Page 31 of Ravaged By the Dark (The Righteous 2)
Movement at the front entrance of the arcade caught Arek’s attention. The passion high dissolved instantly as he spotted three men pulling masks over their faces. He darted across the room and had J.J. under his arm before the first bullets started to fly. Screaming erupted all around him. A stampede of feet thundered as people scattered in confusion and fear.
Arek pushed a guy running at him aside, not even caring if he landed on the floor and then dodged around a group of kids huddling behind a machine. His concern was Renee’s and J.J.’s safety, a single-minded focus. He reached the bathroom door just as Renee yanked it open, eyes wide.
“What the hell is going on?” He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her inside. J.J. started to cry, tears slipping free from his big brown eyes.
“I don’t know. There are gunmen out there. Get in this stall.” He pointed to the furthest one from the door. Renee took J.J. from his arms and did as he asked. “Stay down, get as low as you can, I’ll be back.” Renee gripped his arm, her eyes wide. “I promise everything will be alright. I’ll be back.”
She nodded and released his arm, closing the metal door and locking it.
He pulled his cell from his pocket and dialed into the Hummer. “Sweet Delilah, how many gunmen are in the arcade?”
The yelling was still loud, along with the distinct loud popping and banging sounds of gunfire.
“There are three gunmen, each carrying a 9MM and an AKM.”
Fucking great.
Arek rubbed his face in frustration. He pulled his pant leg up, releasing the hidden gun strapped to his ankle.
“I need locations. I’m in the women’s washroom, directly south of the entrance.” He got low, ready to pull open the door.
“Blueprints have been located. One gunman is walking East toward your location, ten yards, and closing.”
Arek slid back on the bathroom floor and leaned up against the bathroom stall to wait. The door opened, and the masked man only had half a second to register Arek before he collapsed to the floor with a bullet between the eyes.
He could hear Renee’s yelp as the sound echoed loudly around the bathroom. He could see their feet huddled together under the stall wall. She was telling J.J. it would be alright.
Anger burned in Arek’s gut. This was supposed to be a nice relaxing day, and instead, he was dealing with this crap. Jumping up, he pulled the asshole out of the door so it would close fully and then ripped up the mask. He didn’t immediately recognize the spider tattoo on his neck, but there was something familiar about it. He could worry about that later. He took a quick snap of the tat and put his phone away. Since the other men didn’t seem worried about their buddy or the gunshot, they must have expected him to kill more.
“Sweet Delilah, call the police, cut the video feed, and delete all existing video of me being here from inside the arcade and all surrounding buildings.”
Trev would kill him if he got caught on camera, even if this had nothing to do with him. He wore the same face as his brother, and that would lead to questions that they didn’t need or want to answer.
He could hear a man yelling around the corner toward the front of the arcade. He stayed low and peeked around the edge. The second masked man held a gun to the head of a person who looked like the manager. His once white shirt and sandy blonde beard were now painted with red from his badly bleeding nose. The guy was on his knees and was begging for his life, while the third man filmed it with his phone. Odd for them to be filming it, but again something to analyze later.
Arek scanned the hallway and then looked back at the men. They were distracted enough he could get Renee and J.J. out the back. He began to turn when he made the mistake of looking around the room. Bodies lay everywhere, some still breathing, some already lost to this world. A group of kids of all ages, their eyes wide, stared back at him as they hid behind a couple of the arcade machines. He recognized one of the boys that had befriended J.J., his eyes wide with a terror no child should ever experience. Tears streamed down his face as a slightly older girl that could be a sister held him tight.
Shit, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t leave them all here to most likely die at the hands of these gunmen for no other reason than wanting to be kids and have a good day.
He placed a finger over his lips, the universal signal to remain quiet, and the group nodded. He needed to get himself in a better spot. Arek scurried quietly across the floor, darting behind one arcade game after another until he was off to the side of the room. A glass-framed poster on the wall gave him the perfect mirror to see what was happening.
Arek could feel the old ghosts of his past wanting to make an appearance, but this was not the time or the place for a meltdown. He clenched his jaw tight and slowed his breathing. He pictured the kills in his mind, and before shit in his head could go haywire, he stood in a single fluid motion—his mind calm as he stepped out from behind his cover.
With the gun raised, the black mask of the hood was the only thing he saw in the line of sight of the gun.
Bang!
The first bullet found its target. The golden empty case flew back as the gun reloaded for his next shot. With deadly precision, he swung the gun toward the last assailant. The guy holding the camera stared at his buddy’s body falling to the floor. He didn’t even get a moment to turn in Arek’s direction before the second bullet found its mark.
Bang!
The final gunman was now crumpled to the floor in a heap.
The sounds rushed him as the threat passed, and he jerked back a step as the sounds of the room began to increase. The manager turned to look at Arek over his shoulder, and he locked eyes with the man. Hazel eyes locked with his, but there was no fear, just a blank stare. Sirens were getting louder as they neared, and he needed to get the fuck out of here. He picked up the discarded casings and ran for the bathroom.
“Sweet Delilah, meet me at the back door.” Arek placed the cell back into his pocket and slammed into the restroom door. “Renee, it’s me. We need to go now.”
He bent, grabbing the third discarded casing, and stuffed them in his pocket. The last stall door opened, and she poked her head out to look at him.
