The Rabid: Rise Read Free

to stand on the front lines for her. Every day is a new day; a new day to live or a new day to die. Should my time end, should she be left in the ruins to fight alone, my body will rest easier knowing she's capable; capable of deciding for herself, capable of pointing the gun and pulling the trigger. She's got some more hardening over to do, some angles that she still can't fully see, but she's come a long way from being the little girl running drills in the living room, flinching every time Bo would yell or curse at her mistakes. She's come a long way from crying and pouting, from complaining about cramped spaces and dull food. Losing Momma practically changed her overnight, forcing her to choose. She could grow up or drown in the sorrow of it all. I'm glad she’s chosen to grow up. I'm not sure how long I'd have been able to carry both of us.
    “ Hey, sis...”
    “ Yeah?” She looks up from the box she's tunneling through.
    I want to tell her I'm proud of her. Tha t I love her. That, right now, she's all I've got and I can’t imagine having to do all of this without her by my side.
    The wall behind me explodes.
    I am off my feet, flying through the air, an immense pressure and heat at my back...carrying me. I bounce off the shed beside Bethany. The world becomes static and then I hear the gunshots.
     

 
    4
     
    I'm on the ground beside Bethany, coughing as smoke fills the air around us. There is still debris coming down on top of our heads; mostly disintegrated ceiling tiles and mortar from the wall that has just been blown apart.
    I have a vague notion that we are being attacked.
    That I need to get Bethany up and pull her into cover.
    My gun...
    I need to grab my gun.
    Bullets whip and crack above my head.
    Clarity!
    “ Bethany, get up, come on!” I grab her under one arm, retrieving the Ruger at the same time.
    A nother burst of gunfire fills the hall and splashes into the shed door beside us; the metal reverberates like a drumhead. I drag Bethany with me towards the end of the hall, straight towards the smoldering hole in the side of the building. I duck right, just as another volley of gunfire careens towards our backs. There is a cement column at the end of each row of sheds, dividing the halls. It's narrow. Just wide enough for me. I hold Bethany tight against my chest as I throw myself against it, one arm curled around her lower back, the other tucked by my side, clutching the Ruger.
    “ Sis, are you okay?” I look down at her face. White powder from the disintegrated ceiling tiles clings to her hair.
    She nods rapidly, pulling the P-32 from the waistband of her jeans. “Yeah, I'm fine. I've got bells in my ears.”
    “ Me too.” I pull her in closer and inch my head across her right shoulder, trying to see through the hole, trying to get a glimpse of the parking lot below.
    I don't want to expose myself too much.
    They've probably got shooters down there waiting.
    God forbid they lob another explosive through the breach.
    We're fucked if they do.
    The tail end of a pale brown Humvee comes into view . Then there is the gunner’s nest in the center, and the .50 barrel aimed directly at my head.
    I slam myself back against the wall as the dull :::thunk::::::thunk:::thunk::: of gunfire rips through the air and sends high caliber bullets whizzing towards my face.
    “ Motherfucker!” I yell.
    White flashes cut across my field of vision as the tracer rounds zoom up from below, missing us by inches, embedding themselves overhead, tearing the ceiling down on top of us. Behind us the hollow pop of sub-machine gun fire kicks up again, chipping away at our cover, slicing off jagged pieces of cement and lobbing them at my cheek.
    We’re fucked both ways. They’ve got us pinned down solid.
    I blind fire three shots in the general direction of our attackers. “Fuck you!”
    The attack only seems to grow more ferocious in the face of my aggression.
    The strings of gunfire weave together until I'm no longer able