Silent Nights

It started just after daybreak. I watched from the second floor bedroom as some fool with a shotgun staggered out into the street and started shooting. I’d been on watch for the past three hours by then; there was nothing there to shoot at. With all that noise, though, there would be soon enough. I knew we’d have to get moving, and quickly. Anna and Matt are startled awake by the first shot. I motioned to them to pack up and was about to do the same when I saw the second figure.

A girl, probably around Anna’s age, rounded the side of the house. When she got close to the lunatic, he swung around and tossed something to her. She didn’t move and it dropped to the ground near her. He turned to line up another shot and she reached for his arm. I hoped she’d get him inside and out of the way, but he just shrugged her off.

Matt and Anna came up behind me just as the man knocked the girl down and pinned her with his foot. Anna inhaled sharply. “What do we do?” she asked. I thought about just leaving first. With the man distracted we could probably slip past unnoticed and get the hell out of here. I looked at Anna, about to tell her this, but she looked like she was almost in tears. I wondered then what kind of jerk I was becoming. If Anna was down there, I’d want someone to help her. Even in this world, there has to be some kind of humanity left.

I grabbed the shotgun leaning against the wall and handed it to Matt. In the next moment we were all putting on our backpacks and trotting down the stairs without hesitation. I pulled the handgun from the holster on my hip, clicked the safety off, and led them outside.