Call of Caldira chapter 4

Here is the fourth chapter in my first Caldiria book.  This is one of my personal fav chapters I have worked on period.

Chapter 4

The rain pelted down, soaking her. She was running, trying to getaway. In the distance, she could hear the screams. Panic had overtaken her. She had to escape this nightmare.

She turned a corner, tripping her face, landing in a mix of mud and grime.

She got to her feet, knowing there wasn’t much time. As she did, a loud pop filled her ears….

Veredel woke with a start, beads of sweat trickling down her face.  That gunshot. It seemed so real.  She took a few moments to catch her breath and remind herself it was just a nightmare.

It took some time, but she eventually forced herself to lay back down and try to sleep again.

As she slowly closed her eyes, she could hear the muffled shouting through the floorboards. She tried to ignore it, but her father's yelling was impossible to put out of her mind. With a sigh of annoyance, she got out of bed, fully awake.

Rubbing her eyes, she tried to make out what was going on beneath her feet. She could only hear one or two words every ten seconds, just stuff like, “You!

Give!” All she could tell was her father was drunk and yelling downstairs.

It wasn’t the first time, but she wasn’t going to get much sleep until he shut up. She slowly walked over to her computer, planning on studying while she was up.

As she pressed the power button, she heard the distinctive sound of a gunshot come from downstairs.

The shot caught her off guard, and she fell backward into a stack of papers. Her heart was pounding now.  What the hell is going on? Has my dad completely lost it?  She had to find out just what was happening. If her father had snapped, she wasn’t going to stick around and wait for him to shoot her.

First, she had to move her dresser. It was still blocking her door from earlier that night when her father threatened to beat her. It took some effort, but she was able to push it back out of the way.

She then opened the unlocked door and crept down the hallway towards the stairwell.

At the top of the stairs, she knelt down and peered into the living room, trying to see what was going on. She could hear her father’s voice better now but was unable to see him. “You little bastard. Give it to me now, and I won’t skin your hide.”

Veredel slowly went down the steps. She had to know what was going on. Halfway down the stairs, she could see her father at the far end of the living room, pacing back and forth every two steps. Beyond him was Sean, holding the revolver that was supposed to be locked in their father's gun cabinet, pointed at the ground.

On his head, he was wearing the mixed reality headset that came with Call of Caldiria, they looked like nothing more than a pair of glasses.

Her mind was at work, trying to figure out what was going on. Why did her little brother even have a gun? Did he already try and shoots their father? Why was he wearing the mixed reality headset? She lowered herself on the step she was on to make sure neither her brother nor father noticed her.

Her father was yelling at Sean again. “Damit, give me the dam gun already. I am not going to let you use the furniture as target practice in the middle of the dam night.” Veredel noticed a bullet hole in the couch. It explained what the shot was that woke her up.

Sean didn’t even seem to know her father was there, he was mumbling something to himself that Veredel couldn’t hear from the stairs. Yet every time their father took a step forward, he would raise the gun towards him.

Veredel could tell that Charlie was becoming more and more impatient.

Suddenly Charlie tried rushing Sean for the gun.

After his second step, Sean shot him, square in the chest. He yelled out, “Dam, beginners, luck!” Veredel covered her mouth to muffle her scream. Her heart was racing as her father fell to the floor, blood pouring from his chest. She didn’t know if she should save him or not. The man was her father, but at the same time had abused her.  Maybe I should let this happen?

She shoved the thoughts down. As much of an ass that her father was, she wasn’t the person who was going to let him die. She had to do something, just what she wasn’t sure. All she knew was she had to try and get that gun away from Sean.

She slowly stepped down the stairs, trying not to make sudden movements as Sean went through their father’s pockets. She could hear him easier as she approached.

“Come on, RNG Jesus. Give me some lucky first-time loot.” He pulled the car keys from Charlie’s pockets.

“Score!”

Veredel was now fifteen feet away from her brother.

“Sean?” He jumped at her voice. “It’s me, Veredel. Please put down the….”

Time slowed as the popping sound of the gun filled the air. She had no time to react as cold lead struck her in the right shoulder, causing her to fall back. She tried to lay still on the floor as her brother stood over her. He looked at her for a moment. She was afraid that he might reshoot her. Instead, he turned around and shoved the revolver in his pants.

Veredel fought to keep still. She was in terrible pain, but not in the place she was supposed to be. While her shoulder did her, her mind was on fire. Voices filled her head, their words like stabbing needles in her head.

“I am happy Veredel bought me this game. The training level is so fun and real. I can’t wait to see the rest of Call of Caldiria.”

“Oh my god, that was a real gunshot. Charlie? He finally did it and tried to kill Veredel that drunken fool.”

Veredel wanted to scream as her mind was torn apart, but she had to act dead or risk being reshot. Soon Sean started making his way towards the back sliding door and exited the house.

Once she was sure he had left, she sat up, holding her head. She still heard voices, piercing into her skull.  “This can’t be real.”

“Veredel!’ Her mother's voice sounded from behind her. As she felt her mother reach out and embrace her, she cried out once more.

“Charlie! Oh my god!” She ran over to Veredel’s father's limp body. “What the hell happened!”

Veredel tried answering, but her vision was becoming fuzzy. She was losing the fight to stay conscious. Outside she could faintly hear a car start up and speed off. Her mother looked to her with a questioning look, but Veredel could barely hear her own thoughts. She felt her mother’s hand on her left shoulder. “Hold on honey, I am calling 911 now.”

Veredel almost fainted as more piercing thoughts came into her head. "I can’t believe this is happening. I just hope Charlie isn’t dead. And where is my son?"

As her mother called for help, Veredel blacked out, the image of Sean shooting both her and her father still fresh in her mind.