After Grace
ofoam cups. All my life I had been taught that these empty streets and abandoned homes were among the most dangerous places someone could find t
I was covered in a thin film of sweat. Everything I thought I knew about my body was wrong. I'd always assumed I could run if
was massive. Three stories tall and as wide as a city block. The windows had long ago been shattered b
the plan
I go in." He crossed the stre
're we supposed to herd a bunch of pe
run to the highway. We meet in the clearing. Come on, the library's where
said and disappeared int
hind as we crossed through the back door and
hin
ow how to get back to camp by myself. Just tell m
d made a break for the library across the street. Fifty foot tall pine trees lined the back of the building, dead br
like a Ficus, You'll get a clean line of
e put a finger to his
ietly as possible, but if shit starts going down
of them
we might have gotten lucky, the
eathed a frustrated sigh and moved into the library. The second floor ceiling had long ago given
I could barely hold the gun. Just as I was starting to get nauseous over the thought of shooting someone, I r
longer to get there than planned, most of it had been my fault. I was slow and full of quesitons,
ace between the glass on the south side window. I waited. He turne
re were no sounds but that of the fall breeze whistling through broken windows and empty homes. I tired to look inside the sc
uck, " I said, swiping the scope to the right, left, and back again, searchi
an through the town and disappeared into the first homes and shops they could find. Tom came out after them
ed in body armor, each carrying long guns. Tom still hadn't seen them. I fire
and again until the rifle clicked empty. I scrambled to find the extra bullets Tom had put in my pockets but they slipped through my sweaty fingers like slimy river stones. I pulled the bolt back like he had shown me and one by one slid the bullets inside. I put my eyes to the scope ag
er side of the roof. I lifted the rifle and aimed toward the closed door. As I sat there waiting, I felt as if my body was being slowly squeezed in a vice
ough, still shooting. I put my head down and fired blindly. Without holding it properly, the gun kicked backed, nearly flying out of my hands. Somehow I managed to
ould see the hole carved along his ribs. Bone and organs spilled through the gap. I almost got sick, but before I allowed myself to react, I ran back to the le
. I slung the rifle around my back and moved to the corpse. I pulled the gun from his hands and examined it. I had never
re, waiting. I tried to keep quiet as I descended the old staircase but the wood wailed with every
very sound stung like ice in my stomach. Finally I realized th
urs of daylight but somehow, between getting on the roof and now, I had lost most of the afternoon. I moved slow and cautious, careful not to
dently kicked them. I was afraid to move, not knowing if the men
walk. I rounded the corner and found the street I wasn't able to see from the library roof. T
house down the street. I pulled the scope from the gun and l