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they could see her spirit. It was there, buried, allowing her to be whoever she needed to be.
    “How many shots you got?” I asked. Kelly’s six shooter was chipped and missing the aim, not worth its weight in a real firefight. I doubted the firing pin even pulled back, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. I would only receive a tongue lashing for it anyway.
    “Just two,” she hissed.
    “Just two…” I squeezed the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache start to grow. A sudden bout of nausea circled my stomach and a grogginess set in.
    She wouldn’t be much help with only two shots.
    “So be it,” I said. “Mind taking up the rear?”
    A gun was still a gun. Even an unloaded gun would make a person react, the sight alone making people duck for cover. A slightly chipped, partially loaded gun with a crazy girl holding it could make the world bend.
    “Sure thing Jackson,” Kelly moved to the back of the group, joining the chunky red head and his sister. She didn’t exactly get along with those two, but she was more focused.
    “Really?” Ricky asked when Kelly joined them.
    “I’ll pull your eyes out fat boy,” Kelly replied.
    I glared at the both of them.
    “Sorry Jack,” Kelly apologized. I knew for a fact I am the only one she’d ever apologized to. Even the fat boy was surprised to hear the words slip from her throat.
    I waved for the rest to follow as I once again found myself leading a group down the cracked earth. It was strangely quiet, even more than usual. The scraping of our shoes on the pavement was the only sound that broke the overbearing silence. A sense of dread settled over me as the big house came into view. I didn’t know about the rest of the group, if they felt the same way. Ricky was huffing and puffing and wheezing just a bit. Kyle twitched with expectation while Jamie was silent as the day itself, and Kelly raged on in silence.
    The Palmers’ house was maybe the nicest one on the block. Time and weather had yellowed its white exterior. We approached the intact porch with a swing and two rocking chairs where I remembered the eldest Palmer playing games with the children. They were trying to pass the time, trying to make this miserable world a little more bearable. Part of the roof had fallen in before they moved in, but the place was so big they never used that part of the house anyway. A very broken door sat on the hinges, begging to fall off, but that had always been there.
    Something that hadn’t always been there, however, was a trail of blood. It started near the doorway and led back inside.

Chapter 3: Innocence Lost
     
                  Ricky held his breath. Jamie stared at the ground. Kyle scanned the windows, trying to see something, and I could do nothing but feel an absolutely terrifying emptiness harden in my core. We didn’t move, could hardly function. We just watched in stunned silence, wishing things were different. Yet the house remained still, and weirdly inviting. We had a need to know what happened.
                  “You guys stay put. Kyle, on me,” I commanded with a scratch in my throat. The other three had to be left out of this; they would only get in the way. The brother and sister couldn’t handle this situation, and the fiery one might try to kill a shadow with that itchy trigger finger and end up taking one of us out. Kyle would have to back me up. Him and only him.
                  “That’s stupid, Jackson, I’m fucking coming!” Kelly whispered violently. I knew she’d be the only one to object. Pride stormed inside her. She wouldn’t back down from this, and that’s why finding her balance was key. Even with her ever-present passion she still had sense. One doesn’t live long without it.
                  “I need you outside. You can cover the entrance in case someone comes out. Stay here, Kelly. Anything happens, you can come running in, yes?” I asked.
                  Kelly