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“Is this my fault?” I whisper.
Angel doesn’t answer. Instead, his strong hand finds my shoulder and he pushes me in the right direction. “This way,” he says, and I follow him.
Memories of the destruction I found back in my old home town all those years ago flash behind my eyelids as I desperately try to keep up with Angel. He’s moving so fast, and I feel so heavy. Everywhere I go, people die, communities burn, families are torn apart...
Suddenly, Angel’s at my side again. “Give him to me,” he demands, and even though I don’t want to let go, I know it’s for the best. He grabs Oscar from my arms, but instead of running off, he grabs my hand and looks me in the eyes. “Don’t pay attention to anything else,” he says, low and forceful. “Just watch me.”
His big hands tighten around my little fingers and I can feel his pulse through his burning skin. My eyes follow his rippling back muscles and he pulls me forward. Oscar cries in his arms, and I just want to pull us all to a stop and sooth my distressed little boy... but I know that it could mean the death of us.
Keep fighting, Catalina.
“Jump!” Angel booms, and for some reason, there’s no hesitation in me. My feet leave the ground, but the effort sends my gaze downwards.
A primal fear grips my nerves as I see nothing below me but air. We’re three stories high, and we just jumped across the space between buildings.
Another explosion rocks the world and the resulting fireball lights up the night. Glass shatters and women scream. Through the chaos, I swear I hear someone yell, “Up there!” but it could just be my twisted imagination.
Ahead, Angel slows down and we come up to a set of cement stairs that lead down to the roof of a one-story home. For a second, our hands fall apart and I’m left to scramble behind my family in a desperate plea to keep up.
The second my feet hit the second roof, though, Angel’s hard hand is back around mine and we’re off again.
We’re close enough to the ground now that I can hear men barking orders, and even the pitter patter of bullets as they ricochet off everything in sight. My pounding heart bleeds for my baby boy. He doesn’t deserve this, to be surrounded by constant violence. One errant bullet could be the end of everything...
I shake away the bad thoughts and instead concentrate on Angel’s muscular back. His shoulder blades rise and fall without a single wasted movement, and I can see him flex around Oscar every time an explosion erupts nearby.
Eventually, the roofs run thin and we’re forced to hop on a cement partition. There isn’t any room to make a mistake up here, and my limbs turn to jell-o as we race across the precarious perch.
The though suddenly hits me that we might not actually have anywhere to run. Angel already told me that Wilmar’s place was hardly safe, and also that it was the last safe place in the city for us.
So, where the hell are we going?
The cement partition gradually descends to the ground and Angel and I find ourselves running right through the action as we hit the streets again. “Where are we going!?” I shout.
Angel skids to a stop just before the next corner. Through the sound of my pounding heart, I can hear orders being shouted just ahead... and a loud eruption of gunshots follow right behind. Angel is immediately on top of me, using his muscular body like a human shield to protect Oscar and I from danger.
I can help but cry out in fear. This is all too much. Just above us, I swear I can hear the sound of bullets ripping through the bricks...
“Who’s there!?” the demand comes from just up ahead. Angel immediately whips around, reaching for the gun tucked behind his belt. It’s hard to tell if he even sees who’s there before he starts firing. Oscar is left on the ground between us and I immediately lunge forward to shield him from the violence. He cries beneath my heaving body as I cover his ears with the palm of my hands. The roar of Angel’s gunshots nearly ruptures my ear drums, but there’s no way I’m taking my hands off of Oscar.
“Run!” Angel suddenly growls. For an eternal moment, I’m too stunned to move. “RUN!” he repeats as loud as thunder. A nearby explosion matches the volume of his roar and I swear my eardrums finally burst. Everything goes silent, but I’m finally able to start moving again. I scramble back down the alley with Oscar tucked tight in my arms, away from Angel and whoever he’s shooting at.
Dust upends around my feet as bullets nip at our heels. Through the eerie silence, I swear I hear someone shout, “It’s them!”
My heart catches in my throat, but I’m too terrified to think about anything besides pushing forward. A primal instinct clutches my arms around Oscar, and I’m somehow able to keep my feet moving.
Suddenly, a hulking figure approaching from our rear. “Cat! Cat!” the voice is muffled and distant, but then Angel’s big hand falls around my shoulder and sound rushes back into my damaged ears. “Are you alright?” he asks.
I nod, hardly stopping to think. Oscar still cries in my arms.
Both Angel and I immediately search the infant for signs of damage, but he seems clean, if not scared shitless.
What are we doing to this poor boy?
What am I doing to him?
We could have been free of all of this by now. What was I thinking?
Angel shakes me out of my shocked daze and a grimace crosses his face. My eyes immediately fall onto his blood-stained shoulder. “Angel!” I yelp. “Are you—”