Excalibur {Complete}

2

Everything burned.

My legs, my lungs, my chest. I had been running like a madman down the ruined streets of the city as if my life depended on it. Which it really did. Cars littered the street- old vehicles that had long since run out of gas and been abandoned on the street to rust away in the elements. Many of the buildings were ruined, destroyed by bombings and attacks by the various gang activities.

It really looked like the end of the world. The only things missing were those stylized ideals of aliens coming down and destroying us. I scoffed at the thought. No, the only thing that would destroy us were ourselves. There was no greater enemy than the human race itself.

I wasn't sure how far I had to run and I still had no clue as to where I was going. Not that I really cared. Getting away from a cold blooded, insane, murderer was the only thing on my mind. As I ran, I kept looking over my shoulder and all around to make sure Alik wasn't right behind me. I felt like I was going to be running into him at any minute and how in the hell was I going to explain why I was running like I was and away from the hotel?

Maybe I should shoot him... I gasped at the thought and stumbled into an open cross street. I nearly fell as I came off the sidewalk in my headlong rush, my feet tripping up beneath me against the tar. Panting heavily, I glanced around as for some reason I felt a cold chill down my spine. Doing a complete circle, I finally continued down the street, my legs carrying me as quickly as possible. I knew that I was still in Alik's territory, so I had to go farther. I couldn't afford to stop.

So I kept going, sprinting down the street blindly.

It must have been bad luck, or karma, or something. As I came to another section of town, I heard gunshots and my body seemed to freeze. Every limb went tight as I came to a sudden halt. Wheezing as I pressed myself up against the side of a torn up building that was miraculously still standing, I slowly peered out into the open area before me. The large street was about six lanes across- one of the main streets in the town. It was also the divider between Alik's territory and the other gang. What gang that was though, I didn't know.

Has to be better than Alik... right? I told myself as I watched the two groups before me. It had to be just my luck though because I spotted Alik down the street from me. I pulled back into my own little sanctuary and pressed my body hard against the wall. Leaning my head back, I closed my eyes tightly and shook my head. This was just great. Of all places, I had ended up picking the one way that Alik and the gang had gone. Figures. Shots echoed down the street, it was a freaking war zone out there with all of the screaming and shouting raging over the excruciatingly loud release of bullets into the air.

Glass was breaking, car alarms were going off, and as I stood there I felt the entire street vibrate and shake as a very loud explosion filled the air. Someone must have had a grenade or a bomb of some sort. As I turned to look out into the street, curiosity drawn by the loud noise, I watched one of the smaller buildings crumble in on itself. A new cacophony of shouting and screaming filled the air from that direction. I felt the blood leave my face. People had been under that building.

My stomach twisted angrily, threatening to drop me down to my knees and release the contents as it churned. I turned away quickly, one hand reaching up to cover my nose and mouth. My body was shaking uncontrollably. I hated that feeling- it had utter control over me and there was nothing I could do about it. Taking several deep breaths, I managed to keep from throwing up.

The fighting was escalating. If I didn't move soon, I was going to get caught in the crossfire, or worse yet, Alik was going to find me. Directly across from me was another alleyway. It didn't look like anyone was down there, and no one was really paying attention to my side of the street. Turning, I braced myself against the wall and took another steady breath as I rocked back and forth on my feet getting ready to sprint again.