Chatty Town

Chapter 12 : How Bad Is It?

Merrick shakes his head and sighs, "They got Harris."

A heavy sigh escapes my mouth as I remember when I lost my brother. As I think about the words I wished someone told me.

Merrick stands in front of me, waiting with me to find the right words to comfort D, but they almost never come.

"No. NO?!" D's deep voice rumbles into my ears and I take a deep breath, shaking my head bringing me back, before I jog through the metal door.

D's fallen to his knees in his own brother's blood, and there it is, the sight that makes me flashback to Reese's demise.

His brown hair streaked with crimson blood as he lay in my arms choking on his own blood.
Inhaling sobs as I spit out, "Don't speak. It's okay." As I stroke his long hair away from his eyes.
"Take. C-care of t-them. T-hey need y-you now." His face blurring together as the tears obstruct the view of him dying before me.
"I don't even know how to do what you do."
"Y-you'll... learn."

"But, I don't want you to go. I can't do this without you."
"Dem. Y-you have to be s-trong. For all of them."
"Don't leave me too, please."

"I'm s-orry."
"It should've been me... They need you. I need you."
Reese's eyes glaze over. He stops fighting the blood in his throat. And I bury my face into his lifeless shoulder sobbing through the night with four dead Chatties lying across the street.

Darnell's sharp inhale brings me back to the scene unfolding before me.

Darnell's gently stroking Harris' chest soaked and pooling in blood from three gunshots to his chest. He shakes his hanging head as he brushes the kinky curls away from the fourth, fifth and sixth bullet planted in Harris' forehead, cheek and eye socket. "How'd this happen?!" D's voice rumbles through the room.

Lynn shakes her head as she starts to kneel down on the other side of Harris' corpse.

Lynn starts, "They came ou-"

"No!" D snaps, "You were supposed to protect him! Y-you don't get to speak." D sobs through the words as he plops down, now sitting in the red puddle around his brother. "You don't g-et to speak! Not n-ow."

D pulls Harris' body up onto his lap and strokes his cheek, "God! They didn't even care about his face." Wren kneels in front of Harris' head and places her hand on D's shoulder, spitting out, "We'll make them pay for this. I promise, D!"

Merrick nudges me with his elbow and I know I should say something, I know I should be here for him but it just reminds me too much of Reese's last moments. I shake my head and Merrick nods.

Merrick steps over the glass and helps Lynn to her feet. "Did you leave the shop?"

Lynn shakes her head and I notice her face, and the handprint of blood over her mouth and cheek. "No. We didn't leave. T-they just came, They came out of nowhere. I'm so sorry, D!"

I shake my head and take a step, glancing around the shop and through the broken window, "That doesn't make any sense. They've never attacked here before."

Merrick sighs, "They're changing up the game."

Wren growls as she stands up and walks over to Lynn, "Guess we're playing by new rules then."

"But why now?" I wonder.

Wren pulls Lynn into a hug as Lynn tries to suffocate her sobs.

Darnell bellows, "What am I gonna tell Kenny?! He- he shouldn't see him like this."