down!” Katia is turning my face again. “Crazy bitch is bound to run out of ammo eventually.”
The woman discharges a crude laugh. “Keep dreamin’, sweetheart! I got enough firepower in here to last me through the next apocalypse!” A drum-roll of automatic gunfire serves to prove her point.
“She’s got a machine gun, Katia!” Sonny’s voice quivers.
“I heard! Just shoot back! I’m busy!” Katia holds my head still. “I told you we should have turned around! Didn’t I tell you?”
“I’m blind! I’m fucking blind!” The red curtains have closed completely. The world has gone black. That bitch shot me in the eyes. The burning pain in my shoulder has dissolved into a dull throbbing.
“Hold still, damn it! You’re not blind. You’ve got blood in your eyes.” I feel her thumbs sliding over my eyelids. “Open your eyes, stop squinting. Can you see?”
“It burns like hell, but I can see.”
“Your face is messed up and you’ve got buckshot in your shoulder. Can you move your arm?”
I can, but the pain is immense. I gasp and clench up. “How bad is it?”
“You’re not bleeding out. We’ll have to get the pellets and glass out and get you cleaned up so you don’t get infected.”
I look to the tower. The gun battle between Sonny and the entrenched woman is still raging, with Sonny getting the sharp end of the stick. He’s huddled up, blind firing around the corner as he receives volley-after-volley of machine gun and shotgun fire in return; giant chunks of wall peel off and smash him in the face.
“We’ve gotta put an end to this,” Katia says. “The gunfire is a smoke signal for the Rabid. If she doesn’t plug our asses, they will chomp our asses. We need to run or end this bitch.”
I push up on my good arm and climb to my feet, my vision blurry, my head swimming. I stumble towards Sonny. My rifle is still lying in the parking lot.
“What the hell are you doing, Tim?” Katia pulls at my shirt tail, but I shake her off.
“Sonny, cease fire!”
He recoils as more bullets chip away at his cover.
“Ma’am, can you hear me?”
“Course’ I can hear you, numb nuts. You the little shit I blasted?”
I push Sonny back and take his place. “That’s me. Pretty solid aim with that shotty, almost took my head off.”
“That was the goal. Seeing as how you’re still yappin’ away, it sounds like I’m out of practice.”
I can hear her loading shells into the shotgun and then the distinct, ass-puckering sound of her racking the slide. “Don’t be too hard on yourself, that glass could throw anyone off. You gave my shoulder a spanking and ruined my youthful good looks, so it’s not a total loss.”
“Butter me up, sweetheart, but if you’re thinkin’ that schoolboy charm is gonna get you anywhere with me, you’re about forty years too late.”
Katia wraps a firm hand across my good shoulder. “What the hell are you doing, Two-Step?”
“Trying to prevent more bloodshed, just stand back.”
“What you folks whispering about out there? It ain’t polite to whisper.”
“We were just wondering if you’re alone?”
“Thinkin’ just because you got numbers and youth that you can take old Martha Turkins? Keep dreamin’, you wobbly-kneed, little good for nothin’—”
“Wait!” I yell, louder and harsher than I intended to. “We’re not here to hurt you, ma’am. We’ve got no quarrel with you.”
“That why you came around that corner with your rifle raised? That why you’re asking if I’m alone? Weighing your chances, right?”
“After the stuff we’ve seen, the stuff we’ve been through, we never let our guard down. Every situation is hostile for us until proven otherwise.”
She makes a noise that sounds almost like admiration. “Well now, I reckon that’s smart.”
“I reckon so too.”
“Tim!” Katia’s lips brush my ear. “Why are we bothering with this loony bitch? Let’s just go!”
More blood has begun trickling across
The woman discharges a crude laugh. “Keep dreamin’, sweetheart! I got enough firepower in here to last me through the next apocalypse!” A drum-roll of automatic gunfire serves to prove her point.
“She’s got a machine gun, Katia!” Sonny’s voice quivers.
“I heard! Just shoot back! I’m busy!” Katia holds my head still. “I told you we should have turned around! Didn’t I tell you?”
“I’m blind! I’m fucking blind!” The red curtains have closed completely. The world has gone black. That bitch shot me in the eyes. The burning pain in my shoulder has dissolved into a dull throbbing.
“Hold still, damn it! You’re not blind. You’ve got blood in your eyes.” I feel her thumbs sliding over my eyelids. “Open your eyes, stop squinting. Can you see?”
“It burns like hell, but I can see.”
“Your face is messed up and you’ve got buckshot in your shoulder. Can you move your arm?”
I can, but the pain is immense. I gasp and clench up. “How bad is it?”
“You’re not bleeding out. We’ll have to get the pellets and glass out and get you cleaned up so you don’t get infected.”
I look to the tower. The gun battle between Sonny and the entrenched woman is still raging, with Sonny getting the sharp end of the stick. He’s huddled up, blind firing around the corner as he receives volley-after-volley of machine gun and shotgun fire in return; giant chunks of wall peel off and smash him in the face.
“We’ve gotta put an end to this,” Katia says. “The gunfire is a smoke signal for the Rabid. If she doesn’t plug our asses, they will chomp our asses. We need to run or end this bitch.”
I push up on my good arm and climb to my feet, my vision blurry, my head swimming. I stumble towards Sonny. My rifle is still lying in the parking lot.
“What the hell are you doing, Tim?” Katia pulls at my shirt tail, but I shake her off.
“Sonny, cease fire!”
He recoils as more bullets chip away at his cover.
“Ma’am, can you hear me?”
“Course’ I can hear you, numb nuts. You the little shit I blasted?”
I push Sonny back and take his place. “That’s me. Pretty solid aim with that shotty, almost took my head off.”
“That was the goal. Seeing as how you’re still yappin’ away, it sounds like I’m out of practice.”
I can hear her loading shells into the shotgun and then the distinct, ass-puckering sound of her racking the slide. “Don’t be too hard on yourself, that glass could throw anyone off. You gave my shoulder a spanking and ruined my youthful good looks, so it’s not a total loss.”
“Butter me up, sweetheart, but if you’re thinkin’ that schoolboy charm is gonna get you anywhere with me, you’re about forty years too late.”
Katia wraps a firm hand across my good shoulder. “What the hell are you doing, Two-Step?”
“Trying to prevent more bloodshed, just stand back.”
“What you folks whispering about out there? It ain’t polite to whisper.”
“We were just wondering if you’re alone?”
“Thinkin’ just because you got numbers and youth that you can take old Martha Turkins? Keep dreamin’, you wobbly-kneed, little good for nothin’—”
“Wait!” I yell, louder and harsher than I intended to. “We’re not here to hurt you, ma’am. We’ve got no quarrel with you.”
“That why you came around that corner with your rifle raised? That why you’re asking if I’m alone? Weighing your chances, right?”
“After the stuff we’ve seen, the stuff we’ve been through, we never let our guard down. Every situation is hostile for us until proven otherwise.”
She makes a noise that sounds almost like admiration. “Well now, I reckon that’s smart.”
“I reckon so too.”
“Tim!” Katia’s lips brush my ear. “Why are we bothering with this loony bitch? Let’s just go!”
More blood has begun trickling across
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