He has a point. With a grunt, I shift to get my pistol out and check it before glancing at Alex. “Did you bring extra mags with you?”
He shoves his hand into one of his pockets to check. “Two extra. Why?”
“Because we’re going to need to return fire to keep the goons off us until the cavalry arrive.” At least I hope they arrive, because otherwise this is going to be grim. I don’t say that last part aloud. Not that I need to, since we both understand the writing on the wall.
Nodding, Alex pulls out his pistol. “You take that side, I’ll take this and the top. It’ll be easier for me to move since you’re still injured.”
“Alright. Don’t get shot,” I say as I edge to the side of the rock, biting back a wince as the movement sends shards of agony through my body.
The nausea returns with a vengeance, but I swallow it back and focus on adjusting my grip on my pistol. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Alex do the same until we’re both poised and ready to return fire.
“Ready?” I ask.
“Ready.”
As soon as there’s a lull in the gunfire, we jerk our guns and a sliver of our faces from the cover of the rock and return fire. The gunshots are deafening, causing my ears to ring so I can barely hear the shouts and screams from successful hits of our shots.
A hail of returning bullets forces both Alex and me to dart back into cover. They slam into the ground and trees around us, causing shards of bark and globs of dirt to fly into the air and splatter us. Several guys shout something, but it’s hard to make out over the gunfire and the cries of those who were hit.
Taking a risk, Alex peeks over the top of the rock and returns fire. Only for him to shout out a curse as he drops back to the ground. More curses spill from his lips, followed by a hiss that has my attention snapping to him.
“Did you just get shot?” I snap as I scramble towards him. “Please don’t tell me you got shot.”
“Alright, then I won’t tell you,” is his tight reply, which has me growling in frustration.
“Fucking idiot. I don’t have my med kit with me!” It’s hard to see with the thick shadows encompassing us, but I can make out a trickle of dark liquid down his cheek. “How bad’s the hit?”
He waves me off. “It’s fine. Just a graze.”
Judging from the fact that he can speak without trouble, I’m inclined to believe him. Although that does little to calm the anxiety and fear swirling in my stomach, because that shot wastoo damn close. A few centimetres to the right and it would have killed him.
“Next time you return fire, don’t get shot. I don’t think you’ll get as lucky the second time around, and I’m in no shape to drag your heavy ass around.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he says, sarcasm thick in his voice.
And then the bastard goes and peeks around the side of the rock to shoot some more.
Muttering under my breath, I do the same on the other side. I figure if we both pop out at the same time, it’ll reduce the chances of either of us getting shot. And it works for a while. Every time there’s a lull in the gunfire, Alex and I peek and shoot back.
But as the minutes drag by, it becomes apparent that our enemies are packing a lot more rounds than we are. We’re down to our last mags while the goons continue to fire on us without hesitation or care for preserving bullets.
“The cavalry better get here soon, otherwise there won’t be anything left of us,” Alex says grimly as he changes his empty mag to his last full one.
“At least this is an impressive way to die,” I reply, trying to lift the mood. “Very heroic.”
The joke falls flat.
Already I can hear the goons on the other side of the rock shouting at each other to move up, to get closer so they can flush us out. One brave idiot decides they’re going to play hero and darts around the rock to catch us off guard. Unfortunately for him, we hear him coming and he’s shot dead before he can even get his weapon up.
But where there’s one idiot, others will follow.
Several more run out to us, and while we gun down all of them, they keep coming. Some get shots off, but the bullets go wide, spraying us with pieces of rock, bark and mud whenever they miss, while others charge with whatever melee weapon they’re holding.
And then the worst happens.
My gun clicks.
Alex squeezes out one more shot and then his does too.
