This chapter is a total mess and will be edited but thanks for being patient, back from holiday now and only a couple of chapters left. Thanks again for all your support. You're lovely. ;3
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Blue.
They were blue, and real, and full of life. The hands holding me went limp and I dove to his bedside, waiting for any kind of reaction, anything. As each second passed and he just lay blinking, I lost a little hope, sure that this was going to hurt more than when he'd been gone completely. If only we hadn'-
'Harley?'
Euphoria. Total euphoria as my name fell from his lips, strained and rough from days of what could only be death, but it was there, and it was Lucas, it was impossible and incredible and I couldn't breathe, couldn't do anything but burst into tears as I threw my arms around him, sobbing into his chest, throwing curses into the fabric of his clothes.
Keith and Percy were quick to join me and I heard them behind my back, expressing their disbelief, excitement, the kind of emotions which don't have words because situations which provoke these emotions have never happened before.
Euphoria.
That was it; the only word which could explain the blur of sobs, embracing, staring down at the restraints, crouching down to till I was staring Lucas in the eyes, something I thought was gone for good. They were filled with confusion and I could only laugh and cry with difficulty, my breath coming out in short gasps.
'Where am I?' he mumbled with dazed eyes, 'Jesus, my head...'
'You're here' I was still laughing, sobbing, 'What do you remember, how do you feel?' I reached to untie him from the table but Bruce's voice stood firm, the greed and pure excitement lighting up his face totally unnerving.
'Don't touch them. Doc, Bottle up this shit, make more, now!'
'I don't th-'
'Now!'
More guns were pointed until William and Santos shared a look which was fear, anger and despite their own pride, began to grab more liquids and glasses, left to their own devices.
I didn't care, not at all, he was alive, he was alive.
'I feel like I haven't seen you in so long' Lucas smiled uneasily, clearly reaching to move his arm and opening his eyes widely when he realised he couldn't.
'It's okay, man' Keith exhaled unsteadily with a crooked smile upon his face, crouched right next to me, 'You're in a bit of a predicament but it's okay, don't panic. How do you feel, what's the last thing you remember?'
'Uh...' Lucas shook his head, taking note of Bruce who was now stood on our side, the army officers, Sam, Darren...
'What do you remember, kid? How do you feel? You know where we are?' Bruce's voice belted out and Lucas only frowned, looking more than a little annoyed and disorientated. For once, I agreed that what Bruce was asking was important and without his vile voice, I would have been sure I was a part of some kind of daydream or parallel world where the impossible happens and this kind of emotion actually existed.
'It's important you answer Lucas' I told him soothingly, pushing a few strands of hair away from his eyes. I felt like I was in heaven, this was amazing, I was elated.
'Okay...' he blinked a few times, moving his gaze between each of us as piece by piece, bits of knowledge seemed to return to his eyes, understanding began to dawn on him, 'Well, we were stood out in the road next to that shop; there were so many of them, we fought for as long as we could but...' he scrunched his face up and I was in total disbelief that he remembered, he knew all of this, 'We were all there and Harley, your leg...'
'It's fine now' I breathed, 'Go on'.
'There was a loud bang, I was on the floor, there was blood... is that why I'm here? How long was I unconscious for? Are you guys alright?' He tried to move again and frowned when he couldn't.
'They're fine' Bruce snapped, 'How do you feel?'
'Don't talk to him like that!' I growled, 'Put yourself in his shoes!'.
'I feel a bit crap, if I'm honest' I saw a whole lot of Lucas in him when he raised an eyebrow sarcastically, 'Because I'm pretty sure somebody shot me'.
'What hurts?'
'My head. A lot' he winced, 'Why the hell am I tied down? Jesus, my chest too. Everything hurts'.
'You've missed a lot' A smile stood out on Percy's now redly-tinted face, 'It's going to be okay, though. We're safe in a hotel, we'll be leaving soon, all together...'.
'I love you' I breathed, more tears falling freely down my face till I could feel Keith's arm around my waist, his fingers moving soothingly across my hip 'I love you so much, I thought you were gone...'
'I'm tough, Lee Lee' he chuckled, trying to wipe away my tears but growling when he couldn't move his arms, 'My sister is crying, can I please get up? Is it customary to do this after you help someone? Thank you, by the way, I think'.
'Don't thank them' I whispered, looking to Keith and Percy. There was confusion in both of their eyes and it seemed none of us really knew what to do, we hadn't exactly prepared for a situation where we'd have to explain this to anyone - what had we said? That ignorance gets people killed?
'How long have I been out for?'
'A long time' Keith muttered, looking disbelievingly towards my brother, 'Lucas, we're with the army at the moment'. He looked at me as if asking for permission to explain and I nodded, not missing the fact that Lucas was looking between us with questioning in his eyes. Ignorance meant death. Lucas was in pure ignorance and as much as I wanted him to come back into a world of perfection, I couldn't do that to him, it just wasn't safe.
'That's good?' he asked unsurely.
'It's not' Keith was speaking quietly so Bruce, who was stood with William, and the other army officers couldn't hear, 'They're not decent people, Lucas. They're the ones who shot you and I don't know how to tell you this, but-'
'You died' I blurted out, wanting to be the one to tell him, wishing I had done so a little more gracefully. I was his sister, after all, and I full well knew my words would sound completely ridiculous to his ears.
'Uh...' he laughed awkwardly, raising an eyebrow, 'I don't...'
'She's telling the truth, Lucas' Percy cut in, pushing on his glasses with trembling hands, 'Please trust us. Clinically, you died and we all mourned you, all of us in our different ways. We're in a hotel and since your death, they've kept us here in what I can only describe as captive. Harley managed to get out the doors and Keith went so crazy looking for her that they locked him in his room and she came back an-'
'Percy' I cut in, 'He doesn't need to know that'.
'I think I do' his brotherly side cut in as he looked between us again and I couldn't ignore the fact Keith avoided his gaze and looked towards the floor in a scene I wouldn't have predicted if I'd imagined this exact moment. I'd imagined him coming back of course but it had always in my imagination happened as though I was awaking from a nasty dream where he'd nudge me and tell me to shut up so he could sleep. This, was different.
'But they kept you down here and they were...' I took a breath, 'They injected you with the virus then tested a cure on you, this cure, the one in you right now. You were dead, Lucas, and they brought you back as one of them. Do you remember?'
'What?' His face paled, 'No, no, I don't...'
'They cured you and you just woke up, it's been a few days. Please, I'm just so happy you're here' I was crying again, 'You... were gone and I can't believe we're talking, I was imagining a future without you, I just can't believe this...'
'Don't cry, Lee Lee' he still looked completely shell shocked but his face was flooded with emotion now as he looked towards the three of us, 'I remember it, laying on that floor, knowing that was it for me, for us. All I kept thinking was that I was with the people I loved, that I'd broken my promise to you, Harley. I was so happy though, that you had these two. I told Keith-'
'To look after her' he cut in, smiling with his own traces of emotion in his eyes, 'I've tried, but she's a handful'.
'I know' he laughed, 'I kn-'.
'This isn't a fucking reunion' Bruce snapped, looking as though he was sucking a lemon as he suddenly stomped back over to us, 'Guys, grab the kid and get to the chopper, people need to see this, you got the cure? What's the protocol does it need a name?'
'Wait!' I said disbelievingly, 'What do you mean, 'take the kid?'
'William!' Bruce demanded, ignoring me.
'Usually, the people who find the cure's names are used so theoretically, the cure would be called the Tennile-Briarche cure or to shorted it, the TenBri cure as we envisioned it'.
'Or the Bruce Howarth cure' he muttered, smirking.
'Stop ignoring us!' Keith said venomously, standing tall on his feet, staring at Bruce, 'Your cure works. Lets get in that chopper and go wherever it is we're supposed to go. We're all tired, we're not safe here even if you think we are and we have a cure which could save thousands of lives in our hands. Let's go'.
'You're pissing me off, kid. We don't need you lot anymore, no doubt you kiddies want to cure everyone and skip out into the sunset happily, yeah?'
'Don't you talk to them like that' Lucas bit at him, struggling with what was tying him down.
'What's wrong with the sunset?' Percy squeaked, 'That's why we have a cure...'
'Do you have any idea the wars we could win with this, the artillery we could get, the resources, food, money? England could be the most powerful and richest country in the world!' Bruce said, excitedly yet angrily, uncaring that we were staring at him like we was scum, 'We could take down Iraq, finish what Blair couldn't. Then we could attack China, take back all the shit that is rightfully ours, use the infection as a war weapon, use the freaks as an army force and keep the cure on hand to help our own. We could train them to leave the friendlies alone...'
'Oh, shut the fuck up' Keith sneered, 'We're taking this cure, fixing all the people and then destroying the infection. William, Santos?' He turned to the men for help and they nodded.
'It's the only humane thing to do; as a war weapon the infection will rage and a global pandemic would be definite' Santos said, glaring at Bruce.
'We need to act quickly though, I'll need to run tests on Lucas here when we leave, it's very important we monitor him closely, we don'-.
'Will you idiots shut up?' Bruce yelled, massaging his temples, 'Okay boys, chopper is on the roof, yeah?'
'Ready and waiting' somebody barked while I could only watch, breathless.
'I need two guys to take the kid upstairs to the chopper, don't let him outta your sight. Johnston, Porter, you're on that, alright? The rest of ya, grab the girl, the little shit and four eyes'. Almost as soon as he said it, we were all pulled backwards and held, much like before but this time there really was no way out. Sam was gripping firmly onto me and when I whimpered, he apologised profusely and I could hear tears in his voice.
'Okay, good' Bruce beamed as Lucas struggled in his restraints, swearing and yelling at the officers to let us go, 'Now take the kid to the roof and fucking wait for us. Get two more guys to grab the scientists and then dump them and the kids outside, feed em' to the freaks. It's a shame about the girl but we all have to make sacrifices, eh?'.
My stomach twisted as I stared at Keith and Percy, my own expression surely mirroring theirs: shock, disbelief, horror. Percy's face paled instantly and Keith squirmed, begging them to let Percy and I go at least. I could only hear my own heart beating now though as I stared at my brother who could barely move, only look at us one by one with his mouth hanging open. I'd just gotten him back and I was about to lose him.
'Don't you hurt him' I whispered to Sam who stiffened a my words.
'No' he mumbled distantly and for a second, I felt his grip loosen and at his words, I froze, 'I'm sorry, Harley. I should have done this much sooner'.
I couldn't question it because in a second, I was pushed aside and Sam was moving forwards boldly towards Bruce who looked instantly angry.
'Get back to the girl'.
'No. Let them go, sir. We made a promise to them, these scientists have performed a miracle, reunited them all. Let's get this cure out of here, use it, like everybody apart from you has just said'.
'I don't like you' Bruce said simply as he raised his gun to Sam's head.
'Well I don't like you' Darren spoke up suddenly, pushing Keith away from him. I could practically hear Bruce's teeth grinding as he saw the scene unfold and then the smirk in his next order.
'Screw the freaks. Kill them all. Four eyes, lover boy and 'Miss Sawyer'. While you're at it, kill these two traitors' he gestured towards Sam and Darren who stood their ground and before I knew it, the click of guns sounded across the room and Darren let out an almighty shout.
'Duck!'
Without any thought, I threw myself to the ground behind a nearby cabinet and gunshots suddenly erupted around our heads. With deep relief and adreneline along with incredible panic for my brother, I saw Percy and Sam next to me while Keith and Darren had lunged in the opposite direction behind a piece of large equipment. I could only be grateful that the room was fairly large with plenty of obstacles otherwise we'd all be dead and this whole thing would have ended in completely the wrong way. Lucas was screaming at the men and I bit my lip, praying to anyone and everyone that he was going to be alright, shaking horribly at every shot that sounded because I knew he was in the very middle of it.
'Arseholes at twelve o clock!' Darren shouted to us as he and Sam leant over their obstacles and fired their guns, making me wince with the noise of so much gunfire so close. I could hear the bullets pinging off of the furniture I was hidden behind and could only be thankful it hadn't penetrated it yet.
When I squinted through a crack, I could see that all the men, around twelve of them including Bruce and the scientists, had retreated to the other side of the room about ten feet away so there was a gap in the middle of the room where Lucas lay, desperately trying to free himself. Instinctively, I moved to help him before another bullet hit the other side of the barrier and actually made my head shake.
'Ah!' Percy cried as yet another bullet flew just over his head and lodged itself in the wall.
'We need to move!' Sam cried to Darren, 'This shit won't hold forever!'. The voices barely carried beneath the thundering gunshots and fleetingly, I wondered how on earth we hadn't been killed yet. They couldn't get close because Sam and Darren were such a good shot but what we were hidden behind was becoming weaker and with such little equipment, the cover in the room was sparse.
'Harley' Keith yelled over, 'Stay down! You too' He called to Percy also, nodding reassuringly at us. I gasped and lunged to help when the cover he and Darren were sat behind began to crack till it eventually split and they were left almost open, ducking behind shards of the cabinet and a monitor which was balanced precariously. Sam held firmly onto me so I couldn't move to them and without a word, both of the boys dove the few feet to where we were sat and Keith was suddenly in my arms, sat just in front of me so he was hidden too. The desire to grab onto him and just not let go was overwhelming but now we only had one gun shooting.
'You alright, sunshine?' He asked breathlessly, squeezing Percy's arm in reassurance. I just stared down at him for a moment, my breaths more than audible in the now silent room where a pin could drop.
'Give up, you fuckers!' Bruce yelled, his voice bouncing from wall to wall, 'If you even point a gun in our direction I swear we'll all aim at four eyes and believe me, I'll send all my men running to your side of the room if I have to'.
'Don't you touch him!' I called back threateningly which was ridiculous because I was one of the few in the room who didn't have a gun. Suddenly feeling awkward that I was facing away from the enemies behind me, I turned around and peered back through the tiny gap in the metal or whatever the large block was, glaring at the several pair of arms I could see through the gaps in their own barriers.
'We'll kill the scientists if you don't surrender your weapons!'
'Oh no' I groaned, looking towards Sam and Darren, the first who looked conflicted and the latter who looked determined.
'He can't touch him' Darren said quietly to us, 'No chance. They're... well, they're valuable, aren't they?'
'He's right' Percy piped up, 'They're the most important humans in the country at the moment'.
'They were willing to kill them, 'throw them to the freaks', remember?' I prodded.
'Trust us on this' Darren nodded to me reassuringly.
'No deal' Sam shouted, 'Lucas mate, you alright there?'
'Just fine' he called back, and I breathed out in relief, letting my head lull back.
'We'll get out of your hair' I shouted over, 'We won't mention a word of this, ever. We'll say you saved us and that's it. Just let my brother go, let us go. Please, and please just use the cure for good'.
'I am' Bruce called in a purely confused voice.
'You said we could help eachother!' I yelled desperately, 'I said I'd back your story up-'
'Sorry kiddo, I got bigger fish to fry - we need the boy, he's the first in the world to test this, he could croak any minute'.
I felt myself tense up when I cottoned on to his words and suddenly had the desperate urge to dive to his side again. How right he was - what if Lucas just fell asleep again but didn't wake up this time? If he died while I was sat here arguing with this awful human? No, I couldn't have that.
'I'm getting up to see Lucas, don't shoot' I called meekly before just about everyone, including Lucas, shouted a 'no!' to me.
'Try it' an army officer challenged.
'They'll shoot you, they have no qualms' Sam said, gripping tightly onto me, 'They don't care you're a girl'.
'Think about this' Keith whispered pleadingly to me, turning me awkwardly to face him, 'We're hidden behind god knows what, away from certain death. If you step out there...' he closed his eyes, shaking his head, 'No, I'm sorry. We'll come up with something, just do-'
'Come up with what?' I asked him sadly, 'If something happens to him and I'm sat here doing nothing... I'll regret it forever. I can't do that'.
'Just wait a few minutes' Darren interrupted, 'Maybe we'll come up with something'.
'Or they will, they're too quiet and we're like ten feet away from each other'.
'I have an idea' Keith blurted out, 'So long as you don't go running off into their gunfire' he glared at me.
'Shoot'.
'Well that's the idea' he broke into a smile and the corners of my lips twitched up with his, 'Alright, I know each of you have an extra gun on your back which means four out of five of us are armed. We're trapped here right now but if you look over there' he gestured to the left where a door stood ever so slightly ajar about twenty-five feet away, 'If we ran to that, we'd get shot down instantly but that's the way out and right now, I'd rather face the infected'.
'So what are you saying?' Sam asked curiously.
'Our fastest runner makes a dash for that door, the only person without a  gun.
'And the rest?'
'Take shots at the guys over there, they'll be distracted. Then while that's happening, someone can run out and untie Lucas'.
'But...' I tried to catch up, 'It seems so...'
'Crazy' Percy nods, 'But it's good. Whoever goes to untie Lucas though, they'll be right in the middle of it all...'.
'I'm gonna do it' Keith replied quietly, 'I owe it to Harley' he looked at me, 'I don't know who'll do the running though, that's the other dangerous part'.
'I will' Sam volunteered, 'But we seriously need to hurry man, those idiots are over there planning something too'.
'Well Bruce is an idiot, if he can't shoot bullets straight at us, he's pretty stuck' I muttered, earning quiet laughter from around me.
'Well who is going t-' Percy was cut off by a yell from the other side of the room and a quiet crack which sent chills down my spine.
We spent about a millisecond staring confusedly at whoevers eye we caught until Darren's mouth opened into an 'o' and Percy's eyes trained above our head. He reacted at lightning speed as his hands reached out into the air, catching an object and staring dumbfounded at it. When he opened his palms, we all gasped and cried out at the sight of a grenade falling around the empty space.
'I caught it!' Percy breathed, looking wide eyed at all of us, a proud edge to his voice.
'Dude, throw it back!' Keith yelled, waving his arms.
'Throw, launch, go!' Darren shouted, reaching to grab it from Percy's hand but before he could make contact, Percy had stuttered an 'oh', pulled his arm back and thrown it clumsily across the room. It was only then I realised that Percy was not a perfect aim and that the grenade could possibly head straight for my brother. I didn't have to worry though because although his throw was off course, the object clunked and rolled across the ground right under the gap of the cover they were using and before I had time to cover my ears, it exploded in total disaster and brilliance, sending a screaming through my brain, objects flying across the room and several screams echoing around the chaos. Bodies, surely dead, soared through the air and those in uniform very much alive dived to either side of the destruction, right in open air. Lucas had his head turned towards us and narrowly missed being hit by a large piece of metal. All of us were send backwards only about a foot but the force was incredible, it was like being attacked by a small hurricane although when we all sat up from the hard floor, every seemed to be uninjured.
'Abort plan!' Sam yelled, standing and raising his gun, 'Open fire!'
All of a sudden, the ear splitting noise was back as bullets flew around every inch of the room and a large, cold object was pressed into my arms by Darren.
'Eyes forward, steady arm, trust your shot' he told me and when I looked, I was holding a gun.
'MP5' Sam nodded and I nodded back, trembling and still ducking behind the piece of metal which was now overturned and offered us even less cover. Keith was crouched next to me and Percy to him, the boys with guns on the other side of me. When Darren cursed and ducked down even further, I gained the confidence and a surge of anger all at once. I was holding a weapon and the most disgusting man of the human race was crouched somewhere opposite me. They were trying to kill us and my brother and the boy I loved and I could do something about it.
'Screw you' I muttered as I lifted my head above the cover, positioned the gun and pulled hard on the trigger without a thought. Though I was send backwards by the recoil just a little, I didn't let it deter me as shots fired straight from my gun, hitting their defences again and again. I had to duck every few seconds to avoid their own gunfire and the yells behind me to be careful went in one ear and out the other.
'Look at girly being all macho!' A familiar voice yelled and Bruce fell right into my eyeline, hidden behind a pillar. I could have aimed for all the other five men scattered around various parts of the room but I wanted him. Once again, I pulled on the trigger and bullets flew around him; one right past his head and all of the other around his feet. I groaned as I was forced to duck down again to attempt the reload I'd seen the boys doing and avoid yet more gunfire.
'We can't get a shot' Darren yelled over the noise which was in full force again now, 'We need to go back to the plan but we need a runner!'
In his second insanely impulsive act of the week, Percy jumped up without a word, took a breath and darted towards the door as fast as his legs would carry him. While I stood aghast, the others kicked into immediate action and started throwing bullets to the other side of the room and soon after, I joined them.
It hadn't hit me before that I was potentially stood trying to kill people with families and babies and wives and parents and as it did, I dropped down and pretended to check my gun, buying myself some selfish thinking time.
'You alright?' Keith called behind to me, eyes and gun still focused as he fired yet again on target and I could only watch on as a blonde young man crumpled to the floor. Strangely, it didn't hurt, nor did I feel sympathy.
'I'm just fine'.
And I was, because the gun fit perfectly into my arm and I fired right at a dark skinned man, ducking and cursing as those tiny objects whizzed past my head. Percy had managed to get out of the door and Sam and Darren picked off the guys who ran after him so now there were around seven men left, including Bruce.
'He's mine' I muttered, uncaring that I really didn't know what I was doing. With the gun in my hands I felt powerful, the weight gave me something to pin my hopes on. As long as I could keep Keith, Lucas and Percy in my eyeline, everything was fine. I didn't understand how to reload - I'd winged it the first time - and none of my shots were on target but every second I stayed alive in this warzone was a second closer to killing a man who tried to destroy me in just about every way plausible.
I had no idea now but another small explosion rang out next to us and we were all thrown to the left with small force, not enough to seriously injure but enough for us to all end up out in the open and furiously scrambling to our feet.
'Get them!' a voice screamed and shots whizzed past me as I panted for breath and ungracefully crawled and ran across the floor, letting out an almighty yell as a horrific pain panged through my ankle. There was no cover left for any of us and so I took a breath and lifted my gun as I moved, a trail of bullet marks left in the floor behind me. Pulling the trigger, I missed the man I was aiming at a thousand times before I ground my teeth together and realised how easily he was trying to kill me.
Bastard.
And then, with another bang, his own hands flew to his stomach as he doubled over and no sooner than I dropped to the floor in shock, he fell to his knees with blood pouring from his mouth as he died right in front of my eyes, killed by the gun in my hands.
'Come on!' Keith yanked me to my feet as we moved to the door, ducking and shielding our faces every millisecond that passed, grateful that progressively, the aim of the men opposite us was getting worse as time passed but completely out of luck that I seemed to have an agonizing bullet lodged in my foot. The boy holding me up hoisted me higher as we reached the door so I had my arm around him while he assisted, basically doing my walking for me.
'Tell me you weren't hit' he panted, looking down at me with regret in his eyes.
'It's fine, it's fine' I tried to pull away as I looked back at Lucas who was still stranded, 'Keith, I need Lucas!'
'I know, I just needed you safe first. Sam, cover me if you can and Darren, try and sort her out please' He nodded and before I could question him, he'd ducked back into the room with the slightest limp, running low and letting his gun trail next to his feet. I was restrained by several pairs of arms as I watched aghast; Keith running then crawling, ducking behind a piece of unintelligible debris before throwing himself towards the table where he had the tiniest amount of cover, though I could see bullets splintering the wood already - he didn't have much time.
'Fuck, they're closing in, not letting this one get away' Darren murmured as he shot from around the corner and I had to wonder when everyone was going to start running out of ammo. I attempted to lift my gun while Darren prodded at my foot but Percy stepped in and took it from me, leaving me to tear my eyes away from the madness.
'You could hit the wrong people from here' he told me, clasping onto my hand.
'You were brave and stupid' I whispered, squeezing for all I was worth, 'Percy, I can't look...' I choked out, 'Are they okay?'
'Sam has it covered' he replied soothingly, 'Keith is untying Lucas, this boy is good at dodging bullets' he laughed uneasily, 'It's okay, he's hiding behind the table, and Lucas... he's off the table Harley!'
Unable to believe it, I craned my neck and with my own eyes, I saw both Lucas and Keith crouched behind the piece of furniture which was dotted with bullet holes and dents. It was an incredible sight to see someone I thought I'd lost forever walking and kicking and somebody I wanted in my life forever right there next to him.
I cried.
'Get over here!' I screamed, waving my arms at the boys. The table was not going to hold, even if the wood was thick as anything and Bruce was so desperate not to lose Lucas that I had no doubt he'd just walk into the gunfire and take one good shot at Keith and take my brother.
'Keith!' Sam shouted to get his attention, 'Hold Lucas in front of you facing them and run to here, its ten feet dude, you can do it!'
'What?' I near-yelled, 'You're not using my brother as a human shiel- ah!' I cried out as a horrible pains swelled around my foot, 'You're not!'
'Harley, they won't shoot one bullet at Lucas, they're running out of time!'
That was a mistake that would cost everything if he was wrong and Keith was shaking his head but when I saw Lucas trying to stand, I knew he wanted to take the risk. I weakly shouted my protests but just ended up with my head in my lap. The safe option was never the right one, as I had learned.
'He's standing...' Percy told me and as he said it, the room hushed and all gunfire stopped.
'If you shoot me, your cure goes out the window' Lucas said bodly and my stomach spun at his familiar voice, 'You need me alive to see if it works'.
'What's happening?' I whispered to anyone.
'He's moving... Bruce looks angry, they all do... they're close, Keith, hurry! They're coming, they-'
'Harley!' I lifted my head as I was pulled into a bone crushing hug and that familiar tickle of hair on my face meant that this really was my brother and the thin layer of stubble just confirmed he was real.
'I missed you, I missed you' I chanted again and again, holding so very tightly before yanking Keith and Percy in on the embrace too. All of us breathing heavily through tears and laughter in the kind of moment movies never quite depict right.
'Sorry to break it up but they're chasing, we need to move!' Sam yelled as he stood, beckoning for us to follow.
'Her foot!' Darren pointed down and I shook my head, uncaring.
'I can barely feel it, lets go!'
It was true, the adrenaline, excitement and fear flooding my body was enough to dull the pain of a bullet wound. Lucas and Keith held me upright as we all moved up the stairs, the sound of yelling and thunderous boots hitting the floor behind us with the familiar sound of reloading weapons and thrown curses. How amazing to turn around and plant one straight between Bruce's eyes but that would have to wait until we had some leverage. Reaching the top of the stairs, we turned the corner into the main entrance lounge and with a frozen heart, I smacked straight into the back of Percy who slammed straight into Sam, both staring in horror at whatever was in front of them.
'Oh, no...'
Percy's quiet fear sent shivers down my spine and when I managed to inch to the side and see exactly what he was seeing, my own body convulsed with pure, incurable panic, the kind which freezes the hairs to your skin.
The glass of the hotel entrance was smashed and stumbling across those shards towards us was a young girl in a pink dress, blonde pigtails matted to her empty eyes with blood which dripped into her opened mouth. Nobody moved as she let out a snarl and almost instantly, a troupe of infected staggered through the glass straight towards us, feet away from our frozen bodies. Turning behind me, I heard the thump of feet hitting the floor of the stairs, only one corner away. Clicking guns still sounded as the last of the men reloaded and with a glance back to the infected then back to the army officers, I knew we were well and truly trapped.