Free Divided We Fall by W.J. Lundy

watching it crumple to the ground.
    He scanned left and
right, quickly confirming all three on the ground. “Move, move, move. Roberts,
get us off this road and into the trees,” Brad said.
    The others were
already running when Brad jumped to his feet and jogged ahead to join them.
Roberts led the group off the road and into the tree line, where they continued
jogging ahead until they were deep into the cover of the woods. Roberts stopped
next to a tree, dropping low and gasping for air; the others fell in beside
him.
    “What the hell are
we doing, Sergeant?” Axe asked.
    Brad knelt next to
him and took a drink from his canteen. “We just need to find a place to hole
up, Axe,” Brad said. Loud explosions echoed in the distance, thunderous booms
following a cadence of explosions.
    “Damn, that’s 105
from the camp!” Roberts exclaimed. “What the hell are they shooting artillery
at?”
    Brad shook his head
and put the cap back on his canteen. “I don’t know, but we’re sure as hell
going to make sure we live to find out,” Brad said. “Roberts, find me a
hideout.”

 
    Chapter
11
     
     
     
    The sounds of
battle intensified, the noise echoing in from all directions. Heavy hanging
smoke drifted over the trees and covered the grounds. Shane pushed ahead,
keeping the girls close behind him; he needed to create distance on the last
contact with the men in black, but also needed to get into cover. He made a
straight line back to his small apartment, where they could regroup, gather
supplies, and decide what action to take next.
    Shane moved to the
end of a long block building that sat next to his own, tall neglected bushes
lined the foundation of the structure. He needed to rest; the pain from his
partially healed gunshot wound was causing him to sweat and lose focus. Shane
got close to the building, pressing his right shoulder against overgrown
vegetation. He motioned to Ella with his left arm down and let her tuck in
behind him while he kept his rifle aimed forward and constantly searched.
Chelsea moved up next to him, kneeled, and used her own rifle to cover the rear
approach. Shane turned and saw she had a suppressor attached to the end of her
rifle.
    “Where are we
going?” she asked.
    Shane kept his eyes
on the long apartment building, slowly scanning along the row of lower
apartments before checking the upper level. It appeared empty; nobody was
moving in the area, even though more gunfire echoed nearby, and he thought he
heard the sound of an explosion from Chelsea’s house. The sounds of Primal
moans carried along in the wind; they sounded close—possibly inside the fences.
The combat was surrounding them.
    “We need to dig in;
I was thinking my place.”
    “Shane, you’re
bleeding!” she said pointing.
    Shane dropped his
hand down to his thigh. When he pulled it away, he saw an oily stain on his tan
leather glove from the blood that ran from the chest wound. It wasn't the first
time he had broken it open; he must have done it yet again.
    “It’s fine. I just
need to change the bandage. I probably got it to bleeding by crawling around on
the ground back there,” he said. “Listen, I’m going to run ahead and get the
door open. When I signal, bring Ella up.”
    Chelsea turned her
head. “No, we go together; you’re hurt.”
    “Dammit, I said I’m
fine,” Shane grunted.
    Chelsea got to her
feet and stepped ahead. “Just hold onto Ella. Stay behind and cover me; I’ll
call you when it’s clear.”
    Not waiting for a
response, she moved in front of him, and Shane watched as she quickly slipped
into the smoky mist. He turned and looked at Ella when she grabbed his elbow
and squeezed his arm. After taking her into the camp, where there was safety
and protection, he hated forcing her to return to the run-and-hide past they
had recently escaped. She was just becoming normal again. Under Chelsea’s care,
she was beginning to play and even laugh on occasion. Shane forced a smile to
relax her,