Melancholy

It takes me longer than them, but after a few minutes, I hear the faint cracks of guns being fired. I shove myself up, growling in pain as I shift into a sitting position. The gunfire comes closer, and I hear shouts, also getting louder as the minutes tick by. Krypt is on his feet, the other guys following quickly. Austin and Zaid reach down and lift me, all of them listening intently.

“Get the fuckin’ bikers, and blow their fuckin’ brains out. We’re not lettin’ these fuckers take them.”

Fuck.

Krypt turns. “We’re about to get visitors. Guys, put Maddox over in the corner that’s hardest to access. We’re going to have to jump them. I know you’re all fucked, but if we don’t, we’re dead.”

“Do you think it’s Mack?” Zaid asks.

“Yeah,” I grunt as they put me on the floor.

A door creaks, booted strides fill our tiny space, and I know they’re comin’ down. I hate, more than anything that I can’t get up and fight. Those are my boys, and here I am with more broken bones than I can count, wanting to stab some fucker in the face but unable to do it. The guys stand either side of the door, waiting for it to open.

When it does, they lunge. Gunfire rings out, grunts fill the room, and all I can see is a tangle of fuckin’ limbs as they drag three men down. Zaid gets hold of the gun, after receiving a brutal kick to the stomach. He rolls, groaning in pain as he lifts it with a shaky hand, pulling the trigger. He hits the first guard right in the back of the head.

Krypt has the other man in a death grip, his arm pressed under his chin, tilting his head back. “Shoot him!” he roars.

Zaid doesn’t hesitate. He takes the gun and aims it at the guard’s heart. He goes down as quickly as the other one. Austin takes that guard’s gun, and he shoots the last one without hesitation. Krypt spins around, makin’ me fuckin’ proud as he takes on my role with a force that makes my heart clench.

“Austin, Grimm, get Maddox up. Zaid, you’re comin’ forward with me. If it ain’t ours, kill the fucker. Let’s go.”

The two guys raise me up, and they drag me out of the cell and up the stairs. I’ve forgotten the pain in my body as I force my legs to work enough that they’re not taking all my weight. Gunfire is loud outside, but the shouting is louder.

“Front,” Krypt barks.

He’s exhausted, damaged and fucked, but it’s clear adrenaline has kicked in. He won’t have his normal fight, though. I can only fuckin’ hope Mack got a good load of men. They take me through the front door, and the sun burns my eyes as I squint to try and get a clear picture of what’s goin’ down.

Dead bodies fuckin’ everywhere.

So many of them.

Mack is amongst my other members, and there’s even more back up then I thought he could wrangle. His eyes lift to me, and his face turns murderous as he takes me in. With a violent side I’ve rarely experienced with Mack, he shoots the fuck out of anyone who comes close enough to feel his wrath.

“Where’s Atreau?” Krypt bellows, raising his guns and shooting like a mad man.

“No fuckin’ clue,” Mack roars.

He’s got blood pouring from a wound in his leg. He’s been shot. I count four men from my club on the ground, dead. My chest twists and rage rises in my body to the point I begin to tremble.

“Find that fucker,” I growl. “And bring him to me. I’m goin’ to fuckin’ make him scream. Injured or not.”

Krypt barks the order to three of the guys, and they disappear into the house, looking for him.

“Give me a gun,” I order.

Austin hands one to me without hesitation, and the guys adjust me so I can use it. I start shootin’. I might not be able to fight, but I can shoot. There are few of Atreau’s men left, maybe six.

“Mack!” Krypt barks. “Behind you!”

Mack spins from his shooting and narrowly misses a shot to the head. This is gettin’ too close. It needs to end. Two more of my guys have gone down, and the more I see, the wilder I get. I begin shooting with every piece of rage inside my body, blowing Atreau’s men into bloody pieces.

“We got him, Prez.”

My boys come back with a panting Atreau. He bares his teeth at me in a snarl, and I return the favor.

“He was in his car about to leave. Made some calls. Don’t know to who.”

“Who did you fuckin’ call?” I bark.

“I’m not tellin’ you, piece of shit!”

I raise my gun. “I’d love to kill you slowly, makin’ you scream beneath my hands, but I don’t have fuckin’ time and my men are dyin’. I’m going to make this simple by blowin’ your fuckin’ brains out.”

I press my finger to the trigger and gunfire sounds out...but it isn’t mine. The bullet hits Greg, one of the members holding Atreau. Roaring in pain, he lets go. Everything happens in a blur. More gunshots, then Atreau is lunging at me, knocking my broken body back. I don’t lose my gun as I land on my back, roaring in pain as my bones stab into things they shouldn’t be stabbing into.

Then, before I’ve got the chance to fight, he’s got a knife in my chest. My mouth opens; an agonized bellow leaves my throat as blood fills my mouth. Pain unlike anything I’ve ever experienced tears through my body. He twists the blade and my world spins. “I’m not as good as you,” he growls. “I won’t make it quick.”