by Mark Goodwin
Bullets peppered through the door and wall, sending bits of drywall and wood raining down on Kate and the kids. Sam and Vicky both returned fire. Kate waited to see a target before shooting.
The gunfire stopped. “I’m out!” Vicky whispered.
“Me, too.” Sam’s voice was filled with distress.
“Take my pistol, Vicky. “Sam, get your dad’s revolver.” Kate handed the .38 to her niece. “And don’t shoot until you have a target in your sight.”
The man said mockingly from downstairs, “Sounds like you might be about out of ammo. Maybe you gals will be coming back with us after all.”
Vicky looked at Kate, her eyes filled with utter remorse. “I can’t do that, Aunt Kate. If I run out of bullets… I’m saving one for myself. Please forgive me.”
Kate couldn’t stand the situation they were in. With her entire heart, she wished she could go back in time, put more of the ammo upstairs, and have better weapons for defense. She gently put the back of her hand on Vicky’s cheek. “I understand.” She considered the horrible option for herself, wondering how she could get the barrel of the shotgun to her mouth in her current position.
“Fee-fi-fo-fum.” The man stomped up the stairs. “Kick it open, Edmond.”
“Why me?”
“They ain’t got no bullets left, just do it!” another man demanded.
CRASH! The door flew open. Kate, Vicky, and Sam fired simultaneously. The man flew backward, clearing the way for the other three ruffians to shoot into the room. Kate and the kids continued shooting for another several seconds. The house fell silent once more.
Sam pulled the trigger of the revolver and it clicked. “Are you out?”
“I’ve got one more shell,” Kate replied.
“Me, too.” Vicky held the .38 with both hands.
“I’m bettin’ you’re empty now,” the man said angrily.
“Why don’t you come on in here and see,” Kate yelled in fury.
“Aunt Kate…” Vicky shook her head. “We’ve got two shots left. Three of the men are still out there. This isn’t going to end well.” She put the pistol under her chin.
Sam cried, “No Vicky, you can’t leave me!”
Kate felt utterly crushed by the circumstance. She was beyond despair, past brokenhearted, fear had her in a chokehold. She couldn’t think, couldn’t decide what to do with her last shell, had no idea what to say to her niece who was about to take her own life in a last-ditch effort to avoid the unfathomable.
Gunfire rang out. Kate readied herself for the inevitable; with her final shotgun shell, she’d kill the next person who came through that door. And if the others took her, she’d claw their eyes out with her fingernails before she let them take her alive.
The gunfire continued for some time, rising and falling in intensity. Kate forced herself to look at her niece to see if she was still alive. Vicky had a perplexed look on her face but still held the pistol snuggly beneath her jaw.
Then, the unavoidable happened. The man who’d haunted Kate since she first saw him in the garage with Boyd came into her bedroom. Oddly, he didn’t come in shooting, rather he knelt down inside her door and looked out. Nevertheless, she didn’t hesitate. She placed the bead of the shotgun over the back of his head and pulled the trigger. BOOM!
Sam snatched the pistol from Vicky before she could fire her weapon.
“No! Sam! Please, you don’t know what they’ll do to me!”
He stood up in the doorway with the pistol. “The next one through this door won’t be the one to do it.”
Kate admired her nephew’s courage but knew Vicky’s fate would be a bad one if she didn’t get away. She pushed her out from behind the bed. “Vicky, get out the window. Hang by your fingers then drop down. Let your knees bend when you hit the drive so you don’t break a leg. Then run. Go to Mr. Pritchard’s house and hide. There’s only two left. Let your brother and me deal with them.”
Vicky sobbed and threw her arms around Kate’s neck.
Kate kissed her and then pushed her away. “You have to go. You have to go now!”
“I love you, Sam.” Vicky put one foot slowly out the window.
“I love you, too. Now go!” Sam’s hands trembled waiting to fire the final shot.
“Girl? Are you still up there?”
“Mr. Pritchard?” Kate couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Kate?” Another familiar voice came from below.
“Gavin!” She let the empty shotgun fall to the ground. Quickly she turned to see Vicky’s fingers hanging from the window sill. “Sam, help me get Vicky back inside. I think we’re going to be okay.”
Sam tucked the pistol in his waist. He grabbed one hand while Kate grabbed the other. The two of them pulled Vicky up and helped her back inside.
“What’s going on?” Vicky asked.
Kate wasn’t certain, but she said, “Everything is going to be okay.”
Sam took the pistol back out of his belt but held it low.
Gavin came into the room with an AK-47 hanging from a sling around his shoulder. He held up one hand to Sam. “Easy there big fella. We’re on the same side.”
Sam looked at Kate. “Do you know this guy?”
Filled with relief and deep sadness over her brother, Kate fell into Gavin’s open arms. She cried long and hard, letting the tears she’d been holding back flow freely onto his firm shoulder.
Pritchard walked into the room with his shotgun pointed at the floor. “I don’t know what you shot that heathen layin’ in the doorway with, but you ‘bout blew his head clean off his neck.”
Kate was in no mood to discuss details with the old man. She had no idea how she’d get through the coming days without her brother, but she knew she had to; for Sam and Vicky’s sakes. She looked over to where Terry lay motionless on the floor. Vicky sat beside him, tears streaming down both cheeks. Sam was behind her, his arms wrapped around his sister and his face contorted in soul-wrenching pain.
“Where’s that no-account brother of your’n?” Pritchard surveyed the room.
Kate looked around. She broke free from Gavin’s embrace and looked out the window. “I’m not sure.”
“Why don’t you take the youngins and go look for him. Ain’t no need of them seein’ their pa like this. I’ll get him cleaned up and laid out proper like. We’ll have a good service for him. And we’ll all get through this.” The old man nodded with determination. “Best take this young man with y’all. Can’t be too sure there ain’t none of them devils still about.”
Gavin changed magazines. “I’ll make sure they’re safe.”
“Very well. Once you know it to be true, come on back up here and give me a hand fixin’ up their pa.”
“It should be me,” Kate said. “I’ll help you with Terry.”
“Suit yourself.” Pritchard began collecting the bloody towels from the floor. “I reckon this young fella can help gettin’ the other corpses cleared out of your house. ‘Fraid we made a mess of things.”
Kate let Gavin put his arm around her. “I appreciate you showing up when you did, Mr. Pritchard.” She took Gavin’s hand in hers. “And you, too. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t.”
CHAPTER 27
A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 17:17
Kate held out her hand to Sam. “Let me hang on to the .38. We’ll go down to the garage first and reload all our weapons, then we’ll look for your uncle. Once we find Boyd, we’ll take half the ammo upstairs to my room. I don’t want to get caught like that again. I know you’re both tired and grieving, but I should have done this when I first bought the bullets.”
Sam nodded. He seemed to understand that work still needed to be done before he could mourn his father’s death.
Kate led the way down two flights of stairs to the garage with Gavin close behind her. Once the guns were reloaded, they headed back up to the main level. Kate pushed open the d
oor to Boyd’s room. “Boyd? Are you in here?”
Gavin looked under the bed. “No one here.”
Kate pressed her lips together tightly. “This closet goes back under the stairs. We used to hide there as kids.” She opened the door and pushed the hanging clothes to the side. “You can come out. Your friends are all dead… and so is your brother.”
Boyd crawled over some boxes that he’d positioned to hide behind, then helped Tina out of the closet. “I knew something bad would happen when you interrupted that deal.”
Kate blew a fuse. “Why can’t you accept the least amount of responsibility for bringing those goons here in the first place? What is wrong with you, Boyd? Are you so blind, so delusional, or are you just in denial?”
“I’ll accept my part of the blame if you’ll accept yours.”
“Get out! Right now! Both of you. Pack your bags and leave this instant.”
“Whoa! This isn’t your house. You can’t throw me out.”
“You’re right! It’s mine and Terry’s. But since he’s dead, I’m calling the shots. Now get out!”
“Terry’s part goes to his kids. Since he was two-thirds owner, they each have as much say in the matter as you.” Boyd looked at his niece and nephew with puppy-dog eyes. “They won’t kick me out into the cold night.”
Kate could take no more. “These kids have been through enough because of you. I won’t have you manipulating them.”
“I want to hear what they’ve got to say.” He crossed his arms and tilted his chin up ever so slightly.
“They’re minors. And since they have no father and no mother, I’m responsible for keeping them safe. They’ll never be safe as long as you’re around.”
“Responsibility—oh, I see.” His voice dripped with sarcasm. “And what court decided you’re the legal guardian? Seems I’m just as much of a blood relative as you. What if I decide I want custody?”
She pulled her pistol. “Go, Boyd.”
“You won’t pull that trigger. You wouldn’t shoot your own brother.”
Gavin leveled his AK-47 at Boyd. “You’re probably right, but I will.”
“Oh, that’d be real convenient for you, wouldn’t it?” Boyd’s voice was filled with insolence.
“Not really. I was hoping to come up here for a relaxing visit. But instead, I rolled up on a full-fledged firefight. Convenient would have been for me to turn around and go right back down that mountain. Instead, I risked my neck and nearly got killed. And I take it from the context of the conversation that this is all your fault. Does that sound about right?”
Sam pulled the hammer back on his .45, aiming at Boyd’s head. “I should be the one to kill him. He got Dad shot, and it’s my duty to take him out.”
“No, Sam!” Kate called out. “Uncle Boyd is going to leave. No one has to kill him. But if he doesn’t, Gavin will be the one to do it. Boyd’s your uncle, and you don’t want to live with that.” She turned to Tina. “Seems like people are getting ready to draw straws over who gets to put Boyd out of our misery. If you have any sense at all, you’ll get him out of here while the getting’s good.”
“Come on, Boyd, let’s go.” Tina tugged his arm.
“At least let us take some food. Otherwise, we’re dead anyways.” Boyd held his hands up.
“No, you’ve taken enough.” Kate clenched her jaw.
“Then just shoot me. It’ll be less painful than starving to death.” Boyd gave a crooked smile as if issuing a dare.
Gavin raised his rifle.
“No! Aunt Kate. Let him have some food. I can’t watch anyone else get killed. Please!” Vicky cried.
“One bucket,” Kate said.
“Six. We need at least enough food for a month.”
Kate shook her head. “No way. Vicky, go upstairs. Gavin, wait until she’s out of the room, then kill him.”
“Wait!” Tina screamed with her hands up. “What about two buckets? That’s about a week’s worth of food each. Please, Boyd! Say that’s good. I don’t want to die.”
“Two buckets?” Boyd looked at Kate with his arms crossed.
“I’ll pick the buckets. Gavin, keep your rifle on him until he’s gone.” Kate turned to go to the garage. She grabbed one bucket of rice and one bucket of beans, each with bullet holes which leaked a trail of dried beans and rice behind her. Kate took them back to the living room. “Take it and go.”
“We need gas.” Boyd protested.
“Vicky, upstairs!” Kate pointed. “Gavin…”
Tina grabbed the buckets and headed for the door. “We have a quarter tank. Come on, Boyd!”
Boyd bit his lip and shook his head. He walked out the door behind Tina. “I’m glad Dad’s not alive to see this.”
“Me, too!” Kate slammed the door behind Boyd and Tina.
Boyd made one final protest before leaving the property. “That was the Badger Creek Gang you started a feud with. And Jason Graves was one of the leaders. His brother won’t be too happy to find out Jason’s dead. Good luck with all that.” Tina’s BMW kicked rocks when they pulled out of the driveway.
Vicky shook her head. “Uncle Boyd has been here less than two weeks. He couldn’t have learned everything there is to know about the local organized crime gang in that amount of time. He’s just trying to frighten us.”
Kate locked the deadbolt. “Your uncle has a special talent for meeting all the wrong sort of people.” She looked up at Pritchard. “Have you heard of the Badger Creek Gang?”
“Yep. Nasty bunch.”
Sam inquired, “What about the brother? Is what Uncle Boyd said true?”
The old man’s face was grim. “’Fraid so. But if they come, we’ll be ready for ‘em. Don’t you worry none.”
As the anger and fear subsided, sorrow returned to Kate’s heart. Still, she had a job to do. She’d try to get the kids to go to bed, then help Pritchard with getting Terry’s body cleaned up. Even after that was done, the house was covered in blood, shattered walls, shot-up doors, and empty shell casings. Just thinking about everything that needed to be done sapped what little strength she had left.
Once she and Pritchard finished with Terry and got him laid out on the bed, the old man said, “Why don’t you go get yourself washed up? Then take an hour or two to rest. The sun will be up soon, and it’s goin’ to be a hard day for you and them youngins.”
Kate looked around. “But this mess!”
“Don’t you worry about that. That boy’s about got all the bodies dragged out of the house. Ever thing else can wait.”
She let out a sigh of capitulation. “Maybe just an hour or two.” She took a long hot shower then reclined on her bed. “Just an hour or two.”
CHAPTER 28
A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.
The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
Joel 2:3-11
Kate awoke
to a gentle touch on her hand. She looked up to see Gavin gazing at her tenderly. “What time is it?” She sat up.
“5:00,” he said.
She looked out the window at the waning sun. “In the evening?”
“Yeah. Sam and Vicky are up. I didn’t want to wake you, but Mr. Pritchard said we need to have a burial service for Terry today. Otherwise…”
“I know.” She needed no explanation, and she certainly didn’t want the kids to see their father once the next stage of decomposition set in.
She looked at his rifle propped up in the corner. “Did you bring that AK-47 with you?”’
“Yeah. I think I mentioned that I was going to look into getting a better gun.”
Her brows pulled close. “You did, but you didn’t mention an AK-47.”
“They didn’t have any Hemlock BF-Rs in stock at the gun store.”
She replied, “Probably because that gun only exists in Titanfall.”
“Yeah, so I went with the runner-up. It’s always been my go-to gun in any video game where it’s available. And now you have one.”
“I have an AK-47?”
“To the victor go the spoils. Five of the guys who hit your house were carrying AKs. You also picked up another shotgun, and two AR-15s.”
“I don’t know how to use any of them except the shotgun.”
“I can walk you through the AK at least.”
“Where did you learn to shoot?”
“The gun range. I took it out as soon as I bought it. A couple of older guys at the range walked me through the basics. Then I practiced as much as I could. What about you? Seems like you at least know how to pull the trigger.”
“My dad, he taught me basic gun safety and how to fire a shotgun when I was a kid. It came back pretty fast. What about ammo? Did the intruders leave any behind?”
“Seems they spent most of it, but I’d say you have a thousand rounds that they left behind.”
“I guess we’ll need it, especially if this gang decides to give us any trouble.” Kate pulled her hair back and sighed. She took Gavin’s hand and pulled it close. “So, what made you decide to stop by?”