had placed in the basement, come on. Then more gun fires. I take a deep breathe then slowly let it out slowly. My hand stiffened up once a hand with a gun appeared around the edge of the doorway.

"Hey, hey." The man from earlier came out from behind the wall and I tried to shot at him. He continues to walk towards me. "You have to reload it. The gun's empty."

I just keep pulling the trigger, keeping up the act. He stands in front of me.

"Hey, hey. Look, I'm not here to hurt you." He told me. He kneeled down to my height and placed the guns in his hands on the ground.

"How did you?" I asked.

"Shh, shhh." He told me.

"That was you?" I asked him.

"Yes, shh. Listen to me. Do you want to live?" I looked away from him. "Look at me. Do you want to live. Do you?"

"Yes." I said.

"Good. Now let go of this gun." He slowly places his left hand on my gun and take it from my hands.

"How is this possible?" I asked him. After I did, a few bangs came from downstairs.

"Take this." He hands me one of his guns. "Good? Now I need you to do exactly as I say. Understand?"

"Yes." I said to him. He handed me the watch around his wrist and then told me the plan. He leaves me alone and I stared at the watch, aiming the gun at the door. I grip the gun tighter as I heard footsteps near me. I fire the gun once the watch hit the 30 second mark. I heard more gun fire and something tumbling down the stairs.

"Hey Doc. I need my watch." I heard the man's voice. I stand up and walked out of the room. "Doc, I need that watch."

I see him by the window and I slowly walked to him. He walks faster to me, placing his gun in the back of his pants.

"Are there chems in this house? Program medications?" He asked me.

"Are they all dead?" I asked him.

"Yeah, they're dead. Look at me, look at me. Do you have program medication here?" He asked.

"What?"

"Chems. Green and blues. Do you have them here?" He questioned me. The virus? Why would he want those?

"I don't known what your talking about. But no, I don't have them. Here, no." I replied to him.

"Where then?" He pushed. He shoved me more against the wall as he harshly looked down at me.

"I don't know." I stuttered, keeping up the act.

"What? You know nothing about this?" He asked. I shook my head at him.

"No, no. I don't." I lied.

"Where are the chems? I need the chems." He grasped my upper arms and shook me a little.

"No, I understand. But I don't know. I.... it's not something I did. All of that.....we don't medication. If I had any, I would give it to you." I told him.

I jumped when he grasped my face and made me look him in the eyes. He had a very stern look on his face then let's me go. He glanced down at his watch then back at me.

"Okay, listen to me. We have less than eight minutes to clear out of here, okay?" He told me.

"Yes." I answered him.

"Good." He takes the gun from my hand and looked at the ammo. "You see, the next thing that comes through that door is going to wipe us out."

He turns away from me and jogs down the stairs. I followed and watched as he started to gas up the place. He hands me my jacket and I slipped it on. He finishes up gassing the stairs and I moved to the door. He holds out a lighter to me.

"Probably better if you did this." He told me.

He moved behind me as I light the lighter. I took a small breathe as I flicked it into the gas. Flames immediately filled the room and he pulled me away from it.

"Let's go."