She moved stiffly as she undid her belt and unbuttoned her jeans, one slow button at a time. He watched her, but every second, he glanced nervously up at us. As soon as she unbuttoned the last button, he turned her around and yanked her pants down. “Grab that rack. Don’t let go or else.”
She reached out and grabbed the silver bar. I felt Clutch move away from me, and I’d nearly forgotten why Vicki was up there. I heard the sound of big engines outside. The New Eden squadron had arrived.
Vicki stood there. Her determined gaze leveled above our group while the bandit struggled with unfastening his belt and pants with only one hand. The other bandit had leaned forward, captivated by the scene and oblivious to Joe and three other scouts inching closer to the rock. Clutch still sat next to me, but I noticed he now had his feet poised under him, like he was a sprinter at the gate.
The bandit finally had his pants undone, and he grabbed Vicki’s hip. As he moved close to her, she shoved her head back and nailed him directly on the nose.
“Uh! Bitch!” he cried out, taking a step back, momentarily stunned.
She grabbed the barrel of his gun, and he tried to yank it from her. Clutch shoved off and closed the ten feet to them with more strength and agility than I thought he had regained. I jumped and ran after him. A couple shots fired from the direction of the other bandit, but I didn’t look.
Clutch reached the bandit as soon as he yanked the rifle from Vicki and knocked her to the floor. Clutch tackled him, and I grabbed the bandit’s rifle and kneeled on his wrist. He cried out, and I pulled the rifle free. Clutch chopped the guy in the throat and rolled off him. The guy got to his knees, struggling to breathe.
Vicki reached for the rifle. I handed it to her. She raised it and shot the bandit in the gut. He took a step back, tripped, and lay there, holding his bleeding stomach. She handed the rifle back to me, fastened her jeans, and then headed back to the group. I’m guessing she was aiming lower, but I didn’t care as long as he was down.
Several had gathered around the other, clearly dead bandit, and I saw Joe on the floor, a stream of blood trailing from his neck. Deb looked over and sadly shook her head.
Outside, there was yelling, and then the sound of gunfire erupted. Several bandits sprinted into the store. Hodge, whose eyes were already wide, froze when he saw us, and anger tightened his visage.
“Incoming!” I yelled. I tumbled with Clutch behind a toppled display and handed him his rifle.
Clutch shouted, “Everyone, take cover! Head for the back rooms!”
He laid down cover fire while the women and children ran. The scouts took up position behind various forms of cover. The bandits fired wildly as though they were trying to decide which direction they wanted to go. White fuzz exploded from sleeping bags. Someone cried out in sharp pain.
“We need to get to a better position.” Clutch looked around. “This way.”
We ran and slid across a sales counter. No one seemed to be firing at us, but the entire store was filled with the sound of gunfire, and I suspected the bandits were now shooting at the New Eden soldiers and not us.
“I’m going to give you a push, and we’ll take position there behind that big support beam.” Clutch pointed.
I looked up at the rock ledge filled with various stuffed animals. Toward the middle, just above the giant aquariums, was what I figured had to be the support beam Clutch was talking about: a tree trunk going from floor to ceiling.
“Ready?”
I nodded. We both climbed onto the glass counter. I jumped up at the same time Clutch heaved me, and I flew onto the ledge above. He tossed me his rifle and then climbed up. I slung the rifle over my shoulder, grabbed his jeans, and helped pull him up the last bit. We ran around the animals and behind the disguised support beam. Clutch crouched, took aim, and fired. I was behind the beam and couldn’t see, but knew that since Clutch hadn’t fired a second shot, a bandit had just gone down.
A grenade exploded, and I peeked around the other side of the beam. Dust and flames flickered near the front sales counters. Then, a massive explosion shook the building. Something big and black crashed down onto me, and I tumbled off the ledge and into the stagnant fish tank below. The falling object landed on top of me, knocking the air from my lungs and pressing me against the bottom of the tank.
I tried to shove out from under it—a stuffed grizzly bear—but it weighed too much. Stale water filled my nose and crept down my throat. My lungs burned as I struggled harder against the bear. I grabbed at its fur and tried to twist away. Blackness and stars overtook my vision. A pounding sound reverberated through the water, and I felt a wave around me as the water flowed away. I coughed and breathed, but the bear was still crushing me. Arms yanked at me. My limbs were going numb, and I felt like I was falling.
“Cash. Godammit, look at me, girl.”
The voice sounded like Clutch but it was so distant. Gradually, it drew closer and louder until I found myself coughing water and sucking air.
“Thank God,” Clutch said as he held me in his arms. “Are you okay?”
After a final cough, I held up my thumb.
He gave me a hard kiss and then pulled me to my feet before I’d even realized what he’d done. A blend of shock and thrill brought me back to reality.
“They’re bringing this place down with artillery fire. We need to get out of here.”
Chapter XXXII
Clutch practically dragged me through the store. I recognized a couple of the bodies lying motionless on the floor, but, thankfully, nearly all of the Fox survivors were nowhere in sight. I had to believe they’d made it out okay. No one was shooting at us. The fight seemed to have moved back outside, but rounds were still going off everywhere around us. When we reached the hallway under the Exit sign, Clutch took the lead.
We ran past a room where Mary’s body lay crumpled next to a desk, her lifeless eyes staring at us. Not far from her, I saw our weapons in a big pile. The bandits must’ve dumped them there when they were in a hurry to prepare for the New Eden guys. I stopped and pulled Clutch back. “Wait. We’ll need these.”
He stopped but didn’t let go until he noticed the weapons. We rushed into the room, and I picked through the pile to find my rifle and knife. I couldn’t find my pistol, so I just started pulling out anything that looked like something I could use. The entire time I focused completely on the weapons and refused to look anywhere even close in the direction of Mary’s broken body.
Clutch did the same. I noticed he kept his eyes focused on the weapons, looking at each one. We each took the best machetes, knives, spears, and sidearms. Clutch even grabbed an extra rifle, but I took only mine to keep the weight down. The last thing he picked up before he came to his feet was Tyler’s sword, still in its sheath.
“He would’ve wanted you to have it,” I said between slinging what I could over my shoulder and fastening everything else in my weapons belt.
His brows rose but he quickly regained his composure. “Let’s go.”
We hurried toward the exit. Clutch threw the steel doors open, and we found three soldiers aiming their rifles at us.
“Whoa!” Clutch yelled, holding his rifle up. “We’re not bandits!”
They didn’t lower their weapons, but one soldier nodded in my direction. “They don’t look like bandits.”
“Where are you from?” another soldier asked. “And you’d better answer quick.”
“I’m with Camp Fox,” Clutch replied. “Sergeant Joe Seibert with the 75th Ranger Regiment.”