Shattered Glass
“Come
on, come on!” Ethan shouted. Alex stumbled in shock. He pulled
her through the door and pushed her down the hall before slamming the door shut
and twisting the lock. Then he took off after her, instinctively ducking as
bullets sprayed through the wall behind them.
*
* *
Ethan shoved the door open. Outside were two parked
cars. He ran to the first one…it was locked. He tried the second one…it was
open but there were no keys. He grabbed Alex who was almost paralyzed with
disbelief and they ran toward another group of cars in front of the next
building about two hundred feet away.
As they ran, he lifted
the heavy bag from her shoulder and put the strap around his neck. “Check those
on the far end!” he shouted, pointing to the group of cars, hoping it would
give her some protection, and both of them an escape.
They frantically
grabbed at door handles, sprinting from car to car. Alex was closest to the
door of the building where the cars were parked when a woman walked out,
pulling her keys from a purse. Alex walked toward the woman who was still
looking down, and snatched the keys out of her hand. “Was machen sie?”
the woman said surprised.
“I’m sorry,” Alex said
frantically, pushing on the key fob trying to find the woman’s vehicle. A car’s
headlights flashed and horn beeped. The side windows suddenly exploded in the
first two vehicles on the end from a hail of bullets, setting off a blaring
alarm.
Alex hid behind the
passenger side of the woman’s car and Ethan ducked behind one of the others.
The woman screamed and ran back into the building.
“The green one!” Alex
shouted before opening the passenger door and climbing in. She fumbled the keys
trying to get the right one in the ignition. Ethan briefly saw a man running
toward them before he reached the driver side door. Alex had slid into the seat
and was trying to start the car. Ethan opened the door, pushed the bag over to
her and jumped in. Scrunching down in the seat, he put the BMW in reverse and
floored the accelerator.
The engine roared and
tires dug down as they spun wildly, throwing gravel everywhere. He turned the
wheel while hitting the brakes and slammed the shifter into Drive. The engine
revved then labored as the transmission grabbed and tires spun again, chirping
occasionally when they found hard dirt. The rear driver side window and front
passenger window shattered. The back window exploded and several holes appeared
in the passenger side windshield.