by Jeff Shelby
Aaron was on the other side of Tim and they laid him back.
Jillian was back. She glanced around, her ponytail swinging as she assessed the room. “No keys. And I can hear cars coming. She must've called backup. Fuck.”
I pointed at Tim, my eyes still on the hallway, my gun ready, looking for signs of movement. “One hit. Shoulder. He's mobile, but probably in shock.”
“We gotta go,” Jillian said. “No idea who she called, and I'm sure they're armed at the back of the house.”
“Nothing else out front?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Nothing with keys. I'd need a screwdriver to start one, but I'm not sure we've got enough time.”
“Weather?” I asked.
“Bad,” she said. “Rain's heavy again. Fresh wave just rolled in.”
“Canyon then,” I said, knowing this was our only option. “We've got cars at the top. That's away from anyone incoming and it'll be dark.” It wasn’t a great plan, hiking at a slow pace back through the terrain, but it was the only choice we had.
Jillian took two steps to her right, then lifted the gun and fired twice down the hallway.
My ears were going to be ringing for days.
I waited a beat for her to say something, to nod or say okay or give some kind of indication that this was what we were going to do, but she said nothing.
“I don't have anything else,” I said. “It’s either that or stick around here and get shot. And I’m not willing to do that.”
She picked up the gun Gerald dropped and shoved it in her waistband. Then she grabbed Nick's shotgun. “You want this or what you've got?”
I guess that was her way of giving me an answer. “Give it to me,” I said, shoving the smaller gun into my own waistband. “I'll take both.”
She hustled over to me and held it out.
“Dad, he doesn't look good,” Elizabeth said. Her tone was as worried as her expression, but she wasn’t going into hysterics. Yet.
“Get him up,” I said.
“But he doesn't—”
“Get him up,” I repeated. “I know he's hurting, and I know he doesn't look good. But we've gotta go now.”
“Oh, Jesus,” Aaron said, tears streaming down his face. His eyes were fixated on his friend. “Oh, Jesus. What the hell is going on?”
“Shut up,” Elizabeth barked. She was suddenly all business, no nonsense. “Help me lift him.”
Aaron, for once, didn’t argue and didn’t speak. They crouched down together, maneuvered their arms underneath Tim, and worked to get him into a standing position.
“They'll be okay?” Jillian asked, her eyes darting between the hallway and the three of them.
“My daughter will,” I told her. “I don't know about the other two, and I don't give a shit about them.”
Jillian turned and fired one more shot down the hall, the noise deafening.
Then she nodded to the door. “Let's go.”
THIRTY
We ushered the three kids through the front door and outside.
The rain was falling from the sky in waves and the black sky was cracked intermittently with long lines of lightning. I’d been wrong about the storm being over. The thunder rumbled above us, but after the close-quarters gunshots, it sounded like it was miles and miles away.
We hustled around the edge of the cabin. The three kids first, then me, then Jillian. Once we hit the trail and we were about 100 yards up, I told Elizabeth to keep moving and that Jillian and I were going to figure out the logistics.
“You're not coming?” she asked, one of Tim's arms draped over her shoulders. The panic in her voice was unmistakable.
“I'm coming,” I reassured her. “You won't be able to move too fast, anyway. I'll catch up within three minutes.”
She nodded, turned, and kept moving forward up the path.
I looked at Jillian. “Now what?”
“There's no other cleared path up the canyon and they'll know we're up here,” she said. “And they'll come out firing. I think the best we can do is lay down cover and let them get a head start. Then we can move up behind them and repeat. Just inch our way up the hill.”
“If they've got more coming, they'll be able to spread out,” I said.
She wiped at the rain in her eyes. “I know. But this is the best I've got.”
“Okay,” I nodded. “I'll take the right side, you take the left? If they all come out on one side, we can reassess.”
“Yep,” she said. “They aren't really well-versed in this kind of thing. They'll probably just come out firing. They won't have a tactical plan.”
“That works in our favor then.”
“Let's hope.”
Headlights flashed in the rainy darkness in front of the cabin, the reinforcements arriving as promised. Doors opened and slammed and footsteps pounded against the mud. There was muffled shouting inside the house.
“Get ready,” she said, crouching and getting the shotgun into position.
I mimicked her pose, letting the gun sit heavy in my hands and setting the barrel in the direction of the right side of the house.
Jillian's first shot set off more yelling.
“They’re all on this side,” she said, the gun still sighted. She pulled the trigger and the glass in the newly arrived truck shattered. “Don't worry about that side.”
I rotated, aimed and fired, the massive weapon kicking back into my shoulder.
We saw movement, then bullets slamming into the hillside ten yards away from Jillian.
She fired off two more. “Go. I'll catch up.”
I turned and stayed low, moving up the hillside as fast as I could. I could still make out the shadows of Tim, Elizabeth, and Aaron above me on the trail. Two more bullets thudded into the wet canyon surface about five yards to my right. I wasn't sure if they saw me or if they were just firing blindly.
Jillian fired two more, then I heard her grunting as she moved in behind me on the trail.
“I'm gonna sit here,” she said. “The longer I can pin them there, the more time you'll have.”
“You can't do it alone,” I said.
She sprayed the area down the hill. “I can do well enough.”
“Hold your spot here,” I said. “Let me get to the kids and I'll come back.”
She sprayed the area down again and didn't say anything.
I wiped the rain from my eyes and tried to stay low against the hillside. My feet slipped in the mud and it felt like I was barely making any progress in getting to Elizabeth and the other two. But I finally found some solid footing and pulled in step with them.
“How's he doing?” I asked.
Elizabeth grunted, Tim's arm held tightly around her shoulders. “Fine.”
Tim didn't look fine. His face was pale, his eyes glazed over. His weight was hung heavy over both Elizabeth and Aaron.
“I'm gonna hang back and help Jillian,” I said. “I want you to just keep pushing up to the car.”
“I don't wanna go alone,” Elizabeth said.
I swiped at the rain hitting my eyes. It was hard to focus, hard to see. “You won't be. I just need to hang lower so we can give ourselves more breathing room. So concentrate on getting him to the top and we'll be up behind you when we can.”
“What do we do at the top?” Aaron asked, his hair down over his eyes.
“Get in a car,” I said. “As soon as I get up there, we'll head out.” I looked at Elizabeth. “But he needs help, and we need to get him up there as fast as possible. This is the way to do it. Trust me.”
Trust me.
I'd asked her to do that too many times in her life already. So far, she'd stayed with me and done what I'd asked. But I worried that we'd eventually get to the point where she would no longer listen, and I wasn't sure I'd be able to blame her.
I waited for a moment to make sure they could keep moving forward, then carefully worked my way back down to Jillian so we could figure out how to hold off Curry and her cohorts.
/> THIRTY ONE
It took me a few minutes to work my way back down to Jillian's position. The rain was heavier and the hillside in the canyon less stable. I was slipping and sliding the entire way. I finally decided I was safer on my rear end and scooted the remaining way to her like I was on a sled.
She unleashed a salvo of bullets at the side of the house and glanced at me. “I think we have a problem.”
I picked up the semi-automatic next to her and aimed down near where she'd fired. I didn't see any movement at the moment. “What's that?”
She dropped the gun from eye level and took a deep breath. “Two cars left. The one took off to the east.”
“I saw that one.”
“When you went up the hill, a second one took off,” she said. “But it went south. The road to the south winds around back to the west. And back up into the canyon.”
I thought for a moment. “So the road that I was on where I parked up above?”
She nodded. “Most likely. Not much other reason to go in that direction.”
Muzzles flared in the dark at the bottom of the canyon and a moment later, bullets thudded into the mud about fifteen feet below where we were situated.
“They can't reach this high,” Jillian informed me. “I've had them pinned there since you left and they haven't been able to fire anything closer.”
I nodded. “Okay. So now what? If you're telling me they're circling, then we're going to get pinned. And my daughter is going to get up there before me.”
“I know,” she said. “That's why I'm telling you. I think you need to go with them. And try to beat them to the top.”
Another hail of bullets came our way, and they were within ten feet this time.
“Shit,” she muttered. “Closer.”
I lifted the semi-automatic and fired in a wide arc on the left side of the house, then traced back over that arc. I heard voices but didn't see movement in the darkness and falling rain. I had no idea how much ammo was left in the magazine.
“You should go,” she said. “Let me hold them down here. I can catch up. You want to be there if they are coming around and your daughter gets up there.”
I squinted against the rain, the water hitting my skin like tiny pebbles. “Who are you?”
She frowned at me and pushed the wet hair from her face. “Nobody.”
“That isn't true,” I said.
“This isn't the time for it.”
“How do I know you aren't going to follow me up the hill and put one in my back?”
“Are you serious?” she asked, her eyes focused on the bottom of the canyon. “I read you in the house. I knew what you were going to do and joined in. I tried to cut you loose at the top of the hill. And I'm trying to send you on your way to go be with your kid so you can get the hell out of here. But you're sitting here in the mud and shit, asking me questions like that?”
She was right. It was a dumb question. But I wanted to know who she was and why she was there. I wanted to know how much of what Curry had said was true, and what she might have left out. But I also knew now wasn’t the time to be asking questions. Not with guys firing at us, and not with Elizabeth walking into a dangerous situation.
“Alright,” I said, nodding. “You're right. I'll move up. But don't sit here too long. They'll eventually figure out that if they spread out they'll be better off and pin you right here.”
“I'm aware,” she said.
“We'll wait for you at the top,” I said.
She glared at me. “Aren't you worried I might shoot you in the car or something?”
“I'm sorry,” I said. “I was out of line.”
She repositioned the gun against her shoulder and squeezed the trigger. Smacked against the pavement at the bottom of the canyon.
“Yeah, you were,” she said, her eyes still forward. “Now go.”
THIRTY TWO
The rain shifted from falling horizontally to coming straight down.
Thunder still rumbled in the distance, but the lightning had moved east, leaving the canyon black and shiny beneath the falling water. The footholds were soft and for every step I took, it felt like I was taking a step backward just to steady myself. Like one big muddy treadmill.
I heard Jillian continuing to lay down fire as I worked my way up the slippery canyon, but the sounds began to fade. Voices drifted up from the valley floor, but I couldn't make out words or what they were saying. I turned around several times just to check on what was going on, but the darkness and the rain made it impossible to see Jillian or further below.
I knew that I needed to focus on getting to Elizabeth, but a part of me didn't want to leave Jillian behind. I might've started what had gone on in that house, but without her, we wouldn't have made it out. It had taken both of us working for the same thing to get us out. I didn't want her to sit there covering my ass and to become a sitting duck.
She'd demonstrated that she knew how to handle herself, though, and she was probably better at it than I was. If she'd been undercover, she knew better than I did as to what to expect. Letting her direct everything made sense. She'd told me to go, so I had.
But I didn't like leaving her in a vulnerable spot.
I slung the gun over my shoulder and started using my hands to help steady myself, moving almost like a crab in the soaked, soft hillside. I grabbed onto the roots of what looked like a tumbleweed and pulled myself forward. Anything that looked like it was solidly in the ground was something I latched onto to leverage myself up.
I could still see the path in the dark, but it was impossible to make out footprints because the rain was washing everything away. I couldn't tell if Elizabeth and the boys had stayed on the trail or if they'd veered off.
Voices rose from the bottom of the canyon again and I paused.
Definitely closer.
More gunfire and more shouting.
I wasn't sure how far they'd advanced, but they were definitely coming up from the canyon. They were no longer down at the house.
Another round of fire and the voices quieted. I had no way of knowing which shots belonged to Jillian or if she'd moved or if she was okay.
I paused, sitting down in the muck, waiting, deciding.
I didn't want to leave her behind. But I didn't want Elizabeth getting to the top and facing off with Curry or Nick or whoever had gone in that direction.
It wasn't a hard decision, but it didn't feel good.
I turned my back on Jillian and the bottom of the canyon and started moving as fast as I could toward the top.
THIRTY TWO
By the time I reached the top, my clothes were soaking wet and I was caked in mud. My hands were raw from grabbing at rocks and bushes to propel me forward and my shoes felt like sponges.
As I'd come up the hill, I could make out Elizabeth and the boys ahead of me, and I relaxed a fraction, grateful that they were still moving in the right direction. But as they struggled to get over the lip of the canyon and to the parking lot, it was clear they were having trouble.
Tim was on the ground and both Elizabeth and Aaron were bent over. I couldn't tell whether they were talking to him or just physically exhausted.
“What's wrong?” I shouted as the rain pounded the ground.
Elizabeth turned around. “I think he passed out.”
Thunder rolled above us and I squatted down next to Tim. I put my hand on his arm. His skin was cold and clammy. I rolled him onto his side. He was breathing, but his eyes were glassy and he was looking at something I couldn't see.
“Tim, I need you to look at me,” I said. “Can you do that?”
His eyelids fluttered. With some effort, he rotated his eyes in my direction.
“Good,” I said, nodding. “We're gonna get you in the car and get you some help. But I need you to stay awake and to be aware of what's going on. Can you sit up for me?”
He tried to say something, but words didn't come out.
“I need you to sit up,” I said again.<
br />
He moved like he was trying to get up, but it ended up looking more like a fish flopping around out of water. I got my hands beneath his shoulders and pulled his torso up into a sitting position. He groaned and his body shook.
“I need you to focus, Tim,” I said, holding onto him. “Can you do that?”
His eyes flitted for a moment, then seemed to focus on mine, and he nodded.
“We're gonna stand you up, then get you into the car. You follow what I'm telling you?”
He blinked again, then nodded.
“Elizabeth, grab his arm,” I said.
She nodded and braced herself near his right arm. I scooted around and Aaron shuffled backward, out of my way. We got his weight beneath us and leveraged him up. He was unsteady on his feet for a moment, wavering a little from side to side.
He turned and looked me. “I'm okay,” he said, his voice rough, raspy.
“Good, good,” I said, nodding. “Let's get you in the car.”
We got him turned around and angled toward the car. The rain let up for a moment, moving from sheets to tolerable.
“He took the keys,” Elizabeth said. “That guy Nick took the keys when we came up here.”
“We're okay,” I said. “You have hold of him?”
She nodded.
I let go and jogged around to the driver's side of the car. I bent down and felt beneath the wheel well of the driver's side tire at the front of the car. My fingers found the small magnetic box I kept there and yanked it off the interior. I squeezed the box and stood up. I slid the compartment open.
And it was empty.
“What's wrong?” Elizabeth asked.
“The key's gone,” I said. “It's supposed to be here and it's gone.”
Elizabeth started to say something, then she turned to Tim and leaned in closer to him, asking or telling him something I couldn’t hear. “When we came up here with the lady and that Nick guy,” she told me. “Tim said he was over there on the side of the car. I remember, too. He walked around both cars and he was looking underneath them.”
