The first shotgun shell ejected left the gun with such a bang, any remaining students in the area that hadn't seen the lights came running at the sound. James gritted his teeth and pumped the gun, letting loose another shot. The buckshot exploded into the air, hitting three students as they jumped for him. Their bodies flew back to the ground, blood spurting over the dirt in the schoolyard. James hurried past the front gate, heading for the school doors. One of the doors was propped open and as James came closer, he saw that an arm that had been partially crushed was the cause. Blood had seeped out past the steps but by the looks of it, had dried hours ago. He pulled the door open, shooting the gun again as he came face-to-face with another student. With a yell, the male student hit the lockers at the end of the hallway, leaving a bloody trail as he slid to the floor. Inside the school, he was washed over by the florescent lighting. His eyes only took a moment to adjust, as he heard a noise behind him. Whirling around, he was just in time to see one of them wrenching open the front doors behind him. He shot again, turning to jog down the hallway towards the steps to the second floor. He couldn't take them all down, he knew that, but his only focus was escaping with Melly. “Melly!” he shouted, his voice echoing in the empty hallways. Cresting the stairs to the second floor, James frowned as he saw the lights were off up here. He reached forward and flicked on the tactical light that was strapped to the top of the gun. His pace slowed to a walk now and every step he took, the light on his gun danced back and forth. It bounced around the floor casting eerie shadows, making him edgy. “Melly!” he shouted again. He heard a scream from the third floor and began running. He could hear footsteps behind him, lured by his movement. He knew he was being followed. He took the stairs two by two, until he reached the third floor. He turned and shot the gun again, clearing a path behind him. The noise of the gun was so loud it was drawing the attention of most anything in the school. He heard gunshots from down the hallway, and ran towards them, his heart pounding. He almost bumped straight into a dark haired woman, who was limping. Her eyes were wide as she saw him but he ignored her, continuing on around the corner. He saw Melly then, and his heart ached in relief. She was standing at the doorway to the roof, her gun trained on two of them, but she was hesitating to shoot. A tall man with a bulky figure was standing between him and his daughter, and turned to look as James approached. James briefly registered that he must be one of the teachers, but that bit of information didn't matter at the moment. Melly couldn't believe her eyes as she saw her father approaching, his hands gripping tightly to the shotgun. “Dad,” she gasped out, her eyes beginning to fill with tears as she was overcome with emotion. The red-head narrowed her eyes and took this moment of weakness to lunge onto Melly. Melly screamed, and fell backwards to the floor. Mac, or whoever he was now, jumped on Gina teeth snapping at her neck. Gina kept a tight grip on her weapon and attempted to jab it into Mac's neck, but her strength could not compare to the much larger student on top of her. “Get off my daughter!” James shouted, dropping the shotgun and pulling out his pistol. He fired, a clean shot going straight through the red-head's chest. Gina screamed as she felt teeth rip into her shoulder. Her eyes were wide as she saw blood exploding from the wound. Another gunshot echoed in the air and she felt Mac's crushing weight fall onto her. Her mind was hazy from the pain and her fingers released the weapon she had been carrying. “Gina, no!” Melly screamed, desperately trying to push Mac's large body from the tiny Asian girl. The gunshots were creating quite a crowd, and Miss Hutton turned to look at the horde that was beginning to gather. She leaned on Josh for support as she continued to favor her ankle. “We need to get out of here,” she said, her voice shaking. James rushed to his daughter, helping to push Mac from Gina. He swept Melly into his arms and squeezed her tightly, grateful that she was still alive. Melly was sobbing in relief and grief, pulling away to crawl to Gina. “Gina, no, Gina!” Melly cried, her hands suspended above the small girl, unsure of what to do. “Please be okay,” she begged, finally punching the floor in frustration. Gina looked up at Melly, her eyes cold. “Don't be a wuss,” she said finally, and closed her eyes. “I'm fine. It's just a flesh wound.” “Melly,” James said, grabbing her arm and hoisting her to her feet. “Let's go.” Melly choked back her protests and picked up the pistol she had dropped. She looked down at Gina, and saw the tears threatening the corners of her eyes behind those enormous glasses. “Do it,” Gina said, her voice punctuated by gasping breaths. “Do it.” Melly felt her chest expanding and collapsing. She had never been so aware of her breathing before. She lifted the gun, and turned her head away. James nervously eyed the growing crowd, and pulled the M4 from his back. Josh picked up the shotgun from the ground, pushing Miss Hutton behind him as he stood on the front lines. A solitary bang echoed in the hallway. Gina left the world with a smile, tears streaked across her face.
Allie growled as she rubbed at her wrists. The zip ties hadn't been easy on the skin, and she definitely didn't like being embarrassed in front of that woman. She nursed her wounded by ego by glaring at the culprit who had pinned her in the first place. His cold gray eyes were focused intently on the computer screen, completely oblivious to her presence. An indignant detective was explaining rather curtly that the sheriff's vehicle had posted up at the high school. None of the police officers appreciated the military's presence in their station, nor the fact that they now answered to the pompous and decorated man in the corner. The military police stood by the exits to the station, armed to the teeth. Every once in a while, gunfire would erupt from one side, as they took out an infected. While the station was well guarded, no citizens were allowed to approach either, and Allie knew that some innocent people would die because they could offer no protection. The military seemed entirely unconcerned with the safety of the people of Holly Glen. “You understand, correct?” the man said again. Allie blinked, and looked up. The man whom she had been glaring at was now standing in front of her, his lean body towering over her smaller frame. His dark hair was partially obscuring his eyes, as he looked sternly at her, awaiting her reply. “You want us to roll over and let you run things, isn't that right?” Allie shot back, her voice bitter. His eyes narrowed. “Don't think you're not expendable.” A blubbering sound came to her ears and she saw Mr Ford writhing around in the holding cell. He was bleeding from the mouth now. One of the MP's had moved to watch him. After exchanging words with another he raised his gun and shot the elderly man straight through the head. Allie's eyes widened as she watched brain matter explode upon the back wall of the cell. Mr Ford gurgled blood before he crumpled to the floor. Allie bit back her reply and nodded. How she wished James was here, he'd know just what to say. But as it stood, she really could do nothing. As acting sheriff in James' absence, she gritted her teeth as she knew she was agreeing to the deaths of people she knew. People she said hi to everyday on the street. The military had laid out their plan, and everyone in town was expendable, including her. In fact, the only reason she was inside the station and not dying on the street was because of her position. Position mattered, nothing more. For martial law to take over, she had to succumb to their will. Their cruel, heartless will.
I'm very irritated. I had written the next chapter and was being lazy just goofing off on my computer when it crashed. My word program only recovered to two chapters previous to this one. Of course. Who's computer even crashes nowadays? Oh yeah, mine because it's Well I'll be attempting to quickly rewrite it before my war starts. Then I'll see y'all in 24-48 hours. Wish me luck.
Sorry for late post. Got caught up in war... In a sticky situation right now so... Why not post what I have sitting here. Caution: Not proofread at the moment, and possibly written in war delirium. James let loose a spray of bullets from the M4 as he moved forward to keep the students from advancing. Mr Szajowski, not wanting to be useless began shooting as well, the recoil startling him. Miss Hutton pulled the sobbing Melly from Gina's body, and lifted her to her feet. Melly felt Miss Hutton dragging her forward, paving the way behind the two men who were working hard to clear the crowd. The gunshots continued to draw unwanted attention. The crowd seemed to grow even when Mr Szajowski ran out of bullets and began using the shotgun as a bludgeoning weapon. James pulled back to hand Miss Hutton his service pistol. She took it with wide eyes, never having shot a gun before. Gritting her teeth, she nodded and began shooting as well. Melly wiped the tears from her face and breathed out as she raised her own gun as well. The ragtag group made their way to the stairs and began racing down them, the hope of escape brightening in their hearts. The small tactical light on the shotgun wasn't adequate for them all as it bounced around the dark hallway of the second floor. James gripped onto the P.E teacher's shoulder and exchanged weapons, handing him the M4 with a full magazine. He then began to reload the shotgun, his fingers moving easily in practiced motions even in the dark. “Dad,” Melly said. James was so absorbed in his task he didn't respond. “Dad!” James looked up. “What is it Melly?” he said, his voice strained from slight irritation at being interrupted. Melly felt the sting of tears come to her eyes and she did her best to hold them back. “It's about Natalie... she...” The tears overflowed and spilled down her cheeks despite her body shaking so hard at the exertion of holding them in. James rested the butt of the shotgun on the floor as he stepped forward, unsure of how to respond. He had never been good with tears. His arm awkwardly reached for Melly and held her close, but her sobbing only increased. Miss Hutton looked over and went to her knees, pulling Melly to her chest as the girl's body was wracked by body-wrenching cries. James stood and helplessly watched as Melly buried her face into the dance teacher's neck, her cries muffled by the Spanish woman's dark hair. Josh saw a movement from behind him and whirled around, shooting an oncoming attacker. The sound jolted Melly from her crying and she wiped her face. Miss Hutton smiled warmly at the teenager and stood with some difficulty, her ankle throbbing now. “Let's go,” the P.E teacher said while pumping the shotgun, the hot shell casing flying off into the darkness. The four stood and began making their towards the left side stairs. Miss Hutton saw Melly visibly shudder as they passed the bathroom where they had first found Natalie. She pulled the girl close to her, and tried to offer comfort. Their footsteps were unnaturally loud as they walked along. They had almost made it to the stairs to the first floor when Miss Hutton fell to the ground, clutching her ankle. “Jazmin!” Mr Szajowski exclaimed and he rushed to pull her up. Her ankle was swollen and throbbing, and hot to the touch. His eyes were full of concern as he only hesitated a moment. Then he hoisted the M4 onto his shoulder and lifted the lithe dance teacher up in his arms with one swoop. Miss Hutton gasped, and clutched onto the front of his shirt. He held her close to his chest, and motioned for her to continue using her gun if necessary. James flashed the light into the darkness. It occasionally caught the light from the red sclera that were watching them hungrily. Yet, for whatever reason the hordes stayed back and didn't approach. Melly could hear her breath in the hallway it was so quiet. The first floor was mainly empty, ruined bodies lying crumpled on the ground where they had been eviscerated or shot. It was startling as they emerged from the school and it's florescent lights into the night full of bright lights being shined upon their faces. “Hands up if you're human!” a voice ordered. Melly and James raised their hands cautiously. Mr Szajowski of course was holding Miss Hutton, so he had to set her down gently before he too raised his hands. James winced into the bright lights, and took a tentative step forward, reaching slowly into his coat pocket for his police badge. In a second, James found himself face first in the ground, rough arms binding his hands behind his back. He looked over to see Melly getting the same treatment. Glancing up he saw a scruffy chin and the digital print of a military BDU. The name patch said Denault. Then he was hoisted to his feet, and shoved into a large truck. He heard the grunts of the two teachers and Melly behind him. Now seated with hands still bound, James looked around. He saw a woman and a man sitting with him in the back, the latter being the Denault guy. Someone else was driving and another man was in the front passenger seat. Sitting across from James was Melly, and by her side were the two teachers. All three of them were blindfolded, yet James was not. Melly was shaking. James tried to speak, to convey to his daughter that it was going to be okay, when Denault spoke. “Sheriff Lenart? I'm MSgt Kristopher Denault of Special Unit 62. I have been assigned to pick you up, and escort you to a secure location. We are operating under martial law, I expect your complete compliance in this matter.” Before James could formulate a reply, Msgt Denault leaned forward and blindfolded him as well.