Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
They fire back and forth, and each time I jump a little less. Is it possible to get used to being caught in crossfire? Maybe I’m just numb. I can see my glasses from here, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to get out from under cover to grab them.
One of the bullets wizzes by into the kitchen, and there’s a high pitched whine followed by the smell of rotten eggs.
Oh no.
“Don’t shoot,” I scream. “The gas is—”
Too late.
Someone’s bullet strikes the metal back plate behind my stove with a clank that immediately turns into a fire cloud that rolls through the room, knocking me to the ground. Alpha, despite his massive bulk, flies over the back of the couch. I can’t tell what happens to the others, too busy shielding my face from debris.
“Fuck!” someone yells.
The shockwave passes, but it’s followed by unbearable heat. I don’t have to look over my shoulder to tell that the kitchen is ablaze, but I do anyway to see how bad it is.
Bad.
Really bad.
Flames lick their way up the door frame, and black smoke is pouring into the room. Of course, my fire extinguisher is in there with the fire, and it seems woefully inadequate anyway.
“Get the fuck out!” I recognize Shovelhead’s voice. I pop my head up and see him running into the room, the videotape in one hand and his gun in the other. Ripper barrels into him, knocking him over before he gets to the stairs. They roll over twice before he manages to knock Ripper away. “Jesus, the fucking place is on fire. We can kill each other later!”
Shovelhead pushes to his feet, followed by his two surviving flunkies. Blade sends a knife into one of their shoulders with a sickening thump. The guy careens into the wall with a pained grunt, but it doesn’t slow them down for long.
“Fuck, they’re running,” Blade spits out, moving to follow.
“Wait. I’ve got the tape. The fucking place is burning.” Ripper holds up the tape in his good hand. “Get Faith.”
“I need my glasses!” I scramble to my feet. My thigh aches like crazy, and something’s trickling down the side of my face, but I step around glass shards on the floor to get them. Thankfully not broken.
“Fuck, this guy’s still alive,” says Alpha, his fingers on the pulse of the guy with the knives buried in his chest. The Pit Viper wheezes hoarsely.
“Leave him,” snaps Blade. “We gotta get out of here.”
I don’t care if they think it’s stupid, but there’s one thing I won’t leave. I dash past the guys into my bedroom and rip Ollie off the bed. I shove him into a backpack from my closet, along with my small treasure box of mementos and my phone. Ripper’s right on my heels with a murderous look on his face.
“I’m done! I’m done!” I scream at him, dashing back out to the living room. Alpha’s at the stairs with the Pit Viper over his shoulder while Blade glares at him.
“Everybody move!” Ripper yells, shoving me in the back with his stump. “Now!”
My feet are barely off the last step when the kitchen explodes with a boom. Windows shatter and a fireball tears through the living room, lighting up the stairwell like an apocalyptic sunrise. The pressure wave pushes me into the wall.
“Fuck,” yells Alpha. Blade’s already at the front door, rushing us through.
All my books. The bookstore that was my dream. My entire freaking home—it’s all going to burn, and there’s nothing I can do about it. Clutching the few things I managed to save, I run for my life.
9
FAITH
“To the bikes,” Alpha bellows as we charge out of the burning building. He drops the guy he’s carrying in the gutter, leaving him to his fate. My stomach twists as Blade reaches down and yanks out his knives, wiping them against his jeans before secreting them away again.
“Aren’t you supposed to leave them in? I thought—”
He looks at me with dangerously flat eyes. “Hear that? Emergency shit is already on the way. You more worried about this piece of crap who was fine with doing fuck knows what to you, than us?”
“N—no. I just…” I don’t know what I’m thinking. I’m trying not to.
Lights flick on in all the buildings around us, and people are already milling around on the sidewalk, watching and talking into their phones. The whole neighborhood is going to be chaos in a couple of minutes.
“We gotta get out of here,” snaps Blade.
On that at least, we agree. I snatch the tape out of Ripper’s hand and drop it into my bag. “Let’s go.”
“Faith—”
“Let her have it,” says Alpha. “We can talk about it later. We don’t have time to fuck around. Last I checked, the cops don’t like stabbings or shootings, and we’ve done a little of A and a little of B.”