He walked to the bathroom, cocky and sure of himself. She couldn’t have gotten out. Stepping into the small room, he threw back the curtain.
Empty.
Stunned, he stood back in disbelief. In his peripheral vision, he saw a flash of movement in the mirror before a pair of thick shoelaces came around his throat.
As Serafina dropped down from the exposed rafters, landing behind him, she looped the laces around his throat then turned the dresser drawer handle that they were tied to repeatedly, making it tighter and tighter until the laces were cutting off the flow of oxygen.
Then she held on with both hands.
The man’s first thought had been to pull the laces away from his throat, but when that failed, he swung wildly behind him, trying to strike her.
When she dodged his fists, he tried kicking back at her, but she slid to the side, still holding onto the handle with everything she had, keeping the grip tight.
Somewhere inside the lodge, she heard gunshots, but she had no time to think about the who or why related to them.
In a last gasp effort, he threw himself backwards, slamming her into the bathroom door. The doorknob caught her in the hip, sending a burst of pain down her leg and up her side, but still she refused to let go, knowing there was only one outcome to this in which she survived.
Kyle’s legs gave out as his strength faded, and he fell to the floor, bringing Serafina with him. She held on, keeping the laces tight until she heard his last gasp leave his body.
As quickly as it had begun, it was over. Kyle’s bladder released, sending urine flowing onto the bathroom floor.
Serafina rolled onto her back, fighting to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding a hundred miles an hour in her chest. Her hip ached from its collision with the doorknob. Her shoulder still hurt from the way her arm had been twisted at the cabin.
But she was alive.
Diesel raced across the lobby, crossing the large space in long strides, intent on getting to the girl. She was their ace in the hole. With her, they could force those attacking to stand down.
Reaching the bottom of the stairwell, he looked to his left and saw Harold’s body on the floor. There was a massive hole in the middle of the man’s chest.
Shaking his head, he continued on, bounding up the steps in long strides.
Nearing the end of the hallway, he saw the door to the Sheriff’s suite at the end of the hallway on the right, directly across from his. Detouring slightly to the left, he rapped on the door to the room next to his. “Luke, we need you, let’s go!”
Sneaking along the side of the building Daniel led Ashley and Paul towards the far end. He pointed towards the balcony that extended from one of the suites. They’d reached their first objective.
‘I’ve watched them the last few nights,’ Douglas had told him as they sat at the dining table strategizing, ‘almost everyone stays on the first floor, closer to the middle of the lodge. The only exception are four rooms on the far end of the second floor. Those are some of the lodge’s suites.’
‘Are there other suites?’ Daniel asked.
‘Yes, four on each end of each floor, but again, these are the only four in use.’
Nodding in understanding, Daniel replied, ‘Then that must be where the Sheriff and his top men are.’
‘Exactly.’
‘Which is where they’d likely keep Serafina and Isabella.’
Douglas nodded. ‘Here’s another thing: while I watched one night, I saw a woman trying to open one of the windows in the other rooms. It wouldn’t budge - probably nailed shut so they can keep their prisoners in.’
‘So we can’t enter through there without breaking a window.’
‘No, but I’ve also seen the giant guy walk out onto his balcony so he could smoke his cigar.’
‘Alright, well, that could make it easy. Pop in, grab them, exit the same way.’
‘Just gotta get them out of their rooms.’
Which was why they’d decided to use the 4Runner.
Lowering his voice, he turned back to his daughter. “I’ll lift you up. When you get up there, check to see if anyone is inside. There shouldn’t be. I saw the Sheriff out front. Once you’re sure it’s clear, tie the rope to the railing so I can climb up. Got it?”
Bending down, he laced his fingers together, forming a small basket. Ashley stepped into it and lunged upward just as he lifted his arms. Her hands found the railing, and with Daniel’s help, she climbed up and over, dropping onto the balcony.
Looking inside, she found it empty, just as her father had predicted. The bedroom was off to the left from the living room. ‘That must be where Isabella is,’ she thought, moving back to quickly tie the rope to the stanchion on the railing.
“Okay!” She whispered.
Daniel motioned for Paul to climb the rope.
“Goddammit!” Hearing the sounds of gunfire outside the lodge, Ricky rolled out of the bed, wiping Wanda’s blood off of him. Working his way around the bed, he picked up his underwear and pants and slid them on quickly. His shirt was on the floor, underneath Wanda’s prone form.
“Shit.” He liked that shirt.
He walked to the dresser and opened a drawer and pulled out another shirt. Tugging it over his body, he sat down on the bed and quickly pulled on his boots. He needed to get outside and help defend the lodge. He’d deal with Wanda’s body later.
Stepping out into the hallway, he looked down at Harold’s body. ‘And you, too,’ he thought, shaking his head.
He froze at the sound of a gun being cocked directly behind him.
When Shelly heard the shooting down the hall, she’d dragged Grace into one of the nearest rooms, which ended up being one of the unoccupied suites on the first floor. Waiting for the sounds to dissipate, she’d looked towards the outside patio, which was covered by the balcony attached to the suite above them. Stepping towards the door, she again froze as she saw the form of a man climbing up a rope that hung from the upstairs balcony.
Who were these people?
One had clearly been a young girl, so they couldn’t be military or law enforcement.
So who were they?
Ultimately, if they were working against the Sheriff and his men, they had to be on the right side.
But it wasn’t her fight. She had to get her daughter to safety.
Grace was all that mattered.
She waited patiently as the first figure, then the second figure ascended the rope. After they were out of sight, she waited some more, then reached down and unlocked the door. Sliding it opened quietly, she stepped out onto the balcony.
“Come on, sweetie,” she whispered to her daughter, reaching out with her hand.
They needed to get as far away from this god awful place as possible.
‘Shoot and move,’ Brenna told herself, sliding to the side, remaining as low as possible. So far her arrows had taken down three men. Whether they were dead or merely injured, it really didn’t matter. As long as they were out of the fight, her father and sister had a greater chance of success.
Lining up her arrow on the next target, she waited until the man stood up to shoot. When she saw his body start to rise, she anticipated his movement and let the arrow fly.
The arrow sank into the man’s upper chest, making him stagger backwards. His hand came up and grabbed the arrow’s shaft, but stopped there. Pulling out the barbed end wasn’t an option. With blood flowing from the wound, the man sank to his knees, dropping out of sight.
Looking to her right, her eyes found Janice in the darkness. The two exchanged a nod, then began moving again.
‘Shoot and move.’ Brenna said to herself again, moving back towards the direction she’d come from, staying low.
Watching men fall around him, Halwell considered calling a retreat. The lodge would be much easier to defend than the sloppy line they were trying to hold. Nearby, the 4Runner had collided with one of the big utility trucks they’d set up as a barrier, setting both on
fire. When he’d realized the ruse, he’d tried to let his men know what it was, telling them to instead focus on trying to shoot out the tires, but in the heat of the moment, with gunfire raging, by the time his men realized what he was saying, the SUV was nearly upon them.
“Get out of the way!” He yelled, diving for cover.
The driverless 4Runner plowed into the truck broadside, sending it backward.
One of his men was caught by the truck’s front bumper and was thrown. He landed awkwardly, breaking his legs in the process, then tumbling several times before coming to a stop. He screamed in pain for several minutes before an arrow found him, ending his life.
Halwell briefly wondered if the shooter was as sick of the man’s cries as he was.
Another arrow whistled by, almost hitting Jerry, whose stumbling actually saved him from taking the arrow in his neck.
‘We shoulda killed them when we had the chance,’ Halwell thought, looking around. Lunging forward, he fired in the direction the arrow had come from. He pulled the trigger a second time and was met with a dull ‘click’
The gun’s magazine was empty.
His eyes settled on James, one of the newer additions to his team. “Hold the line! I’m going in for reinforcements!”
The man nodded in understanding, shouldering his rifle and firing into the darkness. With any luck, a stray bullet would catch one of the fuckers that was picking them off one by one.
Halwell turned and ran, staying low. Approaching the building, he felt his confidence growing. Kyle, Luke, Ricky, and Harold would help turn the tide.
“Drop the gun and turn around slowly,” the voice behind Ricky seemed familiar, but he couldn’t place it. It certainly wasn’t someone from the cabin they’d hit; as far as he knew, there was only one adult male there. So who was it?
Ricky let his gun fall to the floor, his eyes tracking its movement in case he had an opportunity to regain it. Turning slowly as directed, he came face to face with the short-haired white man he’d seen around the lodge. The man had done everything they’d asked, without complaint, but all along, something seemed off about him. Now, the sure-handed way the man held Harold’s gun, pointing at Ricky with a steady hand, it was clear they’d not only overlooked, but underestimated the man. Even worse, the cold, emotionless look in the man’s eyes told Ricky all he needed to know: the man had killed before, possibly many times, and was not only willing, but fully capable of doing it again.
“Listen, buddy,” Ricky began.
“Shut up, you fuck.” The man’s cold eyes bore into him as he continued pointing the gun at his face. “You’re gonna help me get the fuck out of here, you got that?”
Ricky sneered at the man. So much potential, not enough heart. Escape? Why escape when you could be part of something so much more than just survival? “Okay, no problem, but wouldn’t you rather join us? I’ll put in a good word with the Sheriff for you and you can become one of us?”
“Not interested,” the man growled, never flinching.
Ricky was undeterred. “Look, you’re clearly comfortable with a gun. I’m guessing you’re trained in combat. Join us. We’ll take care of you and keep you fed. He smiled slyly. “Even make sure you get laid…”
“Shut the fuck up. You think I need your help to get laid? Fuck you. Real men don’t force themselves on women. Real men have women want to be with them. You guys are a bunch of punk ass bitches.”
Feeling rage building inside of him, Ricky briefly considered lunging at the man, but as he caught movement in his peripheral vision, he realized it wasn’t necessary.
“It’s all good, man.”
The man in front of him paused, realizing something had changed in the situation.
Behind the man, a new voice commanded, “Drop the gun.”
‘Dumb ass,’ Logan told himself as he heard the voice behind him. He should have anticipated more resistance from the men inside the lodge. Assuming this man would be alone was a stupid mistake, one that might cost him his life.
“I’m not gonna say it again. Drop the fucking gun.”
Resigned to his fate, Logan let the gun fall from his hand, watching as it fell to the carpeted floor with a thud.
The man across from him, who went by the name of ‘Ricky’, sneered at him as he spoke to the man behind him. “Kill him.”
“With pleasure.” Logan heard the man cock the gun, and in that second, saw Ricky’s eyes go wide in surprise.
Clang!
Logan barely had time to register the sound of the man behind him being hit with something metallic before Ricky lunged at him, hands extended towards his neck. Logan swung his body to the right, shifting his weight as he did and bringing his knee up. Combined with the man’s momentum, the knee buried itself in Ricky's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. As he fell to the floor, Logan spun on his heel, turning back towards him and dropping the point of his elbow towards the back of the man’s neck, landing at the base of his skull. Logan’s elbow came down with all of his weight, crushing the vertebrae, ending the man’s life.
Looking back towards where the metallic sound had come from, he saw the girl Heather standing there, a metal frying pan in her hand. Below her, one of the Sheriff’s men lay on the floor, motionless. The girl’s eyes were wide with shock over what she’d witnessed.
“Thanks,” he said as he rose to his feet. Stepping over to where his gun was, he picked it up and stuck it behind his back, then moved over and grabbed Ricky’s arms. He dragged the dead man through the open doorway into the room, where he was surprised to see the dead form of the black woman on the floor. Shaking his head, he did the simple calculation that told him what had happened as he moved over and pulled the black man’s legs, dragging him into the room as well.
Finally, he checked the man Heather had struck. He was still alive, his pulse weak but present. Pulling Ricky’s belt from his pants, he used it to tie the man’s arms behind his back. He removed Harold’s belt and secured the man’s legs as well, then dragged him into the room, leaving the man face down between the dead bodies.
Stepping back out into the hallway, he grabbed the other gun, spun it in his hand, and extended it to the young girl, grip-first. “Take it.”
The young blonde girl hesitated, staring at it.
“I’m not saying use it. I’m saying, take it.”
Slowly, the girl reached out and took the gun from him, bringing it in front of her and staring at it in awe.
Logan heard the main door to the lodge open, and burst into action. Jumping forward, he grabbed the girl’s hand and dragged her across the hallway and through the door to the room as he heard loud footsteps pounding across the wooden floor of the lobby.
Stepping through the sliding glass door into the room, Daniel’s eyes quickly scanned his surroundings, looking for possible danger. To his left was a closed door, which almost certainly led to the bedroom.
‘Isabella, or Sera?’ He wondered as he approached the door. Knocking on it softly, he quietly called out, “Sera? Izzy?” He heard shuffling inside as someone moved away from the door.
No answer.
“It’s Daniel,” he added, waiting patiently, all the while hoping that whoever it was would hurry up and come out. Time was at a premium.
“Mr. Alvarado?” A voice called out timidly.
“Yes, Izzy, it’s me. Please, open the door.”
The doorknob jiggled. “I - I can’t. It’s locked.”
Looking down, Daniel cursed softly. “Dammit.” The door was locked from the outside with a key.
One they didn’t have.
Turning to Paul and Ashley, he started to give them directions, then paused and turned back to the door. “Izzy, whose room is this?”
“Um, the guy with the hat. The policeman.”
The Sheriff.
Turning back to Ashley and Paul, he said, “The two bikers probably have rooms side by side. I don’t know why, but that makes sense. That means they’re across the hall,
which means the Sheriff’s friend’s room is next to this one. Auntie should be there. Stay here. I’m going to - ”
The door to the room burst open.
Lowering his head to enter the room, the massive biker walked in. His eyes locked onto Daniel and the two teenagers.
“Well, well, well, what do we have here?”
Daniel’s gun was out and pointed at the man faster than even he thought was possible. Laser focused by the adrenaline flowing through him, he brought the gun up quickly and smoothly, settling its sights on the man’s midsection. The first shot had to count.
The man put up his hands. “Easy, partner. Let’s talk about this.”
Motioning with the gun, Daniel replied, “Shut up. Move away from the door.”
The big man sidestepped to his right slowly, creating a gap between himself and the door.
Keeping the gun trained on the man, Daniel gave instructions to Ashley and Paul. “Auntie should be next door. Be careful, but find her. I’ll take care of this guy.”
Neither of them moved, choosing instead to look at him in surprise.
“I said ‘Go.’ I’ll be fine. Find her for me and bring her back.”
“Okay,” Ashley replied, leading the way as the two of them walked to the door, giving the mountain of a man a wide berth.
Standing there, his massive frame dominating the room, the man’s eyes remained locked on Daniel, never blinking.
When Daniel saw Ashley and Paul disappear through the doorway in his peripheral vision, he said, “Alright, turn around and put your hands on your head.”
The man complied slowly, shuffling his feet as he turned his large frame around in the small space.
Having never spent much time around people his size, Daniel never thought the small end table was something he needed to watch.
In one smooth motion, the man lashed out with his left foot, sending the small wooden table flying at Daniel.
Surviving Rage | Book 1 Page 77