The man’s rifle dropped to the ground, but Sean was already cycling the bolt for a second shot. He fired four more rounds in the same spot until that magazine was empty. It was amazing how quiet the AAC silencer made his rifle using subsonic ammunition. All he heard was the firing pin spring. It was a big change from his SU-16 with the muzzle brake attached. Just as he was reaching in his pocket for a fresh mag, a cloud of dirt sprayed his face as a round struck the ground six inches in front of his chin.
“Allison!” he screamed as he rolled onto his back, but she was already shooting in the direction of the woods on the opposite side of the road. He scrambled to his feet and dashed back into tree line and took cover behind a large oak. Sean quickly had a fresh rifle magazine in and cycled the bolt before reaching up and twisting his 4 to 16 power Nikon scope down to four power. He scanned the woods on the opposite side of the road and when Allison went to reload, he saw the movement of a man lean out from behind a tree. Sean had just gotten his crosshairs on the man’s head when the man’s rifle went off. Sean squeezed the trigger a fraction of a second later, knocking the man’s hat off. As his body recovered from his weapon’s recoil, Sean quickly cycled the bolt, but the man was already behind the tree. Unfortunately, his knee was sticking out so Sean focused in on that and squeezed off once more. The man fell to the ground screaming and clutching what was left of his knee. He suddenly realized that he had fallen away from his cover and was scrambling back but it was too late. Sean fired a two hundred grain subsonic .308 bullet into his chest at nine hundred and fifty feet per second. The man kicked a few times and then lay still.
It dawned on Sean then that his sister had never reloaded or kept firing on the man. He looked down and saw his baby sister rolling back and forth on the ground with her arms clenched around her chest. “Maria!” Sean cried out, “Get over here!” Sean was already in action as he reached up under the ghillie parka and tore off the IFAK first-aid kit that was attached by Velcro to the lower back of his vest. He tore the first-aid kit open and pulled the tightly packed contents from the kit, spilling them on the ground in a pile as he knelt next to his sister.
Maria came running up next to them. “Oh no!” she cried out, “What....”
“Just keep your eyes peeled and cover us!” Sean cut her question off. “Watch the other side of the road, too!” She did as he asked as he leaned over his sister and tried to peel her arms away from her chest. “Where are you hit, Sweetie?” he asked gently. She didn’t say anything, just looked up, staring at him. Her face was pale and Sean could hear her ragged and forceful breathing. “You have to let me see where you’re hit, Allison.” He felt the blood on his hand as he tried to pry her arms from her chest. Her upper arm was bleeding through her coat now, but Sean bypassed that and started inspecting her chest when he found a small, slightly wet tear in the side of her jacket six inches below her armpit. He started to unzip her coat and she crossed her arms across her chest tightly. “Allison, you have to let me do this!” Sean said as he forced her arms back open and unzipped her coat. Using the shears from the kit he cut her shirt downward, starting at her collar bone till he found a small hole where the tear in her coat had been. He let out a long breath through his teeth as he used his sleeve to wipe away the blood trickling out of the wound. “I need you to roll on your side Sweetie so I can check your back,” he asked but she didn’t respond. Sean pulled her over and struggled to get her coat and shirt up high enough to see her back. He settled for reaching his hand up inside and thoroughly feeling her back, looking for an exit wound.
When he was sure there wasn’t one, he straddled her hips to keep her on her side and started rummaging through the first-aid kits contents scattered in a small pile on the ground next to him. He grabbed one of the Quick Clot packages and gently pushed her injured arm out of the way. He liberally poured its granules onto the entrance wound on her side and then grabbed some gauze and began wiping up the blood around the wound. He quickly tore the package off the triangular sling bandage and finished wiping clean around the wound which had almost stopped bleeding by now. He opened a chest seal and placed it over the wound making sure it made a good seal. The wound didn’t appear to be sucking or blowing, so Sean hoped it wasn’t her lung and used the bandage as a precaution.
Next, Sean pulled his sister’s coat down over her shoulder and arm where her sleeve was now soaked in blood. He grabbed the EMT shears and cut her shirt above the wound, pealing it down over the wound slowly. The bullet had passed clean through her bicep and luckily missed the bone. He pulled out the other Quick Clot package, which was a Combat Gauze, and cut it in half, placing half on the entrance wound and half on the exit wound. Last, he wrapped the bandages snugly in place with a long piece of gauze, tying the knot over the exit wound like he had been taught.
He pulled her coat back up over her shoulder and laid her on her back. He placed his ear on her chest and listened to her lungs. Other than the raggedness of her breaths, he didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. He zipped her coat back up and turned her onto her good side. “Allison.... Allison!” he said louder. She was looking straight forward, so he grabbed her by the chin and turned her to face him. “Allison!” Sean yelled once more while snapping his fingers in front of her face. Her eyes slowly turned till they met his. Sean smiled down at his little sister. “There you are. Allison, you are going to be okay, honey. But you are also in shock, so I need you to focus on your breathing, okay? I need you to try and take long, slow breaths and try to stay calm. We are going to get you out of here, alright? Can you understand me?” She slowly nodded her head in affirmative and he breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s my girl. Just focus on your breathing and stay on your side.”
Sean jumped up and went over to the tree Maria was behind and whispered in her ear, “We gotta get her out of here right away! And we have to get that car moved so we can get out. Stay here and keep your eyes peeled, ok? I’ll be right back!”
“Is she gonna...,” Maria started to say something but stopped.
Sean cut her off again, “Just focus on your surroundings. She is going to be okay, but we have to get her help right away. I’ll be right back!” He said the last forcibly to finish the conversation. He pulled his Ghillie parka over his head and draped it over his sister then ran over to where the packs were and traded his rifle for the SU-16. Sean set off at a run through the woods. As he approached where he thought he may be perpendicular to the road block, he yelled out “Flash!” He waited a few more seconds than hollered “Flash!” once more.
“Thunder!” Randy’s reply came from about thirty yards up the wood line. Sean ran in the direction of his voice and nearly tripped over Brody who was lying prone behind a fallen log. “Allison’s been shot!”Sean blurted out.
“What?” Randy said as Sean approached the last few yards. Brody looked back at him in concern.
“It’s pretty bad. The bullet went through her bicep and entered her side up in her chest and never came out. I don’t believe it hit a lung, but she is definitely in shock and we have to get her out of here now! We’ve gotta get that car pushed back out of the way.”
Sean looked at Brody in a way that he understood Sean was heading out there whether there were threats or not.
“Screw it. Let’s go,” Brody said. They sprinted from their cover and pulled up behind the car. Sean noticed the body of the man he had shot laying next to the man Brody had put down. The third man had been shot by Randy as he cowered in the edge of the woods. No quarter had been requested by the man and none was given. They stayed squatted down as Sean tried to pull the car back by its front bumper. He lie on his back and put his feet against the other car pulling with all his might but it didn’t even budge. The two cars had been twisted together by the force of the collision.
“Let’s try rocking it” Randy offered. They stood up and all three started pushing sideways on the roof of the car rocking it until they heard the crunch of metal where the cars grinded against one another
. “Let’s try it now” offered Randy. The three of them pushed and pulled and eventually the cars separated. This allowed them to get between the cars and use the one as a backstop to push off of. The car slowly rolled back, leaking antifreeze all over the frozen pavement. Once the road was clear, Sean took off running down the street back towards his sister.
“Get in the freakin’ woods!” Brody yelled from behind him. Sean angled his run into the wood line and sprinted back to his sister with Brody and Randy on his heels. The three men gently carried his moaning sister back to the truck and laid her in the bed while Maria covered them with the PC9. Maria tried to get Allison as comfortable as possible in the bed of the truck and wrapped her in both blankets while the men ran back for their packs. They were quickly off again and Randy sped down the side roads, no longer worried about taking their time or being safe. Sean lay down next to his sister and put his arm around her, trying to keep her warm. The threat from her shock was just as severe as her wounds and Sean knew it was important to keep her warm.
Sean couldn’t help but think back to the promise he had made his father about keeping Allison safe. He held his sister tight and whispered, “I love you, kiddo. You’re going to be okay,” into her ear. He wasn’t sure if she heard him over the roar of the truck’s engine and the wind whipping over them, but he could’ve sworn he saw her smile slightly in response to his comment. It only took another twenty minutes before they pulled into the entrance to the retreat and Brody jumped over the side rails once more to open the gate for them.
Chapter 17
“I have to find a doctor!” Sean reiterated to the group. All the members of the retreat were gathered in the living room of the cabin, while Allison had been laid on one of the cots placed in the kitchen next to the wood stove.
“It’s too dangerous!” Damian argued. “We have the medical journals and all the supplies we need here. It will take less time to read through them and figure out how to remove the bullet than it will to chase down a doctor. You guys were already ambushed once on back roads; you’re talking about going into town right into the lion’s den. You’re just asking for another ambush. That is assuming this plan of yours even works and you can find a doctor who is willing to leave his home.”
“We had always planned on bringing someone with advanced medical experience into this group. Now is as good of time as any,” Sean argued back. “I’m not asking anyone to come with me. Damian, you hold that position now, but it’s not your sister on her deathbed. Besides, my wife is pregnant as you all know. Who is going to deliver the baby? You, Damian? Are you going to read up on it in the medical journal?” Sean asked sarcastically. “What about you, Caleb? What if one of your boys gets sick? Are you going to rely on just figuring it out by ourselves?”
“I’m on your side on this Sean,” Caleb said defensively.
Damian wasn’t finished yet. “How do we know this random doctor is going to fit in with the group? How can we trust him? There is more at stake here then just your sister, Sean. We have the lives and well-being of our whole group to think about. You bring this guy out here and he sees how prepared we are. You give him food and supplies to take home. What happens when he runs out again? You know he is going to come back here knocking on our door for more. What if he tells a bunch of his starving friends from town and a whole gang of looters show up? What happens when word gets around town? All of a sudden, all our planning is for naught. We’ll be fighting off looters from now to eternity. Are you willing to risk it all?”
“We will cross that bridge when we get to it. We have plenty of food to bring a doctor and his wife into the group, and that’s what I intend to do, offer to let them stay on with us. My sister is running out of time while we sit here and argue. I say we put it to a vote.”
“Whatever,” Damian responded, irritated.
“Show of hands to allow Maria and me to go find a doctor for the group.” Sean was a little surprised when both his friends’ wives sided with Damian. Apparently they had taken the risks Damian brought up to heart. Regardless, it still passed.
It was quiet for a moment, when Randy broke the silence, “I’m going with you.” Emily shot him a look that could have melted ice.
“No, you’re not,” Brody cut in before Sean had a chance to respond. “You’ve got a wife and family here that need you, and you’ve already risked your life once today. I’m single and have the most experience with driving into dirty little villages that no sane man would enter.”
Damian joined in, taking Sean off guard. “I’m single too, and I’m not letting you guys have all the fun today.” He gave Sean a wink and a half-hearted smile. Sean smiled back and nodded. “It’s settled then. Let’s haul ass!” The next ten minutes was chaotic as everyone hustled to help out. Emily and Rose grabbed a fifty caliber ammo can filled with Lake City 5.56 green tip penetrator ammo and started reloading empty magazines from the earlier shootout. Randy went outside to top off the pickup’s gas tank while Damian got suited up.
Sean and Brody worked with Maria to locate doctors. Maria used a local phonebook to peruse the yellow pages for doctors’ names and then cross referencing their names in the white pages. Only about one in ten had their street address listed so Maria only found seven doctors’ addresses. Meanwhile, Sean and Brody searched the map of Tionesta for the streets they lived on. They were going to try and locate one of the doctors that lived on the outskirts of town first, hoping they didn’t have to actually enter town.
Randy burst through the door shaking the snow off his coat. “It’s snowing pretty good out there,” he stated matter-of-factly.
Sean looked over to see Maria putting her coat back on and quietly walked over. “Babe, I don’t want you to come on this one. I want you to stay and look after Allison.” He hoped that by bringing his sister into the discussion it would persuade her to stay behind, but she wasn’t fooled.
“There’s nothing I can do for your sister, and I’m coming with you!” she said forcibly.
Sean was just about to object when Brody wandered over after hearing their conversation. “I think it’s best if she actually comes along. You are going to have a lot better chance of getting someone to answer a door as a husband and wife as opposed to a burly six foot four guy dressed in tactical gear. Besides, she proved that she can handle her own today.” Maria smiled back at Brody’s praise, but Sean still wasn’t pleased with the idea. However, Brody’s perception on the matter made sense.
“Let’s go, guys. I don’t want to be driving down the streets of Tionesta in the dark,” Damian said, urging them to leave as he tucked a night vision scope attachment into his cargo pocket. Sean took the rifle scabbard off his pack and attached it to the Molle webbing on the back of his tactical vest, just in case they got caught up in another ambush with distance involved.
Sean walked into the kitchen and knelt down next to his sister. Her face was ashen and she still seemed to be breathing raggedly, but she had fallen asleep under three layers of blankets. “I’m not sure if you can hear me, but we’re going to get a doctor for you, kiddo. Hang in there and be strong. We’ll be back as soon as we can.” Sean brushed a strand of hair away from her face and stood up to leave. Maria had been standing in the doorway and Sean could see the tears forming in her deep brown eyes. “It’s going to be alright, babe,” he said as he walked over to her and took her hand. They crossed the living room, heading for the unknown.
As they were walking out, Sean pulled Randy aside and whispered in his ear. “Clean off the dining table and bring up all the medical supplies we have. Just in case things go bad for us or we aren’t successful in finding a doctor, I’d appreciate if you would start reading up on how to get that bullet out of her.” He pulled back and looked his friend in the eye.
“You got it,” Randy said genuinely.
IT WAS ALMOST DUSK as the group was driving towards the fourth name on the list. The first three homes had been abandoned with one of them burnt down to the foundation. Sean had s
potted numerous brass casings littering the asphalt drive. Their shiny surfaces poking through the light coat of snow that was just starting to accumulate on the ground. It was disconcerting as Sean knew that it meant looters were hitting the outlying farms and properties surrounding Tionesta.
“Turn left here” he told Brody as Sean followed their route on the map in his hands. They were just entering the outskirts of the small town. There were houses on both sides of the road now which meant more darkened windows to focus on for threats. Brody picked up the pace a little. “It’s going to be the second road on the left,” Sean said pointing. They entered an upscale condo neighborhood and started looking at the brass house numbers attached above each garage. “Slow down... ok stop. It should be the third place on the right just ahead. The one with the red Mercedes parked out front. Let’s go, Babe.”
Sean and Maria exited the cab and walked forward as Brody jumped in the back with Damian and watched from the protection of the ballistic plates. As before, Sean knocked loudly on the front door.
“Hello! We need help, Dr. Sorenson! My sister has been shot and we need a doctor!” Sean thought he briefly heard some scuffling from inside but wasn’t sure. “Please, I beg you! We have food and supplies we can give you! She is going to die if you don’t help us! Please!” Sean saw a brief flutter from the curtains to his left but pretended not to notice. “I promise, we don’t mean you any harm! My wife and I will share our food with you if you’ll please just help us!”
There was a scraping sound as if someone was dragging a large piece of furniture away from the door. They could also hear what sounded like two voices arguing quietly. Sean folded his hands in front of him, trying to look as non aggressive as possible. The dead bolt clicked and the door was opened just enough for Dr. Sorenson to peek out.
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