around.
Kirken turned his gaze back down
to Mel. She looked at him and smiled. It almost covered the sad hurt very
evident behind her eyes.
He put his
hand on her shoulder and was about to apologize again when a loud
"crack" ripped through the still heat that hung in the stifling air.
"What the hell was
that?" Brandon asked slowly looking around the street and then turning
back to where Kirken and Mel stood.
Crack! Crack!
Two more loud popping sounds
echoed through the decomposing buildings that enclosed the city streets.
Kirken's arm dropped reflexively
to the Sunszk 3150, one of the most powerful hand weapons made in or outside
the domes, concealed beneath his shirt. He stepped in front of his daughter and
backed her towards the side of one of the storefronts.
The people milling about the
area stood motionless at the noise. Like Kirken and Brandon, their eyes darted
around seeking its source.
The skin crawled at the back of
Kirken’s neck. And for a reason he did not yet know, he released the safety on
his weapon.
With Mel trailing close behind,
Kirken walked over to Brandon. Both cupped their hands to their eyes and stared
toward the far end of the decomposing street.
In the distance, dark figures
approached from behind the sun’s glare. The people walking around scattered
slowly before them. Their movements were coordinated and pronounced. Nearly
twenty in all, they strode purposefully through the middle of the street.
Kirken watched in horror while
one of them near the front of the group raised his hand. At the signal, the
rest broke from the formation and spread across the street and onto the
sidewalks.
"What the hell?"
Kirken said under his breath and continued to stare.
Brandon and Mel stood rigidly
next to him on the sidewalk and watched them move steadily towards them past
the storefronts and through the curious few of the remaining crowd.
A woman wandered from the door
of a nearby building and stood in front of them causing the entire group to
stop. The sounds of her voice drifted lazily through the air while she faced
them. A slight scared edge colored her tone. Even from where Kirken stood, he
could see her body shake slightly.
One of the figures raised an
object in his fist to her forehead. In the same instant, her body crumpled to
the ground. The single shot echoed for what seemed like an eternity through the
still air.
Kirken heard his daughter gasp.
A second figure next to the
first bent and picked up her body and placed it gently on the sidewalk out of
the street. The rest continued to move ahead.
Others came from the storefronts
at the sound of the shot. One threw a brick into the group knocking one of the
figures in the head and collapsing him to the ground.
More gunfire ripped through the air.
Just at the edge of the sidewalk, the man who threw the brick jerked violently
sideways and fell in a motionless heap.
Kirken and his stepchildren
watched in stunned disbelief. Kirken blinked his eyes against the
ever-increasing harshness of the sun’s glare. The figures were now less than
fifty feet from where they stood.
"Those are goddamn
soldiers," he said swallowing hard and feeling his stomach drop to his
feet.
He put his arm on Brandon and
Mel's shoulders and pulled them slowly back towards the door of the nearest
storefront. He scraped his feet gently backwards until his outstretched hand
brushed across its latch.
He nudged it gently open and was
about to pull them inside after him when one of the soldiers closest to them
looked up. He motioned towards them with his weapon. Three others standing next
to him quickly raised their own.
"Down!" Kirken
screamed. The door behind them shredded instantly into splinters and dust.
Kirken drove his shoulders into
Brandon’s back and shoved him down hard behind a car parked at the curb. In the
same motion, he tackled Mel from behind as automatic weapons fire exploded
around them.
Mel's face smacked against the
cracked pavement, and blood
Kirken turned his gaze back down
to Mel. She looked at him and smiled. It almost covered the sad hurt very
evident behind her eyes.
He put his
hand on her shoulder and was about to apologize again when a loud
"crack" ripped through the still heat that hung in the stifling air.
"What the hell was
that?" Brandon asked slowly looking around the street and then turning
back to where Kirken and Mel stood.
Crack! Crack!
Two more loud popping sounds
echoed through the decomposing buildings that enclosed the city streets.
Kirken's arm dropped reflexively
to the Sunszk 3150, one of the most powerful hand weapons made in or outside
the domes, concealed beneath his shirt. He stepped in front of his daughter and
backed her towards the side of one of the storefronts.
The people milling about the
area stood motionless at the noise. Like Kirken and Brandon, their eyes darted
around seeking its source.
The skin crawled at the back of
Kirken’s neck. And for a reason he did not yet know, he released the safety on
his weapon.
With Mel trailing close behind,
Kirken walked over to Brandon. Both cupped their hands to their eyes and stared
toward the far end of the decomposing street.
In the distance, dark figures
approached from behind the sun’s glare. The people walking around scattered
slowly before them. Their movements were coordinated and pronounced. Nearly
twenty in all, they strode purposefully through the middle of the street.
Kirken watched in horror while
one of them near the front of the group raised his hand. At the signal, the
rest broke from the formation and spread across the street and onto the
sidewalks.
"What the hell?"
Kirken said under his breath and continued to stare.
Brandon and Mel stood rigidly
next to him on the sidewalk and watched them move steadily towards them past
the storefronts and through the curious few of the remaining crowd.
A woman wandered from the door
of a nearby building and stood in front of them causing the entire group to
stop. The sounds of her voice drifted lazily through the air while she faced
them. A slight scared edge colored her tone. Even from where Kirken stood, he
could see her body shake slightly.
One of the figures raised an
object in his fist to her forehead. In the same instant, her body crumpled to
the ground. The single shot echoed for what seemed like an eternity through the
still air.
Kirken heard his daughter gasp.
A second figure next to the
first bent and picked up her body and placed it gently on the sidewalk out of
the street. The rest continued to move ahead.
Others came from the storefronts
at the sound of the shot. One threw a brick into the group knocking one of the
figures in the head and collapsing him to the ground.
More gunfire ripped through the air.
Just at the edge of the sidewalk, the man who threw the brick jerked violently
sideways and fell in a motionless heap.
Kirken and his stepchildren
watched in stunned disbelief. Kirken blinked his eyes against the
ever-increasing harshness of the sun’s glare. The figures were now less than
fifty feet from where they stood.
"Those are goddamn
soldiers," he said swallowing hard and feeling his stomach drop to his
feet.
He put his arm on Brandon and
Mel's shoulders and pulled them slowly back towards the door of the nearest
storefront. He scraped his feet gently backwards until his outstretched hand
brushed across its latch.
He nudged it gently open and was
about to pull them inside after him when one of the soldiers closest to them
looked up. He motioned towards them with his weapon. Three others standing next
to him quickly raised their own.
"Down!" Kirken
screamed. The door behind them shredded instantly into splinters and dust.
Kirken drove his shoulders into
Brandon’s back and shoved him down hard behind a car parked at the curb. In the
same motion, he tackled Mel from behind as automatic weapons fire exploded
around them.
Mel's face smacked against the
cracked pavement, and blood
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