Camp Zero (Book 2): State of Shock by Jack Hunt

just didn’t like taking orders from me. Corey came over instead which only seemed to piss Luke off that much more.
    Slowly, we crept into the diner, trying not to step on any of the broken glass on the floor. The one guy was whistling to himself in the kitchen. He was banging around pots, and slamming cupboard doors. They had wedged a chunk of wood under the door to the bathroom. I could hear the other starting to piss. I motioned for Corey to take the guy in the kitchen, while I went into the bathroom. I moved ever so quietly, placing the soles of my feet down in areas where there was no broken tile, garbage or glass. The soldier was in the next stall. He let out a fart while he was pissing and then breathed out as though he was enjoying the relief. I walked right up behind him and placed the tip of the barrel against the back of his head.
    “Barry?” he said.
    “Don’t even breathe.”
    “Oh shit.”
    “Oh shit, alright.”
    The soldier let go of his dick to raise his hands while he continued to pee.
    “Tuck that shit back in,” I said. He did as he was told. “Now back out carefully.”
    He made a few steps backwards. “Okay. Now let’s not—”
    With lightning speed he spun around and knocked my arm. The gun went off and a round went through the mirror on the wall. The soldier plowed into me grabbing my throat and throwing me up above the urinal. I felt metal grind into my back. Outside, another gun went off.
    “Barry,” he yelled while squeezing my throat hard.
    I fought for control as he continued choking me. He had to have been at least twenty-eight years of age. A section of his face was cut up as though he’d been in an explosion. Pressed against the tiled wall I could see darkness creeping in at the side of my eyes.
    “Press a gun against me, will you?”
    I knew if I didn’t act fast, I was going to pass out. He had shifted from his hand to using his forearm against my throat. I used my leg to try to kick him in the groin but he shifted his position slightly so I did the next best thing and drove my heel down into the top of his knee. I felt it give way beneath my boot. The guy let out a scream and collapsed on the ground. I dropped to the floor and began coughing hard. Billy came in and lifted his gun at the soldier. I raised my hand.
    “No.”
    Billy frowned. “Why not?”
    I coughed hard. “Because, he can’t do anything, and we need to know a few things.”
    By the way his pant leg was sticking to one side, I was pretty sure I had just broken his knee.
    Outside the bathroom there was a burst of gunfire, followed by more. I got up off the floor and picked up my gun. I staggered out and saw that Corey had killed the guy in the kitchen. I rushed through the dining room to the front window in time to see Luke and Ally kill the other two men. I squeezed my eyes shut and dropped my chin. I was kind of hoping that we didn’t have to. Rubbing a red neck, I returned to the washroom. Billy still had the gun on the soldier.
    “Who are you?” I asked coming down to the ground.
    Through tears of agony he seethed. “Fuck you.”
    I looked at Billy. I was in no mood for this guy to be pissing me off. “Listen, your buddies. They’re dead. Now unless you want to join them, tell me. Who are you?”
    In between writhing around, he let out a chuckle. “You are screwed.”
    I was about to ask him another question when a gun went off. Inside that tiny bathroom it was deafening. My ears were ringing. I spun around to see Luke standing in the doorway with a smirk on his face. I jumped up and grabbed hold of him and tossed him outside the room.
    “You idiot.”
    “What? He wasn’t going to tell you anything.”
    “You don’t know that.”
    I pushed him back again.
    “Even if he did, he would lie and then shoot you the first chance he had.”
    “I swear, Luke, I will put a bullet in your fucking head the next time you act without getting the go-ahead.”
    “The go-ahead? You think I need anyone’s