Phase 43

Chapter 20 - Elliot

The minute my dad hung up from Mom's call we were leaving the house. I still had Finn on the phone, but the call was quiet. When she first called, we were beyond confused, but as we heard more sounds of fighting and struggle, we had immediately started to prepare. When Francis called, we were ready to go. Ashley threw the kids in the car, and then I was helping my father with the guns. Cherry tree. They were in captivity. It would explain the random number too.

We were seriously outmatched. I knew that Darren, Francis, and Finn wouldn't get kidnapped by any group other than one with numbers. They were too strong - that's why they had been sent out in the first place. As we tracked Finn's cell phone chip with my father's phone, I realized we would have to put Charlie and Lucas to work. We would have to put them in danger. We all hopped in the car, leaving the sanctuary of the apartment complex and driving straight into phaser territory. There were hundreds, but they were unable to touch the large Ranch Rover

"Lucas, remember the work you and uncle Darren did the other day? With the sniper rifle? I'm gonna need you to do that again okay?" Ashley said quickly from the backseat, her fingers quickly loading the large gun.

"Wi'w' there be a big target to hit?" Lucas asked quietly. He still struggled with the Ls. Charlie was glancing between his brother and me, worry and anger in his chocolate eyes. I quietly assured him that it would be okay.

"In a sense. I'll show you what to hit, okay?" Ashley said. "But I'll have to warn you from the ground. We have to save your sister, okay?" Lucas nodded, taking the gun and hugging it against his tiny chest.

"What about me?" Charlie asked frantically. Ashley turned to him, handing him the 2 small handguns. Charlie's arms wavered under the weight of them.

"We get in there, you see anyone that's not your sister or Darren or Francis, and you rain hell on them. Okay?" Ashley asked. Charlie stared at her for a moment, but then after realizing that it was his sister that was in danger, he nodded. Rage burned in his eyes. I gave the two youngest Bridgemans a supporting smile before grabbing my own gun and checking the ammo. Full. We pulled into another neighborhood - there were makeshift walls standing around the outer houses. Survivors? The phaser count lessened by dozens.

"They're in that house, at the end of the street. We have to be quiet - if they know we're coming they might kill them," my dad said. He pulled the car over on the street before the turn down to the house our loved ones had been captured in.

"Okay, we're still in phaser territory, even if it isn't as dense. Make sure the silencer are on," my dad said quietly as he opened the door. Almost immediately, a groan sounded from the bushes, but with a tiny flink, it was thudding to the sidewalk.

We walked silently down the road, sticking to the shadows. Ashley finally stopped us, her head tilted.

"I can hear screaming," she whispered. I cocked my head sideways, pausing my breathing to listen. Then I heard it. Hysterical, terrified, high-pitched screaming. Screams of rage.

"It's Finn - her voice is the highest. My mother's is lower," I said with a hollow chest. Ashley took a deep breath.

"The house has windows - I'll take Lucas up to the top of that one," she pointed to the adjacent house, "he can hit any target from there." Lucas straightened his back, his tiny hands fisted tight.

"Good. We'll get in from the sides," my dad breathed. I slipped my knife into my palm. Phasers wandered around. Zombies.

"See you on the other side?" Ashley said. My dad nodded. The siblings-in-law embraced for a moment before my dad took Charlie and I and started down the street. I didn't look back at Ashley and Lucas.