80 by Aaron Denius

Author:Aaron Denius [Denius, Aaron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-05-15T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER XI

I stare at KJ. How did I miss this? How did we miss this? The drones will slaughter the outsiders. They could capture KJ's mom; the drones could kill her. They'd ask where she got her information, and there's no reason to protect me. She'd tell them it was me. She could ruin the whole operation.

“We need to stop them!” I shout.

KJ looks at me, dejected. “How?”

“I don't know.” I really don't. “You run back home. See if you can find your mom. Talk to her. Tell her what I told you about the weapons that they have at the stadium.”

“What are you going to do?” she asks, taking my hand with care. It's the first time I've felt her genuine warmth toward me since I got here.

I kiss her and pull her into my arms. Her hair caresses my cheek. I know that when I let go, I have to run. “I'm going to try to stop them from killing themselves.”

The second I pull away, I don't look back; I just run. The clouds have gotten lower to form a fog around the city again. I pass a few outsiders as I sprint, hoping that they are at the front of the line, but the sounds I hear coming from the stadium tell me that they are stragglers.

Screams and gunshots echo off the buildings. The battle has started. Soon, I pass some of the more sensible outsiders that have stayed back to save themselves but offer moral support. I rush over to a group of three, all much older.

“Where can I find Martha?” I shout at the group, hoping that KJ's mom is not with those already fighting. They startle and scatter away. I chase after the slowest one and catch him.

“Please don't kill me,” he stammers out.

I'm shocked. I wouldn't even consider it. “I won't. I promise. I need to find Martha.”

He points in the direction of the loudest sounds, right at the stadium. “She's at the front.”

I let go of him. “Try to get as many of your people to fall back as possible. They don't stand a chance.”

He salutes me and heads off in the opposite direction of where I'm headed. Every outsider I pass, I order to fall back. Most oblige, but some continue to push their fight forward. After a few more yards, I start seeing dozens of injured and dead outsiders. It appears as though they were dragged to this location from the fight. This is much different from what they taught us as drones. The scientists told us to leave the dead and injured where they lay until we won the battle. This is much more humane.

The few moans of pain I hear are faint compared to the yelling and the guns' amplified sound. I tiptoe around the bodies, trying to respect them as much as I can. My heart aches for the unnecessary loss of life. This is my fault. I should have never said anything to KJ's mom.

I'm about to clear the bodies when a hand grabs my ankle.

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