Chapter 3 (1/2)

”Holy shit!” One of the soldiers laughed ”It really f.u.c.k.i.n.g worked!”

The laughter was short-lived as a barrage of bullets began to cut through the store. I threw myself down just before the snacks around me exploded into mists of oranges, whites, and other colors that made my choke on the dustified snacks.

Glass shattered, metal sang, and I heard pained screams as I quickly pulled myself across the store like a meth-fueled lizard. Gatorade man pulled by my vest's back handle and pulled me out of the zone of fire.

[”Tangos on the Wal-greens! Tangos-!”] My brother's voice cut off as another hail of bullets tore through the storefront, forcing me and Gatorade man to retreat.

Dadadadadada-!

Gatorade man stuck up and returned fire from the back of the store, which, unfortunately, faced the wal-greens. The return fire was short-lived as I felt a weight slam into my back. I yelped at the and thought I had been hit, but the pressure kept pressing me down. I turned to see what it was and... Gatorade's bloodied face looked back at me...

I stared in shock, his nose was ripped in two and he was missing his right eye. Blood was gushing from his face and... his neck. It pooled on the floor amongst the scattered snacks and glass. It wasn't like in the video games or movies; bits of other... things. mixed into the blood. A bit of pink was mixed in and... I threw up everything I had eaten just a few moments ago. Now I struggled through throw off the soldier as the blood and vomit mixed under my chest. The stench... God... The stench was indescribable.

I cursed myself, my dad, my country, and every other entity I could think of as I struggled to even turn over. This man was in full gear too, which added hundred pounds onto this man who had nearly a hundred pounds over my. I was just an average pretty guy, not built like the bear the other men in the family were. In this moment, I had finally wished I had been.

The weight finally lived and I was dragged forward across all the bodily fluids. I saw bloodied boots and felt a few hot casings hit the back of me. The world felt numb and I only heard the rapid thumping of automatic fire. Shell casings were dropping on my right, but it all felt… Unreal.

Free of the weight, I slowly heaved myself to my knees before I was pulled back down by my brother. Somehow, this felt like a deja vu moment as he yelled at me, but I couldn't understand what he was saying. Rather than being deafened by gunshots, I think my mind was short-circuiting.

I just stared back at him, my thoughts a haze as I tried to wipe Gatorade Man's bloodied face from my mind.

I just spoke to him… We… He was alive.. I thought as my brother only scowled and pushed me down. I wanted to get back up, but he kept me down effortlessly. The floor was covered in a mixture of sodas and water as the refrigerated section had been peppered with bullets. Blood swirled in the sugary mixture beneath me as.

Just when I tried to get up again, I felt my whole body momentarily shudder. The liquid mixture on the floor also became disturbed, more than when the shells were landing in it. The floor shook and that was when I felt the world come out of its monotonous state.

”Take that motherf.u.c.ker!” I heard my brother call out. ”F.u.c.k yeah!” He hollered as he removed his hand from my back. I could hear distant shouting. I got up and realized I had been dragged away behind the large foot island where they heated their little shit rolls and shoved them into those little bags. From where we were, we had a perfect view of the building across from us. The Wal-greens that was just on the boundary of the HOA I lived in.

The storefront sat on raised land, just like the guardhouse and the office for the HOA; Unlike the HOA, the storefront and its parking lot was smoking.

Before I could register why my brother was howling, I saw the storefront be torn apart my several small explosions - Like those videos of Chinese people setting off a bundle of firecrackers, but much, much more violently.

BURERERERERE - BRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTT!

I recognized that iconic sound as an A-10 Warthog.

BRRRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRRT-BRRRRRRT-!