Broken Lives: A Tale of Survival in a Powerless World (Broken Lines Book 4) (21 page)

***

It wasn’t hard tracking them. When Joey realized what they were running toward it was pretty simple. When he saw them heading down the street he parked himself next to an idle car and brought Freddy into his crosshairs.

He knew if he could bring him down, then it would slow Kalen up.
Wound the weak, and the strong will follow.
Those words from his father echoed in his ears.

The moment Joey squeezed the trigger and Freddy hit the ground he knew he had them. They wouldn’t be able to go anywhere, and he knew the sister would stop to save him.

That’s when he realized what Cain was trying to tell him. That type of love and attachment is weakness. It was a weakness he didn’t have, and that’s why he was so strong. That’s why Cain chose to bring him here. To purge those that had weakness.

When he saw Kalen on the ground with Freddy he lined up another shot. He had his elbow on the hood of the car and Kalen fell into his crosshairs.

Just before he fired, his elbow slipped on the hood and he missed.

Joey watched Kalen carry Freddy into the store next to where he was shot. He inched along the sidewalk close to the storefronts and made his way to the building she’d entered.

He didn’t see a weapon on her, and he felt that if she did have one she would have fired back. Regardless, he still wanted to be careful. There wasn’t anything more dangerous than a wounded animal.

There was an alleyway right before the building she entered with a side door that led to the store that Kalen dragged Freddy inside.

Joey kept the rifle tucked under his arm as he pulled the door open. He stood frozen as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.

Once he had a better look he could tell he had entered some type of stockroom. There were rows and rows of shelves with boxes on them.

He stepped lightly, rifle up, scanning the room. When he made it to the end of the aisle he could see the outline of another door.

Joey knew that’s where she was. He knew she was just sitting in there, exposed, crying over her brother’s body.

He figured Freddy would be dead by now. The shot was right in the back and the .223 caliber bullet would create a hole too big for that small body to contend with.

Joey’s hand reached for the doorknob. He turned it as quietly as he could. The barrel of the rifle was the first thing that poked through the door. When Joey took another step forward, pushing the rifle farther into the room, he felt a force knock the gun upward.

***

Kalen yanked the rifle out of Joey’s grip and he fell to the floor. She swung the butt of the rifle and brought it down on his face.

Joey’s cheeks immediately swelled up and his nose was broken and bent. She watched him crawl around on the ground, grasping at anything to help pull him up. She brought another smashing blow into his gut, which stopped him from moving again.

“You little bastard!” Kalen screamed.

She brought the butt of the rifle down on him again, smacking the back of his head. Each time she hit him the force of the blow was harder. Her screams grew louder. Joey’s blood splattered across her shirt and face.

When she was finished she couldn’t recognize the boy’s face anymore. It was nothing more than a bloody stump.

Kalen’s screams of anger were replaced by silent sobs. She looked down at her bloodied hands and they started to tremble.

Kalen crawled back over to Freddy, lifeless on the floor. She picked up his body and cradled him in her arms. She stayed like that for a few more minutes.

Once all of the tears in her were gone, the only thing she could focus on was the gunfire echoing in the distance. She rested Freddy on the ground gently, and then picked up the rifle. She racked the chamber, making sure it was loaded, then walked out the door.

***

The first place Anne thought to look was the hotel. When they arrived it was empty. Even the guards had left.

“Where else could they have gone?” Sam asked.

Anne could hear the gunshots in the distance. She was afraid she knew the answer to Sam’s question.

“Come on,” Anne said.

Sam pulled her back once he saw she was heading in the direction of the fighting.

“We can’t go there, Anne,” Sam said.

“That’s where they are.”

“Why would they run into a war zone?”

Anne wanted to tell him that it was because her daughter had changed. That it was because of the types of atrocities the world allowed, and that they had scarred her daughter, but she didn’t.

“I just know,” Anne said.

Anne led the two of them up the street and after a few minutes of jogging Anne slowed down.

“What’s wrong?” Sam asked.

Anne’s eyes were focused on a pool of blood staining the sidewalk. She stood there frozen, then sprinted toward it.

A streaked trail of red flowed from the sidewalk into the store.

“Anne?” Sam asked.

When Anne pushed the door open she fell to her knees. Freddy was on the floor, motionless. His skin was white, drained from the blood that no longer pumped through his veins.

“No,” Anne said.

The tears were welling up in her eyes. She crawled on her hands and knees to her little boy. Sam tried to pick her up, but she smacked his hands away from her.

“Anne, he’s gone.”

“My baby.”

Sam went to grab her shoulder and she spun around. She kept hitting him, again and again.

“Leave me alone!” she screamed.

She was sobbing hysterically now, cradling her son in her arms, bathed in red. Everything she and Mike had done to keep their children safe was shattered. There wasn’t anywhere evil couldn’t touch them, no matter how hard they tried.

***

Mike was the first in the factory. Most of the workers had scattered. Judging by how fast they ran away they weren’t volunteers of Bram’s forces.

“We need to get the charges in place before more of Bram’s men arrive,” the lieutenant yelled.

The other soldiers ran around placing the explosives in various positions around the factory. Mike stayed with the lieutenant guarding the front entrance to ensure the enemy couldn’t enter.

“We should get the rest of the men in here,” Mike said.

“Why?” the lieutenant asked.

“If this factory is as important as Wyatt says it is, then Bram won’t risk putting it in danger by firing at it. It’s the safest place to be right now.”

“Yeah, until we blow it to bits.”

Bram’s men didn’t expect the fight from behind, so the rebels had them on their heels. They had managed to destroy most of the vehicles, and Bram’s men had scattered to the surrounding buildings for cover.

All they needed was a little more time and the factory would be destroyed, Mike could get to his family, and all of this would be behind him.

“How much longer is this going to take?” Mike asked.

The lieutenant pulled up his radio.

“Where are we at with the explosives?” he asked.

“Just six more to place, sir.”

The lieutenant clicked off his radio and cocked his head to the side.

“There you go.”

But Mike wasn’t listening to him. He was squinting down the street, looking at a young girl, working her way down the road, firing her rifle at anything that moved.

***

Whatever was in her path Kalen shot. She didn’t know who they were, or what they were trying to do, but if they had rifles on them, that was reason enough for her to make sure they couldn’t use them anymore.

Kalen had never felt so focused before in her life. Her movements were so precise and fluid. There wasn’t a separation between her and the rifle. The weapon was just an extension of her body.

One of the military vehicles was still operational and it started heading in her direction. She ducked inside one of the storefronts for cover.

The fifty-caliber on the roof of the armored truck shattered the windows and tore through the concrete of the building. Shards from the glass landed on her head and sliced her hands and face.

Kalen moved to the far side of the store, but stayed close to the front to see where the truck was heading. She saw it circling around and aimed for the tires.

The tires exploded from her gunshots and the truck careened out of control, smashing into one of the buildings along the street.

Then, crouched behind one of the disabled military trucks, Kalen saw her. Beth was barking orders and building up her own body count.

The moment Kalen saw her she sprinted in her direction. It didn’t matter how barricaded Beth was, Kalen was going to take her down.

One of the soldiers around Beth finally noticed Kalen running at them, but it was too late. Kalen sent a bullet flying into his temple.

Before Beth could do anything, Kalen barreled into her and slammed her to the ground. The soldiers around the two of them tried to help, but Beth ordered them to stop.

Kalen got Beth in a chokehold. She was squeezing the life out of her. Beth grasped at her arm, trying to free herself from Kalen’s grip, but she couldn’t.

Beth’s fingers crawled along her leg, trying to reach for her knife. Kalen didn’t see Beth reaching for the blade. Beth grabbed it and jammed the five inches of steel into Kalen’s leg.

The blade went in deep. Kalen could feel it scraping against her bone. She gripped her fingers around the blade’s handle and slowly pulled it out. Every inch the blade came out sent screams into the air.

When the blade was finally removed she stuffed her hands over the wound, trying to stop the bleeding, but something was wrong. No matter how much pressure she applied the blood just kept coming.

She could feel herself getting light-headed. Then, as Beth pulled a pistol from one of the soldier’s belts around her, Kalen watched a barrage of bullets fly into Beth and the soldiers next to her.

***

Mike picked up his daughter and ran as fast as he could in the other direction to the factory. He could see the blood pouring out of her leg and her eyes drifting in and out of consciousness.

He burst through the door and set her on the ground.

“I need a first aid kit, now!” Mike yelled.

The lieutenant called over one of his men and they started working on her right away.

“Kalen, stay with me, baby. Stay with me.”

“Dad.”

“Shh, it’s going to be okay, sweetheart.”

Her voice was so soft. Mike could see the life draining from her face.

“I’m sorry, Dad.”

“Oh, honey, you don’t have to be sorry for anything.”

“She’s lost too much blood,” the medic said. “I think she hit an artery.”

“I tried, Dad. I tried…”

“Kalen,” Mike said.

Her head went limp and her eyes closed. The medic grabbed Kalen’s wrist, then looked over to the lieutenant and shook his head.

“Kalen?” Mike asked.

Mike pulled his daughter close. Whatever pain he endured, whatever loss was suffered, didn’t matter because Mike knew that it was to make sure his children survived. Now, a piece of that was dead, and with it… him.