Page 18 of Shattered World

Spotting several booths in the back corner of the restaurant, we situated ourselves for the night, settling our bags behind our heads for cushions. Sasha pulled the gun from her waistband, setting it on the table above her head.

Silence permeated the air as we all attempted to fall asleep, but I knew, at least for me, trying to rest would be a struggle. A million thoughts ran through my mind. The most pressing one what would happen if we didn’t find the entrance to the bunker.

Caroline may seem like she was trying to help us. To find the entrance to the bunkers before the effects of the meteor, allowing others a chance to save themselves. But if we didn’t, she still had an escape plan. Her life wasn’t on the line, not like ours were.

“If we don’t find the bunkers, we’re going to die, aren’t we?” Mina’s whisper trailed through the quiet room.

Her mind must have been on the same wavelength as mine and when Sasha sighed deeply, I knew hers was as well. When there was always another task, another sliver of information learned, it was easy to forget that our days were numbered.

We didn’t talk about the death that most likely awaited us. We may have been closer to the root of the solution, but safety had never felt further from my grasp.

Our silence was the only answer Mina needed. There were some things you couldn’t voice aloud, even under the cover of darkness.

“Tomorrow we’ll find that damn entrance,” Sasha said with all the conviction she could muster, and I so desperately wanted to believe her words.

Eventually, even with the thoughts racing through my brain, sleep found me. And yet with all the questions bombarding me, I didn’t find the energy to ask the most important of all.Why would the door be unlocked?

I should have been used to noises waking me in the middle of the night. Used to the sheer terror of footsteps on the floor, breaking into the peace that found me as I slept. And yet, nothing could prepare me for the way my eyes snapped open, my heart pounding so loud I was sure anyone in the room could hear, as the door creaked open.

Instinctually, I rolled off the booth I laid on, softly landing on the tiled floor beneath the table. Low voices met my ears, boots shuffling against the floor as the intruders walked further into the restaurant.

Crawling on my hands and knees, I moved from under my table to the next. Sasha and Mina were on opposite booths, theirwide eyes already open as I slithered under the slight cover the table’s surface gave me.

“Who is it?” Sasha mouthed, but I knew the question was rhetorical.

I had absolutely zero clue who was inside this restaurant and I had zero plans to figure it out. My hands shaking from the fear, I pressed them against my thighs, trying to figure a way out of here.

Ideally, the people inside wouldn’t stay for long. As long as they didn’t creep into this corner, they wouldn’t see us. Eventually, they would leave and after a suitable amount of time, we could run our asses out of here. I didn’t care that it was dark and we were likely to get lost once again. At least the city had more protection than this ghost town.

The footsteps came closer to our hiding spot, Mina squeezing her eyes shut, mouthing something under her breath. There was no way for me to share my plan with the two of them, not without the intruders hearing.

When Sasha moved her hand, I knew that whatever plan I had was about to fly out the window. She tried to be as silent as she could, her fingers sliding over the top of the table, and I knew she was reaching for the gun.

But in the silence, the damn silence that always seemed to breed trouble, the sound of the metal leaving the table echoed.

My teeth bit into my lip as a flashlight scanned the room, a deep voice calling out, “Who’s in here?”

Soft tears tracked down Mina’s cheeks, Sasha’s eyes closed as she gripped the gun like a lifeline. I counted two sets of footsteps as the flashlight wandered closer to our corner. One individual would have been better, but two wasn’t a death sentence.

Placing my hand against Sasha’s arm, her eyes fluttered open. I didn’t say any words, but when she nodded, I knew she saw my silent request.

Taking a deep breath, I steeled my spine. Crawling out from under the table, Mina followed my movements. Her hand reached for mine and I squeezed tightly, trying to imbed confidence into her, confidence I didn’t even feel myself.

Sasha moved out of her booth, the gun held in front of her as she stepped past Mina and me. Our movements were no longer silent and I was blinded as the flashlight fell onto us.

The crackling of a radio sounded before the same voice as before said, “We’ve got three more.”

An unintelligible voice responded, but the other two figures didn’t have a chance for more words. The notable pop of the gun sound, Sasha’s body shaking as she fired at the men before us.

“Run! Run!” She shouted and gripping Mina’s hand, I took off in a sprint.

One of the men was on his knees, groaning in pain, but the other reached for us as we ran past. Evading his arm, Sasha continued to shoot as Mina and I raced past.

In seconds, we reached the door, the glass thrown open as I shoved Mina through. But Sasha was still inside, firing blindly. She was no Rainer and her aim was worse as her hands continued to shake.

“Sasha!” I yelled, gesturing wildly for her to start running.

Shot after shot rang out as Sasha ran toward us. Mina softly cried at my side, begging for Sasha to hurry.

---