'Ethan! Get up now!' Cal's voice was hushed but urgent.
'Why?' Ethan rolled over so he could face his brother.
'Just do it.' Cal sighed and stood up to switch on a small lamp by the bed. Only now could he see the toll that their situation was taking on him- his shoulders were stooped, his face was drawn and his eyes were distant. Ethan himself was shattered. He had constant nightmares- Ian and Jess screaming. He woke up in cold sweats, screams echoing in his mind. He hadn't seen them. He hadn't heard them. He didn't want to. So why was he seeing everything so vividly?
Ethan clambered out of bed and changed into normal clothes.
'Vest too.'
'What? Why the hell would I need a bulletproof vest at 3 am?!' A gunshot fired in the street.
'That's why!' Cal ran up to Ethan and stuffed him into the vest. Ethan was still struggling to walk without crutches, due to a lack of physiotherapy appointments, he couldn't get anywhere fast. 'Ethan- we need to be downstairs. There's a cellar-like thing that Ollie and that lot set up as a safe place. We need go be there. Not here.'
Ethan knew this was serious, he knew that he was in danger but he just wanted to laugh. The circumstances were just ludicrous- too bizarre to carry even the slightest piece of information. He followed Cal at a distance, trying to make as little noise as possible with his crutches. There was more gunfire. It sounded closer than the first shot. Ethan's heart was in his mouth but he was down the main stairs. Now it was just the stairs in the pantry before they reached the cellar. There was yet more gunfire. Ethan hazarded a backwards glance to where Ollie, Felicity, Barry and Roy were shooting trough a barricade at the door. He couldn't move. He was frozen in shock.
A gunshot ran out. It hit its target. The victim slumped to the floor.
'ETHAN!'