When the sun rose behind the horizon and night bled into day, we awoke from a deep sleep to the sound of distant gunshots. We met in the hall and quickly ran to the stairs.
âShould we bother getting involved in whatâs going on up there?â Aleena asked through tired breaths.
âWe donât have to but we should. It could have innocents in the crossfire.â
âFuck.â She said, frustrated.
The guard was nowhere to be seen. Rays of golden sunlight broke through the door as it was opened and my eyes struggled to adjust quickly. As a group, we ran down the block towards the sounds and stopped at an idle intersection. Peering around, a horde came into view. This one wasnât overly dense but the people shooting at them were struggling and likely overcome with fear.
âI hope this doesn't hit anyone.â Ark absently remarked as he set up his rifle.
âYo man I wouldnât shoot that, if it goes through the horde it could hit âda civsâ.â Jack firmly suggested.
âYeah! What if you kill someone?!â Crystal yelled.
âHey! Shut it, Crystal.â Aleena grabbed her by the shirt and shook her.
âThey could hear you.â She let her down. Crystal didnât respond.
âShoot it, Ark.â I was scared but I had faith in his aim. Without further discussion, the street erupted with the screams of the horde as a projectile exploded in the centre.
âHoly shit that was cool!â Crystal exclaimed. This girl sounds really annoying. Yeah, she was certainly something. Arkâs unsettling face mask looked to the side and blankly stared through her, a chilling sight.
âJeez, sorry.â She snickered.
A distant voice could be heard.
âHey! Hey! Come here!â The small group waved at us and signalled for us to approach them. Glass shards cracked under our boots and my legs were still shaking from yesterdayâs injury. Upon making it to them, they appeared shocked with a lingering feeling of fear filling the air around them like harmful gas.
âWhat the hell was that?â One of them asked with a shaky voice.
âIt was a-â
âAn explosion.â Ark interrupted. Once they had seen Ark, they became more frightened.
âWhat is that? Is he gonna hurt us?â A little girl asked, half hiding behind what I assume was her dad. I kneeled down to her level and softened my tone.
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âNo, of course not. He looks scary but donât worry, heâs the one who killed the bad guys just now.â I said with a smile. Her expression changed as her face lit up. It was quite cute watching her come out from hiding and run towards Ark. Not knowing how to react, he just stood there as she wrapped her arms around his legs.
âThanks mister!â He laughed a little under his mask.
âTake this, itâs a blue flare. If you ever get lost, or your parents ever get hurt, light it and Iâll find you.â An ear-to-ear smile grew on her face as she clutched the stick to her chest and ran back to her dad.
âDaddy, look! Weâre safe now! Heâll watch over us, daddy!â As she is talking, her father looks at Ark and silently says âThank youâ. He nodded affirmatively.
Screeches of tire rubber burning sing a violent song as a tanky looking truck drifts around the street corner with a red flare coming from the windows.
"âda fuckinâ Alliance!â Our attention was grabbed and everyone raised their weapons. The machine came to a screeching halt and five heavily armoured men exited, all with fully automatic rifles. Everyone scattered and I took cover behind a nearby post box. Peering to my side, I noticed Ark looking in my direction. He signalled to his gun and I knew what he wanted. We, along with everyone else, were under heavy fire. Bullets and terrified screams rung through the towers surrounding us like a ripple. In sync, we set our guns up on the post box. Without thinking, we began firing back into them. However we quickly realised it was useless, their armour was too thick. Ark sighed, flicked a switch on his gun, and set it back up. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the father and the little girl sneaking away; completely out of cover.
âShoot it now, Ark! Now! Now! Now!â I screamed. Time seemed to slow down as he pulled the trigger. I watched as the impact grenade flew through the air gracefully. An Alliance member noticed the father and the girl and looked to his right as the projectile flew toward them. A swift release of my slowed haze as the sound of a gunshot dominated over the rest, followed by an explosion, then followed by silence. No screams. No flying rubble. Just four dead Alliance members.
âTheyâre gone.â Ark said with a proud undertone. I felt his face under the mask shrink when the smoke cleared and revealed a small corpse, and another, just as lifeless next to it; their hands intertwined, ready for heaven to claim them.
We all emerged and cautiously walked over. A motherâs scream is something Iâll never forget. Grief covering her tears as a young man tried to console her, holding back a waterfall of his own. How did Ark feel? understandably not good, he was completely silent behind a blank, expressionless mask. The one time I felt his mask truly portrayed his face. Time was running out as more screeching tires approached. All of us ran, apart from Ark, and the mother. He knew he wasnât going to be able to make the mother run so he stayed with her. Ark raised his weapon again and shot three times at the oncoming car. As expected, three calls of destruction echoed out and the vehicle was reduced to blood-stained scrap. In disbelief, my eyes shifted slowly to him. His expressionless mask filled my heart with fear, making my chest heavy. With a shocked look still plastered across my face, I once again shifted my vision to the side towards Aleena and the others to see their faces mirroring mine. My head began to spin and I mustâve passed out âcause the next thing I remember was opening my eyes and seeing the group talking to the mother, trying to console her with the bother. Ark stood distant to the rest of them, not really doing anything either. He stood idly staring down the street. I stumbled to my feet as I began to stand. I made my way to him.
âHow you feeling?â Simple and straightforward, something I think he needed. His head turned to face me as the voice behind the mask emerged.
âIâll be ok, tell her mother she can keep the flare to use when she needs me. Her daughterâs voice tells me she needs it.â He said quietly. I was a little confused as to what he meant at the time, but youâre here with me now and I think I understand. She stayed with him to say thank you. I bet.