“Fuck,” I bite out, every wound coming to life, “help me.”
Bunny rushes around us and takes hold of Clara’s other arm, doing her best to keep us both off the ground. I can taste the adrenaline pumping through my veins when the cage door swings all the way open.It’s a sign from God, my father would say, just like when we drove by a billboard honoring whiskey,“It’s a sign, son.”
Well, if it’s a fucking sign, then we take it. Together, holding on to one another for dear life, we dart out of the grisly cell with a limp in our step. Despite the pain we feel, the three of us run for our lives, with Bunny and me doing most of the work.
Bunny takes charge, though, a step before me, effortlessly gliding us through the darkened spaces. I don’t know how she does it or how it is that the guards noticed so late, but when we come to a stop, their shouts fade away behind; it’s before a screen-paneled door.
“Here,” Bunny says, throwing off Clara’s weight, “hold her.”
Readjusting, I throw her arms around my neck, pressing her frail, wheezing chest to mine. I hold her head in my hands while Bunny clumsily enters a series of codes into the panel. I trust her, so I focus all my attention on Clara, fighting back the tears in my eyes as I whisper against her forehead, “I’m so sorry, Clara. I’m so fucking sorry I wasn’t there.” I’m unable to murmur anything else, needing all these regrets to seep into her blood-clogged pores. “Please forgive me. Please tell me you forgive me, Clara...”
She doesn’t speak anything comprehensible, but her tears dance down my spine. I can feel her lips moving, struggling to get the words out, but her head shakes instead—a weak, exhausted nod of acceptance.
I don’t deny that my chest feels a little lighter, but that ease can only stretch so far with us stuck here. “Bunny.”
“I’m trying. I’m trying,” she utters through clenched teeth, pressing different variations of the same sequence of numbers. To me, it looks like bullshit, but the pinch between her brow is too serious to be anything other than real.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
“Fuck!” Bunny roars, looking ready to destroy the keypad with her clenched fist. The voices and heavy footfalls of the guards are closer now. Maybe just a corner away.
Shifting Clara to lie over one shoulder, I take the gun dangling by Bunny’s side and aim it toward the corner, where shadows loom larger and become darker with every passing second.
“Bun,” I grind out, counting the seconds until one turns the corner and spots us. It’s any second now. It’s any fucking second now.
I see him.
“Hey!” Our shots go off simultaneously, his ricocheting off the metal door, missing my head by centimeters. My shot is nowhere near as accurate, leaving a chip in the wall a foot away from his chest. My dad would kill me for that shot. I don’t think he’ll get that chance, though.
And then a green light flashes.
“Go!” I shout, shoving Bunny inside the moment the gap is large enough. I toss Clara on top of her, banging on the door-close button while shooting through the narrowing gap.
“6-7-4-7!” Bunny screams. “6-7-4-7!”
I input the code with haste, barely dodging the bullets that fly into the cold metal box. “Get into the corner! Make yourself as small as possible!”
Bunny curls herself into a ball, holding Clara tightly to her chest. She attempts to shield Clara’s head with her hands while her legs wrap around her to drag her in.
With every bullet that fires, I whip my head around, checking to make sure they’re unharmed. “Come on!” I roar, still punching the button. It’s too fucking slow! They’re going to get us.
The gap is slim, too much for anyone to squeeze through. Still, we continue to fire. I don’t know how I’m lucky enough to make it through unscathed, but a fiery, shrilling scream bounces off the metal walls.
“What happened? Where are you hurt?” I ask when the doors finally shut, falling to my knees beside Bunny. No response is needed. The bullet took a nice strip of flesh off her arm, but it’s nothing too serious. “It’s not that deep,” I attempt to reassure. “It’s not that deep!”
“But the blood…” she whispers almost soundlessly, eyes downcast.
In the midst of all the chaos, the only one who couldn’t protect herself was Clara. Bunny tried. I think we all did, but there’s a hole in her chest, anyway. The blood… It’s hers. It’s my Clara’s.
