"When I was stationed overseas last time, I would play this dumb game with one of my friends," Laughed Emily, a curly headed girl. She wore tan camo head to toe, her kinky hair in a low bun and a military hat on her head. The sun beat down on Emily and Brynn, who wore the same attire. The town around them was deserted and the houses all small. Sand dunes built up against the tires of nearby vehicles, all painted a deep tan to match the desert area. "We would count how many headshots we could make when we were sniping from buildings. Whoever won would get like fifty bucks or more, even some other things if you know what I mean."
Emily sent a wink to her companion. Brynn laughed with a smile across her face, holding her hat when her head tipped back. She reached to tuck her brunette hair behind her ear, tugging her hat further down on her head to block the beating sun. Brynn had brown paint smeared under her eyes for the effects of camouflage, and Emily had some going down her left cheek. Both their cheeks were tinged red from the heat.
"That's the dumbest game I've ever heard of. Good prizes though." Brynn chuckled out, repositioning the strap of her M4 across her chest. A bright smile stretched across Emily's face as well, a dimple poking out on her cheek. She crossed her arms with a smile still present, her tired eyes on the woman in front of her. They were working their rounds around the camp, trying to keep their eyes sharp.
Emily and Brynn were desensitized to violence and death, as well as many other soldiers. War was a rough path but when the call came, they decided to take it. They were both part of the task to make civilians the priority; although, they had to kill their enemies and not think twice about it. Even if they didn't know them. They weren't even their enemies, they were the governments'. What kept them going was lighting up sad situations, no matter how dark that was.
"Maybe we should try it," Emily joked. Brynn quickly shook her head, still smiling.
"No, no. That's not my thing," Brynn claimed, putting her hands up in a mock surrender. Though she only said that so Emily would try and tease her. The wind blew slightly, causing them both to squint to keep the sand out of their eyes. The sun continued to beat on their army combat uniforms, sweat emitting from their brows. Their brown paint was smeared slightly from the heat, Emily's dropping down the side of her neck.
"Well what is your thing, miss too-good-for-dumb-games?" Emily mocked, raising an eyebrow at her companion. They stopped to lean against a military vehicle nearby to block the sand from annoying them.
"Beer and pizza?" Brynn suggested, slowly raising an eyebrow. She didn't realize that she was holding her breath until she heard Emily laugh a bit.
"How about tonight? I can snatch a couple from the cooler and we can see what kind of crappy food they have around?" Emily agreed, the smile still prominent on her face. She couldn't fight the blush that crept up on her neck, as well as her ears.
"Sounds like a pl--" Two loud shots rang out, both flying through the nearest body. Which happened to be Emily.
Emily fell to the ground, clutching her throat where the first bullet whizzed through. She didn't seem to care about the graze on her shoulder from the other bullet. Thick, red fluid gushed out of her throat like an active volcano. Brynn's heart pounded against her chest while she held onto her friend's throats to try stop the bleeding. Her ears began to ring and she felt herself slowly retreat back inside her head. She watched herself clutching at her friends throat. When another shot rang out and clipped the vehicle beside Brynn before she found her way back to reality.
With all her might, Brynn pulled Emily to a different angle by the vehicle. Brynn could feel herself screaming for a medic, but her ears rang, and no sound registered with her. She kept her hurt friend's head in her lap, not caring about the blood that soaked her clothes. Emily kept eye contact with Brynn as she clawed at her throat to stop the bleeding, a sad and pained look in her eyes. Blood came from her mouth as well as her throat now, staining the sand beneath them as well as Brynn's clothing. Brynn felt herself choking on her own air.
"Stay with me. Stay with me!" Brynn heard herself shriek, slapping Emily's face lightly to stop her eyes from wandering. Warm, red liquid seeping from between Brynn's fingers no matter how tight her hold was on the wound of her companion's throat.
Two other soldiers came running, one with a band on his arm to show he was a medic. He pulled out gauze from somewhere and held it against Emily's throat, who continued to cough up her own blood. The other guy began looking over the vehicle for the shooter, found him, and began radioing to the others for cover fire. Shots began to ring out around them and yells of instruction, but all Brynn focused on was the sound of Emily gurgling her own blood. The medic took over, holding the gauze tightly on her neck. The red liquid soaked through too quickly.
"Stay with me, McKinley." Brynn choked out her companion's last name as an effort to pull her back to reality. With Emily's head in Brynn's lap, their eyes locked on each other, both of their hands caked with blood, all they focused on each other. A moment of understanding passed over them. She wouldn't make it. It took a second before Brynn registered that Emily stopped gurgling, stopped reaching for her throat, and her eyes were glazed over. She was gone, and Brynn could do nothing to save her. She did all she could physically do, yet she felt as if she did nothing. Brynn remembered watching the medic throw the bloodied gauze down, then turning around and aggressively grabbing her gun to shoot at wherever the sniper was. She knew she and her team got him after she emptied her magazine, but she didn't care. Brynn threw her weapon to the ground, which now had blood on it's handle, and hit the vehicle beside her. She didn't register the pain as she opened the scars on her knuckles.
*FLASHBACK OVER*
"Hey! Hey! Its okay, Brynn!!" Tristan spoke clearly while shaking her sister's shoulders to wake her. As Brynn shot up from her spot on the floor, she nearly bashed heads with her brother. Flashbacks were whizzing by in her mind and her muscles were tense. She felt cold, yet she was sweating. A feeling of sadness and utter hopelessness wrapped around her chest like a weighted blanket. "Remember what your therapist said? Breathe, okay? Take deep breaths and think of that lake outside of Prince Rupert. Think of it. Remember the breeze."
Brynn closed her eyes and imagined the salt water hitting her face while breathing it in. It was then that she noticed she was shaking, and she stopped immediately. Her eyes wandered as she took in her surroundings. Her legs and bottom were on a blanket on the floor of the convenient store, her palms on it too. The white tank top she wore now clung to her sweaty form.
Nathan was leaning against a wall beside her with wide eyes as she stared at Brynn. Brynn clenched and unclenched her fists, taking notice of sore spots where her nails had dug into her palms. Nadeen was beside Nathan with her arms around herself and a crease on her forehead. Alex stood over Tristan and her, looking down with his cheek between his teeth. The room is still dark with sun seeping through the windows just a bit. It's early.
Brynn grabbed her makeshift pillow, also her hoodie, and stood up. All eyes were on her. She felt sudden anxiety and fought the urge to lash out at everyone around her. Brynn swallowed her agitation with a gulp and regained her composure. This wasn't any of their faults. She placed her slightly numb hand on her chest and focused on how heavily her breath was coming into her lungs.
"I'm going for some air." She croaked out of her now raw throat. Brynn first noticed how cold it was when she stepped outside of the stuffy-feeling building. The tank top she wore was beginning to dry slightly, and her army pants felt tight. The combat boots were still on her feet from hastily tying them.
They have been here for a week. Sleeping on the floor for a week, eating canned foods for a week, in each other's presence for a week. Brynn was getting jumpy and Tristan was on edge. It felt weird for them to be in one spot for too long, especially when it wasn't their house or a place where they felt safe. They could both tell that the others were starting to get comfortable and they didn't want that. The siblings wanted to get out but didn't want to leave anyone behind, they could never do that. The siblings have chatted about it a few times and they decided to bring it up soon.
Last night, everyone had been sitting in a circle and eating cans of fruits and vegetables. When the sun went down, the conversations took a turn to sad events. That's when Nathan and Nadeen had brought up that they had watched people in astronaut-like suits shoot their mom and dad. The siblings were visiting from college. People had apparently banged on their front door, to which their parents answered. Nathan and Nadeen were in their basement playing cards when the power went out. When their dad opened the door, the people shot him on sight and followed up with his wife. Little did they know, Nadeen had been about to walk out of the basement door and caught everything with her wide eyes. She had shut the door and ran back down to her brother, where they both hid behind a couch for hours.
Tristan identified the suits as hazmat suits, or radiation proof suits. They had tried to put puzzle pieces together last night but only had a vague outline. Two nukes, that they know of, have been dropped in America. They don't know by who, where exactly, why, and where people were. Patches remained throughout the path of reason. Like where the hell was everyone? When Nadeen and Nathan had told them about their parents getting shot, it was like a switch went off in Brynn's brain. She had stayed quiet for the rest of the night with thoughts firing from left to right hemisphere. She went to bed and woke up to her night terrors.
She took a deep breath of the cold morning air, wiping the sweat that had formed on her forehead. It was mornings like these that she enjoyed. Mornings where the sun was hidden behind a cloud, but rays shone through. The temperature sat low and nipped at her skin, but not enough to give her goosebumps. No breeze, no people walking the streets, and no smell or sound of vehicles. Brynn took a seat on the cold cement with her hoodie still in her hand. The sun had just begun to rise in the east from behind a wispy cloud and shined against her greasy hair. Closing her eyes, she breathed it all in. She imagined a calm morning like this, except with Emily, Tristan, her mom, and dad at her side on a porch. She imagined her mom and dad laughing with Emily, her smile lighting up their faces. She imagines Tristan shooting her a nod of approval.
Then there was a bloodcurdling scream. Brynn's eyes shot open with a spike of adrenaline going through her nervous system. She knocked twice on the door, hard, to which it opened to a concerned looking Tristan.
"Gun." She demanded in a quiet voice, her eyes locked on the alley to the far left of her. He quickly grabbed it and put it in her hand.
"What?" Tristan questioned, making Brynn put a finger to her lips. He handed her the handgun.
"A scream. I'm surprised you didn't hear that," She told him in a low voice, taking the safety off her gun. Her gut told her to keep her guard up and her ears open. She trusted the feeling. Brynn's blood coursed through her veins to her limbs, which willed her to fight or run if she had to. Tristan popped out of the door with his eyes following the direction of Brynn's.
Together, they stepped quietly on the concrete with no evidence to give their movements away. Succulent sounds were heard from the alley, which made Brynn feel slightly queasy. They both made sure to even their breath and do it slowly as well, keeping in mind breathing is what gives someone away. Anxiety nipped at Brynn's chest, though she did her best to push it down.
They finally approached the alley with Brynn being the first one to peek. Her gun nearly fell out of her hand. A loud intake of breath came out of Tristan.
Right before her eyes was a woman lying on the hard ground with her arms and legs sprawled out randomly. Her clothes were blood soaked and her eyes glazed over to the wall. On top of her was... something? It was big and furry with it's brown coat matted and oily. It's head turned to them as it heard Tristan's gasp. It was some kind of dog, a huge mutt. It curled its bloody lip up to expose it's foamy mouth. Something was wrong with the thing. The dog's eyes were beet red, and his lids almost seemed to be twitching. Brynn reasoned in her mind that the radiation made the creature crazy, or it had rabies or something.
It growled at the siblings, but Brynn was the first one to react. She took the safety off her pistol and took a shot at the beast. The first bullet she shot soared by the beast and barley skimmed it's coat; though, the second bullet imbedded itself in the mutt's chest. The rabid animal whined and fell to the ground, clearly caught off guard. The siblings watched the dog try to regain it's strength but knew it would bleed out from it's chest. What they didn't expect was the wolf to get back up. But it did just that. It limped slightly but continued it's mission towards them. Brynn fired the gun again, twice.
It didn't stop. It began galloping towards them, to which Tristan snapped out of it and grabbed his own gun. He shot it straight between the eyes and watch it fall to the ground mid-pounce. It now lay on the concrete ground. Brynn kept her arm straight, still pointing at the wolf. Her chest rose rapidly up and down.
"What the hell was that?" Tristan finally croaked out. "We should—"
"Go tell everyone to get their things packed." Brynn demanded, uncertainty in her voice. She slowly lowered her arms and gulped before concluding that they are leaving this city immediately. The siblings would continue their plan to do anything to get their new friends out of harms way, and possibly find their mom.