Behind him, the chunky man swore as he slipped yet again, falling to one knee. Seeing Luke look back at him in irritation, the man hurriedly got back to his feet, stepping forward quickly as he tried to regain the pace Luke set. The man slipped again, this time falling all the way to the ground, landing on his chest, causing his air to expel from his mouth in one loud cough.
“Jesus Christ,” Luke muttered as he leaned down to help the man.
An arrow whistled overhead, sinking into a tree behind him.
Luke threw himself to the ground, eyes looking up the hill behind him as he searched for the shooter. Seeing nothing and no one, he rolled over behind a tree for cover as the other man struggled to get up.
As the man made it to his feet, an arrow lodged deep into his stomach, its tip protruding from the man’s back. The man staggered backward, his mind trying to comprehend what had happened. A second arrow struck the man high on his chest, knocking him off his feet. His body fell backwards, landing heavily on the ground, sliding down the hill a few feet before coming to a stop at the base of a nearby tree.
Leaning against the tree, Luke brought his rifle up to his shoulder and checked the sight. He turned the dial, focusing the sight until the image was perfectly clear, then swung the rifle around until it was pointed up the incline. He moved the scope slowly, guiding it from right to left as he searched between the trees and boulders that dotted the hill above him.
A shadow flashed at the corner of the scope’s sight and Luke reacted instantly, pulling back behind the tree as an arrow flew past his head, impacting a tree ten yards behind him with a heavy thud. Determined to find the culprit, he moved to look back towards the place where he’d seen the shadow and saw another flash. This time the arrow struck the side of the tree, inches from his head, sending bark flying.
‘Shit! How the fuck can they be so fast?’ He wondered as he found himself pinned down by whoever was above him on the hill. Pulling his radio from the pocket of his button up shirt, he keyed the mic.
As Brenna watched, the massive man made his way across the yard towards her position, his long strides covering the distance quickly. The traps they’d set failed to account for a man of his size, as his size sixteen boots were simply too large to fit into the holes they’d dug, and when he stepped on the flat end of the spiked post trap, the spiked piece of wood flew upwards, coming short of his crotch by nearly a foot. It snagged on his pant leg, causing little damage to the mountain of a man. Showing little more than irritation, the man reached down and pulled the piece of wood away from his pants, tossing it to the side before continuing his march towards the house.
Seeing her opportunity, Brenna unleashed an arrow, sending it towards the man with all the strength she could muster.
Her aim was true as the arrow zipped through the air, crossing the distance between her and the man in milliseconds, catching the man high on the left side of his chest, just below the collarbone. The man flinched at the impact, then glared at the window before bringing his rifle up and firing with one hand, spraying the side of the house with a wave of bullets. Brenna ducked back down inside, hiding low as the bullets dug into the wood above her head.
In an instant, the shooting stopped, allowing her to catch her breath. Before she could recover, she heard the sound of wood breaking as a single hand tore the plywood above her away from the wall. She was still processing what had happened and the sound of the plywood being tossed aside when a massive hand flew threw the opening, coming down and landing on her chest with a force that knocked the wind from her. She felt herself being lifted off the ground and was about to scream when the explosion rocked the house, knocking her head back against the wall.
Through the haze of grogginess caused by the blow to her head, she faintly heard the sound of voice over the radio.
“...pinned down. Need backup ASAP!”
The hand released her, dropping her to the floor. She rolled away from the window, pulling the knife from her belt as she looked towards the window. The man’s large form was moving away from the house at a rapid pace. As she watched, the man slung the rifle over his back again and broke into a run.
From the room where her stepmother was guarding Isabella, she heard the young girl scream.
Daniel squeezed the trigger, feeling the rifle’s powerful kick as it sent the bullet towards the man behind the 4Runner. A puff of red indicated he’d hit his target as the man fell backwards out of sight. Unfortunately, Daniel had been forced to target the only part of the man that was exposed, his left shoulder, so he knew it hadn’t been a kill shot, but if it took one more man out of commission, it was still a win.
He was fixing the next man in his sights when the concussive wave of the explosion rocked the door of the room behind them. It shook the floor of the house, knocking he and Ashley off balance. Looking over, he saw her staring at him, her eyes wide with fear.
“Keep shooting!” He yelled at the girl, setting down his rifle drawing his pistol before heading for the rear of the house.
Paul was still looking through the window, trying to locate the men who’d disappeared behind the house when the explosion shook the walls of the room, knocking the pictures to the floor.
Tossing his bow on the bed, he pulled his knife and ran towards the door. He threw it open and was stepping towards the nearby door just as Daniel arrived from the living room.
Daniel reached the door first, pushing it open.
A voice called out from inside the room.
“Not another step, partner.”
“Son of a bitch!” Sheriff Halwell, yelled, watching another of us his men fall to the ground. The top part of the man’s shoulder was gone, leaving the bones and ligaments exposed as blood began to flow over them. The man’s eyes rolled back in his head as he passed out from the pain.
With only Jerry remaining at his side, Halwell wondered if they’d bit off more than they could chew. If they had, it was clearly his fault, and he’d likely pay for it. The men followed him and did as he ordered, but loyalty in a situation such as this was tenuous at best. He needed this win. It was the first real challenge they faced, and he needed the men to see that no one would stand in their way, especially not some random family.
When he heard the explosion inside the house, he knew one of his teams had breached the residence. Smiling, he slammed a new magazine into his AR-15 and stood up behind the SUV, aiming around its edge towards the front of the house. He saw movement from the window on the right, then the flash of a muzzle in the window on the left as a round slammed into the black truck next to him.
“Gotcha,” he said to himself, aiming his weapon towards the young girl in the window. As he exhaled, preparing to squeeze the trigger, a glint of light reflected off something inside the house, shining into his eyes, causing him to recoil from the sudden brightness. As he pulled his head back instinctively, a bullet struck the metal of the SUV next to his head. Halwell’s eyes widened as he realized what the location of the bullet hole indicated.
Someone was behind them.
“Get down!!” He yelled at Jerry as he dove for the ground. The man copied Halwell as another bullet hole appeared where Halwell’s body had been moments before. Rolling onto his stomach, Halwell steadied his rifle on the ground and pulled the trigger, firing at the house behind them with the gun on full auto. Jerry joined in, adding more firepower to the effort. Bullets flew from their weapons in mass, ripping through the trees in front of the home, chewing up the structure’s siding, and shattering windows.
A single shot from the home ended Halwell’s determination to fight as impacted the ground a foot away from his forward hand, ricocheting upwards and hitting the side of his weapon before flying over his head and embedding itself in the grill of the truck.
“Take cover!” He shouted as he jumped to his feet, opened the door to his SUV, and jumped inside. Another bullet hit the side of the vehicle, shattering the rear passenger window.
“God dammit!” Halwell yelle
d, frustrated at being pinned down. Simultaneously, he knew it was his fault. They’d rushed in, not bothering to clear the area behind them before beginning their assault on the family’s home.
The radio squawked. “This is Luke! I’m pinned down. Need backup ASAP!”
Halwell screamed in anger within the confines of the SUV, punching the glove compartment with the side of his fist.
They’d been outmaneuvered.
Feeling his heart sink into the pit of his stomach, Daniel stared across the room at the man who held a gun to his wife’s head. Daniel recognized the sandy-brown haired good looking man from earlier in the day. The man’s left hand held Serfaina’s arm, squeezing it tightly as he kept her body positioned in front of him while he stared at Daniel with a sadistic grin on his face.
For her part, Serafina still looked stunned by the flashbang that had detonated in the small room. She blinked her eyes repeatedly as she tried to focus, struggling to keep her balance on wobbly legs.
Behind them, the thick bodied black man held Isabella under one arm while holding a pillow from the bed against the left side of his head. Blood covered the left side of his neck and was already soaking through the pillow.
Isabella struggled against the man, trying to pull away, but her thin body was no match for his heavy one. Terror showed in her eyes as she looked back at Daniel, trembling in fear.
The white man looked at Daniel, still grinning. “Lower your weapon, buddy, or I’ll blow her fucking head off.”
Unwilling to risk his wife’s safety, Daniel had no choice but to comply. He lowered his gun, waiting to see what would happen next. To his left, Paul stood out of view, still in the doorway of the other room. He heard the door on his right open slowly as Brenna looked out. Wanting to communicate with the two of them as much as the man who held his wife captive, he raised his voice.
“Alright, take it easy. No one has to get hurt here.”
The man scoffed at Daniel, his eyes narrowing. “A bit late to say that, isn’t it?” He flicked his wrist forward, smacking the side of Serafina’s head with the gun. Seeing Daniel tense up, he leaned his face closer, speaking directly into her ear, loud enough for Daniel to hear. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, there’s someone back at the lodge who’s looking forward to seeing you again. He says you made some promises you didn’t fulfill.”
Serafina struggled against him weakly, still groggy and disoriented from the blast. Her eyes moved towards the blurry shape with Daniel’s voice as she fought to focus her vision and mind.
Behind the brown haired man, the stocky black man spoke up. “Let’s get the fuck out of here Ricky. My fucking ear hurts. I think I need to see Wanda.”
Daniel saw the man named Ricky glanced sideways towards the black man as he muttered under his breath. “As if she wants to see you…”
“What’s that?”
“Nothing. You’re right Harold, let’s get out of here. Tell the Sheriff we’re coming out. Last thing I want is to get shot by him and the others.”
As Harold keyed the radio, Ricky turned his attention back to Daniel. “Back up, into the living room.” When Daniel hesitated, Ricky brought the gun up and blasted a hole into the ceiling, making everyone recoil at the sound of the gun in the confined space. Serafina winced at the sound, which made her head pound even harder.
“Alright, alright.” Daniel walked backward, keeping his gun pointed down. ‘Might as well be unarmed,’ he thought to himself, knowing that there was no way he could bring the pistol up quick enough or with enough accuracy to kill the man before he hurt Serafina. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Ashley standing there, away from the window, her rifle at shoulder height, pointed in the direction of the bedroom.
“Don’t.” He said, shaking his head.
When she refused to lower the gun, he repeated himself.
“Ash, don’t. Please.”
Lowering the gun, tears burst forth from the girl’s eyes, streaming down her face.
Ricky raised his voice, still staring at Daniel. “You others, in the bedrooms, get into the living room, too.” Slowly, the doorknobs turned as the doors to the two bedrooms were pulled back, revealing Paul and Brenna. Meekly, they made their way into the living room, taking up positions on either side of Daniel.
Harold finished talking into the radio, then released the mic button to listen.
Lying across the seats of the SUV, Halwell was contemplating starting the vehicle’s engine and making a break for it when the radio buzzed again. ‘Dammit, I can’t help you, you idiot!’ He thought, expecting Luke’s voice. When Harold’s voice came through the speaker, he stopped and listened.
“Boss, we got ‘em. The woman and the little girl.”
Keying the mic on his end, he asked, “Both alive?”
“Yeah, boss. Both alive. Woman shot my - ”
Halwell cut the man off, feeling elated. “Great job, boys! Bring ‘em on out!” Releasing the mic, he grabbed the bullhorn, feeling his confidence returning to him. Still lying on the seats, he brought the bullhorn to his mouth and held down the button.
“You there, shooting at us from behind! We have the woman and the little girl! Unless you want them killed, I suggest you stop!”
Looking down the hill, Janice saw a massive figure ascending the hill rapidly, using long strides to propel him over branches and rocks. How a man of that size could move that quickly and smoothly was beyond her. Within minutes, he’d nearly reached the man she had pinned. Pulling back an arrow, she took aim, waiting for the perfect shot. Large or not, with her skill and strength, she’d put an arrow through his heart.
Glancing towards his friend, he must have received some kind of indication as to where she hid, because in one fluid motion, the man brought the automatic rifle up to his shoulder, steadying it with the other hand, and squeezed the trigger.
Bits of rocks flew back at Janice’s face, surprising her. It was as if the man had seen her, which was nearly impossible. The place she’d chosen was nothing more than a small crevice between two boulders, covered by a tree branch with long, green needles. She was completely in the shadows, perfectly hidden.
More tiny pieces of rock flew backward as she ducked her head, retreating. ‘Ok,’ she thought, rolling to her left, ‘I’ve got one more surprise for you.’
She pulled hard on a piece of rope, yanking a wedge out from under a log. The log rolled forward instantly, forced downward by the piles of rocks that had been resting against it.
Crawling away, Janice heard the men yelling as the log and rocks tumbled down the hill toward them.
“Run!” Diesel yelled, grabbing Luke’s vest and shoving him down the hill. The man nearly lost his footing before catching himself. Together, the two of them bounded down the hill in long strides, the shooter at the top of the hill temporarily forgotten.
The log plowed into the man who’d taken two arrows from the shooter, his dead body sending the log high into the air before it landed with a crash, crushing the underbrush as it resumed its descent.
As fast as the men ran, some of the rocks shot past the log, accelerating as they traveled down the hill. The rocks bounced over stumps and fallen trees, refusing to stop as they sped down the hill. Looking back over his shoulder, Diesel saw three large rocks less than twenty yards behind them. Seeing they were nearly to the street, he shouted, “This way!”
He broke left, with Luke following close behind. The two ran along the road, passing the truck and 4Runner before slowing to a stop. Looking back, they watched as the three rocks slammed into the 4Runner, knocking it back and onto its side. It slid across the road before coming to a rest against the trees in front of the house on the far side of the street.
The log continued its downward course, bouncing again and again, undeterred by obstacles smaller than its large mass. The log almost missed the truck, but its left end tore away the vehicle’s bumper, peeling it away from the truck’s frame. The right end of the log came around, slamming into the bottom of t
he 4Runner, ripping open its underbelly, sending oil and transmission fluid spraying out onto the road.
Smaller rocks followed the log, slowly losing momentum as they reached the asphalt of the road. They pelted the 4Runner and truck, adding more dents to the damaged vehicles.
Standing fifty yards away, Luke looked over at the SUV and saw Halwell getting out from the passenger side, which seemed odd. Halwell was holding something towards his mouth as he motioned for Luke and Diesel to join him. Looking down, Luke realized his radio was squawking.
“We got ‘em, guys! Come on over!”
Nodding, he brought the radio down. “You hear that, D?”
When Diesel didn’t respond, Luke turned to look at his longtime friend.
The man was staring at the mountain, breathing heavily. His eyes showed a rage Luke hadn’t seen since the night of the incident that had sent them both to prison.
Even as hardened as he was after twelve years in San Quentin, he’d hoped never to see that look again.
An arrow still protruded from Diesel’s upper left shoulder. Absentmindedly, the big man reached up and yanked it out, sending blood flying from the wound. He grimaced for a split second, then looked down at the wound. His lip curled into a sneer, twitching. Disregarding it, he stepped forward.
“Let’s go.”
“We’re walking out of here with these two, and you’re not stopping us. Make a move and I splatter her brains all over the fucking wall.”
Feeling helpless, Daniel stood watching as the two men led Serafina and Isabella slowly across the living room, heading for the front door. Across the room, Ashley stared daggers at the men, holding her rifle down by her waist.
Harold watched her closely, still holding the pillow, which was now deeply stained in crimson, against his head. His other arm was around Isabella’s neck, holding her close against his body. Returning Ashley’s stare he said, “Don’t try anything,” as he shuffled forward, nudging the girl with his knee.
Surviving Rage | Book 1 Page 73