by Riley Flynn
“Go, Reni. Go!” Alex almost had to push her from the room before Nelson could speak.
A banging from outside. Reni was gone. But they weren’t alone.
“What’s been happening?” Alex looked around the kitchen. It seemed in better shape than everywhere else.
“We been using the water. That’s been keeping them back. I had to stop and help her, though. They been sticking that knife in.”
Looking up at the window, Alex could see the knife darting in and out. It moved quick, always in a different place.
Another pot of water was boiling on the fire.
“Let’s do it, then.” Alex said, standing up. “Take ‘em on, Nelson.”
The man nodded and took he pot of water from the fire. With one hand, he threw the pot out through the hole at the top of the window. A scream from outside. A sizzle.
“I’ve got an idea,” said Alex, watching. “We need to see out the top of that window.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s too quiet here. Either they’re doing something, or there’s no one there. We either have to stop them or we can use this place to escape, if everything goes wrong.”
It had made sense in Alex’s head. Nelson nodded along, so that seemed like approval.
“We’ll wait until the next one comes, use the water, and look then.”
The water was already boiling in another pot.
There was the sound of movement outside and Alex dropped his voice down so only Nelson could hear.
“When they get here, I’ll take the pot, you climb up on my shoulders, and then I’ll hand it up to you. Throw it over them and then see what’s happening out there. I want to know.”
“That’s fine. But with one change. You’re going up there.”
“What?”
“Yeah, you gotta see what’s going on. That’s important.”
The sound of movement from the other side of the barrier again. The window had been smashed. All that was left was the wooden planks, hastily nailed into the wall.
Same for every window and door in the house.
They carried out the plan. Alex stood on Nelson’s shoulders, allowing him to look out through the gap in the window. It was an empty side of the house. Not much to see, especially now most of it was covered in snow. Patches of ground could be seen where boiling water had landed before.
“Okay, pass me up the water, I think I see someone coming.”
It was one of Levine’s people, running quickly. As they ran, all the believers shouted at the tops of their lungs. Nonsense words. Speaking in tongues.
The man ran around the corner, a knife in his hand. Alex held on to the pot of boiling water, fresh off the fire.
He had to wait. Wait until the man was close. Until he was right beneath them. Alex waited.
Kicking up snow, the man charged at the window. He threw himself against it and Alex felt Nelson shudder with surprise.
“He’s there?”
Alex didn’t respond. He just threw the water down on the unsuspecting man.
The scream was enough to split eardrums apart. The man threw himself into the snow, writhing and yelling.
“Got him!” Nelson called up. “Okay, what can you see?”
Alex couldn’t see anything. There was nothing to see. He’d expected a flurry of activity but it was just an empty stretch of yard.
Then, from around the corner, came another sound. A different sound. A crackle and a laugh. A light shone around the corner.
“I see something,” said Alex. “I think… I think it’s on fire.”
“It’s the house? They’ve set fire to the house?”
“No, it’s moving.”
The light came around the corner. Five men, carrying knives and torches. They moved with intent, not like the others. They split apart, each heading to a different section of the wall.
“What are they doing, Alex? Tell me.”
“Hang on.” Alex strained, trying to see. They had gone too close to the wall, the angles meant he had lost sight of them. They might have been beneath him, they might have fled around the corner.
“What do you mean, ‘hang on’? What’s happening?” Nelson pressed up against the window, trying to level an eye with an empty space. “I can’t… I can’t quite see out…”
“I think they’re setting fire to something. But I don’t know what. They might just be doing the–”
Alex saw the light when it was too late. The torch appeared beneath him. The man shouted, thrust his knife into the wall.
With a gasp, Nelson fell backwards, dropping Alex on to the kitchen floor.
“Nelson!” Alex called out, ignoring the pain rippling through his body.
He ran across but Nelson was already down. A red circle was spreading out from his chest.
“Alex…”
“Hold on, Nelson, hold on. We’re going to-”
“No. No, you’re… you’re not going to do… anything.”
Every breath Nelson took was a struggle. The knife had hit something important. Alex looked up and saw the blade still sticking in and out of the boards. It dripped with blood.
The rage overtook him. Grabbing another pot from the boil, Alex threw it through the gap. There was no need to aim. It was guided by pure anger.
The metal clanged and bashed through the space, the boiling water falling on the screaming believer below.
“Alex…” Nelson’s voice was distant. “Come here, promise me.”
“What is it? Nelson, we’re going to get you help-”
“No…” he chocked and spluttered. “You ain’t. Just promise me… you’ll keep Reni safe.”
“I promise.”
It only took a second for Nelson to die. The life faded, his eyes rolled back. Alex had even less time to mourn. Then he remembered. The fires. He could already smell burning.
But they had a plan for this. The water. It was already in the kitchen, stored in big barrels.
Alex could hear gun shots in the rest of the house. Something exploded, too. But there wasn’t time to check. He began walking up and down the wall, feeling for warmth.
The snow outside must have soaked some of the house. So that meant there would only be a few flammable spots. Alex rolled one of the sealed barrels down a hallway. Finally, at a corner, his hand found a warm place.
The whole wall was heating up. If there was a fire outside, it wouldn’t spread far. As soon as it got inside, the whole home could go up like a tinder box. Even if the flames didn’t get them, the smoke would.
Alex ripped the cover from the barrel. Lining it up against the warm part of the wall, he kicked it as hard as he could. The water inside went flying, soaking the entire hallway.
Dripping wet, Alex went to find his friends.
By the entrance, Reni, Jenna, and Timmy were taking turns firing rifles into the courtyard. More of the floorboards had been ripped up and hammered into place all around the room. The door to the back hallway had been sealed shut as well. The whole house was getting smaller by the minute.
As Alex watched, Timmy lifted his hand up to his mouth, bit something, and then threw it out of the window. A few seconds later, the sound of an explosion rocked the room.
“Jenna,” Timmy shouted, “get me another grenade.”
“We’re all out,” the teenager shouted back.
“Then get me a gun, anything.”
She threw him a shotgun.
Alex grabbed his rifle and joined Timmy and Reni at the window. Raising the Savage to the open space, he started to shoot while he talked.
“What’s happening?”
“Hell, man. It’s like hell out there.” Timmy’s eyes didn’t leave the courtyard. He fired, again and again.
“You’re using the grenades now?”
“We were, man.”
“Why now?”
“Because of that!”
Timmy motioned with his gun, pointing it to the right. Alex’s eyes followed. There, at the
top of the track, was the same beat up jalopy he’d ridden back and forth to Athena. The headlights were on. The engine purred. It was pointed right at the front door.
It wasn’t the only car. A few other wrecks were scattered around the courtyard. Black scorch marks stained the hoods, fires still burning inside them. Charred bodies sat in the drivers’ seats.
“Christ. What are they trying to do?”
“Drive it right in here. They’re going to break us down. Battering ram style, man.”
Around the courtyard, believers were working to clear the path for the jalopy. No wonder they’re not shooting, thought Alex. They want to keep us distracted. They want to come right in through the front door.
“Alex.” It was Reni, shouting over the gunfire. Alex couldn’t look her in the eye.
“We need a new plan. We need to fall back.”
“Alex,” she shouted again. “What happened to my brother?”
The words wouldn’t come. Alex stopped shooting. The world seemed to quiet down, just for a moment. His eyes met Reni’s eyes and she read everything she needed to know. The sadness and the sacrifice.
Reni screamed. A scream of pure pain, starting in her gut and storming up through her body and out her mouth. She began to tug repeatedly on the trigger of her gun, bodies dropping relentlessly outside. Alex could feel the wrath emanating from her.
If we stay here, Alex thought, we’re all going to end up like Nelson. We’re all going to end up like Jamie. I have to do something. I can’t let them die in vain.
“Guys—” He turned to the room, addressing Jenna as well. “We need to get upstairs. We can’t hold this part of the house. Not anymore. We take the ammo upstairs, defend the bedroom. One last stand. It’s our best chance.”
Jenna was already gathering the guns. Reni ran out of bullets, threw her gun to the ground and kept on screaming. Alex grabbed her by the shoulders.
“Reni, listen. Please. It hurts, I know it. But Nelson told me to keep you alive. I’m going to be damned if I don’t.”
Her eyes were two blank marbles.
“Take all this. Help Jenna. Take Finn. Get upstairs. Protect Joan. Protect the baby. We will get through this, Reni. Go!”
She snapped out of it. Without saying anything, she ran across to the teenager and began to gather as many boxes of ammo in her arms as she could muster.
“You too, Timmy.” Alex turned back to his friend, who had never stopped shooting.
“Yeah, man.”
“Come on, we have to go!”
Jenna and Reni ran through the house, into the kitchen, towards the stairs. The dog bounded after them. It was just Alex and Timmy left by the entrance, holding back the horde.
“Yeah, man. One more minute. I’m in a good rhythm.”
“We’re going now, Timmy. We got to get out of this room.” Alex pulled on his friend’s arm. Timmy stopped firing.
“Yeah, good choice.”
“What? Why?”
“I don’t think this room’s going to be here much longer.”
Alex followed his friend’s line of sight. He noticed the headlights steaming towards them. The car was picking up speed.
“Run!” he shouted.
They ran. Guns in hand, they hurtled toward the kitchen. Just as they reached the doorway, the car hit the house. The room exploded into a million pieces of flying plaster and mortar.
The believers were inside the house.
32
The dust didn’t have time to settle.
Alex and Timmy picked themselves up, coughing and spluttering, and ran for the kitchen. They left the car behind them, crashed in through the wall. It wouldn’t take long for the believers to rush in afterwards.
Every few steps, Timmy turned. He fired his shotgun from his hip, aiming for the middle of the cloud of debris that chased them down the hall. Alex hurried him through a doorway and then slammed it shut. There was no lock. No hammer and nails to keep it closed. It wouldn’t hold them for long.
“Come on, we need to get upstairs.” Alex’s ears were still ringing, forcing him to shout.
A nod from Timmy and they started to run together. Their footsteps clapped against the floor, the slap of their shoe soles like gunshots lost in all the din. They passed the wet patch on the wall. It wasn’t on fire. Alex considered that a win.
The kitchen was empty except for Nelson. His body lay propped up against a wall, exactly where Alex had left it. Timmy stopped, staring.
“We can’t stop.” Alex pushed him forward. “Later. We’ll have to do it later.”
Out of the kitchen, they arrived at the bottom of the stairs. A shotgun boomed.
Alex leapt back just in time, taking Timmy with him. He’d turned the corner to see Jenna wielding the gun, pointing it at the foot of the stairs.
“It’s us, Jenna. We’re coming up.”
“Oh my God. Oh my God. I’m so sorry.”
Alex was already thundering up the stairs, talking as he moved.
“No, no. It’s fine. You didn’t hit us.” He reached the top, patting her on the shoulder. “You did the right thing. Keep it aimed there, okay? And actually hit them next time.”
The teenager nodded as Alex and Timmy pushed past into the room.
Joan and Reni stood beside the bed, the baby between them. Finn sat at their feet, his eyes fixed on the window. Spent casings littered the floor. Each had a gun in their hands. The cordite smell lingered in the air. The tears were flowing and Alex didn’t blame them. Whatever happened tonight, it would be a tragedy.
“We need to get ready,” he told them and felt terrible for saying it. “They could come at any moment.”
Silently, the two women disentangled. The room was lit with candles inside lanterns, hanging from the ceiling and sitting on the floor. Reni held the baby for a moment while Joan reloaded.
“Joan.” Alex pointed to the corner. “We’ll flip the bed. Get in behind there with the baby. Take Finn, too.”
“He doesn’t need protection,” Joan breathed. “He can help you. Me too.”
“He’s there for you. If anyone gets past us, he’ll tear them to shreds. Trust me.”
“I’ve got a gun, Alex, I can shoot.” Joan stared at him while Reni handed the baby back to her. “They’re not taking her again.”
“Yeah, I understand.” Alex could see that he’d never be able to argue Joan down from this point. “But I want you in the most defensive position possible, with your gun. Ready. Right? Please, Joan. I think it’s the safest spot. You’re the absolute last line of defense. The most important part. We all need you.”
After a pause, Joan nodded in agreement. Alex and Timmy lifted up the bed, turned it on its side and pushed it into the corner. Mother and child, as well as the dog, huddled behind it. It wouldn’t hold back much but it would have to do.
“How’s she holding up?” Alex asked Joan, looking over the frame of the bed, handing down a pistol.
“Quiet as a mouse. Good as gold.” Joan took the pistol, her hands touching it like she was handling radioactive waste. “If I can’t use this, then I can do something else.”
“I hope you won’t have to.”
“Don’t be stupid, Alex. I’m a resource. We’re desperate. Hand me all the ammo, all the extra guns. While I’m here, I can reload them. Do it.”
Alex didn’t even nod. He just did it. She was right. Everyone joined in, handing over spare weapons and ammo to Joan, who began to restock and rearm as best she could.
Once the gun was taken out of his hand, Alex turned to the room.
“Okay, listen. I know this is hard. I know we’ve lost people. I feel it, too. It’s awful. But we’ve got to fight. We can’t let them come in here.”
The only sound was Timmy reloading his gun.
“Jenna, I want you exactly there,” Alex continued, addressing them individually. “Timmy, Reni. I want you on the windows. One each. No more hiding, open them up and give them hell. I’m going to run interreference s
o–”
The crack of Jenna’s gun cut him short. It had started already. She fired again.
Timmy and Reni ran to the windows and threw them open. Each of them had a rifle, and they opened fire on the courtyard below.
The ammo and the guns sat behind the bed with Joan. A few more shotguns, a rifle, a couple of pistols, and thousands of rounds for everything. Alex also had his Savage, but it wasn’t much good in here. There were even a few of the Molotov cocktails buried at the corner. Even with this admirable cache, it didn’t feel like enough. He couldn’t help but worry.
Jenna was still firing. She was going to run out soon. Alex grabbed one of the shotguns from the pile, began filling it up.
As she shouted, Alex was already there, handing her the new gun. She took it in her hands, kneeling around the doorframe at the top of the stairs. The shotgun fired and a squeal at the other end meant good news.
One down, Alex thought, God knows how many left to go.
The cacophony of gun shots filled the room. Smoke and the putrid smell was all anyone knew. The room was filling up fast, overpowering every sense. Alex could feel himself getting dizzy, drunk on all the action.
He kept filling up the shotgun for Jenna, ferrying back and forth from Joan as he tried to keep everyone reloaded, like a general watching the battle lines for possible weak points. The believers kept trying the stairs. When he could, between reloads, he ran to the windows and dumped a few magazines in front of Timmy and Reni. Neither of them spoke, their barrels just swept from side to side, red hot.
“How we doing, guys? How we doing?” Alex had to shout as loud as he could to be heard.
“Too many, too many!” Jenna cried from her position.
“Switch out with me, then.” Alex jumped down beside her, taking the gun. “Help Joan!”
Alex propped himself up against the wooden frame of the door. The gun felt warm in his hands, even the handle. The barrel, even from far away, felt close to melting.
It was a riot model, fitted with a heat shield. Alex held on tight. He had ten shells before he’d have to call for Joan. He had to make them count.
He could see right down to the foot of the stairs. Feet and hands lay strewn across the small part of the floor. Jenna had been busy. But they weren’t slowing down. If he concentrated, Alex could see he wall shake when an invader leaned up against it.
