Apocalypsis 02 - Warpaint

not stay away anymore. I sobbed once and turned away, unable to ignore the fact that I was being given the difficult task of killing innocent children and that they were thanking me for doing it. The cruelty of this world was too overwhelming.
    “Give it back to me, Bryn. I’ll do it,” said Trip, tears streaming down his face too.
    I cleared the goo out of my throat and stood straighter. “No, it’s on me. I’ll do it. Just get these kids out of here. I’ll stick around until you’re out. Send me the hawk screech when it’s time to throw it in. I’ll get to the truck on my own. Where is it?”
    “It’s parked two blocks southwest of here. Go down that street out back and take your first left. Do you know where I mean?”
    “Yeah. I got it. Just go.” I swiped the back of my hand across my face. “Peter, you too.”
    “No, I’m staying with you.”
    “Bullshit. Get the hell out of here,” I said dismissively.
    “No.”
    I traded my sadness in for anger. It was the only way to make sure he’d be safe. “Peter, I’m only going to say this once more. Get. The hell. Out. I don’t have the time or the energy to take care of your skinny ass when those canners come, so beat it.”
    “Nicely said. Now come on,” said Trip, grabbing Peter by the arm and dragging him to the door. “I need your help moving these kids.”
    One of them swayed just in time, causing Peter to have to grab him behind the back so he wouldn’t fall. Peter looked over and glared at me. “We will discuss this at home,” he said firmly.
    I grimaced back. “If we’re lucky. Now, go.”
    I turned away from him, carefully unwrapping the grenade, letting the cloth that had secured it fall to the sides.
    Trip opened the door cautiously, looked out, and then led all the kids out of it in a single-file line.
    LaShay was the last one out, and she hesitated, looking back at me to say, “I don’t know who the hell you are, but whatever. Thanks. Do me a favor would you? If you have another one of those? Pull the pin and put it in that guy Dave’s pants. No one deserves to have his dick blown sky high more than that guy does.”
    I nodded. “It will be my pleasure to serve him his dick on a platter.”
    She smiled. “You and I are gonna be friends. If you live.”
    “I hope so,” I said, trying to smile back. I’m afraid it came out as more of a frown, but she was gone before I could fix it.
    I turned back to the kids, moving cautiously over to the one who had talked to Peter about the grenade. I didn’t really want to, but it seemed wrong to be planning to do a mercy killing and not at least say goodbye to the person first. He was the only one awake now, his head towards the door and his lower body facing the opposite wall. I wasn’t sure if the others had just fallen asleep or died, but they were still, their eyes closed, and I couldn’t tell if they were breathing.
    “Hi,” I said as I approached, crouching down by his head.
    “Hi,” he whispered back. His face was a grayish-white, a sheen of sweat glistening on his upper lip and forehead.
    “What’s your name?”
    “Julio.”
    “Hey. Nice to meet you, Julio. I’m Bryn.”
    “You from around here?” he asked, a pitiful chuckle making its way out of his throat. “I’m trying to pick you up. That’s my best line.”
    The tears were going down my cheeks again, but I smiled through them. “Nah. I’m from up near Orlando. Maitland. And your line’s pretty good. I’ll bet when the world was a different place, you were quite the charmer.”
    He smiled weakly. “Yeah, I was. I played soccer on our school team. Center forward. I had a girlfriend and she was the prettiest girl in our school. She helped the soccer coach, that’s how we met. She said she liked being with the guy who had the highest scoring average in the district. Her name was Yasmine. She was beautiful. Like you.”
    I couldn’t think of anything to say except thank you.
    “I’m gonna see her again, when you drop that grenade in here. So thank you for that. I’ve been looking forward to seeing her for weeks now.” He looked down towards his lower body. “Only thing they haven’t taken from me yet is my kicking leg. I guess I still have that going for me.” He lifted it up and wiggled his foot, laughing a little, I think at the ridiculousness of it all, before he started to choke. We both sat there waiting for the spasms to subside. I could hear that he had fluid in his lungs. I ignored