City of Blood [boyxboy]

Chapter Twenty One

Hello again everyone!

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Year. So glad that 2016 is behind us and we can look to a wonderful 2017 ahead. I must say, it was quite wonderful to come back to my inbox just bursting with stuff from you guys. Thank you all so much for supporting this story! My resolution is to try and update more frequently, let's hope for the best!

Speaking of which, I'm so excited to announce that City of Blood has reached 50k reads!!! This has been the greatest gift on the face of the earth, I'm so amazed and thrilled and overjoyed and you're all such wonderful people!!!! I'm so glad I can write something that you lovely people can enjoy reading and I hope I can continue to.

Best wishes to all of you in 2017! Enjoy!

Cosmos ~

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The explosion of sound makes us both flinch in fear. Voices immediately rise up to follow the bang, cries of terror and angry shouts just little ways down the street. I'd say it was a shotgun, but it seems much too large a sound from so far off.

"What the hell ...?" James tries to make sense of anything down the road, but it's too packed with cars and neon lights from all places. The screams grow louder, and we begin to recognise figures sprinting our way, trying to get away from the source.

Then another bang rings out, far closer than the first. Three runners hit the asphalt hard. A car bursts into flames. Lights in buildings are blinking on in floods and some are popping out windows to see the chaos.

"Garth ..." James tugs my sleeve. I watch his finger as it rises to point at the building across the street from us, at the rooftop.

Two dark figures stare down at us.

I grab his wrist. "Run."

A spray of gunfire rings after us as we bolt down the sidewalk. We veer around the nearest corner, sprinting faster than we should be capable of, listening in horror as the sounds try to surround us, the guns, the explosions, the fire, the screams. Cars are crowding at the intersection in an attempt to get out of here, but there's too many. People are fleeing to the nearest buildings, few not quite making it as another gun unloads. The dark, shadowy figures are beginning to appear everywhere, all noticeably armed.

"We — we need shelter!" James cries, curling into himself mid-step as another bang rings out.

I come to a dead stop, catching James as he struggles to stop in time as well. I point at the apartment building across the street, where people are lined up and struggling to get inside quick as possible. "You'll be safe there. Get inside and go to the highest floor you can. I'll call you when I'm safe, and if I don't ... tell my father. Please."

"What the fuck, Garth?" He stares at me like I just recommended murder to his problems. "Whatever you're thinking, it's bullshit. We're both going." He grabs my wrist with a grip sure to leave bruises.

"I can't, James," I exclaim. "They're here for me. I have to lead them away from everybody. I can make it stop, but I won't see you get hurt."

"Fuck that bullshit, Garth! I get you're prince of New York and shit, but that doesn't mean you need to go running off into death because everything that happens is automatically by fault of your existence!"

"James! We don't have time for this!" I cast a quick glance around us; nobody seems to be hunting us down immediately. "You don't understand! Just let me go!"

He grips me even tighter. "Then we both go. I'm not letting you run off by yourself, you idiot." He starts moving again, trying to tug me along with him.