Chapter 23


“Come out little person,” Al said as he prepared to yank the door open. “Uncle Al just wants to have a nice little…”

Shannon had heard the shot. She had heard Danni’s scream. She had also heard the body hit the floor shortly after that. Now she was listening to this guy, ‘Uncle Al’, outside the door she was hiding behind. She did her best to stay still and quiet. It was getting harder with every passing second. The tears were already flowing down her cheeks and it was taking every thing that Shannon had too keep from out right bawling. 

Shannon had already mourned once for Danni. She was not sure she could take it again. She sniffed and her breathing grew shallow. Shannon wanted to scream. It came out as a squeal and she clapped a hand over her mouth. It was too late anyway.
Al violently snatched the door wide open. It was so cheap it almost came off the hinges. It also came open much faster than Al would have thought possible until he saw why. The mountain of junk, mostly consisting of old metal desks and roller chairs, came crashing down on him as it fell over. A second wave of junk, mostly smaller desk items and old boxes full of paper files, came right on the heels of the office furniture.

Shannon heard the crash out in the hall. She also heard a scream of pain that pretty much covered her little squeal right up. Instantly she realized exactly what happened, “he must have opened Eric’s old office!”

The hypothesis was confirmed as Shannon hit the hallway. The Al guy was laying on the floor, about three doors up from the one she was hiding behind, with his chest and legs pinned by two entirely separate desks. He was still screaming in pain and thrashing his arms about trying to clear the small debris off of him. Shannon saw it as her chance. She ran for the ops center. It was a bad plan. The other guy was still in there but, it was also the only plan she really had.

She jumped right over Al and that was her last obstacle. Shannon did not make it. It felt like a vice grip on her ankle. She stopped flying in mid air as Al’s hand snatcher her downward. Shannon hit the floor with some velocity and her entire body began swimming in a sea of disorientation. The hall was spinning and about the only sensation she really had was the pain in her ankle. Al had not let go.

The guy sounded pretty angry when yelled at her, “you aren’t going anywhere you little bitch.”

Shannon rolled over and tried slapping at his hand but, it was like he didn’t even feel it. He was even strong enough to jerk her closer and closer. Shannon began clawing at the floor and trying to kick herself free with her other foot. She looked back again and saw the huge blade that he pulled out of his vest. He tried to roll and slash her leg with it, but he could not quite reach her with his off hand. He tried to use it to budge the desks but, once again they would not move. So, Al did what he had before. He snatched at her leg again and Shannon slid that much closer.

In a panic she yelled out to ops, “HELP!”

Someone answered the call. It was the other guy! He was black suited from head to toe. The mask covered his face but, it made no difference since Shannon could see little more than a shadowy silhouette. She could make out the gun in his hand quite well. He slowly raised it with his left hand, aimed it right at Shannon, and then pulled the trigger.