I stayed close to Linc as we jogged through the familiar streets. The comforting feeling of heading home lulled me onwards. I wished my mom was still waiting for us. I just wanted her to hold me in her arms and let me pour my heart out about the last twenty four hours. There was nothing in the world I wanted more at that moment.
“You'll go no further!” a voice called from somewhere above us and we all stumbled to a halt.
Linc dropped to his knee and yanked me down with him as he took cover by a parked car. He waved the others to do the same and they followed suit, crowding around us. He pulled a pistol from his belt and chanced a look over the trunk of the car.
“We don't want any trouble!” Linc called. “We’re only trying to get home. Just a few blocks up this street.”
“This here is our street. No one passes!” the voice shouted back.
I looked over my shoulder at the wing mirror and spotted a man standing on the roof of the house behind us with a shotgun in his arms. I tapped Linc on the shoulder and pointed to the mirror so that he could see him too.
“We’ll turn back then and skirt around,” Linc said. “We don't have to pass.”
Silence hung heavily in response. We waited as the seconds ticked by and finally Lincoln nodded, gesturing for all of us to turn and head back down the street.
We got up and started to back away. The man on the roof stared at us for several moments then raised his gun.
“No deal!” he shouted as he pulled the trigger.
Lincoln swung his pistol up and fired at almost the exact same moment. Tommy screamed as he crumpled to the ground. I watched in shock as the man fell back and tumbled from the roof, landing on the driveway with a sickening crunch.
I let out a scream as I dropped back down into a crouch, using the nearest car to shield me. Tommy roared in pain as blood blossomed on his chest. I couldn't tear my eyes from the bright red colour of it.
Lincoln ran to the man who had fallen from the roof and checked he was dead before clearing the alley beside the house and checking around for anyone else who might be waiting to ambush us.
Tommy groaned, clutching at his chest as he rolled onto his side.
I hurried to him, unsure of how to help as blood stained his shirt and dripped to the ground beneath.
Tara was screaming in one long note that seemed like it would never end. Chloe, Ella and Kristen gathered around her, trying to make her stop as everyone else looked around at the street nervously.
“Get him up. We need to get him to the house and stop the bleeding,” Lincoln barked.
Shilo and Spencer stepped forward, each grabbing one of Tommy’s arms and hoisting him to his feet.
“As fast as you can,” Linc directed as he took point again, keeping his pistol in his hands. He ran ahead of us as we all clustered around Tommy.
At every house we passed, he swung his pistol left and right, making sure no one else was waiting for us. Tara finally stopped screaming and started sobbing instead. Chloe and Kristen kept a firm hold of her, making sure she stayed with us as we ran.
Our footsteps pounded heavily along the pavement, drumming our approach loudly while Tommy’s blood left a trail along the middle of the street.
I finally spotted my house and couldn't help but let out a groan of relief.
I sprinted ahead, joining Lincoln as I pulled my keys from my pocket. He indicated that I should pass him and I raced for the front door, fumbling the key in my haste before throwing the door wide.
“Mom?” I called. “Are you here?” Lincoln had told me she wasn't but I couldn't help hoping that she might have come back for me. I wanted to see her face so badly that tears started to build in my eyes.
There was no reply but I ran into the house, throwing open the front room door then the dining room and kitchen, hoping to find her waiting for me even though I knew she'd gone.
“Mom?” I shouted once more, hoping she might be upstairs. Why didn't you wait for me? I knew she'd had to go but I couldn't help but feel like she abandoned me when I needed her the most.
The others burst through the front door behind me and I turned my attention back to helping Tommy.
“In here,” I said, quickly leading the way into the dining room.
I grabbed the candle holder from the centre of the table and shoved it out of the way in the windowsill. Lacey joined me first and started dragging chairs aside so that the boys could get to the table and lay Tommy down on it.
“Out of the way.” Lincoln pushed his way into the room and dropped his pack in the corner. He headed straight for Tommy and ripped his shirt open right down the middle. His chest was awash with blood and I couldn't even tell where the bullet holes were. The most blood pulsed from a wound on his arm and Lincoln wadded a piece of the torn shirt before pressing it down over the bleeding.