Page 35 of Chaos & Carnage

Crouching low, we slink toward the fire station. Only one man is patrolling this side of the building, and he doesn’t see me coming as I lunge out of the darkness, slamming a hand over his mouth while I take a knife to his throat. As his body sags against mine, I drag him into the shadows while Sawyer cracks open the door he was standing in front of.

She slips inside, and cursing under his breath, Lor hastily follows. Glancing around as I step through the door and quietly close it behind me, it looks like we are in some sort of back hallway. There’s a commercial kitchen on our left, but at this time of night, it’s empty. However, the thudding pulse of music from somewhere deeper in the building gives away that most of the men are far from asleep.

“Someone’s coming,” Sawyer hisses at the exact moment I hear voices coming our way. The three of us duck into the darkened kitchen, flattening ourselves against the wall seconds before whoever is coming rounds the corner. I put a finger to my lips, telling both of them to stay quiet as the footsteps get louder.

“Did you see the tits on that girl?” I hear one of them ask, another laughing in response. “I’m definitely going to fuck them tonight.”

“Fuck, I’d do more than just fuck her tits. Gotta make tonight count before we go after those bastards again.”

Someone chuckles while a murmured round of agreement goes up. I place three or four different voices before another guy speaks. “Fuck our brains out tonight, then kill some Reject scumbags tomorrow. Sounds good to me.”

I can practically feel Sawyer vibrating with anger beside me, and I clasp a hand on her wrist to ensure she doesn’t do something stupid like rush out there.

I count four of them as they walk past, heading toward the door we just entered through.

“They’re going to notice the missing guard,” Sawyer hisses seconds before the door opens and one of them says, “Wasn’t Gary meant to be here tonight?”

“Probably taking a piss,” one of them responds. “Which is exactly what I need to do.” Heavy footsteps crunch against gravel as he disappears farther away to take a leak. With three on three, I turn to look at the others beside me. When they both nod, Sawyer with her bloody blade clutched in a death grip, we silently slip back into the hall. As we sneak closer, the back door has been propped open, and I can see the silhouettes of the three remaining men. Two of them are smoking, while the third rambles on about some shit. I’m not paying attention. Every ounce of my focus is on getting as close as possible before they spot us.

The second all three of us clear the door, our sights set on our victim, we launch. I grab my guy in a chokehold, his cigarette falling from his lips as I put the barrel of the gun to his forehead and shoot. The pop of the silencer goes off, but I’m not too concerned about anyone finding us. Sawyer and Lor have already taken care of their men, and the only one left is the guy that went to pee—a small reprieve but death is still calling his name.

“This next guy will put me in the lead,” Lor taunts Sawyer, ensuring he keeps his voice low so it doesn’t travel.

Sawyer snorts. “Only if you kill him… which you won’t, becauseI’mkilling him.”

Lor smirks while I roll my eyes. “Game on, Spitfire. Let’s see who gets to him first.”

“Really?” I hiss as I hear footsteps approaching. “Now is hardly the time.”

“Yo, guys, I thought I heard something…” the one man left breathing calls out.

“I disagree. Now is exactly the time,” Lor murmurs before rushing the man at the same time Sawyer does.

The second they can make out the guy’s outline, Sawyer sends a bullet straight into his chest while Lor aims for his head.

“Mine,” they both call out at once.

“No, I got to him first,” Sawyer snaps.

“No, I did!”

Both of them turn to me. “Well?” Lor asks, cocking a brow. “Whose kill was it?”

“I don’t know,” I grumble, not wanting to be dragged into this insanity. “You both killed him. You get half a kill each.”

“Half a kill?” Sawyer hisses in outrage. “You can’t gethalf a kill.”

“Well, he’s dead, and you both landed killing shots. Split it up however you want. There are more people inside just waiting for you to fight over their soon-to-be corpses.”

Turning on my heel, I try to block out the sounds of them bickering behind me as I head back inside.

“You can have that one,” I, unfortunately, overhear Lor say.

“I don’t need your pity kill,” Sawyer snaps. “Keep it. I’m still going to beat you.”

Their argument hushes to quiet whispers as we step inside, finally falling away altogether as their common sense kicks in and they realize we’re in the middle of a den of vipers, surrounded by enemies who could find us at any moment. Now is most definitely not the time for petty squabbles.

The rapid fire of gunshots somewhere else in the building pierces through the silence, startling us to a stop.

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