by McNeil, Nick
“Are these random bandits?” Clementine pulled out the only weapon she hand, a small switchblade. “Or do you know who these guys are?”
“I may know who they are, but I am not sure for certain.” Mr. Jones pressed forward. He stayed behind as many trees as he could and crouched as low as possible. Each time he reached a large bush, plant, or tree, he took a moment to pause and survey the foreground. Levi and Clementine followed in his footsteps, Clementine safely behind Levi.
Levi saw movement in one of the front windows. He couldn’t make out if it was a person or a glare. He used the scope on his hunting rifle as a telescope. No sudden movements came from any window. Every time he saw a curtain shake, whatever made it move was gone.
“I need you to set a distraction,” Abe whispered. “It’s risky, but I need you to draw their attention toward you so I can sneak into the house. If you can get any clear shots, fire into the house.” Mr. Jones checked the house once more. “Honestly, start a gunfight if you can.”
“I will run toward the back of the house and then past the broken window,” Clementine added. “I will keep going and then wrap around the back of the house.”
“What?” Levi shook his head. “No way.”
“It will take their attention off you, and if they come after me, they will have to either exit through the same window or the front door since the back part of the house doesn’t have any windows or doors.” Clementine pushed loose strands of hair behind her ears, her hair already tied up.
“It’s helpful, Levi,” Abe insisted. “We really don’t have time.”
Levi clenched his jaw and admired Clementine. He took in her every movement, planting her image into his memories. He thought hard about her voice and saved her into the tunes of his mind.
He took aim and inspected the house. He saw several flashes but couldn’t pinpoint the source of clear gunshots. Levi noticed his heart rate hadn’t increased, and his sense of trembling faded. His mind was back on topic when he spotted a man walking across the main part of the house that held the kitchen, dining room, and living room. The bandit passed the first of three windows in a row. Levi exhaled as the man passed the second window. Abraham took off to the east of Levi, and Clementine to the west. The man passed the third window, and Levi pulled the trigger. The bullet pierced the window and ruptured the man’s neck. The bullet had just hit him, doing more damage than a graze without fully going in. The bandit choked on his own blood, dropping his weapon as he gripped his throat to stop the bleeding. Blood seeped through the cracks of his fingers. Each time he gasped or coughed, blood shot out like a bad sneeze. He fell to the floor and wobbled on the ground like a fish out of water. Levi spotted another crook just to the left of the dying man. He passed the first window while taking aim. As he passed the second window, his gun was fully drawn; Levi pulled the trigger. The crook’s body fell over like a bowling pin.
Jones’ Residence, Pierce County, Washington
6:45 a.m.
Amelia awoke to the sound of two synchronized gunshots. A body fell across her bedroom window and crash-landed on the ground just outside her room. She threw her comforter across the room and pulled out Levi’s Beretta from under her pillow. In only a pair of shorts and a tank top, she swung open her bedroom door and threw a pillow into the hallway. She waited for it to be filled with lead—no gunshots followed. She ran down the hall and barged into the nearest bedroom. Dinesh and Jay were sitting up in their beds. “Get the fuck out of bed!”
The door kicked open. Amelia spun around and took aim. “Don’t shoot,” Mrs. Jones cried out, armed with Abraham’s AUG.
Amelia lowered her aim. “Dinesh, JP, put those mattresses against the windows,” she commanded. “Mom, leave the door cracked open. I am going to take the unsafe assumption that they don’t have grenades. So we should be able to plow down whoever walks through that door.”
“Shh.” Mrs. Jones put her hands on Dinesh and Jay, signaling for them to stop maneuvering the mattress. She tapped on her ear and pointed toward the entryway. Glass falling and footsteps echoed throughout the hallway. “Someone is in here.”
“Who were those gunshots for?” Sweat formed on Dinesh’s upper lip. “Abe, Clementine, and Levi? Or the intruders?”
“There were only two shots, and they sounded like hunting rifles. So I am going to stay hopeful and assume there would have been three gunshots if it was our three being shot,” Amelia whispered. She tiptoed to the doorway. Another gunshot fired.
“That’s three,” Dinesh shrieked.
“I have to go and check it out,” Amelia declared.
“No.” Mrs. Jones put her hand over her mouth after letting her words slip out much too loud.
Dinesh put his hands together. “Can’t you just sense if he’s okay with some weird twin thing or something?”
“I need to know if he’s okay.” Amelia glanced sideways and stealthily crept down the hallway. It connected quickly to the main portion of the house. She turned the corner and spotted six men on the other side of the home, who’d just entered from the broken window.
“Not another step,” the bandit at the front of the line blared. He was the only one with eyes on Amelia.
Amelia heard the glass of the front window crack. In the same instant blood sprayed out from the bandit’s throat, and the bullet that sliced him lodged itself into the wall. He slipped on his own blood, making a loud thud that drew the attention of the other five men. They were looking around for the source of the gunshot, but now they saw Amelia. The next man in line drew his rifle and marched across the house. Amelia could see his finger on the trigger, ready to shoot. She stepped away to turn back around the corner—another gunshot sounded off, and the man dropped to the floor.
“One more step and all four of us open fire, sweetheart.” Ezra sprayed a few rounds into the ceiling. “You have five feet before that hallway, missy. You won’t outlast four automatics. Now, let’s put down the gun and step on over here.”
“What do you want?” Amelia held her gun facing up with two fingers, indicating she had no way of firing, and placed the 9mm on the floor. “And I’m not going anywhere. Everyone knows you never leave your location when facing an abductor.”
Ezra lowered his weapon. He shook his head and stared at the floor. “I just saw two men die from walking in front of those windows. Who do you take me for?”
“A man who’s going to come to me.” Amelia raised one eyebrow. “Because if you didn’t need me alive for some reason, you would have already killed me.”
“It’s a shame we don’t recruit women.” Ezra laughed. He took aim and opened fire, discharging a single round. The bullet grazed Amelia’s arm, taking a piece of flesh with it as it passed by.
Amelia bit down and grabbed her arm, falling to her knees.
“Not a peep?” Ezra straighten his posture and dropped the barrel of his gun. “This one really is the daughter of Abraham.” Ezra stepped forward but not enough to make himself visible through the window. “I know you have a brother and a half mom that your father is very, very obsessed with. If I kill you now, it shows him that I am not afraid to take what he loves, and in fear of losing your brother and his wife, he is going to do whatever I want.”
“My brother is most likely the one who killed half your men.” Amelia adjusted herself and leaned against the wall. “You can kill me, but all you’re going to do is awaken a psychopath that dwells deep down in Levi Jones.” She tore off the bottom of her tank top and tied it around her open wound.
The front door busted open, a rifle slid across the ground, and Abraham walked in with his hands in the air. He stepped in front of his daughter. “It’s a shame I’m not a betting man.”
“Our father.” Ezra beamed. The three men accompanying him lowered their firearms and fell to their knees. “For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will follow you once more.”
“Why did I have a feeling I would be seeing you again one day, Ezra?” Abraham be
nt down and checked on Amelia’s arm.
“We have become orphans without you, Father.” Ezra’s followers found their footing. “Please, you must return home. The Lord will not return on the eighth day if you are not with us.” The Sons took aim.
Abraham’s body tensed; he put his hand out. “Lower your weapons.” Mr. Jones tilted to the side and observed the broken window behind Ezra.
“You have to come home.” Ezra turned to stare at what Abe was looking at. A hand over his mouth, a knife ran across the throat of a Son of Salvation. The body fell to the floor; however, the man’s rifle did not. Clementine stood just behind the dead man, equipped with his firearm. She pulled the trigger, unleashing several cartridges into the Son just in front of her. She unleashed enough rounds to fill his stomach with lead.
Abraham hustled across the floor and picked up his hunting rifle.
Amelia, sitting on the floor with her back to the wall and one arm extended, emptied her magazine across the room. Every shot missed as she did her best not to shoot Clementine, but it did enough to make the other two men drop their aim and scatter in different directions.
Abraham took a knee and used his leg for support; he didn’t aim for long before pulling the trigger. A better shot could have been taken; however, once the man entered his crosshairs, he acted. The bullet broke through one of the Sons’ spines and blew out the front of his sternum. The bones bursting open was the loudest sound after the initial gun blast.
The entire group of people in the house felt woozy. Their heads throbbed from the indoor gunfire, almost worsening their motor skills. Ezra dropped his assault rifle and tackled Clementine to the ground. Limbs flew in each direction. He wrestled her, pulling her hair and slamming her skull into the floor. He dug one elbow into her neck and with the other, in a 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock motion, bashed his elbow over Clementine’s eye, splitting her skin open on the spot.
Amelia was out of rounds, and Abe couldn’t make a clear shot. Abraham popped to his feet and rushed Ezra.
Ezra leeched onto Clementine’s back, dug his chin into the back of her neck, and rolled over, facing Clementine and himself toward Abraham. Ezra pulled a pistol from the back of his waistband and pressed the barrel into Clementine’s temple. “Please, Father, I did not come here to harm anyone,” Ezra pleaded. “Still, only your Sons have died on this morning. I, and those I came with, have not killed anyone. I very intentionally didn’t shoot your biological daughter earlier.”
“I gave you the world and you ask for more?” Abraham lowered his rifle in the hopes that Ezra would do the same. “I have completed the Lord’s will. I have fought the good fight. I have completed the race. I have kept the faith.” Abraham pounded on his chest. “The prize that shows I have God’s approval is now waiting for me.” Mr. Jones looked back at his daughter and then again to Ezra. “The Lord, who is a fair judge, gave me that prize. He gave me this and a family.” Abe placed his rifle on the floor and approached his fellow Son of Salvation.
Ezra eased his aim, letting the muzzle of his pistol slide down Clementine’s face and rest on her stomach.
Abe spoke softly. “He will give it not only to me but also to everyone who is eagerly waiting for him to come again. And like I taught for years, in just four more days, he will arrive.”
“What the fuck is going on?” Amelia threw her brother’s unloaded gun at the wall. “This is so goddamn confusing.”
“Does she not know who you are?” Ezra’s grip loosened, and he gave Clementine space to breathe.
“I know he caused the apocalypse, if that’s what you’re talking about.” Amelia gripped her bullet wound and jolted upright.
“Caused?” Ezra laughed crazily. “Our father has caused nothing. He has been sent to us by God to save us from the rapture, my dear.”
“This is why I wanted to talk to you and your brother separately from the others.” Abraham rubbed his eyes.
“Because you’re a messenger from God?” Amelia’s jaw dropped and she slapped her knee. “Well, aren’t I just the luckiest gal on Earth.” She held her nose. “This literally just gets better and better. I have no clue who or what the hell you even are.”
“What? No.” Abraham extended a hand. “Amelia, please.”
“No?” Ezra was enraged. He pushed the barrel of his gun into Clementine’s stomach. She squirmed and his grip tightened. “Denying yourself is denying our Lord in heaven.”
Leftover pieces of glass from the broken window crashed on the floor and spread across the floor. Ezra jumped and turned to look at the back window. He saw Levi climbing through the window. Startled, Ezra’s trigger finger tensed, and he discharged a round into Clementine’s abdomen.
“No!” Levi screamed, shredding the back of his throat. Molten anger flowed through him, his nostrils flared, and his eyes bulged from their sockets. A ringing in Levi’s ears disoriented him, his hands buzzed, and his vision dimmed. A bullet pushed its way into Ezra’s skull, leaving a gaping hole behind. Blood quickly filled the puncture wound and gushed out. Ezra fell to the floor, his clothes soaking up his own blood.
Clementine lay on the floor unconscious, blood pouring out of her stomach. Levi dropped his rifle and used his jacket to apply pressure to the wound, pressing down with both of his hands. “What do we do?” he wailed.
“She needs surgery.” Abraham tugged on his hair. “We have no clue how much damage has been done to her organs. Removing the bullet and stitching her up won’t do a thing.”
“Where do we take her?” Levi was drenched in Clementine’s and Ezra’s blood, his glasses dirtied from blood splatters.
“Let me think.” Abraham pulled out a dining room chair and took a seat. He slammed his hand on the table.
Amelia walked over and slouched next to Levi, her hand still applying pressure to her own wound. “At least the abdomen isn’t a very quick death.”
Levi’s breathing quickened. “No, it’s only one of the longest and most painful ways to be shot to death,” he snapped.
“No.” Against her nature, Amelia did everything in her power not to be combative. “I mean it gives us time to get somewhere. If this were a shot to the chest, she would already be dead. Plus there is no brain damage, so she could, in theory, make a full recovery.”
“Oh, shit.” Dinesh stood in the living room. He smacked himself on the face to regain attention. “Obviously, we have a major situation in here. But we also have a major situation outside. I peeked behind the mattress, like Amelia said not to.” He jerked his head and looked at Amelia. “And I saw a boatload of dudes. Like a hundred guys. All with a shit ton of guns. “
“It’s them.” Abraham knocked the chair over, flying out of his seat. He pressed his face against the front window.
“Who?” Amelia called out. “Why does everything have to have some big reveal?” She slammed her fist against the wall and walked across the room to stand next to her father.
“Gideon and the Sons of Salvation,” Abraham replied. Levi and Amelia both grew anxious; this was the first time they could hear fear in their father’s voice.
Seeping through the trees like a fresh morning mist were dozens of men armed and dressed in hunting gear. Each had a tattoo under his eye and walked as though they had no sense of vitality. They marched like an army of the undead, covered in blood and carnage from their previous encounter with the army. They approached the Jones’ residence head-on, Gideon, Elijah, and Aaron at the head of the pack.
“What’s the game plan here?” Dinesh plopped himself between Amelia and Mr. Jones. “We certainly can’t take them head-on. There is, like, no cover at all inside this place.”
“You’re right; we can’t take them head-on,” Abe acknowledged. “They won’t cut their losses. We can kill all of them except for one, and even he would still try to finish his mission.”
“Since the car chase, they have been relentless.” Amelia took pressure off her wound and tried to see how much she could rotate her shoulder. “And I
mean absolutely relentless. There has to be a reason, even if it isn’t a logical one to me.”
“They’re part of a… for lack of a better word, cult. Which everyone has mostly put together.” Abe turned his back to the window. “They truly and wholeheartedly believe they are acting out God’s will and that he has chosen them specifically. They believe there is a promised land waiting for them.”
“Isn’t that just Christianity?” Dinesh scratched his head.
“No, they believe almost everyone is a hypocrite. They believe even most Christians, Catholics, Muslims, you name it are all going to burn in hell.” He walked toward the hallway. “They, after years of brainwashing and conditioning, convincingly believe that God has hand selected them and that they have a seat waiting for them in heaven, and only through the Sons of Salvation can they reach heaven.”
“What do I do?” Levi yelled as Amelia, Dinesh, and Abe headed to the living quarters.
“Stay here,” Abe instructed. “I may have a very poorly thought out plan.” He continued on with what he was speaking with Amelia and Dinesh about. “This is the short Wikipedia version. Trust me, it’s my life’s work, and it’s very comprehensive. I just don’t have time to explain right now.” Abraham walked into the room with his wife and Jay. “Sarah!” Mr. Jones shouted as he embraced her.
“Please tell me you don’t have to go back with them,” Mrs. Jones cried. “I thought I got to keep you this time. God wanted us to be together.” Tears rolled down her cheeks, and her nose dripped.
“I know, I know. And I don’t want to spend any more years with them.” Abe pressed Sarah’s head into his chest. “I am going to speak with them. They believe in me. I can convince them of something, I’m sure of it.” He lifted her chin so he could look her in the eyes. “I will do whatever it takes so that we are never apart again.”