marcel ;
dad was tapping his foot against the floor of the man's car and i couldn't help but notice the worried look on his face as his hands shook. the gun was on his lap and he looked as if he was trying to keep his hands away from it.
and, although i could see his worry, i had no idea how to comfort him. i had never been outside on the night of a purge.
"excuse me." i leant forward to talk to the man, to ashton, who had come into our apartment. "where are we going?"
i guess i should probably feel annoyed that we had been taken out of the piece our home gave us and our game of mario kart, which i was obviously winning at.
but, if he had chosen another room or just left without us, we would have definitely ended up the same as the other people in our building and i didn't want dad to die. i definitely didn't want to see him killed by idiots that wanted to purge.
"i need to go into the centre of downtown chicago." dad's eyes widened, as did mine and we shared a look.
"that's the worst place to go!" michael cried out, forgetting about the gun as he flew forward in his chair meaning that it dropped to the floor. he cursed and leant down, searching for it with his right hand.
"i know it's bad. look, i need to get to the screens." i was going to reply but something on the side of the road caught my eye. i turned, looking out of the window at a girl that looked only a little older than me.
she was drenched, head to toe in blood. her hair flattened and clothes ruined. her eyes caught mine as we passed and i shivered, unable to look away.
a hand came to the side of my head and pulled me away from the window, towards the middle of the car. i would have complained, shoving away my dad but i needed his comfort right them.
someone my age had most probably just killed someone.
"marcel, it's okay. don't let that effect you." he whispered, stroking a hand through my hair. i closed my eyes and breathed out through my nose. "why in the world do you need to get to the screens?"
"i'll tell you when i'm not speeding down side roads at eighty miles per hour making sure no one's following us so i can keep you and you're son alive." the man snapped and, instead of getting annoyed that he wouldn't speak to us, all i felt was amazement at his sudden commitment to our lives.
i pushed away from dad then and he pouted for a second before i pushed his arm slightly and smiled. he ususally forced me into hugging or cuddling him and pouted when i pulled away. i mean, i need to keep some of my manlieness.
"thank you, ashton." i spoke quitely, unsure if either of tem wanted me to join in their conversation.
ashton smiled, a real one this time and nodded slightly.
aylssa ;
i had cooked myself a bowl of noodles, not really feeling that hungry and was sitting on my counter. next to me was my gun.
it's possible that i had taken it from my parent's apartment a couple of years ago. they had about ten that they had brought over the years but it wasn't like they were missing the one i had taken. not like they would mind, their daughter needed something to protect herself.
i had been managing to block out the gun shots from outside of the building successfully and that made me pretty proud as i slurped up the last of my noodles.
as i hopped down to put it into the sink, laughing slightly as i caught sight of the smudge of sauce on my chin. i ignored it as i washed the plate, knowing i would need to wash my face to get it off.
that's when there was a banging coming from inside the building.
and not just inside my building, but on my very own door.
"aylssa, baby girl, i'm here to protect you." i froze, dropping my plate into the washing up bowl as two gun shots went off. "i'm coming in!" he shouted before i heard a body bang against the door.
scared, i ran. the furthest place i could get to was my bedroom before i heard a large crash of my door falling through. damn this shitty apartment! frantically, i looked round and the only place i could think of going was my cupboard.
how cliche was that, hiding in your cupboard?
i didn't manage to get there though because i ended up in the arms of the drunk carl. she scrunched up her nose as the overwhelming smell of booze invaded her nostrils.
cold metal was pressed up against my neck and i stilled, stopping from my escape i was trying to make before.
"so baby girl, wanna tell me why you don't even look at me when you pass me in the halls? you think you're too good for me? huh?" he pushed the gun into my throat and i coughed slightly. his voice was right in my ear and didn't allow me to hear anything else.
"well guess what, you have to pay attention me right now because now it's my turn. it's my turn to purge!" he was shouted, loud as he probably could with his sore throat from the amount of cigarettes he had for the majority of his life.
his shouting explained why i hadn't heard anyone else come in and why the three consecutive shots shocked me so much. i couldn't even let out a scream but i turned so fast that i fell over my own feet.
in front of me, stood a person dressed all in black armour that made him look like he was an alien swat team. his gun was still held up and i was too scared to move in case he decided to shoot me too.
we were in a staring contest. well, i guessed it would be a staring contest but i couldn't see his eyes. i wasn't even totally sure why i was calling them a he but it felt like a male.
"apartment 4E cleared." in a way, i was proud that i had guessed he was a male. he hadn't moved his head away from me though. he took a couple of steps closer to me and held out his armour-clad hand. all i did was stare at it.
"i'm not going to hurt you. i didn't want to hurt anyone but he was... well." i nodded, taking his hand and letting him pull me up.
"i'm aylssa. thanks for, well, saving my life." his hand reached up and i flinched slightly but all he did was grab onto his mask and lift it.
"i'm calum. and you're wel-"
""if 4E is clear then why are you talking to someone?" a voice crackled through what must be some sort of technological walkie talkie, he cursed and ripped something off of his chest before shooting it.
"i promised myself i'd save as many lives as possible today so if you want to live you have to come with me."
his seriousness made me believe him and i felt like following him to the rooftop and down the fire escape ladder was probably the best thing to do. he had a gun, a big gun and knew the people that were coming to my apartment.
and i really didn't want to die.
