Chapter 5: Bandits

From there, it seemed we had the rest of the night planned out quite nicely.

Instead, we ended up with a pile of bullet casings, nine bullet filled corpses, and a man in serious need of a doctor.

After putting out the fire we all split up, some in the RV and some in the cabin. There were two beds inside the cabin, Space taking one and Maddie and Spencer sharing the other one. Andrew, the kids and I were all bundled up in blankets on the floor. Meanwhile Quinn and Hunter stayed in the RV, formulating a plan before going to bed.

However, after about two hours I realized this wasn't going to work. The cabin was extremely warm, musty, and filled with bugs. I ended up drifting off to bed several times, each time waking up to see some sort of bug creeping along the wall.

I tried to cover my eyes up but couldn't keep the blanket on my face without suffocating. For two hours I laid there, sweaty and scared.

"My mom is dead… my dad is dead… everything I have is gone," I muttered quietly, staring up at the ceiling.

It was all gone. My mom's homemade breakfast on the weekends. My dad's hearty laugh whenever he came home from work with a new joke to tell us. My room was gone, my computer was gone, and my dogs were gone too. Everything in my life was just gone.

And then the world. If that post was indeed right, everyone would be dead in less than a week. Even if the nine of us escaped,

"Anikan?"

I turned around, looking up to see Space looking towards me. I rubbed my eyes, running my hand through my hair to check for bugs before answering, "y-yeah?"

"Can't sleep?" she asked.

I nodded in response. She sighed, rolling over to look at the ceiling.

"Me too. I don't know how those two are," she said, referring to Maddie and Spencer who were fast asleep on the other bed.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Just thinking about home. My mom and my dad… my older sister… god I just can't believe we left them behind," she told me.

"We didn't leave them," I told her.

"We did Anikan… I mean we knew about it all beforehand. We all read that post, and we disregarded it like trash. Maybe if we had said something, sent a screenshot to the police or something, then maybe we'd all be safe. M-Maybe the police would've evacuated us… o-or-"

"Maybe… or maybe not. You never know," I said, sitting up against the wall.

She sighed, burying her face in her hands, "everything I worked for is gone Ani… Science Olympiad, Student Council, Advanced Statistics and Probability… our teachers… our families… our homes… it's all fucking gone!" she screamed through tears before covering her mouth in surprise.

"Jeez, I don't think I've ever heard you swear before," smiling faintly.

She stuttered, "I-I'm sorry! I'm just really really upset right now."

"Calm down Sarah," I said with a chuckle, "there's nothing wrong with a little cursing."

"My parents always told me, cursing is bad and I should never be around people who do it," she told me.

I crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow, "really? Then why do you hang out with us?"

"I may be an A+ student, but I'm not a total buzzkill. Besides, you guys are a nice change from my otherwise ethical and educational lifestyle," she said, sniffling and wiping her tears away.

I reached into my brown jacket, pulling out a small napkin from the movie theater. I tossed it to Space and she caught it, wiping her face away.

"Thanks," she said with a sniffle.

"No problem. You okay now?" I asked.

She nodded, "I-I think so. Still a little bit in shock, but I'm fine."

"Well just focus on the good things," I told her.

"What good things?" she asked curiously.

"No school, no taxes, and best of all- "

*BLAM*

The two of us froze, Maddie suddenly jolting up and Spencer whining silently. We both looked to her, watching as she stared out the curtain covered window while Spencer tried to grope at her chest. Both kids also looked up, a scared look on their faces, and Andrew had also risen out of his blanket bundle.

"Mmmm… what's wrong?" the disoriented Spencer muttered, "I want my water balloon back."

Maddie slapped his hand away, staying silent as the three of us listened to the voices coming from outside. I stood up, creeping across the cabin towards the window. I gestured Axel and Julia, who were both lying beneath the window, towards the other side of the room before peeking out the blinds. Andrew took a quick peek out as well before retreating away from the window.

Outside the cabin were a group of three men, strolling through the campgrounds with a care-free like attitude. Judging by the clothes they were wearing and the fact one of them was carrying a pistol on their belt, I instantly assumed some type of gang.

"What's going on?" Axel whispered.

I turned back, shushing the others in case they were heard. I looked back to the others, watching as Quinn stepped out of the RV, Hunter on the other side of him.

"Hello, my name is- "

"We don't care what'cha name is," one of them interrupted in a thick accent of some sort, "all we care is the fact that you're in our campsite."

"Your campsite?" Hunter asked, stepping past Quinn with a smirk on his face, "and where is this deed that declares you bunch the owner of this campsite?"

The man in front reached down to his waistline, pulling out the black handgun and holding it up to Hunter. He shot the redneck a smirk, showing off a gold tooth, "deed's right here, though I prefer to call her Patricia."

"What weirdo names their guns?" he asked.

"The weirdo who's gonna blow your brains onto the side of your trash heap unless you hightail it out of here," he threatened, his smirk becoming a glare.

"We are just passing through kind sir, our recreational vehicle has been experiencing some issues," Quinn spoke in a kind voice.

A girl walked out from behind the RV and pulled out a pistol, holding it towards Quinn, "can it pointdexter! Get the hell outta our territory or we'll fuck you up!"

Quinn stood behind Hunter, his hand slowly moving towards his hoodie pocket. I remembered distinctly that he always carried a knife, a trait that him, Andrew and Hunter all shared due to paranoia and the amount of gang members in our former town.

Hunter sighed, crossing his arms before smirking at the man holding the gun, "you really wanna do this?"

"Do you?" the other man asked.

*PING*

It all happened so quick. Without warning the man's head jolted back, blood bursting from his forehead as Hunter stepped back towards the RV. The girl with the pistol aimed it towards the window, but before she could fire Quinn pulled the knife from his belt and flicked it forward. The blade stabbed into her upper shoulder, the same spot where she proceeded to shoot a bullet into Hunter.

"AH!" Hunter cried out, falling to the ground with his hand clutched to his chest.

The other two men stepped back, raising their weapons and firing back aimlessly. Quinn helped up Hunter, the two of them retreating into the RV as the bullets tore into the cheap metal covering the sides. I turned my own head to see Andrew standing beside me, a hunting rifle in hand and the end of the barrel peeking through the crack in the corner of the window.

"Where the hell did you get that!?" I exclaimed.

"It's Luis's hunting rifle dumbass, now grab a weapon and help me out here," Andrew told me coldly, trying to get an angle on the three remaining shooters.

I turned around, eyeing the camouflage duffel bag in the corner of the room that Andrew had carried in earlier. Along with the hunting rifle, it had also been carrying two black handguns, a silver bigger looking one, and one silver revolver. I knelt down, picking up the revolver. The gun gave me a sort of comforting feeling.

*BLAM* *BLAM* *BLAM*

The window shattered, Space, Maddie and the kids ducking down to avoid being hit. I dived to the floor, Andrew dropping down as well with the rifle held close to his chest. As my body laid against the ground, I reacted and fired two stray shots out the window.

Andrew grabbed my arm, yanking my hand down, "calm down trigger happy! We only got a handful of bullets, so make every shot count. Keep your gun steady… damn moron."

I froze, staring at the gun as my hands shook in fear. I had handled a gun before, nearly every week at the shooting range, but never in a situation like this. We were in real danger now.

Andrew rushed to the door, grabbing one of the handguns and slinging the hunting rifle over his shoulder via the leather strap. He waited a few seconds before kicking open the door, eyeing one of the men standing behind one of the trees. He fired, shooting him in the chest before the enemy could even get a round off. His body dropped to the ground, falling limp in the dirt.

"Anikan!" Andrew shouted, looking to me.

I took a second to think, but immediately afterwards picked up the revolver and ran out after him. I exited the cabin with my revolver clasped between my shivering hands, though took cover as the other shooter fired back before darting towards the back of the RV. Andrew aimed and fired, while I stood behind him raising my gun to shoot as well.

Taking what I learned at the firing range into account, I steadied my gun and shot another three times. The third bullet hit him in the leg, causing the man to fall to the ground behind the RV.

"Move it!" Andrew whispered as he rushed forward, approaching the RV.

I froze once again, the moment blood burst from his body replaying in my head. I wanted to hide back in the RV, but I needed to stay for support. I couldn't let Andrew stay out here alone.

The two of us approached the RV, only to see a bright flash shine through the window. Everything then turned silent, Andrew and I holding our weapons up to the front entrance. The shooter had gone into the back.

"How many?" I asked him.

"Four in total. I got two, not sure where the girl went, and the fourth is in there I think," he said.

The two of us then jolted our guns upwards, watching as the fourth shooter shoved Hunter down the steps of the RV, holding a gun to his body. He shot us an overconfident smirk, grinning over Hunter's groans of pain.

"Lower the guns or your friend's gonna need a new brain," he threatened.

Andrew shrugged jokingly, "eh a new one will do him some good."

"Is this really the time to be joking!?" Hunter groaned, clutching as his bloody wound. Blood was slowly dripping out of his upper shoulder, leaving a trail of spots on the dirt beneath him.

Slowly I lowered my gun, though Andrew was a bit more hesitant too. He wanted to shoot, but the two of us both knew it was too big of a risk. Even if he missed the head, he could still hit his spine.

"Now I'm gonna count to three, and if you're not on your knees with your guns in front of me, I'm going to- "

*WHAM*

The man stumbled forward, tripping down the steps and slamming his face down into the dirt. Behind him stood Quinn, breathing heavily with a thick black book in hand.

"You hit him with… a bible?" Andrew questioned.

"The first object I could locate that seemed sufficient enough to put him into an unconscious state," Quinn answered.

Andrew and I rushed forward, the brown haired boy turning Quinn over and examining his wound. Quinn turned around, rushing into the RV to get the first aid kit.

"Argh…" Hunter groaned, "where the hell were you!?"

Quinn shouted from within the RV, "unlike you, I had the idea of hiding in the bathroom."

"You abandoned me!?" he exclaimed.

"And because I did, I am able to assist you without being hindered by a gunshot wound. You're welcome," Quinn answered. I could tell he was smirking on the inside

Andrew pulled Hunter's vest to the side, showing the hole torn in his shirt and the gory gunshot wound beneath it. I had seen vague depictions of it on the internet, but none of it compared to seeing it in real life.

"Through and through wound," Andrew muttered, "you'll be fine once we stop the bleeding."

"Then stop it already! Tape it if you have to!" he shouted.

"Shut up and deal with it for a few seconds!" he screamed back.

I held my hand out, looking at Andrew calmly, "calm down dude. Everything is fine now. We're all safe."

Quinn emerged in the doorway, stepping out of the RV with the first aid kit in hand, "alright then, I have bandages, some gauze, medical tape, a bottle of aspirin, rubbing alcohol, a needle, some surgical sutures, a-"

*SQUELSH*

He suddenly turned silent, his foot stopping before hitting the bottom step.

"Quinn hurry up we need to- "

I looked up, my mouth slowly opening as I felt a drop of blood drip onto my cheek. Quinn stood above us, his face coated by the shadow of the night. But one thing was visible, and that was the crossbow bolt sticking out of his eye.

"A-Andrew… take the kit a-and… and put pressure…"

Quinn fell forward, hitting the ground with a thud. I turned around in shock, Andrew shoving me aside as he rushed to his friend's aid. But he stopped halfway to his body, the both of us turning to see a woman standing on the other side of the campfire. The knife was still in her chest, and a crossbow was in her hand.

My crossbow.

Rage flashed across Andrew's eyes like a bull seeing red, and there was no stopping him. He raised his silver handgun, firing the entire clip at the woman's body as he began to approach her.

She tried to run, but the first bullet tore through her chest like paper.

The second hit her in the stomach, the third landing in her thigh.

The fourth shattered her kneecap, her leg snapping like a toothpick.

The fifth hit her in the arm, the sixth grazed her on the shoulder, and the seventh streaked across her neck.

Andrew finished her off with a final shot, holding the gun to her head and unleashing the final bullet from his clip, blood bursting from her head like a broken faucet as her body crumpled to the ground.

Andrew lowered his gun, turning back to me as I stood over Quinn. His right eye was closed, his right eye covered in blood which was gushing out of his wound. I was staring down at him in disbelief, trying to figure out what to do.

Andrew shouted towards the cabin, "We need a medic! Now!"

Only problem was, Quinn was our medic.