Free Hunter's Games by James P. Sumner Page A

hit the ground hard, landing face down. My head smacks against the concrete. As my skull bounces up again, I catch sight of the little girl landing some feet in front of me, seemingly safe from the blast.
    Everything goes quiet. People’s screams are reduced to a small echo, drowned out by the loud, constant ringing in my ears. My body feels hot and my eyes are stinging. Disoriented, I roll over on my back and look down my body.
    Holy shit, I’m on fire!
    I quickly roll over and over, mindlessly slapping at the flames to put them out. People are surrounding me that I don’t recognize. They cover me in a blanket and after a minute help me to my feet.
    My eyes are sore and my vision’s blurring…
    I wipe my hand across my face. It feels wet and I look down to see it covered in blood.
    The world around me keeps fading to black and back again in slow motion. I look around and see blurry outlines of people running toward a body on the floor a few feet away, then toward me…
    I’m lying on the ground again. I open my eyes. I must’ve blacked out. I struggle to push myself up on all fours, but Johnson and Chambers appear next to me and help me. They lift my arms around their necks and help me walk away. They’re saying something, but I can’t make out what.
    I stumble and they guide me to the ground. I’m on a grass verge off the right, away from the carnage and chaos behind me. I wipe my eyes again and look over to the entrance of the Academy. On my left is a burning wreck that was once a SWAT van. Across the front of the building, whoever isn’t dead or injured are running and screaming trying to get away, but ultimately falling over each other. Just to the right of that is what’s left of the school bus, and the remains of a chopper sticking out of it on fire.
    Sweet Jesus… this is insane!
    I look up next to me and see Chambers talking hurriedly into her phone. Johnson’s kneeling beside me with his hand on my shoulder. I can’t see where Wallis has gone. He’s probably helping anyone who’s injured or something.
    Johnson is saying something to me and nodding, but I have no idea what—his voice sounds hollow, drowned out by a loud ringing. Looking at his face, I think he seems positive…
    My head starts to spin, and I lie back, preparing for the world to turn black once again. In my mind, all I can see is an image of The Shark looking on, laughing. I can’t believe he would endanger the lives of so many innocent people—innocent children—just to get to me.
    This has to stop. It’s just too much. I’ve always said my anger is kept behind a closed door. Every now and then, someone will try to push that door open, and they never like what awaits them on the other side. This guy just kicked my door off its hinges… He has no idea what’s coming for him—what I’m prepared to do to put a stop to this. The scary thing is, as I close my eyes and feel the world slipping away from me once more, neither do I.
     
    21:02
    “He’s awake,” says the voice, sounding miles away. “Go and tell Agent Chambers.”
    I open my eyes, blinking a few times to clear the fog. I look to my right and see Agent Wallis standing next to me. He isn’t smiling, but he seems glad I’m not dead, which is something I suppose.
    I look around. I’m in a hospital room, lying in bed hooked up to a heart monitor. The door on the right is open. I look briefly out the window on the left; it’s dark outside. I turn back to Agent Wallis.
    “Where am I?” I ask.
    “You’re in San Francisco General Hospital,” he replies. “You’ve been here just over four hours.”
    My head’s killing me. I try to turn on my side, but all the wires stuck to my chest restrict my movement. I look at the machine, which is beeping steadily. That’s good—I’m definitely not dead… first bit of good news I’ve had all day.
    “Christ. What the hell happened back there?” I ask, remembering the scene outside the Academy. “Is everyone