Carrion (The Bren Watts Diaries #1)

Chapter 10

I looked around for a way out. Broadway was a wide four-way lane. Unfortunately, for this time of night, cars clogged the streets. There were a few spots that I could wiggle through if I had a more compact car than a squad car.

Then, I saw it.

"We're going through the sidewalk," I said. "Buckle up."

I put the car in reverse, and I stepped on the gas and turned the wheel. I barely scraped the car's bumper behind me. Back on the drive, I stepped harder on the gas and made a vicious U-turn for the sidewalk. People scrambled out of my way as I drove through, then hit the empty intersection where the coffee shop was. Cars were left abandoned on the streets as people left them behind to escape the riots.

I parked the police car in front of the coffee shop. I saw people huddled inside behind counters and tables, believing the thin sheet of glass would protect them from the riots on the streets.

It wouldn't.

I grabbed the shotgun beside me. "Stay here," I told Luke and Yousef.

I hopped out of the car and racked the slide of the shotgun just in case someone jumped me. I looked to my left and right. People scurried away from me once they saw what I was carrying.

I entered the coffee shop.

"Don't shoot us!" said the barista from the counter.

People started screaming. They were crying and screeching because of me.

"No! I'm not going to shoot you!" I explained quickly, but some were already running to the backdoor at their wits.

I saw Aria hiding underneath the table. Our eyes met. I stomped toward her.

"Aria! Where are the others? We have to go!"

It took a while to register in her mind what I said. "Bren?" She stared at me, then at the shotgun in disbelief.

She eventually crawled out from underneath. She pointed at the table near the counter, where at least a dozen people huddled together and shot me some pleading and terrified glares. I saw Natalie and Logan in the middle, clutching at one another.

Then, the coffee shop's windowpane shattered.

A woman in a red dress burst through the window, shrieking and twitching her way toward us. Someone had torn her hair off of her scalp, leaving a big messy chunk dangling. Bite marks riddled her flesh, with some still peeling off. She had her eyes at Aria.

I grabbed Aria's arm. "Get behind me."

Aria did as she was told and picked up a wooden chair in the process, bringing it up as a shield.

I aimed the shotgun for the head and fired.

The woman's lower jaw blew apart, and she collapsed on the ground. She didn't move.

I peered out the front and saw that the rioters now invaded this intersection. I had to run fast and get out of there. I whirled around to the people still huddled behind the counter. One man even peed himself.

I turned to the nearest barista--the one who pleaded not to shoot her. "Where does that go?" I pointed at the door where a few people escaped through a while ago.

"The alley," she mumbled shakily.

"Okay. Lead the others out there. The streets aren't safe, and your shop isn't going to do shit if you all stay here. Remember, head south."

The girl nodded, and she ran back and ordered the others to follow her.

Aria stayed behind. She studied me quizzically.