by Steph Post
“Shit.”
Ramey was breathing heavily next to him.
“What the hell, Judah? The Scorpions?”
Judah scanned the room frantically. Sister Tulah and Sherwood had both dropped out of sight between the rows of benches. His eyes found the door at the back of the sanctuary that must have led to another part of the building. With his back still pressed against the wall, he slid upwards on his heels, keeping the rifle close to his body.
“Gotta be them.”
Ramey looked up at him from her huddled position.
“What do we do?”
Judah pointed to the door at the back of the room. They would have to pass in front of the open doorway to get to it.
“I’m gonna cover you and we’re gonna get the hell outta here. Don’t shoot and don’t look back. Just run. Got it?”
Ramey stood up and nodded. The motorcycle engines stopped abruptly and the sound was replaced by shouting. Judah thought they had only seconds before the entire pack of Scorpions stormed the church.
“All right, let’s move.”
Judah ran out in front of Ramey, blocking her with his body, and fired wildly through the single open door. For an instant, he could see two of the Scorpions, standing face to face as if they were talking to one another. He caught a glimpse of one of them going down, but didn’t wait to see more. He kicked the second door closed and caught up with Ramey at the back of the church. She yanked the door open and they crashed into the narrow hallway beyond it. Judah yelled at Ramey.
“Keep going!”
She led the way, careening down the hall and past an open office door. Judah glanced in briefly as they raced by and saw a man crouched down between a large wooden desk and the wall with his knees drawn up to his chest and his face slick with tears. Judah didn’t stop, though, and followed Ramey through the back door of the building. They stumbled out into the blazing sunshine and Judah pushed Ramey up against the back of the church. He slowly peeked his head around the edge of the building to survey the parking lot. He jerked his head back and stood panting next to Ramey. She grabbed his arm.
“How are we gonna get outta this?”
Judah grit his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut.
“At the moment, I have no idea.”
Slim Jim raised his left hand in the air to indicate to the other Scorpions to cease fire. He and Legs were the only men on foot in the church’s parking lot. Jack O’ Lantern, Toadie, Tiny and Ratface were still straddling the bikes they had ridden in on. They were scattered across the lot, fanned out in an uneven semicircle and at Slim Jim’s signal they slowly began to lower their rifles. Legs raised his eyebrows at Slim Jim, but he just shook his head and raised his hand again to shield his eyes from the reflecting glare of the asphalt as he surveyed the damage. The last motorcycle engine was cut as Ratface whipped his leg over his bike’s seat and started toward Slim Jim.
“That it?”
Slim Jim rested the assault rifle on his shoulder and tried to listen for any sounds coming from inside the church. The building was solid, but he should have been able to hear screams or people moving around. A Cessna, humming across the sky, and the sound of Ratface’s heavy boots stomping across the pavement were all the sounds he could hear.
“Hey man, what’re we doing?”
Slim Jim whipped around.
“Shut it, prospect. Just cause you’re out here with us don’t mean you can talk.”
Ratface stopped and looked away toward the church. He took a few steps back and busied himself with the magazine on his gun. Legs and Jack O’ Lantern converged around Slim Jim and Legs wiped his nose, leaving a gray streak of gunpowder across his face.
“You got a plan here, Slim?”
Slim Jim narrowed his eyes toward the darkness of the church entrance.
“I don’t know. Just hold on, let’s see if anyone comes out.”
“So what, we can talk to them? Ask them about their feelings?”
“Just give me a minute to think.”
Legs looked as if he was about to say something else, but he hesitated and instead shook out his shoulders and walked away a few paces to check the action on his rifle. Jack O’ Lantern stepped in closer to Slim Jim and put a hand roughly on his shoulder.
“This was your idea, Jimmy.”
Slim Jim pulled away.
“Want to tell me something I don’t know?”
“You got these guys looking to you for the next move. You bring us out here. Got us blasting away at a place when we don’t even know what’s inside. Tiny can barely stay on his bike and Toadie can barely hold a gun. Where’s the rest of your plan, huh?”
Slim Jim turned toward Jack, his eyes flashing and color high in his cheeks.
“You want to start acting like a boss now? You decide to come out of that coma you been in the last two days? Or are you just trying to get in another dig since it’s become pretty clear that the guys are following me now? If we’d listened to you, we’d still be hiding in the clubhouse with our skirts bunched up between our legs.”
Jack O’ Lantern looked down at his boots.
“You got a move or not, Jimmy?”
He raised his eyes to meet Slim Jim’s and they stared one another down. Neither one dropped his eyes, or looked away, or even blinked. Slim Jim heard the zip of the bullet just before he saw the light go out of Jack’s eyes and the next instant was chaos. Three more gunshots followed as the Scorpions scattered for cover and Slim Jim didn’t have time to think, only to react. Legs grabbed him by the collar of his vest and yanked him behind the pickup truck in the middle of the parking lot. The others managed to crouch behind their bikes. When the shooting stopped, they began to scan the perimeter of the parking lot with the barrels of their AKs pointed over the seats of their motorcycles.
Slim Jim dropped to the ground, pressing his face into the broken asphalt and glass dust, and looked under the truck. He saw Jack’s body, bulky and twisted awkwardly in front of the church, but he couldn’t see his face. He watched the body for any sign of breathing, any twitch of life. It was unmoving.
JUDAH DROPPED down behind the front wheel of the Lincoln Navigator parked next to the church. He grabbed Ramey by the shoulders and pulled her up in front of him.
“I think I got one when I was shooting out of the church’s front door. It mighta been that Jack O’ Lantern guy, the redhead. He hit the ground.”
Ramey gripped the M14 in front of her.
“So what do we do?”
Judah leaned his head back against the Navigator while he tried to think.
“If we could make it across the parking lot to the woods we might have a chance of going around them and getting outta here.”
“I’m not sure I like a plan that has an if and a might in it.”
Judah pushed himself up on his heels, making sure to keep his body in-between Ramey and the Navigator.
“You got a better idea? My guess is that they came here for Tulah and Sherwood, same as we did, but I don’t think they got an aversion to taking us out along the way.”
Ramey nodded and pushed her hair off her sweating forehead.
“Fine. But how we gonna make it to the woods? It’s at least fifty yards from here to there. We don’t got a chance.”
Judah licked his lips and then edged out from behind Ramey. She twisted her head around.
“What’re you doing?”
Judah ignored her and scooted on the asphalt alongside the Navigator. Keeping his head as low as possible, he looked through the tinted windows out into the church’s parking lot. He could see two of the Scorpions crouched down behind Sherwood’s pickup truck and another hiding behind the seat of his motorcycle with his rifle pointed at the church. Judah raised himself up a little higher to look down inside the SUV and he saw the keys dangling from the ignition. He ducked back down and quietly tried the door handle. The Navigator was unlocked and Judah looked over his shoulder at Ramey, still crouched down in front of the wheel.
> “We’re gonna do something crazy, okay?”
Ramey only stared back at him with wide eyes.
“I’m gonna crank this thing and put it in reverse from here. It’s gonna start to roll backwards and we’re just gonna roll right on with it.”
“Are you outta your mind?”
“Whatever you do, stay behind that wheel and move with the car. Don’t run. Just move with the car. Bullets can go straight through the door panels, but they won’t be able to make it through the engine block, so stay behind the wheel no matter what.”
Judah didn’t wait for a response. He turned back around, popped the door open and reached up for the keys. He knew that as soon as the Scorpions heard the engine, they’d know that he and Ramey were there and start blasting away again. There was no time to come up with something better, though, so Judah held his breath and twisted the key. The engine roared to life and Judah reached over the seat and jerked the gearshift down into reverse. The car slowly started to roll back backwards and Judah scurried next to Ramey. It took a moment, but then a volley of bullets came tearing through the passenger side door. He threw his arm over Ramey’s shoulder and gripped her tightly as they crept slowly across the parking lot with the Navigator shielding them all the way.
The shots ceased after a few seconds and Judah figured that the Scorpions were trying to decide what to do next. The Navigator hit the parking lot curb about ten feet away from the tree line and Judah didn’t waste any time. He grabbed the M14 from Ramey and shouted into her ear.
“Run! Now!”
They bolted across the open space and a few bullets hit the dirt behind them, but they made it to the trees and Judah pulled Ramey down to the ground. They crawled through the leaves and pine needles for a few yards until Judah judged they were safe. He backed up against a wide oak tree and finally caught his breath.
THE FIRST shot narrowly missed the side of Sherwood’s face and he made it to the ground, between two benches, as the stream of bullets screamed over his body and decorated the back wall of the church. He lifted his head briefly when the firing abruptly ceased, but didn’t dare move. In another thirty seconds, he heard the scuffling of boots sliding across the wood floor and the shooting picked up again in full force. For a second, he saw the legs of his son racing past the brilliant light streaming through the one open church door and then it became dim again as the church doors slammed shut. The air was filled with the whine of flying bullets and the smell of splintered wood. Sherwood mashed his face back against the floor and squeezed his eyes shut. He wrapped his arms over his head and drew his knees inward.
Again, the firing stopped suddenly and an echoing silence filled the church. A haze created by the drifting debris in the air hung over Sherwood’s head when he opened his eyes a second time. He waited, and then stretched his legs out and pushed himself up on his elbows. He knew it had to be the Scorpions out in the parking lot and he wasn’t sure why they hadn’t already come in to put a bullet in his head. He pushed himself up to his knees and leaned back on his haunches as he looked around the church. There was no sign of Judah, but when he glanced over his shoulder he saw the mounded form of Sister Tulah, flower print dress hiked up to her calves, slowly crawling away on her elbows toward the back corner of the church.
“Not so fast, Bible bitch.”
Sherwood launched himself after her, stretching his full length across the floor, and snagged one of her white Reeboks. He heard her grunt as he pulled himself closer and then felt the full force of her kick in his face. He instinctively released her when he felt the stream of blood spurt from the bridge of his nose and used his hands to push himself up to his feet. He had no balance, but she was stumbling to get to her feet as well and he crashed into her, catching his arm around her wide middle and sending them both tumbling onto the low stage. She awkwardly twisted away from him and reached for the tall, wooden pulpit, bristling with wooden shards from the bullets embedded in it. She curled her arm around it and toppled it across Sherwood’s back as she kicked him in the face again. Her voice came out raspy, as if her throat was filled with fluid, though she spoke not with fear, only pure outrage.
“You dare touch me?”
She was trying to slide backwards across the stage, toward the door, but he caught the hem of her dress and then yanked himself up on top of her, straddling her waist. Her arm shot up to scratch him in the face, but he dodged it.
“You were the one that said God works in mysterious ways, sister.”
He reached for her throat, but she twisted again and as he scrambled to stay on top of her, she slammed her knee between his legs. His body contorted from the pain and when his head dipped down, she spat at him. A thick clod of saliva oozed down Sherwood’s face, but he didn’t pull away. She reached up and wrapped her hands around his neck, struggling to squeeze and Sherwood slammed his palm into her collar bone to push her back down. Her nails cut deep into his throat and he flailed around with his other hand, trying to find her face. His fingers clawed into her skin and then his thumb pressed into the soft cavity of her left eye. Sherwood didn’t hesitate. He gripped her face tighter and pushed and twisted his thumb as deep into the socket as it would go.
Tulah began to scream.
Ramey caught her breath and steadied herself against a pine tree. The bark crumbled in her hand as she gripped the tree and waited for her blood to stop pounding and her head to clear. She stood up straight and looked at Judah, leaning against the tree next to her. The M14 was at his feet and he was checking the clip in his .45. He gave her a half-cocked smiled when he met her eyes.
“Well, what’d you know? That actually worked.”
Ramey pulled the 9mm out of her waistband and leaned back against the tree. She didn’t need to check it. She knew it was good to go.
“Let’s not try it again, though, okay? I think I just had enough near-death experiences to last a lifetime.”
Judah raised his eyebrows at her.
“We’re not outta this yet. They stopped shooting cause they don’t know what the hell’s going on. They don’t know if they should come after us, or go on in after Sherwood. So they’re confused.”
“How do you know that?”
Judah looked around the tree toward the church parking lot.
“Cause that’s what I’d be thinking if I was them right now.”
Ramey looked over Judah’s shoulder. Through the trees they could see two of the Scorpions, still crouched down behind Sherwood’s pickup truck. She could hear them shouting at each other, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Judah pointed with his chin toward the church itself.
“There’s another one, by the front of the church. See him?”
Ramey squinted and saw a man hiding behind the front corner of the building. He had a bandaged shoulder and Ramey recognized him as the man she had shot in the quarry. She nodded.
“Any others, you think?”
Judah craned his neck around, trying to get a better view of the parking lot.
“Probably a couple more we can’t see. But that’s okay. All we gotta do is make it through this little stretch of trees and then across the highway to the Bronco.”
Ramey shook her head.
“How? They’re gonna start shooting as soon as they see us move.”
Judah turned to her and put his hand behind her head. He kissed her hard and when he pulled away Ramey could see it in his eyes: he was undaunted. For better or worse, he had left all fear behind and she knew that if she was with him, she would have to do the same. Judah turned back to face the parking lot.
“We’re just gonna have to start shooting first.”
HE COULD see Tiny’s mouth moving, but the roar of bullets made it impossible to hear what he was saying. Slim Jim skidded around the front of the church and crouched down at the edge of the corner, where he had more cover, but could still see the woods across the parking lot. Legs was standing over him now, finger pressed down on his AK’s trigger, firing shots with g
ritted teeth. When there didn’t appear to be any more shooting from the woods, Slim Jim reached up and yanked the gun out of Legs’ grip. He wrestled the gun away from him and pushed Legs back. Slim Jim’s ears were ringing, but now he could understand what Tiny was yelling over and over.
“They shot me! I can’t believe they shot me again!”
“Shut up.”
Tiny was waving a .38 snub nose wildly about as if it were a sparkler on the 4th of July. Slim Jim saw the two assault rifles lying on the ground at Tiny and Ratface’s feet and realized they must be out of ammunition. Tiny was pacing back and forth, half hopping and half dragging his already wounded leg and Slim Jim had to grab him by the vest and force him back against the wall of the church. Slim Jim looked into Tiny’s eyes and realized he was so far gone on Oxy that he probably didn’t even feel it.
“You want them to shoot you one more time, dumbass? You’re standing right there in the line of fire.”
Slim Jim shoved Tiny again and then looked around.
“Where’s Toadie?”
Legs looked up, his eyes wide as he too became aware that there were only four of them hiding against the church. Legs and Slim Jim looked to Ratface, who had shrugged out of his vest and was yanking his undershirt over his head. He jerked his head toward the highway. Slim Jim whirled around and now noticed the body lying strung out along the highway’s grassy shoulder. Ratface’s lips curled up in disgust as he tore the shirt into strips and began to wrap them around Tiny’s bicep.
“He ran. Yellow bastard ran as soon as those shots started coming from the woods. Turned tail like a whipped dog. Got shot in the back like the pussy he was.”