Locked In

TW: Gunfire, blood, alcohol October 4, 3030 Time Unknown         Hours seemed to inch by as we waited for the sun to set. Luckily, the moon was nearly full, allowing its illumination to guide us. As quickly as quietly as possible, the three of us sneak out the back door of the house and hop the fence. To stay as hidden as possible, we stick to walking through back yards and alleyways.          I can hear my blood rushing through my ears, pulsing with the anxiety that we get caught. I make sure to keep a sharp eye out for any potential danger. I grip the gun in my hand tighter, as if it’ll disappear at any moment. Never in my life did I think I would ever hold such a lethal weapon, yet here we are. I don’t even know how to properly shoot, my survival instincts just happen to take over.         After a few hours of sneaking around, Bennett suddenly grips my elbow and pulls me against the wall. His other arm out in front of Chloe, preventing her from moving forward. We hide the best we can in the shadows of the alley, listening silently as three armed guards walk by. I hold my breath, my heart pounding so loudly, I swear the guards can hear it.         "Why does the president still want us on patrol?" One of the guards suddenly groans in exhaustion. "There’s no one else left to find."         "For all we know, some could still be hiding," Another guard says.         "If they were, we would have caught them by now."          "You two are idiots. You know the president has trackers in them." The last guard scoffs, then huffs. "Too bad he won't give us the device to track them. It'd make our jobs so much easier."         "So why are we even doing this in the first place?" One guard asks.          "I honestly cannot believe you passed the academy exam. You're a damned idiot."         The first guard suddenly smacks the third in the face with the butt of his gun. "Keep your effing mouth shut!"         "Hey!" The second guard jumps between the two other guards, promptly breaking up the fight. "Keep your act together, Sanders." He turns to the third guard. "And get your ass up, Silva."         The third guard, Silva, gets up to his feet, wiping away the blood dripping from his nose. "Let's just keep looking for survivors."         "I don’t understand. If the president is supposed to choose those who are worthy or not, why give us these assignments? Doesn’t he, I don’t know, need people to choose? He can’t if they’re all dead," Sanders mumbled.         "It doesn't matter why," The second guard snaps. "We just need to do our job."          We wait until their conversation dies down and we can no longer hear their footsteps. Then we wait a few extra minutes to be sure.          "That was close," Chloe whispers once the coast is clear.          I nod my head in agreement. "Let's go," I whisper.           I take a step, flinching when I accidentally kick a glass bottle, watching in horror as it rolls toward the street. Shit.         "Did you hear that?" Silva asks the other two guards.         Double shit.         "It came from over there," Sanders says, pointing toward our direction.         "Run!" Bennett whisper shouts.         Without a second thought, the three of us break into a sprint in the opposite direction of the guards.         "Hey!"          Gunshots go off as the three guards begin to shoot at us. I take my gun and fire back blindly behind me. I doubt I hit any targets, but now they know we’re armed.          A sudden pinch hits my left shoulder, followed by a wet feeling. I ignore it and continue to run, keeping up with Bennett and Chloe. I can do this, I can do this.          We round a corner, just barely missing another round of bullets as they collide with a brick wall. The three of us manage to get around a security scanner and run into a building. We hurry up the stairs, bursting through the rood access door.          I gasp for air, seemingly unable to catch my breath. Bennett and Chloe sound like they're struggling as well.          "We gotta-” I clear my throat and take a deep breath. "We gotta jump rooftops."         "Are you crazy?" Chloe hisses.         "Maybe, but it’s the only way." I back up a few steps, then take off into a running leap. I momentarily feel the cold air stinging my face, feeling gravity wanting to pull me straight down, but the momentum keeps me going. I smack into the asphalt, cutting into my bare arms.         Bennett and Chloe land beside me, grunting as they roll in the gravel. I get up, brushing myself off. "We need to keep moving."         "Why?" Cloe asks.         "The guards are looking for us. Now that they know now there are survivors, security will be even tighter. We gotta get to the end of the city or we may not make it."         Chloe crosses her arms. "Since when were you the one to make all the decisions for us? You don't know anything about survival."         "I'm the reason why we're even alive right now." I mirror Chloe’s posture.          "Bullshit."         "Guys," Bennett interjects. "We don't have time for this."         I ignore him. "You think I want to be doing this? I agree with this being bullshit, but do you really think I’m gonna sit here and possibly die? Hell no! You don’t know what I’ve been through Chloe! I may just be the best shot we have on getting out of this damn city."         "Scarlett." Bennett stands in front of me. "Let's just all calm down and get moving before the guards find us."         "Fine." I peer over the ledge of the roof and see the guards running into the building we were in before. "We need to go now. They're gonna search the entire building. It won’t be long before they realize we went to the roof. Let's go." I back away from the ledge, then jump to the other building on the left. I feel the same momentum until I tumble on the roof, landing a bit softer than before. Bennett and Chloe follow my lead.         We manage to jump a couple more roofs before we get to the end of the street. There's an alley splitting the two buildings. I go down the fire escape first, Chloe behind me, Bennett last. I grunt as I drop to the ground, feeling a jolt in my shoulder. I brush it off, more concerned about our getaway.          The sun starts to rise, so we take cover in a house. It turns out to be Bennett's house, of all places. Yet. it feels good to be in a place I'm familiar with. Bennett searched the house for his parents, returning to Chloe and me with a frown on his face. I immediately pull him into a hug.          "What if they're dead?" He whispers in my ear, voice thick with sadness.          I rub his back soothingly. "You can't think like that."         He buries his nose into the crook of my neck.         "Scarlett," Chloe says, "Are you. . .bleeding?"         A sudden burning, aggravating sensation rips through my shoulder. I gasp in pain. The pinch I felt earlier must have been a bullet. There was so much adrenaline pulsing inside me I didn’t even feel it until now.          "You were hit?" He asks. "Why the hell didn't you say anything?"         "I didn’t know! Even if I did, we needed to keep going until we found somewhere to stay."         Bennett shakes his head and looks at my arm. "You’re covered in blood, I don’t know how we didn’t notice sooner.”         He suddenly picks me up without my consent, one arm supporting my back and the other under my knees. He carries me into his bathroom, setting me down in the tub. He quickly rummages through drawers and cabinets, finding scissors and a first aid kid. He kneels behind me and examines where the bullet entered. "You should've been more careful, Scarlett."         "I know." Now that the adrenaline is starting to wear off, I feel weak from the blood loss.         Bennett cuts the back of my shirt to access the wound, leaving me exposed in my bra. Heat rushes up to my cheeks in embarrassment, but this was no time to be shy. "I’m not exactly sure what I’m doing, but I know this bullet needs to come out. This is going to hurt."         "I think I'm prepared."         Bennett gives me a sympathetic look, then shouts for Chloe, who immediately bursts into the room. "Grab the alcohol from the kitchen. It's in the cabinet above the oven."         Chloe doesn't hesitate to run into the kitchen and comes back momentarily with a bottle of vodka. I grip the edge of the tub, ready to brace myself. This is going to hurt like hell.         Bennett grabs a rag off the rack and puts it near my mouth. "Bite on this and lean forward."         I do as he says, squeezing my eyes shut. I mentally prepare myself for the pain, but I know it's not going to help. Bennett slips his bloodied hand into mine, pouring the alcohol on my shoulder with his other. I scream into the rag, the sting unbearable. I squeeze Bennett's hand hard.          I take quick, deep breaths as the sting starts to subside. But I know it's not over. Bennett still has to take out the bullet and clean up the wound I quickly take the bottle of vodka, bring it to my lips, and tilt my head back. I swallow the remainder of the liquid, feeling the burn in the back of my throat.         Bennett doesn't say anything, just waits until I give a nod to start. He sucks in a breath, a pair of tweezers ready to go in his hand, and inches it closer to my shoulder. I put the rag back into my mouth, and a muffled scream escapes my lips as I feel the tweezers dig into my wound. Chloe, who's been standing by the door the whole time, gags and hurries away, to which I don’t blame.         My ears start to ring and my vision becomes foggy. I try to take deep breaths, squeezing my eyes shut then opening them again in hopes that my vision will be normal. It doesn't work.         "I almost got it," Bennett's voice echoes.         Finally, finally, Bennett pulls out the bullet and I pass out. -----         I groan as I blink myself awake, trying to process my surroundings. The room I’m in is slightly dark, the curtains drawn to block the sunlight. I feel myself lying on a very soft bed, head resting on the pillows and covered up with a thin blanket, even though I’m already burning up.         Bennett is sitting beside me, lightly brushing his fingertips through my hair.         "How long have I been out?" I ask, my voice coming out hoarse.         "Not too long," he replies softly. "I cleaned up the wound and wrapped it pretty well. I’m no doctor, but you're gonna have to take it easy until it completely heals."         "I can't exactly relax right now."         Bennett scoffs. "Are you gonna be okay up here by yourself?"         I want to say yes and tell him to leave, but with everything that's happening, I'm scared. I shake my head. "Can Chloe stand guard so you can stay with me?"         He lightly smiles and nods his head. "Yeah, I'll go let her know. I'll be right back." He lightly presses his lips against my forehead, and I feel as if a fire is coursing through my veins. I watch him leave the room before I close my eyes, trying to fall back asleep.         Moments later, I feel the mattress dip behind me, and I glance over to see Bennett climbing into bed. I relax and close my eyes again. His arm drapes over my side, mindful of my shoulder. The last thing I feel is his chin resting on the top of my head before I slip off into sleep.