Chapter 2: Chapter 2 - Nightmare
"Quickly over here!" The store owner shouted at the siblings along with the rest of the customers. Everyone began to make their way to the backroom of the store, but they didn't notice one of the gunmen chasing after them.
"Alex, what is going on?" Kalia asked while he carried her in his arms.
"Nothing, if's a fire drill like in your school. Remember those." Alex replied as calmly as he could.
"Oh yeah, we have to go outside and then meet with our teachers." She said while smiling.
"Exactly, we have to go meet the teachers," Alex said with a reassuring smile. Alex then looked behind him for just a second and noticed a figure running behind them. At first, he thought it was another victim who saw them run this way but he noticed that the person was carrying something. The man raised such an object and aimed at the group.
"Get down!" Alex shouted and threw Kalia behind a pillar to his right and jump forward to the ground. Bang, bang, bang. Gunshots rang out and a couple who were too late to respond was shot down. The gunman kept shooting at the group until he had to reload when Alex heard the gunshots stop he peeked over to see the gunman reloading.
"Quickly, run for it now!" He shouted and grabbed his sister's hand. his shout woke up the remaining people and they began to run too. The gunman saw this happening and tried to put the magazine quickly into his AK-47. But due to his carelessness, he dropped the magazine to the floor which gave the group more time.
"Throwdown anything that you see so that he will have a harder time getting to us," Alex ordered and the group did as they were told. They finally made it to the fire escape only to find it locked up in chains.
"Son of a bitch!" the store owner shouted as he tried to break the chains off the door. He realized that there were children present and apologized for cursing in front of them. Everyone began to get worried except for Alex due to having to keep his sister calm.
"Owner is there another shop nearby here?" Alex asked the store owner. He nodded his head and began to lead the group to the store. After they made it to the store, Alex began to lay out the plan that he thought of as they were walking.
"First, lock the door behind us so that guy won't be able to get in," Alex ordered and a boy about the same age as him, named Luke, went to go lock it. Everyone decided to listen to this young boy because they didn't have any other choice. They began by printing out a map of the whole mall, grabbing binoculars and other items to use. Alex grabbed a camera that had a night vision mode on it just in case they needed eyes in the dark. Which paid off because after they gathered everything the power went off.
"Don't panic. That just means that the Police force is making their move." An older man said with relief on his face. Then they heard gunshots go off nearby, so Alex and Luke crawled to the entrance with their cameras. Alex motioned with his hands for Luke to check his right, while Alex checked the left side. Alex's camera caught one of the gunmen shooting in one of the stores. He could feel a chill climb up his spine from witnessing that scene. Alex motioned for Luke to get back to the group,
"Alright, a gunman is making his way towards us," Alex told the group and everyone began to panic a little. Luke calmed down the group to Alex's surprise, but he use that moment to explain his plan.
"First thing is to find anything that can be used as a weapon, next is to make a shield that will block some of the bullets," Alex commanded. The owner and Luke went to find weapons. Alex and the man from the couple named Ben went to go find something to use as a shield. Kalia and Ben's girlfriend named Sam went to find thick items to help make the shield more durable. Everyone got back together and began to plan out their attack on the gunman. The group hid in their spots and waited for the gunman to make his way into the store. Alex ran up with the makeshift shield and the gunman shot off a couple of rounds from his Ak, but most of them were deflected. The owner, Luke, and Ben charged out from their hiding spots towards the downed gunman. They began to mercilessly beat him with their makeshift weapons until they knew he was not getting back up. Everyone then sat down to catch their breaths and Alex began to strip the gunman of everything that was on him.
"Has anyone here fired any type of weapon before?" Alex asked. Ben and the owner responded so Alex gave them the two guns. Alex cut the bulletproof vest into two and gave it to the two people with the guns.
"We need duct tape for these two," Alex said and Luke went looking for it in the store. He found it and quickly ran back to the group, they taped up the body armor to Ben and the owner.
"Alright, let's move towards the freight elevator that is in the back of the food court," Alex said and they began to sneak towards the food court.
"I have to grab something really quick. I'll be back." Alex told the group and went to the back of the store. He used his phone as a flashlight to check on his stomach. There were two gunshot wounds, one went right through but the other one still had the bullet lodged in.
"Shit!" Alex let out a heavy sigh. He grabbed some bandages out of the first aid kit nearby and wrapped the wound up. Then he walked back to the group so they could make their way to the elevator. The group quietly made their way across the food court, but another gunman was patrolling the area. Ben motioned for the group to stop and hide behind one of the walls. Alex leaned over and saw where the gunman was stationed at,
"Ok, here's what we have to do. Luke, run over to that bag when I give you the signal." Alex said and kept his eye on the gunman. After a couple of seconds, Alex gave the signal for Luke to go. He quietly sprinted to the bag and picked it up then ran back to the group. Alex told the group to stay put and out of sight, while he went to the store next to them for some supplies. Alex began to search for cigarettes, alcohol, matches, and string. After grabbing the supplies, he ran into one of the bathrooms on the other side of the shop. He began to assemble a make-shift bomb with the supplies for a distraction, so they can get past the gunmen. After hooking up the bottles, he lit the cigarette and took off running back to the group. As this was going on, Kalia began to get antsy about her brother being gone for so long.
"Owner, when is my brother coming back?" She asked in a quiet voice.
"Don't worry, little one. Your brother will be back shortly. For now, just stay behind uncle and we'll get out safely." The owner responded while patting Kalia's head and she smiled. Just then they noticed Alex making his way back to them, so they made room for him in the little room.
"Everyone ready to make a run for it once the signal blows?" Alex asked. Everyone gave him a blank stare because they didn't know what signal he meant. Then there was a big bang that went off just three stores down, which grabbed the attention of most of the gunmen. Alex told the group to wait for at least one minutes before they rushed for the elevator. After the time was up they made their way towards the elevator with the Owner in front with the AK and Ben in the back with the Glock 19. As the group made their way to the elevator some of the gunmen came back a little early and notice them. So they began to open fire which startled the group and everyone began to break away so that they wouldn't be shot.
"Quickly move to cover and make your way to the Elevator!" The owner shouted while he returned fire while trying to keep everyone safe. Alex picked up Kalia to carry her instead. After a short firefight, the group made it to the elevator with only flesh wounds.
"Ok, put the guns on the ground so the police officers won't mistake us for the gunmen." The owner stated to Ben. While the elevator slowly made its way down to the delivery dock, Alex slid down the wall to sit down next to his sister.
"Hey, how are you doing?" Alex asked her.
"I don't know. All I know is the bad guys are gone, right." Sarah replied. Alex nodded to his little sister. She then snuggled up closer to him and he began to rub her head slowly. Alex noticed that she closed her eyes so he motioned for the owner to come closer to him.
"What is it little one?" The owner whispered.
"Can I request of you?" Alex asked in a quiet voice.
"Of course." The owner answered.
"Please take care of my sister and get her back to the orphanage safely. She is going to be adopted tomorrow and I don't think I'll be able to take her," Alex stated which made the owner confused, but then he noticed blood running down the back of Alex.
"When did this happen?" The owner asked with a little anger in his voice. Alex let out a small chuckle,
"As we ran for cover and when we took out the first gunman. I didn't want to slow down the group." Alex replied with little strength he had left. Everyone else in the elevator heard their conversation and couldn't help but feel upset about themselves. The reason why is cause this young man helped them get through one of the scariest moments in their life, yet he was injured and didn't tell them due to their fragile confidence in themselves. The elevator stoped and broke the silence once the doors opened up. The eleveator doors revealed a fully armed SWAT team aiming at the group. Everyone put their hands up and waited for the officers to give them orders.
"Lay down and crawl towards us!" The leader of the SWAT team shouted towards them. Everyone did as they were told except for Alex due to blood loss.
"Aren't you going to come with us?" Kalia asked Alex when she noticed that he didn't get up.
"Kalia, your big brother is just a little tired and he is going to rest for a bit then follow us," Ben replied.
"Then I'll stay here with my big brother too," Kalia stated. The group didn't know what to say to the little girl without revealing Alex's condition.
"Kalia, are you still my good little sister?" Alex asked her to which she nodded.
"Good, I want you to listen to the Owner and go with them to the good guys. I'm going to rest for a bit and I'll be right behind you." Alex said to her.
"You promise?" Kalia asked which made others feel even more down. Alex lifted his hand with his pinky finger out and Kalia did the same.
"Always," Alex replied with a wide smile. The owner lifted Kalia and back crawled with her towards the officers. The group was searched thoroughly after they reached them.
"How come that young man is not making his way to us?" The leader asked the owner. The owner leaned in and whispered to the Leader,
"He needs medical attention immediately. The kid has lost a lot of blood." The owner said. The leader nodded and sent the order, but then a small group of gunmen came barging in and opening fire.
"Fall back! I repeat fall back and protect the civilians!" The leader shouted as he returned fire.
"What about the kid?" The owner asked.
"It's too late for him. I can't risk my people for one civilian. I'm sorry." The leader responded. Kalia began to realize that they were leaving her brother and taking her away.
"Where are we going? What about my brother?" Kalia asked the owner.
"I'm sorry, little one." The owner replied. Kalia began to feel tears rolling down her cheeks and tried to get out of the owner's grip to run back to her brother. The owner realized what she was trying to do, so he held tightly and ran with what little strength he had left. Alex felt that he was short of breath and his vision was getting blurry. He looked up and noticed that the gunmen were opening fire upon the officers and his sister.
"These people are becoming a pain in the ass," Alex mumbled to himself as he looked around and found the pistol on the ground. He picked it up and aimed at one of the gunmen. Alex put both of his hands on the handle to stabilize himself. After three short breaths, he opened fire upon the gunmen from behind. Giving the officers the chance to overpower the gunmen, but before all of the gunmen were killed. One of them noticed Alex in the elevator and realized that Alex was part of the group that got away and delayed most of their plans . So the gunman shot at Alex before the officers could take him out.
"Looks like they didn't forget about little ol me," Alex said when he noticed the gunman's glare. Alex closed his eyes and awaited the impact of the bullets. He began to reminisce about his life with his little sister and all the fun he had while he could. Alex could hear Kalia shouting his name, but all he could do was smile and wish her well. The pain never arrived for Alex but everything that surrounded him was nothing but darkness.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone