by Mark Goodwin
Boyd sucked his teeth. “That’s not exactly what the reverend has in mind. He feels that you owe him.”
“Get out! Get out of my house!” Kate screamed and kicked Boyd’s leg violently to hurry him out.
“Hey!” Boyd tried to get out of her way but tripped when he tried to stand up. “Don’t shoot the messenger.” He scrambled on his hands and knees toward the door. He finally regained his bipedal position and brushed himself off. “You need to think this over. The reverend isn’t going to like it if you deny him this request.”
“I don’t care what he thinks. Tell him that if he sets foot in Apple Blossom Acres, he’ll be reunited with his sorry excuse for a brother faster than he might want. And that goes for you, too. If you come back, I’ll kill you, Boyd.”
Boyd shook his head. “You don’t stand a chance against the reverend.”
“That’s what his brother thought. Now get out!”
“I was only trying to help.” Boyd walked toward the door. “You’re underestimating the reverend. Prior to the collapse, his dealings put him in tight with some of the worst gangs in Charlotte, Knoxville, and Atlanta. As you can imagine, lots of those folks left the cities because resources are so scarce. Many of them have come to the reverend for food and shelter, joined his flock.”
Kate considered the threat. Her face felt pale.
“This won’t end well for you.” Boyd started down the porch stairs.
Sam yelled, “It won’t end well for you either.”
Boyd turned to look at his nephew.
BOOM! Boyd’s head jerked backward. Blood spurted into the air as his body was flung to the earth behind him.
Kate’s heart stopped for an instant. She turned to see smoke trickling from the barrel of Sam’s .45. “Sam! What have you done?”
“I did what had to be done, Aunt Kate. If there’s going to be a war, we have one less person to fight. Additionally, Uncle Boyd was probably going back to Graves to tell him all about our security layout.”
Kate walked out on the porch. Gavin followed her, his AK slung over his shoulder. He put his arm around her. “I wish it could have been handled another way, but Sam is right.”
She wasn’t ready to admit that fact. The haunting feeling of being the only one left of the three siblings sent a chill up her spine.
Jack and Don hurried up the gravel drive with rifles ready.
“What happened?” Don called out.
Gavin debriefed them on the events.
“Then we better get ready.” Jack’s expression was glum.
“We need to bring everyone into one or two houses.” Don’s brow was heavily furrowed. “We need to bring all of our weapons, ammo, and provisions. We need to do it now. For all we know, Graves and his hoodlums could be a quarter mile up the road waiting to hear our answer.”
Kate looked at Don and pushed her hands into her jeans pocket. “We might have some supplies here, in case we needed to ride out a prolonged blockade.”
“I’ve got some vittles about. Reckon my homestead might be a good spot to hunker down.” Pritchard brushed his beard.
Jack pointed across the yard. “Kate’s cabin has a water pump close to the house. Still, we should fill up every container we can.”
“What’s to stop them from burning us out, like we did Dean?” Gavin leaned against the rail of the porch.
Jack dragged his foot through the gravel. “That’s a good question.”
Don exhaled his disgust at the situation. “We’ll just have to keep them far enough back. Snipers in every window.”
Vicky stood in the doorway. “What about those booby traps that Dean made? I know you guys don’t like to use them, but desperate times call for desperate measures.”
Jack nodded. “Yeah, desperate times call for desperate measures. Mr. Pritchard, can you stop by Pete Davis’ and the two of you go hold down the gate? Send Rainey and Warren up to the overwatch position. But if you see trouble, just let us know and get out of there. Take the perimeter trail through the woods and get back here as fast as you can.”
“What about the road?” Kate looked to her niece for more ideas. “Is there any way we could booby trap the entrance so they couldn’t get in?”
Gavin quickly said, “We probably can’t stop them, but we could at least slow them down.”
“What have you got in mind?” Don listened curiously for his reply.
“We have chainsaws. We can drop some of those massive pines and oaks along the road. It would force them to approach on foot rather than in their vehicles.” Gavin turned to his wife.
She added, “That would limit how much supplies and ammo they could bring up at once.”
“Okay, spread the word. We need to get moving,” Don said.
“What do you want done with this ornery critter?” Pritchard pointed at Boyd’s corpse lying at the bottom of the stairs.
“Just drag him over to the woods. We’ll probably have plenty more to deal with by morning.” Jack turned and followed Don back down the drive.
CHAPTER 28
This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:12-13
Kate stood looking out her old bedroom window. Since the wedding, she’d moved downstairs with Gavin, but Don and Jack were manning the first floor and their families were sharing the downstairs bedroom. Kate, Gavin, Sam, and Vicky were all stationed in her old room.
“Do you see anything?” Sam stretched out on Kate’s bed.
“Still nothing,” she said. “This could be a long night. You and Vicky should try to get some sleep. You two will have second watch.”
“Yeah, right. Our tiny village is getting ready to be attacked by the worst gangs from Charlotte and Atlanta. I could get some pretty restful sleep about now.” Vicky’s voice overflowed with a degree of sarcasm that could only come from a teenager.
Kate knew her comment had been unrealistic. She felt tired though. The past three hours had been spent scurrying about like a squirrel getting ready for winter. Water had been collected, trees had been felled, and booby traps had been set up around most of Kate and Pritchard’s yards, leaving only two access points by which the early warning teams could get to the houses from the perimeter trail.
The next two hours moved by at a snail’s pace. Kate glanced at her watch. “It’s after 1:00 AM. I feel like my eyes are going to close. Think you could keep watch by yourself?”
Gavin ran his hand across the back of her head. “Sure. Go ahead and get some rest if you can.”
Vicky and Sam lay on Kate’s bed. Both were breathing heavily as if in deep restful sleep. Kate wriggled down inside the sleeping bag on the floor next to Gavin. She felt warm and safe, despite the impending peril. She closed her eyes and drifted off.
“This is it, they’s a-comin'!” Pritchard’s voice over the radio startled her awake. “I count headlights from no less than twenty vehicles runnin’ headlong towards the gate.”
Jack’s voice came over the radio next. “Rainey, get out of there! Make your way to Kate’s as fast as you can. The rest of you, get to Mr. Pritchard’s!”
Vicky rolled out of the bed and retrieved her weapon. She didn’t have a tactical vest but had extra magazines for her AK-47 in an oversized purse that hung on her shoulder. She looked under the bed.
“What are you doing?” Sam inquired.
“Making sure we have plenty of ammo up here. I don’t want a repeat of the last attack.”
Kate zipped up her tactical vest. “We have as much as I could fit under the bed, plus some in the closet. Obviously, we had to share the AK ammo with the other people who needed 7.62, but we’ve got more shotgun shells and handgun bullets in the closet.”
“Okay.” Vicky still didn’t look to be at ease but seemed to accept the accounting.
Kate leaned her AK against the trim around the window and chambered a round in the AR-15 which had the n
ight vision scope attached. She opened the window and looked through the scope down the driveway.
“It will take them a while before they get up the road. If anyone needs a drink of water or to go to the restroom, now is the time.” Gavin propped the barrel of the .270 deer rifle on the window sill.
Cold air poured into the room, making the chilling situation that much more frigid.
“They’ve got night vision!” Kate saw the glowing beams of infrared illuminators coming up the drive.
“That gives you a good target.” Gavin watched patiently through his scope.
Kate wasted no time. She zeroed in on the closest beam and took her first shot. POW! The man collapsed to the ground. All the other IR beams ceased moving for a moment and then turned in her direction. She took three more shots, which dropped two more of the attackers. Then, the reverend’s men commenced firing.
“Get down!” Kate yelped. Gunfire ripped through the window and struck the interior walls. She watched the exterior walls closely. “The logs seem to be stopping the bullets from coming through. Everyone get your back against the outside wall. It’s the safest place to be.”
Sam shook his head and began crawling for the door. “I’m not waiting to get trapped up here again. I’m going downstairs to fight with Don and Jack.”
“Me, too, Aunt Kate. We can use your room for a fallback position.” Without waiting for a reply, Vicky followed her brother.
Kate’s brows drew together. She looked to Gavin hoping he could stop Vicky and Sam from running off.
“All the ammo and extra guns are up here.” Gavin’s plea did not dissuade them.
The gunfire slowed and Kate peeked out the window. “They’re already in the yard!”
Gavin looked over just in time to watch three of the booby traps explode. The homemade zip guns ignited, taking out two of the hostiles and injuring three others. “The tripwire shotgun shells are working.”
“Until they’re all tripped. It’s an overwhelming enemy force.” She found a target and took a shot, putting down another of her opponents. “I don’t see how we can make it through this.”
“Live or die, we’re not going to make it easy for them.” Gavin took a shot and then returned to cover.
Don’s voice came over the radio. “Everyone, put a flashlight in the window facing out. It will limit the effectiveness of their night vision.”
Kate took the extra light from her vest and set it in the corner of the window. Immediately, gunshots peppered the corner of the window where the light rested. Kate rolled away from the window and waited for the shooting to die down. She popped up again and tried to find another target. More sporadic gunshots hit the exterior logs of the house around the window, forcing her to retreat to cover. “They’re closing in.”
“Like they’re going to attempt a breach?”
“Yeah.” Kate felt anxious.
“Maybe we should go downstairs, in case they storm the house.” Gavin inched away from the wall.
“Okay. Let’s stash these weapons up here. We’ll leave them under the mattress and carry only our handguns and AKs.”
Gavin crawled to the edge of the bed and lifted the top mattress. He shoved the .270 between it and the box spring. Kate placed the AR-15 next to the .270.
Gavin pointed to the shotgun in the closet. “Get that one also. I don’t want them finding our guns and using them against us.”
Kate quickly stowed the shotgun between the mattresses and followed Gavin to the door. The two of them hustled down the stairs.
Don peeked out the front window. “Feels like the Alamo. We’re completely surrounded.”
“I think they’re getting ready to breach the door.” Kate walked to Don’s position.
“Then we should take covered positions and light them up when they come in,” said Jack.
Kate rushed back to the refrigerator. “Gavin, give me a hand.”
He helped her pull the massive box away from the wall and position it as a barricade from behind which to shoot.
“Rainey, come on. We’ll do the same thing with the stove.” Jack motioned for his daughter to assist him.
“Here they come!” Don spun around from the window, pushing Sam and Vicky toward the kitchen.
Kate took aim at the front door. Seconds later, the sound of a shotgun preceded the lock shattering and the front door being kicked open. Kate and her team opened fire at the intruders. Then, more gunshots came from the back door. Kate turned to see three men had already gained entry.
Don cried out to his wife in the downstairs bedroom. “Mary, get upstairs! All of you!”
Mary emerged from Gavin’s room followed by Kelly Russo and Amanda McDowell. The three women all carried guns and fired toward the front door while making their dash for safety.
Kate ducked between the stove and the counter. She continued firing at the three men who’d come in the back door. Soon, her team cut them down. A temporary lull in the shooting gave them a moment to breathe. “I think we should all get upstairs.”
Don watched the front door. “No. Then we’re trapped with nowhere to move.”
Jack looked upstairs where his wife had just gone. “The house is going to be overrun. I think Kate is right. We need to get up there and hold them back so the girls can get out the window and over to Pritchard’s.”
“If his house hasn’t been taken over as well,” Gavin said.
“What’s your situation, Mr. Pritchard?” Kate called on the radio.
“Wonderin’ if we ought to come help y’all. Looks like you’ve got more than you can handle.”
“Yeah, almost. But stay put. We’re coming to you.” Kate clipped her radio back on her vest.
“Let’s go!” Jack motioned for everyone to head upstairs.
Kate led Vicky and Rainey toward the stairwell first. Gavin and Jack came next. Kate looked down over the banister. “Don, Sam, let’s go!”
“I’ll hold them off until the girls are out. You get going.” Don’s voice came from the kitchen.
Next, Sam’s voice echoed from below. “I’m going to stay with Mr. Crisp.”
Kate’s stomach sank. She knew what they were doing. Kate opened her bedroom window and looked down below. She saw several of the Badger Creek ruffians positioning themselves behind trees for the next attack. “Vicky, take everyone to your room and go out your window. You can tie off bed sheets to the toilet and climb down. Gavin and I will provide cover fire from my window. Jack, you can put down cover fire from Vicky’s window while the girls are escaping.”
“Got it!” Jack left the room. “I’ll tell you when they’re ready.”
Enemy shooters took pot shots from behind trees toward the upstairs windows to harass Kate and her team. She looked at Gavin. “I don’t know if we’re going to get out of this.”
His face was grim. “No matter what, I love you.”
She leaned against the exterior wall waiting for her cue. She took his hand. “I love you, too.”
“Okay, Aunt Kate, we’re tied off,” Vicky yelled from the other room.
“Cover me,” Jack said. “I’m going first, to draw their fire.”
“What?” Kate spun the barrel of her rifle out the window and began shooting at trees which looked like they might be harboring her adversaries. She watched Jack shimmy down the bed sheets from the next window over. He sprinted to a tree between her house and Pritchard’s, then began firing. Likewise, the people in Pritchard’s house also provided cover fire.
Next, Vicky climbed down and hurried across the yard. Mary Crisp went after Vicky, then Kelly and Amanda.
Suddenly, the raid began. What seemed like dozens of invaders streamed across the yard toward Kate’s house. She heard shooting downstairs. “We should go backup Don and Sam.”
“Graves’ men are shooting at the girls.” Gavin grabbed her arm and pulled her toward Vicky’s room. “We need to focus on saving the people who can be saved.”
Kate slung her rifle over her shoulde
r and climbed out the window while Gavin covered her with rifle fire. “Okay, I’m down.” She went to one knee and emptied a magazine in the direction of the hostiles while Gavin climbed down the sheet.
“Change your mag!” Gavin let out a volley of bullets while Kate reloaded.
Still, the enemy persisted in shooting at them.
“Kelly!” Jack screamed from halfway between the two houses.
Rainey’s voice cried in distress. “Mom!”
Kate looked to see that Kelly Russo had been shot crossing the yard.
“Come on, we have to cover them.” Gavin fired toward the enemy line as he ran.
Kate followed him, pulling the trigger on the way. Jack and Rainey sprinted toward Kelly, slinging their weapons over their backs and picking up the wounded woman.
With her legs pumping as fast as they could carry her, Kate continued shooting all the way across the two lots. She turned and walked backward so she could keep the bullets flying. She heard the voice of Corey Cobb. “Kate, Gavin, hurry up!”
Kate turned to see the man holding Pritchard’s side door open for them. She took one last look at her house before going inside. Through the windows, she saw flashes of light from so many muzzles illuminating the inside of her cabin in short bursts. The momentary flares ceased and the sound of gunfire grew silent. Kate understood what had happened to Don and Sam. She stepped inside the house and closed the door behind her.
Unconscious on the foyer floor lay Kelly Russo. Corey Cobb helped Annie strip away the bloody clothing from the wound in her torso.
Jack looked on in unbelief while Rainey gripped her father’s arm and wailed in sorrow.
CHAPTER 29
The pangs of death surrounded me, and the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears.
Psalm 18:4-6