Saving Lucas

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

“Wake up!” Ringo yelled. He was shaking Lucas’ head violently, urging him to open his eyes. Bullet holes scattered the lot, multiplying every second. Wood splinters burst like snowflakes in the air, but Ringo was oblivious to them all. His world, at that moment, shrunk into a single individual which was Lucas. He was so buried in his task of waking him up when a pair of hands pulled him away.

“Come on Ringo! We have to go!” Winter screamed, pulling him with her. When she saw Lucas on the floor, her eyes widened.

“No…” she whispered, covering her mouth. Tears dribbled uncontrollably down her cheeks.

“Lucas! Wake up!” Ringo yelled as he felt another set of hands grabbing him by the shoulder.

“We need to get out of here!” Anton yelled, using all of his might to break Ringo free. He looked at Lucas who was sprawled on the floor.

“He’s…” he said, shaking his head. “He’s not waking up. We have to go. Now!” Finally, Ringo’s grip loosened.

Anton and Winter continued to pull him away despite of his flailing and protests. They managed to pull Ringo to the car. They shoved him inside, locked the doors and gunned the engine. Bullets pinged against the car, making the drive more difficult. Anton was having a hard time seeing where he was going—he ducked for cover—let alone controlling the car. A bullet pierced the driver’s window, sending shards of glass into the stale air. Anton immediately looked to his right, checking if Winter was okay. She was moving. She was reaching for Ringo’s pistol. Anton swerved the car to the right, making an exit. Just as the car made a turn onto the streets, Winter lunged to his side. She climbed on top of him, blocking his view. She then crawled towards his side of the window.

“Slow down one sec!” She yelled.

“What? Are you crazy?”

“Just do it, dammit!” He took his foot off the accelerator and hit the brakes.

Winter’s face was gaunt and taut, her concentration evident. Her head was sticking outside Anton’s window as she raised her left arm and rested her right hand on the arm, clutching the gun. Her arm swerved slowly, like she was following her target. She closed one eye and within a heartbeat, fired the gun. The gunshot pierced Anton's eardrums, leaving a dreaded toooooot. Anton turned his head to the left, and that was when he saw Boardshorts taking cover on a sidewalk bush a few yards away, his head snapping back in an unusual angle. The bullet hit its mark. “Eyes on the road!” Winter yelled as she crawled back to her seat. Another car was approaching, and Anton managed to swerve the car, avoiding head-to-head collision. Then he stepped on the gas, getting them far from the horror that he’d seen earlier.

****

Karl crawled toward the bush. His grip on the sniper loosened, sending it tumbling to the ground. He struggled to lean on a boulder, his chest wheezing. He fumbled for his handkerchief with hands shaking. He realized he can’t control the tremor of his limbs, let alone the cough. After a few tries, he finally pulled the damned thing out of his pocket. Blood spurted from his neck like a tiny fountain. He folded the handkerchief a couple of times and put it on his neck. Blood soaked the handkerchief almost instantly, but he still managed to push it even harder. He was coughing out blood now, and knew that he’d choke on it anytime soon. He reached for his phone and searched for the number. He hit call and after a few rings, a woman answered.

“Hello?” The woman whispered, sounding weak.

“I… I…” he managed between raspy breaths. “I love… you… Maria,” he said before he closed his eyes, thinking about his wife shopping candles for him.