Suddenly, the gunfire petered out in the next room, and following a momentary lull, an explosion rocked the building. At first, in my momentary daze, I could only think it was one of Randall’s bazookas… Or maybe it was one of Marlon’s rockets that I’d seen in his barn? But no, we hadn’t brought along a rocket launcher, to my knowledge. Not only would that have been overkill for this mission, the last thing we wanted to do was destroy the very town we sought to take back. Not only that, this sounded different…
Then I remembered Marlon’s bins filled with grenades. Had he brought some along to use at an opportune time?
Regardless, when I opened my eyes, there was one thing I couldn’t help but notice.
Randall had turned to look toward the sound.
This was my chance. My last chance before he realized his blunder and continued his assault—and used that knife to stab me to death.
I thought of my training, my past in hand-to-hand combat. One little trick I’d picked up was on fighting dirty. Everyone expects you to go for the head. Instead, go for a softer, more vulnerable target. And go deep.
In Randall’s moment of distraction, he’d left his torso wide open… a perfect vulnerable target for me to exploit. Forming my fingers into claws, I thrust them just below the middle of his chest, near the top of his belly.
His eyes went wide and he let out a huff of air, losing his grip on the knife—it fell harmlessly to the floor. I now had his full attention.
I dug into him, then thrust upward, until my fingers bored into his solar plexus, right under his breastbone. With every last ounce of strength I could muster, I pushed upward and Randall struggled, attempting to strike my face with his fists. Some of the blows hit with little force, but most went wide, missing my face completely.
I pushed up hard and rolled, flinging the bear-man off of me, and then I was on him, using the side of my fist as a hammer against the side of his face.
The shock sent his eyes rolling upward, and Randall went limp, collapsing. Unconscious.
I reached into my pocket and found a set of zip-ties. Rolling my foe onto his stomach, I yanked both of his hands behind his back. With his hands bound, I rummaged through a nearby tent, finding some cordage to use to bind his ankles together. The last thing I wanted was for this man to wake up and escape.
No, justice had to be served.
And there were questions that needed answers.
Looking down at my foe, I heard the battle in the other room petering out. I turned and walked away from his crumpled mass, praying that the people of Ellis Woods had emerged the victors. It wouldn’t take long for me to find out.
I steeled myself and headed toward the main hall.
As I crept along the windowless corridor, my heart pounded in my temple. Up ahead, I saw a figure standing in the doorway, partially concealed by the smoke that flooded toward me. Smoke from not only the firefight, but also the explosion that I could only guess had been a grenade.
I suppressed a cough and squinted, eyeing the person at the end of the hallway.
Whoever it was, they stood proud. They’d won the battle. Now, I only had to find out which side they were on. That would tell me all I needed to know.
Either we had been victorious.
Or we’d lost.
And that would mean I’d be at the mercy of Randall’s men.
I raised my weapon, keeping it held at the low ready.
If they were an enemy combatant, I was unsure if opening fire would be wise. I’d be up against an entire company of fighters. That would be a battle I could not win.
But as the smoke cleared slightly, I spotted a familiar face.
“Marlon!”
“That’s my name,” he said, letting a smile form on his face.
“We won?”
“We sure did.”
I let out a long breath as relief washed over me. We had won the battle for Ellis Woods, with Randall and his thugs no longer in control of our beloved town. It would only be a matter of time before we could move our people back and figure out our next steps.
Marlon’s slight smile disappeared. “Took on some casualties, but the other side lost far more than we did. The rest surrendered, and we’ll have to figure out where to hold them for questioning.”
On hearing that we had lost people, I sent up a quick prayer for their families. Sure, we’d gone into this knowing that we might lose people—it was one of the grim realities of battle—but that didn’t mean it was ever easy to handle.
I gave a somber nod, then motioned over my shoulder. “Well, I have someone in there we can question.”
“Randall?”
“Who else?”
Marlon crossed his arms over his chest, seemingly pleased to hear that news. “Can’t wait to have a little chat with him.”
38
The next day, Town Hall had been cleared of the dead, and the enemy combatants who’d surrendered had been moved to holding cells at the police station with the help of Sean and his deputies. I wasn’t at all surprised to learn that each cell was now overflowing, but that was a problem that could be solved later. Eventually, we’d find a longer-term solution for where to hold them until they could stand trial for their crimes.
In the meantime, we had sent a couple runners to Marlon’s compound to communicate with our remaining people there. Soon, they would be brought back to town, once it was safe to do so. It hadn’t taken long for one of the runners to return, bringing news that Zoe was awake and in good spirits following the wolf attack. Angie was doing a fine job as well, and seemed spry and especially happy that I’d come out of the battle in one piece. It had been reported that the people at the compound were resting and getting enough food. The elderly and children alike were playing games, keeping their minds occupied. It was all for the better, I thought. They shouldn’t have to deal with what was going on in their town right now. They shouldn’t have to think about the gritty work we were doing after the battle for Ellis Woods.
I was glad I could take that burden off of them, with the help of Marlon, Bob, Sean, and the rest of the town’s leaders and defenders.
My mind turned to Marlon. He had his hands full at the moment, interrogating Randall. I’d wanted to be involved in that meeting, but he’d insisted that he had certain… unsavory methods that he didn’t even think I was ready to witness. I’d begged to differ, but I had other tasks to do at the moment, most of them involving leading the clean-up crews and getting the town in order. Returning it to a livable state.
Then I remember what else Marlon had told me. Beneath the library, he had someone manning his communication device, awaiting correspondence from the government. As soon as they heard anything, I would be the first to know.
Damn right, I’d be the first to know. Whatever was coming through the lines to that device probably had a lot to do with whatever secret mission Marlon had mentioned.
As I worked, the intrigue was driving me crazy. I felt apprehension at leaving my family again, though I was compelled to do whatever I could to help the townsfolk or whoever else needed my skills in this new world.
Stepping outside of Town Hall, I saw Marlon approaching me like a man on a mission.
“So you found out…” I said, hoping that he had something that would assuage my curiosity.
His eyebrows rose. “A lot, actually.”
“From the communicator, or Randall?”