by Ray Wench
Tara called a cease fire, if not for humane reasons, to at least save ammo. They watched as the survivors climbed jumped or clung to the escaping cars. Lynn estimated they’d lost as many as half their numbers in the first, and hopefully last, assault.
She turned away from the carnage and leaned against the minivan. Had Mark and company had to face the same thing? If so, had they been as effective? Running steps coming toward them from behind startled her. Quickly, her gun and everyone else’s pointed in the opposite direction. Antwan burst into the small clearing unaware of the danger he had been in.
“Those people in the boats,” he sucked in deep gulps of air. “Once the shooting started, they watcha'macalled the boats, and—”
“Do you mean docked?” Mel asked
He nodded with vigor. “Yeah, and a ho’ bunch of them got off. I think they're coming this way.”
Lynn looked at Mel and Tara. “It never ends.”
Tara went into immediate action. “Ward, get that jeep out of the trees and behind that building.” She pointed toward the one-time marina store. “The rest of you load up and move down to the marina.” To Mel and Lynn, she said, “I'd rather face them in the open where we can see what we're dealing with.”
They moved out just as a few sporadic shots were fired in their direction. Tara had them drive around the trees and down the road to the docks. She got on the radio and called Ward. “Stay out of sight. If anyone comes out of those woods, cut them down. Antwan.”
“Yo.”
“Which boats are theirs?”
“Down that second river-like thing.”
“The second channel.”
“Yeah.”
“Mel, stop broadside to that dock.” She called to the minivan. “Denver, turn so you’re broadside to the woods.” With everyone where she wanted them, they dismounted and took up defensive positions in the L-shaped barricade. Using binoculars, she scanned the docks. “We've got two guarding the boats.” She spun around and looked behind her. “Mel, go to the building. Get Private Menke and climb up on top of the store.”
Mel snorted. “And how do you propose I do that? This body,” she swept her hands down her stocky form, “wasn't made for climbing.”
“Do I have to do everything here?” Tara said, a little testy. “Use the jeep and have Corporal Ward boost you. You'll have superior position and sighting from up there. If you get a shot, take out those two guarding the boats. Now go, while you still can.”
Lynn, who'd been listening, said, “I think we should talk to them first.”
“Talk? Sounded like they were willing to let their guns do the talking to me.”
“We need information, Tara. We have no idea where Mark and the others are.”
Tara studied Lynn's face while she mulled her words. “How do you propose we make contact? If you step out there, you'll get shot. I doubt these people will cease fire because you're holding a white flag.”
“I could just wave it from here and see what happens.”
“Hey, give it a try. It can't hurt.”
“One of the boats is moving,” someone called out.
They turned their attention to the docks in time to see one speedboat pull away, do a sharp turn in the channel and head back out to open water.
“What do you make of that?” Lynn asked.
“My guess? They're going for reinforcements,” Tara answered.
Lynn sighed and muttered. “Great.”
Thirty-Two
Elijah had just sat down to join them when the echo of gunshots reached them. The many questions Mark wanted to ask were put on hold as Elijah sprang to his feet and into command mode. “Who do we have away from the camp?”
Someone responded, “Amos and Mary are on watch to the north and east. Gladys and Arturo are south and west.”
“Anyone else unaccounted for?” he said.
A couple walked up to him. “No,” the man said. “Everyone is here.”
The woman said, “The shots came from the east.”
“Send two to check it out.”
A sudden thought entered Mark's mind. He spoke to Bobby. “You said Lynn was following you with another group?”
“Yeah.”
“Daddy,” Becca said, “they could be in trouble.
Mark stood and strode quickly to Elijah. “We'll go look.”
“I can't ask you to do that. This is our community. We need to protect it.”
“I understand and normally would respect that, but that could be our people out there in trouble. No offense, but we're going.”
A flash of anger narrowed Elijah's eyes for a brief moment. His look turned to a glare. Mark thought perhaps the man wasn't used to being challenged, but he had no interest in the man's job or ego, nor did he have time to argue. To his group, he said, “Let's go see.”
The four of them gathered their gear and raced off, leaving the camp in loud chatter. He heard Elijah say, “Follow them,” but wasn't sure how many he sent or what that meant. So much for trust. He pushed it aside, replacing the potential problem with thoughts of Lynn. He'd been surprised when his kids told him she was coming on the rescue mission herself. Normally, she would stay and run things at the farmhouse.
He wondered what her presence meant and hoped it was good. If she were in trouble, nothing Elijah said or did would prevent him from getting to her.
They ran on for five minutes before coming to a large swampy area. It seemed to stretch on for quite a distance. Searching for a way across, he noticed three of Elijah's followers leaping over a section further to the left. “Quick! Follow them.” He bolted toward the crossing. By the time they reached the area, the three were only occasional blurs between the trees. He found the place where the waterway narrowed and leaped over it. The ground on the other side was soft, his foot sank in, but he drew it with a sucking sound, and sped after the other group, and trusted his party was behind him.
He ran as hard as he could through the trees, dodging and ducking branches. Glimpses of those he followed indicated he was gaining on them. A good fifteen minutes later he reached a clearing. Across the wide open space, he recognized the marina. Elijah's people were nowhere in sight. Lincoln pulled up next to him, followed by Becca and Bobby.
Becca dug out binoculars and scanned the scene before them. “Okay. You can see the jeep behind the building, right?”
“Yeah,” Mark said.
“The cars out by the dock? That's where Lynn and Tara and a few others are. I don't see anyone else.”
Mark squatted. “The way they're positioned, they're defending from the trees and the water. Focus on the trees.”
“Yeah. Yeah, I see movement there, but can't get a fix on numbers. My guess is maybe five to ten,” Becca said.
“Now scan the water, paying attention to the boats.”
“I'm not seeing much. Maybe one or two guys in those smaller boats.”
“Did any of you see where Elijah's people went?”
“Nope,” Lincoln said.
“Not me,” said Bobby. “Didn't you see them when you got here?”
“No.” He wasn't sure why that bothered him, but it did.
“There,” Becca pointed, “over by the lake, along the shoreline. See 'em? They're crawling over those huge rocks.” She handed the glasses to her father.
Mark took them, adjusted the focus and found the three immediately, as they crept along the rocks getting behind the jeep. A sudden jolt of panic hit him. Were they observing or going to attack? Maybe they thought the soldiers in the jeep were the enemy. He slapped the glasses back to Becca without looking. “We have to get to them before they do something stupid.”
He took off running for the shore. Though less than a quarter mile away, traversing the rocky shore made the journey seem to take forever. The three they pursued dropped from sight and reappeared many times. Each time they went out of sight, another knot formed in Mark's stomach. Pushing harder, he missed his step several times and incurred more bruises,
scrapes and pain. However, the worst sensation came when the three ahead of them vanished and did not reappear. They were either in a long low spot, or they were in shooting position. Mark feared which.
Taking a chance, Mark maneuvered to the edge of the rocks and jumped to level ground; though in sight from the woods, he was able to move much faster. In seconds, he discovered the barrels of three rifles across the top row of boulders, aimed at the backs of the two men in the jeep.
Pulling his handgun, Mark crouched and ran on. The shooters were too low to see, so he focused on the guns and hoped he would arrive before the shooting started. Six feet away, he leaped for the rocks, bounced from one to the other and landed in a small cove next to one of Elijah's men. He pointed the gun at his head as the others scrambled to adjust their weapons. “Put them down, or he dies.”
The two men and a woman continued to move. With a backhand swipe, Mark pistol whipped the first man and switched targets to the woman. She froze as Lincoln, Becca and Bobby jumped down from the rocks and aimed their guns.
With reluctance and glares of hatred, the other two dropped their guns. Becca and Bobby scooped them up and dropped them over another line of rocks.
“What was your intent?”
“We don't answer to you,” spat the woman.
Becca stepped toward her, but Mark put out a restraining arm. “Those people out there are with us. Were you planning on shooting them down from behind?”
Neither of them spoke. The pistol-whipped man sat up holding his bloody face.
“What were Elijah's orders?” Mark said.
“Let me ask the question, Daddy. I'll get an answer from her.”
The woman glowered at Becca. Before the situation could go any further, the sound of boat engines bounced off the rocky shore. Lincoln leaped to the top of the rocks and threw himself prone. “Aw shit! We've got major company now.” He paused. “Looks like six, no seven speedboats. Each one has three or four people in them. Could be more.”
“Raiders,” Mark said. “They’re your real enemy,” he said to the woman. “Not us.”
“They're stopping at the mouth of the main channel,” Lincoln informed them.
Mark said, “One of you go and tell Elijah.” The two uninjured people looked at each other. The man nodded and the woman started to climb. She glanced at her gun. Mark said, “Take it. And take him too,” he pointed to the bleeding man. They scampered over the top and dropped to the other side. Mark forgot about them knowing Bobby and Becca had their weapons ready in case of attack. A few moments later he released the breath he'd been holding.
“They're landing on the far end of the marina,” Lincoln said. “Looks like we're about to have a war.”
“Becca, get that guy's gun,” Mark said.
Without a word she climbed over and returned with the rifle. She handed it to Mark and he, in turn, gave it to the other man. Make sure you know who's on your side.” The man held his eyes for a moment, nodded and took the rifle.
“What's our play here?” asked Lincoln.
Mark crawled up the rocks and lay next to him. He studied the landing party then looked to Lynn's group. The building obstructed his view of the cars and where Lynn was. This vantage point allowed only a view of the back of the building, and the western portion of the woods. He did, however, have a full view of the arriving boats and disembarking army.
He assumed the attackers were unaware of the jeep and the .50 caliber machine gun. They also didn't know about his group. From where the raiders landed, they could easily outflank the vehicles and come up behind the jeep and building. Lynn's group would be trapped.
“I think we hold here until we see how they attack. We'll counter whatever moves they make. My guess is a portion will come this way to get behind our people and catch them in a crossfire.”
“So, we wait?” Lincoln said.
Mark nodded. “For now.”
“Good, cause I gotta piss like a racehorse.” He scrambled down the rocks leaving Mark, in spite of the situation, with a smile.
Thirty-Three
“Oh, man!” Mel said into the radio. “Tara, you seeing this?”
“Yeah. Make sure Ward knows. Stay low so they don't know you're there. We'll need the element of surprise.”
Mel told Private Menke to crawl to the far edge and tell Ward an army was coming up from the opposite side. “Mel,” Tara said, “One of you cover the trees while the other covers the new group. Don't shoot until I tell you, but keep me posted as things develop. My guess is they'll try to get behind the building for a better firing position. Have Ward turn the gun in the opposite direction. We should be able to hold off those in the woods okay without his support.”
“Roger.”
“And hey, girlfriend ...”
Mel smiled at that. “Yeah?”
“Be careful.”
“And you.” She lowered the radio.
Lynn said, “What do you think?”
“About what? Our general situation or your idea of waving the flag?”
“Both, but mainly the flag thing.”
Tara shook her head. “I don't know, Lynn. I'd prefer it worked so that we could avoid an all-out war here. But my gut says there's no chance. Especially now that reinforcements have landed. We might have had a shot when the odds were more even. Now, who knows.”
“I guess we won't know till we try.” She took the white towel, but the stick had been thrown away. Rising level with the minivan's roof, Lynn lifted the towel above her head and waved it back and forth. Nothing happened. She stood erect and continued the attempt.
Behind them, the landing party took up defensive positions. Where Lynn's group had had the advantage of a superior position, now they were flanked on both sides. They could retreat and flee over the open ground to the west, but there was a good chance they would suffer some casualties. But, maybe that was a fair trade for getting some of them out alive. No, she thought, no loss of life was a fair trade for anyone. They shouldn't be fighting each other at all. If she presented that suggestion to Tara though, would she think it the right move? Isn't some living better than none?
She said a silent prayer that her flag-waving efforts would result in a peaceful solution. The bullet struck the flag, ripping it from her hand.
So much for peaceful solutions.
Tara grabbed her and yanked her behind the van. A barrage of bullets tore into the vehicles. The defenders scrambled to find a safe place between the two groups.
Antwan spun to the side with a yelp and fell to the ground. He writhed, holding his left arm. Denver grabbed and dragged him to cover. Just as he let go of Antwan, he took a bullet in the chest and flew backward, dead.
Lynn looked on in horror. They'd been in gunfights before, but nothing with this kind of intensity. She didn't remember pulling her gun, but it was in her hands now. She feared she would die, not that she feared death, but she didn't want to die without seeing Mark first.
A bullet impacted the minivan above her head. An involuntary squeak escaped her lips and she pulled her body in, shrinking. The gunfire was so intense from the attackers they couldn't even risk shooting back. Behind them, Mel and Private Menke sniped at the two sides. That might keep them from a full-on attack, but for how long?
“We have to get out of here,” someone said, their voice on the verge of panic.
Tara said, “We have to pull the cars back to the building, to keep both groups in front of us.”
“How?” the unseen person said. “It'd be suicide to get in the driver's seat.”
Tara crawled under the SUV to take a look at what was happening. A bullet kicked up dirt to her right. She flinched and looked for the source. The man guarding the boats had climbed on the bow and lined up a second shot. A precognition of death descended down her spine. Even as she backed away, she knew she was too late.
The bullet cracked and she closed her eyes and ducked. No pain registered and she opened her eyes cautiously. The guard was no longer there
. Mel's voice squawked over the radio. “Score one for the good guys.” Tara barked a mixed laugh and sob, vowing to reward her lover later, if they survived.
As loud as the battle had been previously, it ratcheted up a few notches once the jeep pulled out from behind the building and entered the fight. Part of the landing party broke off on a flanking maneuver and the jeep opened fire, catching them in the open. Six of the eight men went down in an instant. The remaining two reached the shelter of the boulders by the shore.
The sudden appearance of the jeep had a game-changing effect on the battle. A lull settled over the marina. The sudden silence was just as loud as the gunfire had been. Lynn's ears rang. She raised up to get a better view. A haze had settled over their heads, drifting with the breeze in the direction of the lake.
The machine gun rattled again, chewing up the dock where the boats had landed. A few sporadic return shots banged off the building. Silence again, as everyone waited for the other side to make a move.
“Here they come,” Lincoln said.
“How many?” said Mark.
“Six, plus the two already there. They're creeping alongside the water with their heads down. I doubt our people even know they're there.”
“Okay, let's get ready.” He looked at Elijah's man. “You're welcome to join us if you want.”
The man looked at Mark, nodded and followed him up the boulders. As soon as the five of them had line-of-sight on the advancing group, Mark said, “Fire!”
The five shots rang out and three of the six dropped from view. “Becca and Bobby, go along the shoreline and fish them out of their hiding spot.”
The sibs moved out, scurrying around the boulders and stepping into the cold Lake Erie water. Mark left Lincoln and the other man and changed positions. He aimed at a spot the first two had hidden and waited. A few minutes later gunshots flushed the three from their berth. Lincoln and his partner opened fire. Mark ignored them, keeping his eye down the sight. As the first head popped up behind the rocks he squeezed the trigger. The only sign of a hit was the fine red mist that sprayed the rocks.