The End

by G. Michael Hopf

  San Diego, California

  Tossing and turning in his sleep, Gordon’s dreams had taken him back to his final tour in Iraq. He was reliving the brutal horrors of war. He couldn’t escape the bodies no matter how fast he ran. Each time he took sanctuary in a bullet-ridden building he would find more bodies. Bullets were raining down on him but he was not getting hit. The cries, he heard cries. These were the cries of a baby. With every door he opened, the cries would grow louder but he was never closer to finding the baby, just more bodies. In the distance, he heard his name being called out “Gordon, Gordon!” The cries soon morphed into sounds of a different kind of gunfire. The sound of his name being called grew louder and louder.

  “Gordon, Gordon!” Nelson yelled, coming into Gordon’s bedroom.

  Gordon sat up sweating from the dream. The room was pitch black.

  “Gordon, Gordon, wake up!” Nelson yelled urgently.

  Gordon looked over in the direction of Nelson’s voice, then he heard the crack of gunfire through the window. Grabbing his rifle, which lay next to him, he sprang out of bed and past Nelson.

  “Gather the family and have them stay in the master bedroom. I’m going to find out what’s going on.”

  “Are you sure you don’t need me?” Nelson asked, following Gordon down the stairs.

  “I’m sorry I keep leaving you at home, but there isn’t anyone else I would trust with my family’s safety.”

  Holloway and his family had spent the night at Gordon’s house. He came out of a lower bedroom with his rifle and asked, “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know, but come with me,” Gordon said.

  Gordon took note that the gunfire was coming from the vicinity of Jimmy’s and Eric’s houses. Grabbing a handful of loaded magazines for his rifle and pistol, he opened the front door to leave.

  “No one comes into this house unless you properly identify them, got it?” Gordon exclaimed.

  “You got it, boss,” Nelson acknowledged.

  Before the door shut, Gordon was stopped by Samantha’s voice. “What’s going on? Gordon, what’s going on?” She ran down the stairs and to the front door.

  “I think that Mindy and Dan are attacking Jimmy or Eric.”

  “Don’t you think you should stay here?”

  “Nelson is here and so is his dad. I need to go help.”

  Reaching out to him, Samantha hugged Gordon tightly and kissed him. “Be safe, I love you.”

  • • •

  His injuries were still slowing him down, but the pain was numbed by the medications and the adrenaline pumping through his veins. The gunfire grew louder with each step he and Holloway took. Rounding the street corner, he could faintly see the front of Jimmy’s house thanks to a half moon in the sky. The garage door was fully open with shadowy figures running in and out. Gunfire erupted from the second floor, followed by screaming.

  Not bothering to identify who was running away from Jimmy’s house, he opened fire on them. His assumptions were if you were running away then you must be a bad guy. Holloway followed suit, and was also engaging those in the street ahead of them.

  Gordon made a mental note that they had shot four people before they began to move on Jimmy’s house. Screams still echoed out of the second floor of the house.

  “Cover me, I’m going in,” Gordon commanded.

  “Roger that,” Holloway replied, taking a knee and scanning the street.

  He was not able to take five steps before gunfire rained down on him, followed by a familiar stinging pain in his upper left arm.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” he cried out in pain.

  Holloway took aim and engaged whoever had fired the shot. The sparsely lit night made it almost impossible to identify and know if you had hit someone.

  “You okay?” Holloway asked Gordon.

  “Yeah, I just can’t stop getting fucking shot!”

  Feeling that the wound was only a graze, he kept moving toward the open garage door. Loose debris and boxes littered the sidewalk leading up to the garage. Entering the garage, he stepped on someone. Whoever it was let out a grunt, then pleaded. “Help me please,” he whispered in pain.

  Gordon pulled his light out and flashed it in the man’s face. It was Gerald, Mindy’s husband.

  “Please help me,” Gerald pleaded.

  Not showing mercy, Gordon leveled his rifle at Gerald’s face and pulled the trigger.

  Flashing the light around the garage he saw that Mindy and her people had ransacked Jimmy’s supplies. How they gained access was not important; they had been successful. Jimmy did defend his house, as was evident with Gerald and another lifeless body near the door to the house. Panning quickly over the garage, Gordon also saw the small pit bull that Jimmy had rescued lying dead in a pool of blood.

  The screams were still coming from the second floor. It sounded like Simone. Gordon couldn’t stall any longer; he needed to make it to Simone as soon as he could. A loud crash came from the doorway to the house. Two men appeared out of the darkness and into the garage. Not wasting time, Gordon pointed his rifle and let the semi-auto do its job. Both men fell to the ground with a thud. Moving with purpose, Gordon stepped over them and into the house. What little light he had outside was now gone. The house was totally dark. Gordon took two steps and tripped over what felt like another body. When he tried to get up, he slipped and fell down again. The tile floor was covered in blood, making it extremely slippery, and with zero light he didn’t know where to step.

  After he fell the second time, someone shot at him from inside the house. The bullets hit the hallway wall above him. If it hadn’t been for him falling down, he would have been hit. Gordon sprayed bullets into the part of the room where he’d seen a muzzle flash. The only sound that followed was a loud crash of what sounded like a body falling over.

  Sweat was pouring off of Gordon’s brow and his new wound stung. Simone’s wailing continued; the stairs seemed like a million miles away, with someone shooting at him each few steps he took. Not knowing what he would be walking into, he stood up and made his way into the living room. Reaching out with his left arm, he felt the wall and followed it to the bottom of the stairs. Gordon took the brief moment at the base of the stairs to transition to his pistol. He slung the rifle and pulled out his Sig 240. The stairs went up halfway, then hit a landing. There he’d have to turn left and go up the remaining set of stairs to the top. With his pistol out in front of him, he began his march upstairs.

  Reaching the landing without incident he called out, “Simone, it’s Gordon!”

  “Gordon, hurry quickly, it’s Jimmy—he’s been shot. Please hurry.”

  Gordon raced up the remaining stairs and toward Simone, who was kneeling with Jimmy in her arms. They both were bathed in the light of a lantern. He re-holstered his pistol and began to examine a blood-covered Jimmy.

  “Simone, where’s he shot?”

  “They shot him in the chest; those bastards came in and shot him in the chest,” Simone cried.

  “Let me see, Simone,” Gordon said softly to her. He handed her the flashlight so he could see.

  Gordon reached out to Jimmy and took him out of her arms and laid him on the floor. The motion caused Jimmy to moan and cough. Gordon ripped open Jimmy’s blood-soaked shirt and saw something he had not seen since his time in Iraq. Jimmy had a small-diameter hole in the center of his chest that sputtered blood with every breath that he took.

  “Simone, go get me some clean towels, something to wipe up the blood.”

  “Simone, don’t go,” Jimmy said. As he spoke he coughed up blood.

  “What, baby? I’m not going anywhere,” Simone said, crying.

  “Simone, please go,” Gordon pleaded.

  “No, Gordon, please have her stay,” Jimmy said with difficulty.

  Gordon looked at Jimmy. His friend’s f
ace was pale from the loss of blood. Knowing the wound was bad, he couldn’t give up on his friend.

  “Please, Simone, I can help but I need to get something to clean this up,” Gordon said, looking at Simone.

  Simone kept her attention on Jimmy, who coughed up blood again.

  “Gordon, just sit here with me please,” Jimmy said with almost a whisper.

  Simone pulled Jimmy into her lap as she cried aloud, “No! No, God, please!”

  Jimmy reached out and took Gordon’s hand and held it with as much strength as he could muster.

  “G, you’ve been a good friend to me and my family. You’ve always been there for us and I hope you feel the same way,” Jimmy said with ever-increasing difficulty. Gordon could hear the blood bubbling in his chest as he breathed.

  Knowing that this was it for his friend, Gordon said, “I feel the same way. You’re a good man and good friend.”

  “Take care of Simone for me,” Jimmy said, looking over at Simone.

  “Baby, please don’t leave me, please,” Simone cried.

  Jimmy’s grip on Gordon’s hand grew weaker; Gordon knew the time was getting close.

  “G, come close, I need to tell you something.” Jimmy’s voice had become very faint. Leaning over he placed his face next to Jimmy’s. “There’s a hiding place behind the water heater. Look for the wooden box.” Jimmy coughed and finished his time with Gordon by saying, “Now go, let me have a moment.”

  Gordon honored his friend’s wish and left. Simone was crying uncontrollably, she held on to Jimmy and just cried. Gordon took each step down the stairs with heavy sorrow at the loss of his friend.

  When he reached the last step, Simone screamed out, “No, oh my God, no!” Gordon knew Jimmy was dead. A cascade of emotions ran through him. Sitting on the last step, he put his head in his hands and grieved. Gordon’s grief would be short-lived, as the night’s action still was not over. The faint sound of gunfire in the distance penetrated the walls of the house.

  “Gordon, something’s going on; it sounds like it’s near your house!” Holloway yelled from outside the house.

  Gordon was running on pure adrenaline now. His left side was aching as the pain meds were wearing off. The gunfire was short lived, no screaming or other noise could be heard except his and Holloway’s heavy breathing. Reaching the front of his house, Gordon and Holloway ran up on a body lying outside of his front door. Pulling out his flashlight, Holloway flashed the light on the body. To Gordon’s surprise, it was Dan, and he was still alive.

  Gordon grabbed the light out of Holloway’s hands and pointed it directly in Dan’s face. “What are you doing here?”

  Dan’s eyes expressed the fear that gripped him. Knowing that Gordon was hovering above him, he knew that he was close to death’s door.

  Gordon examined his body and flashed the light across it. It appeared that Dan had suffered a single shot from a shotgun to the chest.

  “What do we do with him?” Holloway asked.

  “Nothing, let him bleed out,” Gordon said, handing the flashlight back to Holloway, then proceeding to the front door. Banging on it he called out, “Open up, it’s Gordon. We’re all clear out here!”

  Moments later the door opened and Gordon was greeted by Nelson.

  “Get your ass in here,” Nelson said.

  Gordon and Holloway stepped inside and closed the door.

  “Is everyone okay?” Gordon asked concerned.

  “We’re fine. Dan and about a dozen of his cronies attempted to get in. My ol’ man and me greeted them with Mr. Remington and Mr. Glock,” Nelson said, holding up his Remington 870 shotgun.

  “Where’s Samantha and the kids?”

  “Here, Gordon,” Samantha said from the top of the stairs.

  Gordon ran up the stairs and into Samantha’s arms. Haley was standing next to Samantha crying. He reached down grabbed her and pulled her close.

  “You all right?” Gordon asked.

  “As good as we can be, considering.”

  Then Gordon noticed Hunter wasn’t there. “Where’s Hunter?”

  “He’s in his room,” Samantha answered.

  “Is he okay? I want to see him.”

  “Gordon, he’s having a tough time dealing with what just happened,” Samantha said, holding Gordon back from going to Hunter.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Nelson and his father were at the back of the house in the patio stopping some of them from coming in when the front door was kicked open and—”

  “And what?”

  “I tried to stop him but Hunter ran downstairs to help Nelson. I told him not to go but he took off. When the front door was kicked open he stopped them.”

  “Who stopped them? You’re confusing me.”

  “He had run downstairs with your old double barrel shotgun and when the door was kicked open he turned and shot.”

  “Hunter shot Dan?”

  “I don’t know who it was he shot but I was coming after him when I saw it happen. I heard the door get kicked in and I saw Hunter turn around and then the gun went off. I’m sorry,” Samantha said, still shaking from the incident.

  Reaching over and touching Samantha’s face gently he said, “Honey, you don’t need to apologize; it’s no one’s fault but Dan and his horde. Let me go to him.”

  As Gordon attempted to pull away, Samantha stopped him again and said, “Your arm, you’re bleeding.”

  Gordon looked quickly at his bloody left arm. “It’s just a flesh wound, no concern.”

  “What happened? How’s Jimmy and Eric?”

  Gordon paused for a moment, then answered, “Jimmy is dead. I was there with him just before. I don’t know about Eric. I ran here as soon as I heard the shooting.”

  “How’s Simone?”

  “She’s not good; we really should go back and check on her. Listen, let me go and check on Hunter, please,” Gordon pleaded.

  “Okay, go,” Samantha said, letting go of Gordon’s arm.

  He went to Hunter’s bedroom door, gently knocked, then opened the door. The room was lit by an electric lantern which gave off a yellowish glow. Scanning the room, he didn’t see him, he looked to the far side and still nothing. Whimpering from the closet told Gordon where he was. He slowly walked over and knocked on the closet door.

  “Leave me alone!” Hunter cried out.

  “Hunter, it’s Daddy.”

  “Go away. Leave me alone!”

  “Hunter, can I open the door?”

  “No, leave me alone!”

  Gordon didn’t want to press his son so he sat down next to the closet door. “Mommy told me what happened. I want you to know how proud I am of you. I know you are scared and don’t understand what happened. Know this: You did exactly what I would have wanted you to do,” Gordon softly said. Hunter continued to whimper. “Hunter, you did nothing wrong, do you understand?”

  “I didn’t mean for the gun to go off, I’m sorry, Daddy!” Hunter cried out.

  “Hunter, please don’t apologize; you did nothing wrong. You were scared and that man should not have been in here. If the gun had not gone off he might have hurt you, your mommy or your little sister. I am proud of you, I really am. Now can I open the door?”

  With an answer just above a whisper Hunter said yes.

  Opening the door slowly he saw Hunter curled up in the corner. Gordon reached in and touched his arm gently, and Hunter responded by lunging toward him and into his arms. Embracing him tightly, Gordon rocked and kissed his head.

  Hunter cried and kept saying, “I’m sorry, Daddy, I’m sorry.”

  Losing himself in the moment, Gordon was reminded of the long night he still had before him. Samantha quietly stepped into the room and touched him on the shoulder.

  “Gordon, we hear some more shooting.”

&nb
sp; “Hunter, Daddy has to go.”

  Hunter clung tight and said, “No, Daddy, don’t go.”

  “I’ll be back, I promise.”

  “No, please don’t go, Daddy, I need you.”

  Hunter’s need for Gordon at this moment broke his heart. “I’ll be right back.”

  Samantha leaned down and said, “Come here, baby.” Hunter grabbed hold of Samantha and clung to her tightly, still sobbing.

  Gordon walked out of the room and went immediately downstairs.

  “It sounds like it’s the opposite side of the community from Jimmy’s house,” Nelson said.

  “I don’t think I can go, it might be a ploy to draw me out. The rest of our group might have to fend for themselves right now.”

  Gordon, Nelson, Holloway, and Nelson’s father chatted for a few minutes about the evening and the need to leave first thing in the morning. Their conversation was cut short when Samantha spoke.

  “Absolutely not,” she said from the top of the stairs.

  Gordon looked up at her. “Absolutely not what?”

  “You are not going to stay here. You need to go. I want you to go see Mindy and end this,” Samantha said, walking down the stairs. After putting Hunter to bed she had overheard their conversation downstairs.

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea, Sam.”

  “We’ll be fine, go finish this. This is all because of that bitch. You said Dan is out front dead so she’s the only one left to deal with.”

  “I said he was shot, he’s not dead.”

  Samantha looked surprised after hearing that Dan was still alive. Pressing him further, she said, “Gordon, we can handle this here. I’m telling you to go and finish this. Go now! Once you’ve taken care of things then go get Simone.”

  Gordon was surprised by how forceful Samantha was being. “Sam, I really don’t think I should go.”

  She walked up to him, looked at him squarely, and said, “Go finish this!”

  Gordon looked at Nelson, who raised his eyebrows and winked at him. Looking back to Samantha, he nodded his reluctant approval.

  • • •

  Gordon walked into the garage, reloaded his magazines, and wrapped his arm. As he walked to the front to leave he turned to Nelson and said, “Dan was out front bleeding out, can you take care of him?”