...Zeke...
I hear a lot of shouting and gun firing and I start running in the direction of the explosion before I stop in my tracks. If I go back, I won't get another chance and all of Zeke's planning would be for no reason. I close my eyes tight and send a silent prayer that Zeke made it and run towards the fire escape. Before i can reach the ladder, I see a guy patrolling the area with a rifle in his hand. I squeeze myself against the wall and think of options. I can attack him but he has a gun and he's wearing a bullet proof vest. I can run for the ladder but again he has a gun which can fire faster than even I can run. I realize the safest and quietest thing I can do is try and sneak in without him seeing me. When he turns his back, I run for the ladder and without stopping I jump as hard as I can and luckily I grab the last rung of the ladder. Using all the strength in my body, I pull myself up and climb the ladder all the way to the top of the roof. Once I reach the top I don't dare look over the edge and continue to the vent.
"Shauna are you there?" I say
"yeah... I can't seem to find it" she says frustrated " there's this fire wall and... wait... I got it" She examines and I sigh in relief. " Ok.. touch the back of the ear piece, it turns on a signal and I can direct you through the school" she says . I take a huge breath and turn the switch on. Before I can do anything else I see a guy squatted on the edge of the building, firing at the people below.
Again i take a deep breath and tackle the guy from the back. He yells, shocked and I use to my advantage as I punch the guy and put him in a chock hold. He hits my hand but slowly loses consciousness. I make sure he's still alive.
"ok, first thing first. You need to find a way to open the vent. If you can find something to smash the screen, you could get in" Shauna says and I frantically look around for anything I can use.
"Hold on" I say and run around the roof like a maniac, trying to find a weapon of sorts before I see a metal pole and a big pile of rocks on the one of the sides. Great, where was this stuff when I was fighting a giant with nothing but a prayer. There seems to be some to repairs going on and I slowly pick up the pole and walk back towards the vent. I use all my strength and try smashing the wires and after the 5th try it finally gives.
"I'm in" I say and look down the small, closed black hole and I can feel myself start to hyperventilate . My heart feels like it's about to beat out of my chest and I have a shortness of breath
"Ok Four, you need to slowly slide down the vent. You're just big enough to squeeze through and push yourself down.
"ok.." I gasp out
I look down the vent again and take a huge gulp of air and slowly ease myself in the vent. I brace my legs and arms against the small enclosure and inch by inch I let myself slide down. As I look up , I can see the light slowly fading, going deeper down the vent. I hear the crackle and buzz of static in my ears.
"Shauna?" I gasp out, worried that I may have lost my only form of communication
"Keep going down" I hear her voice and I take a calming breath. I close my eyes and focus on steadying my breathing . Every time I take an inhale, I feel as if there isn't any air going into my lungs and I quickly shake myself out of that line of thinking
It's all in your head, It's all in your head
I finally feel my feet come in contact with something and look down to see that I am finally down the long drop
"Shauna, I'm down the vent" I hear some static and I take a deep breath
"Shauna, do you hear me?"
"Yes.. forward... right" I hear her voice cutting out and send a silent prayer that she does not fully cut out . On my hands and knees I crawl forward the dark vent, trying to focus my breathing. My hands are slippery with sweat and I can feel myself start to lose the control I have over myself. I get to a split in the vent. Left or right
"Shauna, left or right?" I gasp out. All I hear is static
"Shauna.. left or right?" I say a bit louder, my breathing starting to labor
"...right.." I hear and I take a right turn. I crawl for a few more minutes before I start to gasp, my claustrophobia getting worst
"Shauna, I need to get out of this vent right now" I gasp and I hold my breath as I hear static
"Shauna?" I say desperately
"Straight.. then left... should...screen" I hear her voice cutting off. I start crawling forward and finally see another turn and take a left. I feel as if I am being choked, unable to get enough air into my lungs. I use my hands and push at the venting walls, trying to gain some breathing space
"Shauna, I can't breathe" I gasp " I need to get out" I say desperately. I lose all control and I can feel myself suffocating within these pipes
"Four... relax... breath..." I hear Shauna's voice and I feel like an idiot that I'm losing it. I have been trained and mastered the art of keeping calm and here I am loosing it.
"Crawl just a little bit further" I hear her voice and it takes all the breath in me to use my hands and legs to push myself forward. I finally see a screen and some lights coming from it. I look down the screen and see a bathroom. I turn myself around and use my legs to bash through the screening and fall face first onto the bathroom floor. I lay, gasping on the floor trying to get a hold of my breathing.
"Four, are you ok?" I hear Shauna's voice clear now that I am out of the vent . I give a little grunt and slowly get up and take in my surroundings.
"I'm fine" I dust myself off and put my ears against the door . When I don't hear anything, I slowly open the door .
"Ok Shauna, any ideas where they may have taken the hostages?" I whisper , taking a deep breath and stepping out of the washroom and into a dark hallway. It seems like the attackers shot out the lights on the ceilings. I bring out my cell phone and use the light from it .
Ever step I take , I hear pieces of shards crunching under my foot.
"There are 2 floors and about 50 classrooms on each floor. That means there is 100 rooms they could be hiding in" Shauna says and I internally cringe. There is only 1 of me and a 100 rooms to search.
"That's fucking great. Any good news?" I say irritated
"Hey, try to remember who just risked their jobs to help you" she says "Plus freaking out will not help. Take calming breaths and think clearly "
"Well you do that . I'm going try and survive this nightmare" I say as I hear a lone coughing in a nearby room
"Shauna, shh" I say and get against the wall of the door. I can feel my heart beat picking up again like the olden days when I was on the front lines. The same feeling I used to get during a mission. I control my breathing as I get in position to attack whoever walks through the door. I wait and suddenly the door opens. Without giving it another moment, I jump behind the person, getting my arms around the tall guy. I put him in a lethal choke hold and the guy grabs my hands and tries to pry my arms off. I am thrown off by the guys strength as I feel my arms being pulled apart and use my body weight and his momentum and knock his head against the wall. There's a loud thud and the guy stops struggling long enough for me to drop him uncounious.
I rest my arms on my knees, trying to control my breathing. The fucker was strong. I get a hold of myself and walk over to the unconscious guy and grab the walkie talkie he has attached to his belt. I grab the guys hat and put it on and that suddenly gives me an idea
I carefully walk into the classroom that the guy walked though and sigh when I find an empty room. I hold the door open with my body as I drag the body through it. I quickly take my shirt and pants off and put on his and wince at the tightness, picking up his gun.
"Did you just put on the dudes clothes" Shauna asks and I roll my eyes at her as I drag the guy into one of the supply closets in the room. I put a few desk and chairs against the door , knowing if the guy comes to , these things wouldn't really stop him.
"Four, this is not a movie. That was so cliché. Seriously" She says and I huff , ignoring her jab as I quietly leave the room and walk forward
I like to see you here instead of me and then say it was so cliché.
"ok, did you do your deep breathing, calming crap? Any idea where they can be "
" It's called meditation dumb ass and I think I may know. What classroom are you near" she asks and I look over to see the number 50
"50" I say
"ok , you need to stay on this floor. Go straight and then you should see the hallways turning. I think they should be in room number 3" she says
"How do you know"
" room number 3 is not only optimal for easy escape, it's the only room where there is an ally way just to the right of the rooms window where they can hide an escape vehicle." she says and I smile, happy to have her on my team .. As I walk forward, watching the decreasing number I think of Zeke and that car. Zeke is fine, I keep telling myself to keep myself focused. Anything else but fine and I would surely loss it.
"Yo Rod, are you ok?" I jump at the sound coming from the little radio in my hand , I freeze when I hear footsteps coming from the stairwell.
"Rodriguez?" I quickly turn off the radio and jump into the nearby classroom and put my ear against the door. I hear some guys talking, at least two of them and I hold still, praying that they move on. I finally hear their running footsteps and internally flinch because now they know that something is wrong so they will be on their guard.
So much for a surprise attack
"Fuck" I sigh and turn around to stare at the empty and bring up my gun when I hear a sniffling sound. I pull out my phone again and aim my gun in front of me as I walk across the room , towards a small cabinet. I hold my gun tight and open the cabinet door when I stop myself at the last second. In the end of the small cabinet. a small boy sits, his head under his arm , visibly shaking
"double fuck" I whisper
"hey, kid" I say and his head pops up, surprised that I could see him
"Don't hurt me. I'm sorry" the kid sniffles
"hey, hey, don't cry, I'm not going to hurt you . Shh" I hush him. He cowers when I push my arms at him
"What's your name"
"Andrew" he whispers
"Well Andrew, my name is sergeant four and I want to help you but you need to trust me" I whisper, holding my hand out towards him . He looks at my hand for a second and then slowly grabs on. I pull him out and he stands shaking.
"Shauna, I found one of the kids. Room 10. I can send him out through the window but there's a gunman out there. What the hell should I do?" I say looking around the dark room
"Tell him to keep hiding and come back for him"
"Are you out of your mind. There is no way in hell I'm leaving this poor kid behind" I say frustrated at the situation because I know it's not safe with me but it's not safe outside either without protection "
"Four its safer for him inside and hiding " She says and internally I know that she's right. He a much easier target if he's with me.
"Ok Andrew, I need to listen to me very carefully. I need you to stay hidden in here ok? Under no circumstance are you allowed to come out. I will come back and get you ok? " I say and move towards the door
"Don't leave me please" He clings onto my leg and I look at him .
"Andrew do you want to be my partner?" I ask and his eyes light up and he nods his head
"Ok, you are officially my new partner, private Andrew. Now as your first mission, I need you to get into the cabinet and do not make one peep until I come get you. You are not allowed to come out until I tell you to , understood private" he thinks about this for a second and then he nods. He salutes to me and I salute back to him. I help him back into the cabinet and make sure its closed tight. Then I take some of the scatter chairs and tables and place it around the cabinet so it's hidden from view. After making sure its secure, I listen for anymore people outside the door When I don't hear anything, I slowly open the door and walk down the hallway. I pass room 5 and that's when I notice the hallway tuning, I slowly peek around the bend and curse when I see two guards in front of room 3. Shauna's right
I press myself against the wall
" There's two gunman in front of the room and probably more inside. Any advice?"
"Don't get killed" Shauna says and I roll my eyes. I cock my gun and surprised to find a silencer on it. Finally one thing that's worked in my favor today. I take a deep breath and thump on the wall two times and wait for the two guards to investigate. I hear their footsteps and take a huge breath and slowly release it. As they round the bend, I tackle them both to the ground. They are able to push me off , but before they can get their footing I punch one of the guys in the face and I can feel the other guy getting up so I flip the other guy over and slam him into the other guy, causing them both to crumple to the floor. As I stand to catch my breath, one of them pulls my legs and I fall hard, hitting my head on the ground. One of the guy pulls me up and punches me in the face and I hear the sickening crunch my nose and almost black out from the pain. He pulls his arm back to punch me again and this time I catch his arm and pull it against his back . He moans in agony as I try to rip it off his shoulder. I see the other guy run towards me I push the other guy at douche number two , causing them to both fall. I see one of them reach for the gun and without thinking I pull my gun out and shot each one of them, straight through the heart .
I stand gasping and feel the warm blood from my nose trickle down my lips and wipe it away. I feel the blood start a steady stream down my face and I ignore it.
"Smith? Anderson? Reply" I hear the walkie talkie which is still on the floor where I dropped it.
"Fuck, what's going on there. Reply, damn it" I hear the voice scream. I pick it up and turn it off and before I can assess what I did, I limp my way to the door . I take one deep breath, make sure I have enough bullets in my gun and kick the door open. I run in and take out the first person I see that's holding a gun, two more people in the room run at me but I am so filled with adrenaline that I punch one out and the other one I grab and twist him into a lethal choke hold. He is able to bite my arm and I feel my flesh rip as he digs his teeth in my arm and rips into my arm. I scream and push him off of me . I pay no attention to the 30 plus little bodies shaking and crying in the corner. I kick the guy in the face and he lands on his knees. I pull the gun out and aim at his head
"Shauna, I got the hostages, tell them to storm" I say and I hear her frantic calls to tell the police outside to storm the school
"Where are they" I hiss, spitting the blood that has trickled into my mouth. He smiles .
"Four, you finally made it. We were beginning to think you would never come" he laughs and I hit him with the butt of the gun, he falls flat on his face. I pull him up by his hair
"Where . Are. They" I say enraged. He smiles . He puts one hand in his pocket and when I tell him not to move he slowly brings it back out and holds out a piece of paper.
"It's for you. This is where they are at. Go alone and bring the bear." He says and I stare at him confused. What bear? I hear the other police men running towards the room.
"Have fun in prison" I sneer at him and all he does is laugh.
"I don't like prison" He laughs and suddenly grabs my arm and pulls the trigger on himself .
All the kids scream and before I can turn to them, I see Peter and Christine run into the room. Christina immediately approaches me
"Are you ok?" I shake my head . Amar then enters the room and pats me on the back
"Where's Zeke? " I ask
"Uh.. Four .. He.." Christina hesitates and before she can continue, Amar interrupts her
"Good job... serge..." he says and I glare at him , pushing his hand off my back
Remembering Andrew whose still in hiding, I indicate for Christina to follow me and wordlessly she follows behind me. I enter room 10 and open the cabinet door and Andrew jumps out and gives me hug which I don't return.
I didn't see Zeke enter. He should have been the first one.
"Take him to the others" I say and turn to leave the room not wanting to hear what happened to Zeke. I'm going to crumble if anything has happened to him and I can't afford to lose it right now.
"Where are you going?"
" To find the twins" I say and leave the room crushing the little paper in my fist