Shatter-Me-PDF-Shatter-Me-Series-Shatter-Me-Shatter-Me-1-Tahereh-Mafi (1)

“KENT, YOU SON OF A—”
Adam uses the moment to run. We jump out from behind
the desk and fly toward a stairwell. Gunshots miss us by
millimeters. I wonder if these two men are the only ones
who followed us inside.
The spiral staircase winds into a lower level, a basement of
some kind. Someone is trying to aim for Adam, but our
erratic movements make it almost impossible. The chance
of him hitting me instead are too high. He’s unleashing a
mass of expletives in our wake.
Adam knocks things over as we run, trying to create any
kind of distraction, any kind of hazard to slow down the
soldier behind us. I spot a pair of storm cellar doors and
realize this area must’ve been ravaged by tornadoes. The
weather is turbulent; natural disasters are common.
Cyclones must have ripped this city apart. “Adam—” I tug on
his arm. We hide behind a low wall. I point to our only
possible escape route.
He squeezes my hand. “Good eye.” But we don’t move
until the air shifts around us. A misstep. A muffled cry. It’s
almost blindingly black down here; it’s obvious the
electricity was disconnected a long time ago. The soldier
has tripped on one of the obstacles Adam left behind.
Adam holds the gun close to his chest. Takes a deep
breath. Turns and takes a swift shot.
His aim is excellent.
An uncontrolled explosion of curse words confirms it. Adam
takes a hard breath. “I’m only shooting to disable,” he says.
“Not to kill.”
“I know,” I tell him. Though I wasn’t sure.
We run for the doors and Adam struggles to pull the latch
open. It’s nearly rusted shut. We’re getting desperate. I
don’t know how long it’ll be until we’re discovered by
another set of soldiers. I’m about to suggest we shoot it
open when Adam finally manages to break it free.