“Numbers are unknown, but Simon and I shot a few of them through the kitchen window.” I keep my gaze trained outside until…
There. I count at least four, maybe five figures standing next to an outbuilding, illuminated by torches in the low light. Ominous cracking from the direction of the kitchen tells me that while I’d love more intel on numbers, we’re running out of time. That door will only hold for so long.
“I count five on the eastern side,” I tell Rachel as I move away from the window.
She’s staring out of the tiny window set into the side door, frowning. “There’s another five on this side, too.”
The cracking gets louder. Time’s almost up.
Grimacing, I grab Rachel’s arm and pull her out of the room and away from that side of the house. The lounge is heaving with terrified members of our group, whimpering and whispering to one another. Tobias and Theo are doing everything they can to keep everyone calm with a tense-looking Harlow by their side, but the panic is thick in the air.
All it’d take is a spark to send them into a panicked frenzy.
I’m about to ask where Ollie, Simon, Alex and the rest of the group are when I see movement outside. “Get away from the windows!” I shout, diving to the side as I ready my rifle seconds before the glass explodesinward and a gunshot echoes from outside. The bullet embeds itself in the wall where my head was only a moment ago.
People scream as they scramble for cover away from the broken window. Theo curses and I only have a second to see that he’s unharmed and pulling people down with him. A second shot cracks, and a bullet whizzes by my ear as I rush for cover. I find it in the form of the old, sagging sofa, but unfortunately, it’s not bulletproof.
Something that is immediately apparent when shotgun pellets tear through the fabric and slam into the wall beside me. Fuck, these bastards have a real hard-on for me.
I adjust my rifle and peek out from the side of the sofa, waiting for the right time to fire again. There’s a glint of glass in the moonlight, followed by the unmistakablesnickof a lighter. The fucker is lighting another Molotov.
I don’t think; I react and squeeze the trigger. The gunshot is deafening in the small room, the sound bouncing off the stone walls, and glass smashes on the ground. Several people whimper and cry, but none as loud as the screams coming from outside.
A small, feral smile curls on my lips. That’s one fucker down.
Wood groans from the hallway, reminding me that time is ticking down before the fire breaks through the kitchen door. We need to get out of here before people drop from smoke inhalation. Which means fighting those fuckers outside.
“Rachel, Theo, you’re with me! Tobias, get everyone to line up in front of the back door,” I bark as I straighten from behind the sofa. “And keep Harlow with you!”
Rachel is already moving towards me, a grim expression on her face and her rifle ready. Theo follows after checking on the few people he grabbed in the fray, his silver eyes hard with determination. Tobias hesitates for a moment, almost like he’s a little stunned by everything going on, before he grabs Harlow’s collar and follows my orders. Everyone elseis still freaking out over the gunshots and fire, sobbing as they huddle together in the corners of the room.
A few quick barks from Tobias has them scrambling from the walls to filter towards the back of the house.
Rachel, Theo and I stalk out of the lounge and into the hallway, which is now hazy with smoke. I cover my mouth and nose with my arm as my eyes water and my throat burns from the fumes.
“Fuck,” Rachel coughs, tears streaming down her face. “This shit is worse than tear gas.”
I don’t answer as we hurry down the hallway to the back door, only to collide with Alex, Simon and Ollie.Thank fuck. Relief rushes through me at seeing Alex and Ollie unharmed.
“There are at least six, maybe seven guys all waiting at the back of the house,” Alex says with a grim expression.
I grimace. Exactly where we’re about to send a large group of unharmed people through. Not great.
“Alright. We’re going to have to clear the way from upstairs.” It’s risky for us to stay in a burning building, but what choice do we have? “Simon, you go with Tobias and take point since your shotgun will be better at close range. Have Tobias take up the rear. Head through the field and take cover behind the south hedgerow.” There shouldn’t be anyone hiding behind it, and if they are, Simon can handle them. “Wait for us to shoot a few times before you evacuate.”
The big guy nods. “I’ll do what I can, but don’t stay in the house too long. Once that fire’s free, you’ll only have a minute at most to get out.”
As if hearing us, the cracking from the kitchen gets louder.
Simon winces and hurries off while the rest of us clamber up the staircase to the back bedrooms. We easily break up, with Ollie, Rachel and Alex going into one bedroom while Theo and I take the bathroom. It takes several shoves before the window finally opens, letting in a blast of icy air that has goosebumps erupting across my skin.
Below us is the inky expanse of the fields that surround the house. Dark figures move, stark against the flat landscape, and the glinting of glass tells me they have more Molotovs ready to go.
“On three,” I whisper to Theo as I lift my rifle and aim.
He pulls out his pistol and nods.
“One, two, three.”
