A warm blast of air greets me at the exit of the town hall. It's still a little cloudy out here, but it's summer, so it's warm. As I walk down the long stair case, I begin to hear footsteps behind me, I ignore it though.
I make my way to the park, the footsteps don't cease, I turn around and see Marcus, he was following me. "If you want to walk beside me, at least let me know."
"I've done enough warning James." He sinks his thumb into my neck, I can't speak. "Mess up one more time, and you'll have two options. Walk out that gate," he points to the west gate, "Or have bullets through your head, you choo-"
"Put him down!" Chloe runs up with a gun in her hand, I slip away and grab my gun, and aim it at Marcus. Marcus aims his pistol at Chloe. No one speaks, and more and more people show up. Noah points his gun at a guard, Eric, even Lucinda shows up.
"Let's drop the guns." Noah says
"Fine." Marcus says, he rests his gun on the ground, and pulls the trigger. Next thing I know, Chloe is holding her leg.
"Chloe!" I run to her, gun fire erupts, I hide her and join everyone in the gun fire. Marcus is quickly pushed back, but a lot of guards remain.
I hide behind a planter, I only have one extra magazine, so I don't shoot often.
What was a peaceful Monday afternoon erupts into a full-scale battle in a matter of seconds. I look around me, Noah, Eric, Lucinda, I even see Tristan. The guards aren't that prepared, they only have pistols like us.
"James! Take Chloe to the hospital! We'll cover you!" Noah shouts
I nod and run for Chloe, she's hiding behind a bush, and the bleeding isn't stopping. I pick her up and run to the hospital, which thankfully isn't far.
I burst into the doors, the nurses are conversing about the events unfolding. "Sorry to ruin your conversation, but I need medical attention for her immediately."
"Of course, follow me." A doctor says, we run down the hallway, to an open room. I finally rest Chloe down, she looks hopeless.
"Okay so what happened." The doctor says while getting ready.
I don't want to tell him about Marcus, in fear that he is a supporter of him. "Well, somehow gun fire erupted and Chloe was caught in crossfire. So here we are now." Chloe looks at me like I'm crazy, I hold her shoulder.
The doctor rolls up to her leg in a chair, he carefully examines without touching. "Well, it's definitely a gunshot wound. It shouldn't be too bad, we're going to have to put you under, and remove the bullet and clean it up. It'll be quick." The doctor smiles
I smile back, awkward silence pierces the room. "I better get back out there, Chloe you're in good hands." I grab her hand and smile.
"Of course, best of luck out there. Keep them away from here though please." The doctor says
I walk out of the building, a full scale gun battle greets me as I walk out. I crouch down and run to a wall.
"They're pressing harder!" Noah shouts, he starts to fall back. More and more guards show up with better equipment.
I just take cover and hope for the best, I hear a guard round a corner near me. I hit him with the butt of my gun and shoot him. More guards arrive to the scene, I get closer and closer to the hospital which I try to avoid.
A large truck of guards show up, fully armored. "Surrender, or you will be shot." They say over their speakers. I look at Noah, he looks at me. We all drop the guns and put our hands up, guards rush us and prepare to incarcerate us.
By a miracle perhaps I see Hudson and his troops rush the scene with guns, they mow down on the unprepared guards. I kick the guard next to me backward, and I swing up at his jaw. I grab his rifle and find cover. Hudson's fleet also shows up with trucks full of more soldiers, we begin advancing on the guards. They eventually run into the town hall, and the gun fire ceases. We all stand there in confusion of what just happened.
"Well now what?" Noah asks
"Me and my guys will keep surveillance on the place for a while, they're going to have to surrender eventually." Hudson says
"Are you sure you don't need extra help?" I ask
"It's me and 2,000 men. I think we're okay, thank you for your concern James." Hudson says
I pat Hudson on the back and leave for the hospital. A long line of eager people wait at the door, I push through the crowd. There's a woman waiting at the door. "Why are you cutting exactly?"
I don't even say anything, I pull out my identification card, she lets me through. My ID has my photo, basic information, and a very important sticker saying "Govt. Officer" on it. It basically lets me get anywhere I want, I rarely use it.
I find Chloe's room and open it, she's not there, actually no one's there. I get really nervous, my face fills red. I walk out and find a nurse walking across the hallway.
"Excuse me ma'am, could you tell me where Chloe Evergreen is?" I ask
"Yes, she's actually just down the hall to the right, I was just about to go in to check on her. You can follow me if you'd like." She gestures for me to follow, and we walk down the hall. Chloe's room is open, and she's awake.
"Hi Ms. Evergreen, how are we doing?" The nurse asks
"I feel a little tired, but I'm okay." Chloe says
"Good, it's because of the anesthesia, it'll wear off soon. If you need anything, there's a button you can press and it'll let us know that you need help." She says, "If that's all, I'll leave you two alone." She smiles as she walks out and closes the door.
"So what happened after you-know-who shot me." Chloe immediately asks
"Nothing much." I don't want to tell her how we kind of let them hide in the town hall.
"Nothing much? I heard a lot more than just nothing much, what happened James." She asks
"Well we were pinned because there were more guards than us, then Hudson miraculously showed up with a few hundred men. We quickly pinned them." I describe
"You killed them, right?" She asks
"No, we didn't." I say with my head looking at the floor.
"What? How could you have not killed them?" She angrily asks
"I don't know, it was Hudson's idea. They're hiding in the town hall, so they're going to have to surrender at some point." I assume
"Well, is there at least 24/7 surveillance? We also don't know if they have emergency resources, that was a risky bet that Hudson took." She says
"Well he's the pro, not me." I say
"At ground warfare, that is James." Chloe corrects me
"Well what do we do? We need a leader, since Lynn is in hiding." I say
"I'll take it, I missed the job." She laughs
"Well you did a good job at it." I say, "Well, I should probably should get going, gotta go ask Hudson if he needs me, and what the game plan is."
"You go do that James, thanks for stopping by." She smiles and grasps my hand.
I let go and walk out, I see the same nurse in the hallway. "How long is she in here for?" I ask
"She'll actually be released tonight, she needs to refrain from any strenuous activities however." She says
"Wow, that's fast." I say
"She got lucky with that wound." She says
"How so?"
"Had it been just another inch to the left, or right, it would have hit an artery. There's two big arteries to the left and right of the wound, extremely lucky actually." She says
"Well I'm glad that luck played in her favor." I laughingly say
YOU ARE READING
Phoenix (Part 2 of the 2 Part Malevolent Series)
ActionThe rebellion has grown to national attention, the government knows the threat at hand, and will do anything in its power to destroy it. Rebellion comes at costs, including friendships and losses. James and the rest of the rebellion continue to pus...
