Chapter Two: Raiders
The boy drew shallow breaths as he approached the raiders. He clenched the kitchen knife so hard his knuckles turned white, and he almost drew blood from squeezing the jagged leather so tightly.
Those heartless bastards! They took my mother!
He could still remember the last words her lips spoke before the raiders attacked: "Don't forget to lock the back door on your way back in Timmy."
Damn it, it's all my fault! thought Tim bitterly. Tim raised his shaking hand, rattling the knife as he glared at the biggest raider, the one with the sledgehammer.
I'll kill you!
Tim could still vividly remember the moment that man caved in his poor dog's skull, and choked his only brother. Tim had no idea where his father was, but for the most part he didn't care. His father had always been a mean man to Tim, never letting him do anything fun, always scolding him or arguing with his mother. Tim wouldn't be surprised if he was hiding in the cellar back at the shop right now.
Out of pure anger and hatred, Tim shouted "You psycho! I'll kill you!" at the largest raider.
The four raiders spun around. A wicked grin spread across the leader's face.
"Looks like the search is over fellas! Get him!"
* * *
Jack watched helplessly as the boy shouted at the raiders, all while threateningly waving the knife. The raiders bound after the boy, who fearlessly held his ground. Jack had to act. He slipped the rifle off of his shoulder, and pulled back the bolt, which loaded a round into the chamber. He then looked down the iron sights, his eyes on the knife wielding man in the green coat, who was quickly approaching the boy. Jack grudgingly pulled the trigger, for he had never shot at a man before. The bullet zipped through the store, and lodged itself in the man's waist. He groaned and hit the ground hard, a gallon of blood quickly pouring out of the open wound.
The knife clattered to the floor, and the man scrambled over the pool of blood to reach it. Jack sighed. Even in near-death circumstances, the blood-thirsty raider wouldn't stop in his pursuit to cause harm.
"Another one!" shouted the woman, flipping a switch on her tank, and pointing to Jack.
"I only want the boy, go ahead and kill him!" shouted the leader.
Jack hid behind the shelf as SMG bullets battered the other side. Jack pulled the bolt, which ejected the smoking, empty shell from the chamber. He slid it back into place, which prepared another bullet.
"Rorik, go after the boy! Us three will take care of this fool!"
When someone made an animalistic grunt in reply, Jack was positive Rorik was the big one. And that meant the boy was in deep trouble.
"Fire in the hole!" shouted the leader, as something bounced across the floor near Jack's feet. It clattered to a stop when it hit the adjacent shelf. It was then when Jack realized what the object was. A hand grenade. Without even thinking, Jack hastily grabbed the grenade, and lobbed it over the shelf. He heard the leader scream in protest just before the grenade exploded.
Half of the market was veiled in smoke, which gave Jack time to go after Rorik and the boy. But groans of pain told him the raiders were still very much alive. He didn't have time to waste. Jack rushed towards the back half of the market, and found Rorik circling the pharmacy, a curved counter lined with cabinets.
"Come out little one, and maybe I won't have to hurt you like the poor lil' puppy," said the giant, his enormous head shaking with laughter.
"You son of a [censored]!"
The boy revealed himself by hopping over the counter, knife still in hand. He closed the ten foot space in between the counter and the raider in seconds. But before he could swing the knife, the massive sledgehammer whirled through the air, and caught him in the wrist. With a sickening crunch, the boy was flung through the air, landing unconsciously next to the counter.
The raider roared in anger.
"Now why'd you 'afta go an do that sonny? Boss man told me not to 'urt you! Oh well, guess I gotta kill ya now, seein as ya' can't work with a broken wrist an' all..."
"Think again," said Jack, aiming at the man's forehead.
"Aw shi-"
The .32 bullet shot through the air, unfortunately hitting the bandit's shoulder plate. It made it half way through the spiked metal, and at the very most, only left a small bruise on the raider's shoulder.
"Wot a lucky day for me, I get ta' kill both of ya'."
Jack nervously ejected the shell and pulled the bolt back into place, but the giant was already upon him. Jack raised the old, wooden rifle up in defense, but it wasn't necessary. The boy had returned to consciousness, and drove the kitchen knife into the raider's giant neck. Blood shot out like a fireman's hose, but the giant remained still, a smile slowly forming on his face.
"Boss man said them implants would save meh life some day, but I never believed 'em. Nice try little 'un, but I got three-inch metal plates under mah skin. You might draw blood but you won't reach mah vitals," said the behemoth, grinning.
Rorik slowly removed the knife from his neck, and batted the helpless boy aside. The giant drew closer to the boy, and raised the sledgehammer high. But this time, Jack's aim was true. A bullet streaked through the air, digging into Rorik's right eye. He roared in fury, and toppled over in pain. Jack switched the gun to his left hand, and used the right to help the boy up.
"Come on, we don't have time!"
The boy winced as Jack gripped his wrist.
"Sorry, here," said Jack, wrapping the cloth from his gun around the boy's wrist, making a homemade sling.
"Now come with me!"
The two raced off towards a door marked 'EXIT'. Jack could hear the other three raiders yell and shout: they had apparently recovered from the grenade's incapacitating blow. It seems the explosion itself didn't hit them. Jack pulled and tugged on the door knob, but it wouldn't budge. They were locked inside.
They had to find a way out! Jack led the boy down an aisle, and hid behind the shelf.
"Stay... here..." panted an exhausted Jack. The boy had a look of utter terror on his face, but he silently nodded in reply. Jack crouched low, and sped off through the aisle. He came to a counter, and slid over onto the other side. He then pulled a pair of binoculars out from his backpack, and zoomed in on the spot where the raiders were.
He could see the leader, as well as the woman, in deep conversation. Jack then looked down to see the wounded man in the green coat, pleading with them to help him. Jack saw the leader say something, smile, then point the gun at the wounded man. Jack closed his eyes and heard a grotesque 'pop' as the bullet passed through the man's skull. Opening his eyes, Jack could just see the leader and the woman run off, towards the spot Rorik had gone. They would soon find a dead Rorik, and begin looking for him and the boy.
Jack raced back to the boy, promptly grabbed his uninjured wrist, and led him off to the entrance of the store. Unfortunately, the woman had been asked to guard it, so Jack had to turn back around. He again sped off with the boy, and this time found an emergency ladder.
"Do you think you can climb that?" whispered Jack.
The boy looked as if he were about to cry, but he nodded.
"Good. Go!"
Tim began to climb up the ladder, Jack carefully holding his feet to make sure he made it up safely. The boy had already reached the hatch in the roof by the time they found Jack.
"Where's the boy?" said the leader, his gun prodding into Jack's back.
"It's too late," said Jack with a false grin.
"I'm afraid not," replied the leader.
"The roof's edges are lined with barb wire. Not to mention it's covered in mines. Chances are, the boy is already dead."
"Ulrich, he hasn't tried the entrance yet-" said the woman, appearing around the edge of an aisle.
"It's alright Jessica," said Ulrich.
"We found him."
* * *
Tim crawled over the threshold, and collapsed on his back onto the roof, panting. He had never been so scared in his life. He looked around, and finally spotted a way down. On the far edge of the roof was a long slab of concrete, which lead down to the ground. Unfortunately, the edges were lined with barbwire. Getting down would take some time. He began to walk towards the edge, when he noticed something odd.
A strange, round object lay at his feet, with a beeping orange circle in the center. Tim cautiously backed up, unaware of it's purpose. He grabbed a small, broken slab of concrete from the ground, and tossed it at the object. Immediately, the object exploded, digging a three-feet deep hole into the roof, and sending dust and debris flying fifteen feet into the air. Tim covered his eyes as the dust began to settle. Mines. Land mines.
Tim began the long, cautious journey across the mine-laden roof, towards the edge of the building. He made sure not to come within a foot of each mine.
Suddenly, near the edge of the building, a second hatch opened. Out climbed Rorik. He smiled wickedly, the sledgehammer gleaming in the evening sun. His eye ball was dangling by the optic nerve, and a massive, bloody gash was in his neck, but the man remained alive.
"Play time," he said, ripping the eye from it's socket as he approached the boy.
* * *
"Take us to the boy."
"He's on the roof."
"Fine. Lead the way," said the leader, pushing the gun barrel into Jack's spine. Jack began the long climb up the ladder, the two raiders following behind.
* * *
The boy backed up, checking for mines along the way, as the giant of a man got closer and closer.
"Ow'd you like to die, sonny? Slowly? More slowly? As painfully as possible? I try to make death as enjoyable as possible... for me, that is."
"Go fuck yourself," said the boy, remembering the atrocious acts this man committed earlier that day.
"Not wise at all, little one."
The boy's eyes narrowed.
"You killed my brother. You slaughtered my dog. You destroyed our only shelter. And you and your bastard friends took my mother!"
"Life's a bitch, huh sonny?"
The boy stopped backing up, and clenched his fists.
"Get it over with," he said, a tear streaking down his face. Death was not an easy adversary to confront. The hulking man sped up, raising the sledgehammer. Just before he could finish the boy, the young man decided it was not yet his time. He ducked to the side, narrowly avoiding the sledgehammer. Luckily for him, a mine was only inches behind the boy, and the sledgehammer landed directly on it.
In a fiery explosion, the behemoth was destroyed once and for all. The metal head of his sledgehammer fell from the sky, and sunk into the concrete next to Tim's feet.
When the smoke cleared, all that was left of the raider was a few burnt limbs, and a pile of blood and guts.
"Well well well!"
Tim turned around to see the leader of the raiders, and the woman with the mohawk behind him. The man who had saved Tim was in front of them, hands behind his back.
"You actually managed to kill Rorik. I figured that was impossible with the implants, but you proved me wrong. It's too bad we have to kill you," said the leader, pointing towards the hand in the sling.
Ulrich walked towards Tim, loading a new clip into his machine gun as he did. He pointed the weapon at Tim, and smiled like he did before he killed his ally. Jack slowly walked backwards, out of the sight of Jessica. He used the sharp points of the ladder to cut the restraints on his wrist. Jack then took his rifle, and pointed it to Jessica's head. She gasped, and Ulrich turned around.
"Spare the boy or your friend bites the dust."
"You wouldn't."
"Don't fucking tempt me!"
Ulrich laughed. Jack suddenly remembered that Ulrich had heartlessly slaughtered his fellow team mate.
"You cold hearted bastard..."
"Once the boy is dead, you're next," said Ulrich, turning around and walking towards the boy again. Jack decided now was time. He slammed the but of the gun into Jessica's head, splintering the wood into a hundred pieces. Then, before Ulrich could turn around and fire in retaliation, Jack aimed the hunting rifle at him and fired. Ulrich's shoulder exploded into a thousand bloody pieces, exposing his shoulder blade and the tendons of muscle attached to it. He screamed in agony, falling over as he did.
Machine gun bullets zipped towards the heavens as Ulrich instinctively pulled the trigger. A molten hot shell hit the concrete, and another replaced in in the chamber. Jack immediately fired again. This time the bullet struck his leg, blasting off his knee cap. The third and final shot ripped clean through his chain mail-covered chest, silencing him for good.
Jack tossed the now worthless rifle to the ground, and approached the boy.
"It's time to go."
The boy looked at Jack silently, his mind whirring. His tears finally caught up with him. Tim raced towards Jack, embracing him. Jack couldn't even begin to imagine the horrors he had witnessed in the past few days. A metallic click reverberated through the air, causing Jack to turn around.
"I-if I-I-I'm g-going t-to die h-here t-t-today, I'm t-taking you t-two with m-me..." said Ulrich, pointing the sub machine gun towards Jack and Tim.
"Go to hell," replied Jack, noticing what Ulrich was crawling towards. Before Ulrich even knew what had happened, the mine exploded, and he thought no more. Jack and Tim stood there, together, for several minutes. Tim sobbed silently in Jack's arms.
"Time to go," said Jack.