Valley of Reckoning
Page 21
Turning, Spike motioned for his men who were a hundred or so yards back into the thick woods, to move in closer. Sarah, much to his dismay, took the lead and she ran quietly to a tree, climbing it like a monkey. She perched herself on a branch and raised her rifle.
∞
Brian shot Mitch a glance and nodded. From the shadows, they crept forward. They saw Cain roped to a tree, with one man standing guard. The boy looked beat to shit as his head slumped to his chest. Shots rang out around them. Brian crept up behind the man while Mitch made his way to the back of the tree. With one swift movement, he lodged his knife into the back of the man’s neck, severing his spinal cord. Pulling it out, he turned to see another man standing behind Mitch with his gun aimed at the back of Mitch’s head. Mitch lifted his eyes just as Brian let loose of his knife and sent it soaring toward him. An expression of surprise crossed his face. He threw himself to the ground and drew his gun. Coming up on one knee, he aimed at Brian.
“You missed!” he hissed. His finger rested on the trigger. Brian grinned and lifted his chin to the area behind Mitch.
“No, I never miss.” he drawled. Mitch turned his head and saw the man lying behind him with Brian’s knife buried deep in his chest. Shaking his head, he bent and finished untying the ropes that held Cain. Raising his eyes to Brian, he grimaced. He’d almost made a big mistake.
“Here, help me get him up.”
Brian walked over and dragged Cain to his feet. He wrapped one arm under a shoulder while Mitch did the same and side-by-side, they dragged him into the woods and out of the line of fire.
Ryder
The first shot rang out, and Ryder screamed for his men to take cover. He dove behind a large boulder. He saw Maria dive behind a tree pulling the hostage with her. Pulling his gun, he scanned the woods, peering into the fading light, looking for something to shoot. How did they get past his guards? How did they find them?
Glancing up he saw the girl up in the tree firing down on the camp and swearing loudly he raised his rifle, aiming for her. With a snap of his finger against the trigger, he fired and watched her tumble from the limb of the tree. Another shot ricocheted off the boulder he stood behind, and he ducked quickly. Screams erupted around him, and his men scrambled for cover while firing blindly into the woods. He glanced over and saw Maria crawling toward the girl to finish her off.
“Maria! No!” he yelled watching the bullets fly around and near her. Rage fired through his veins and he stood and provided cover fire for his woman. The first bullet struck him in the leg, the second, in his shoulder, spinning him like a marionette before he fell.
Sarah
Sarah hissed as a white-hot fire shot through her leg. Dragging it, she crawled behind the tree. Tearing the sleeve from her jacket, she wadded it up and pressed it to the wound to staunch the flow of blood. Glancing up, she saw Spike running toward her and then fall when a bullet slammed his leg out from under him. To her left, she saw the woman, knife in her teeth, making her way toward her. Her heart skipped a beat and fear choked the breath from her. She struggled to stand, and her leg buckled, sending her face-first into the dirt. A heavy weight slammed into her, and she rolled, kicking out her good leg as she pushed the woman off her.
“Bitch! I’m gonna cut you up!” the woman growled. She lunged at her with the knife and an expression of pure hatred in her eyes. Sarah rolled again and sent a sharp kick to the woman’s knee. She heard a scream of rage as the woman jumped for her and saw the glint of the knife blade as it slashed toward her face. She rolled her head to keep from eating the blade of the knife. With a heave she rolled away again, reaching for the knife on her belt. A loud explosion from behind sent the woman crashing to the ground as Spike unloaded his shotgun into her back. Breathing heavily, she sat up. Her eyes set on Spike a few feet away and she nodded grimly.
The battle roared around them and screams filled the air. The night’s silence was shattered with the sound of gunfire. Sarah leaned against the tree, aiming, firing, aiming, and firing. Her arms ached from the weight of the gun, from the recoil with each press of the trigger. She watched as Clint and the others moved in and located one after another of the enemy, destroying the threat. She felt her body weakening, her strength dwindling, while she bled freely onto the ground. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and laid the rifle across her lap. Her head spun dizzily, and she fought it off. Wave after wave crashed over her. She was tired. Just plain tired. She drifted and floated as the noise around her dulled to a soft roar.
∞
Ryder crawled to Maria and howled in agony. He lay beside her broken body. Spike stood over him and grimaced in hatred. He looked down into the other man’s eyes and aimed his gun. He saw pure agony staring back at him. He pulled the trigger.
∞
Beth sat on the porch with a rifle laid across her lap. The night closed in around her like a soft wave. Sighing, she closed her eyes and leaned her head back. She couldn’t sleep, knowing Brian and Sarah, Spike and others from the compound were out there somewhere in the night facing the enemy and God knows what else. Worriedly, she chewed at her lower lip. What were they going through right now? Her stomach curled with fear. Lost in her thoughts, she failed to see the shadow until it was too late. A sharp blow to her head sent her reeling and darkness closed over her. Barbs stood over her slumped body and smiled, hatred burning in her eyes. If they had just minded their own business, if they had just left Bobby and the town alone. But no, they’d had to come in and ruin it all. Memories of her brother brought tears to her eyes. Ernie hadn’t deserved what this bitch’s man had done to him. Well, they would pay. They would pay dearly.
She motioned to the two men standing in the shadows. “Grab this bitch and let’s get the hell out of here!”
“Why don’t we just kill her? I just wanna get out’a here,” Jessie whined. With a hiss, she turned on him.
“No, I’ve got plans for this one,” Barbs hissed through her clenched teeth. “This bitch is gonna suffer!”
Chapter Thirty-Three
There wouldn’t be any sounding of horns, nor the sad singing of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. There was only blood, death, and sorrow. This was a new world, and its wars would be fought at home. No more watching through the television, from the comfort of the living room, as rockets fired into the night on foreign soil. Every person was now a soldier; the young, the old, and everyone in between. God have mercy on us all.