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.