Page 149 of Resurrection
Adri's face comes in and out of focus when I look at him.
He pushes forward without missing a beat, and I remember that this was his everyday reality when he served. He hardly talks about his time overseas, but deep down, I know the things he saw weren’t for the weak of the heart.
"This way!" he instructs, gesturing toward the stairs.
We take two at a time. Ty helps me to stay on my feet.
My trust in my brother is blind and raw, and I feel it like a bruise. I feel it everywhere. The noise fades, replaced by the thud of my bare feet and their boots on the steps.
We get to the second floor, and a long hallway stretches out before us, eerily empty. My thoughts race ahead as my brother inspects the locks and does things I don't understand on the keypad. These doors were different back when I was in high school. The stairs doors had to remain open and everything was analogue.
"What are you doing?" Ty asks him quietly.
"Trying to cut off access to this floor." He finally punches a few buttons and something clicks inside. "That'll do for now," he breathes out.
We move through the corridor. Adri shoves open the door to a classroom and shouts for us to get in.
We're inside, but safety is just a ghost against the reality of a bullet. Fear slips through the cracks, leaving the chill of uncertainty behind. My breath comes in ragged bursts as Adri surveys the room, then points at the teacher's desk and says, "We need to block the elevator too." He looks at Ty. "Help me with this."
Ty leaves my shoes on a chair nearby and joins Adri.
"Where are you going?" I ask, watching them haul the desk through the door and out into the hallway.
"Stay here, Nomes," Adri orders. "We’ll be right back."
There’s no time to argue. They’re gone before I know it. I can hear them dragging the desk away. When I poke my head out, they’re shoving it between the open elevator doors, then rushing back.
Adri slams the classroom door shut and turns the lock.
"Give me a hand," he tells Ty, motioning at the student desks.
They start grabbing them one by one, stacking them, against the door.
"These are not going to stop him," I say.
"At the very least, it'll slow him down," Adri replies.
They mount as many desks as they can, barricading the entrance to the classroom completely. I realize that for the first time in almost two decades, they’re actually not arguing but working together.
Apparently, all it took is a death threat.
I don’t know if I should be laughing or crying or thanking God they’re putting their differences aside, at least for now. My feet hurt. My left one worse than my right. I may have stepped on something sharp earlier in the hallway. But I’m afraid to check. Somehow not seeing, not knowing, feels like it’s not real.
"How are you holding up, sis?" Adri asks, drawing closer.
"I’m fine. Sorry, I kinda freaked out."
"Don’t worry," Ty says softly.
Adri glares at him but remains silent. He’s holstered his weapon and is currently scanning the room, checking the windows, and messing with his radio’s volume.
It's just the three of us. Me and the past and the fear that we'll never outrun this nightmare. Something has caught up with us finally. We don’t know what it is yet, but it’s here and it’s dangerous and it’s making me rethink my entire life.
I wrap my arms around me to stop the tremor in my body, but it’s not due to the cold. It’s the dread of being discovered.
Ty closes the distance between us with one long stride and pulls me to his heaving chest. His arms are strong and certain, but I notice the distress in hiseyes that wasn't there before. He knows we're not safe. He knows there's more.
I know it too.
