Uprising by Shelly Crane

my glass down.
    “You hear it too? Good. I’m not crazy with sleep deprivation. Sounds like...somebody crying.”
    “Yeah it does. Let’s go check it out,” I say but before I can leave the kitchen he grabs my arm.
    “Hey, hold on. You’re not going outside to check out anything.”
    Before I can argue it get’s louder. More desperate. And then we hear the word that sets both our feet to motion.
    “Help.”
    Cain releases me and runs past me to the staircase. I follow and slip on my tennis shoes by the wall as he unlatches the door. I wanted to run and get Merrick but thought it might be too late and whoever it was would be gone or worse so I just ran.
    Once topside we venture cautiously to the back door of the store and he eases it open to peek outside. The cold blast of wind hurts my face but I push him forward in anticipation. Our clothing option wasn’t a good choice. Both wearing pajama pants and t-shirts with tennis shoes. Jeff was right, it was freezing.
    The whimpering continues and we look across the back yard and somehow in the darkness see a man standing out in the middle, stiff.
    It was then I realized that Cain had grabbed the gun by the door, up over the doorway so the kids can’t reach. He points it at the figure and yells for them to say something as we continue to make a slow inching path toward him. Further and further away from the store and closer to the unmoving and unspeaking figure.
    “Wait, wait. Something’s not right, Cain,” I whisper, grabbing his arm to halt him.
    “I know. It looks like a trap. Run back, Sherry. Run to the-” he was cut off by something hitting him to the ground from behind. Before I could turn a horrible pain ran through the front of my leg, my shin. Stabbing, forceful and knocking me over to the ground next to Cain.
    We landed hard in the sand and rocks and I immediately turned over to see the man standing over us. How had he gotten behind us so fast? No. There was someone else with him. A Lighter. They were both Lighters.
    He continued to stand there, looking down at us. Cain put his arm protectively over top me and tried to sit up but the Lighter put his foot in Cain’s chest to pushed him back down.
    “Stupid humans,” was the figures first words to us. He cocked his head before starting again. “So gullible. That was all it took to get you out here?” he said almost sounding as if he wanted to laugh. “I knew there were resisting humans in there. I could smell your stupidity.”
    All of a sudden he seemed to glow, emitting enough light for us to see his face and him to see ours. He gasped.
    “You!” he yelled, looking right at me and pointing a glowing finger. “You belong to Crandle!”
    Then his head jerked and he flew backward into the sand. My ears were ringing and muffled sounds of Cain yelling at me to get up were coming to me. I realized Cain had shot the Lighter and was now pulling me up to run.
    We turned to see the other Lighter, glowing as well, and Cain gasped and squinted his eyes before making a distressed grunt, hesitating. I’d have to ask him about that later.
    “Cain. How nice to see you again,” the Lighter said, dripping with sarcasm.
    How did he know Cain’s name?
    Cain lifted the shotgun steadily and pointed at the Lighter’s face, right as he ascended with inhuman speed to stop in front of us.
    The trigger pulled and the Lighter flung backward and twisted to land hard with a disgusting thud in the sand. We turned to run back to the store but I couldn’t. The pain in my leg made me collapse and then the arm pain took over me even more so than before.
    The familiar pin prickles.
    I knew what was coming but had to see for myself. As I looked up to the sky towards home I hear the beating of wings and then the familiar screech. Though I couldn’t see them in the dark, it sounded like dozens of them.
    The more the merrier, the more of them the more intense the pain was and it literally took my breath. I tried again to get up