But they couldn’t do that.
They couldn’t leave Chad on the roof.
And they couldn’t leave behind Mandy and Georgia.
On the roof of the house, Max finally saw Chad reappear.
Max waved at him, trying to get his attention. But Chad didn’t seem to see him.
“Psst,” came a voice from off to the side.
“Mom?” said Sadie.
Max turned. It was Georgia, her hunting clothes drenched in sweat. Her hair was wet and plastered down, stuck to her forehead. It looked like she’d been running hard.
“Where’d you come from?” said James. “Are you OK?”
Georgia was breathing so heavily it seemed hard for her to talk. She came over to where the three of them lay behind the cover of the bushes and tree trunks.
She got down with them, setting her rifle in front of her. She had her priorities straight, and didn’t speak until she got her rifle in position.
“I shot one of them,” she said, her voice breathless. “There were three. Two left.”
“We saw them,” said Max. “They shot him.”
“Who?”
Max gestured to the corpse on the ground by the van.
“Who the hell is he?”
“We don’t know,” said Max. “He just showed up.”
“Shit.”
“You shot one of them, Mom?” said Sadie, her voice full of terror.
“I had to,” said Georgia. “I overheard them. I don’t know who they are exactly. But what I know is that they’ve been traveling around, taking what they need and what they want. They’ve been killing indiscriminately, from the sound of it. I heard them talking about killing us all and taking the house. Or what’s in the house.”
“This is what I was afraid of,” muttered Max.
“Well, you’ll be happy to know you were right.”
“Doesn’t make me happy.”
“They’re heavily armed,” said Georgia. “One had an AR-15.”
“Shit.”
“What’s an AR-15?” said Sadie.
“Assault rifle,” said James. He sounded worried, but he was keeping it together. Max was impressed. Not that he had much time to think about that now.
Max knew they needed a plan.
“Where are they now?” said Max.
“I don’t know. After I shot the one, the two others just kept running. They were almost at the house. I came around the long way on the side.”
“Why didn’t Chad do anything?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he froze up,” said Georgia.
“Damn it,” muttered Max. “Any ideas on what to do, Georgia?”
It had been almost fifteen minutes now. And there wasn’t a single sign or sound from the armed men.
“Maybe they’ve left,” said Sadie.
“I doubt it,” said Max. “You said they were definitely coming for the farmhouse, right, Georgia?”
“Yeah,” said Georgia. “They sounded vicious and cruel. There was something horrible about their voices, and the way they talked.”
“Sounds like they’re the kind of men who’ll do anything to get what they want,” said Max. “I doubt they’re simply going to leave because I fired a couple shots at them.”
Max looked up at Chad on the roof.
This time, Chad was looking at him.
Chad was making gestures with his hands and his arms. But it didn’t look like any kind of system of symbols that Max could recognize.
“Any idea what he’s trying to say?”
“No idea,” said Georgia.
Now Chad was pointing directly down at the house. He kept pointing down, using both hands, occasionally moving his arms for added emphasis.
“I think he’s saying the men are in the house,” said James.
“Shit, I think you might be right,” said Max.
“What’s going to happen?” said Sadie.
“It’s going to be OK, Sadie,” said Georgia. “Let’s try to figure this out.”
“Mandy was out of the house, right?” said Max.
“She definitely wasn’t in there,” said James.
“Definitely not,” said Sadie. “We would have seen her.”
“The only problem is we don’t know where she is.”
“What are you thinking?” said Georgia.
Max had his eyes on the house. Suddenly, there was a flash of movement in one of the upstairs windows. One of the men appeared in the window, his torso visible. But it was too quick for anyone to get a shot. He disappeared from view a second later.
“They’re definitely in the farmhouse,” said Max. “And there’s no way we’re going to be able to enter it and take it back with force. Not with a bunch of rifles. And I’m not good for anything quick, not with this leg.”
Max may not have been a brilliant military strategist, but he had a realistic understanding of the situation. In the movies, the hero would simply storm the house and shoot the bad guys dead, all without getting injured. But Max knew that he didn’t have those abilities, that those sorts of things were generally fiction.
Plus, with his injured leg, there was no chance of doing that.
“I think the best thing to do,” said Max, “is to let them stay in there.”
“All our stuff’s in there!” said Sadie.
“Shut up,” said James.
“She’s got a good point,” said Max. “We need our stuff to survive. And we probably need the house, too. I’m not saying we’re going to let them take it.”
“You’re thinking of staying out on the fringes and picking them off when they finally have to come out?” said Georgia.
“Exactly,” said Max. “There’s hardly any food in there. They’re going to have to come out at some point.”
“They were wearing big packs,” said Georgia. “And it sounded like they’d robbed a lot of people… I’m sure they’ll have food with them.”
“Well,” said Max. “We’re going to have to wait if we want to get the house back. The only other option is to leave.”
“Leave?” said James.
“We could take the minivan,” said Max. “But we’d be starting all over. And without most of our gear. I think that’s going to have to be option number two.”
“What about Chad?” said Sadie. “He’s stuck up there on the roof.”
“He’s going to have to just wait it out,” said Max. “And hopefully we’ll see Mandy before she tries to enter the house.”
“This would be a lot easier if our cell phones worked,” said Sadie.
“Shut up,” said James. “You’re not helping.”
There were times when their sibling rivalry could be cute, but this wasn’t one of them. It was starting to wear on Max.
“Kids,” said Georgia. “Come on now.”
“Yeah, James,” said Sadie.
“She’s got a good point,” said Max. “But there’s nothing we can do about that.”
“What if they try to leave in the van?” said Georgia. “We’re going to have to cover both doors… They could easily rush out the front, and get into the van with a bunch of our supplies.”
“Yeah,” said Max. “What’s stopping them from simply gathering up the best of our possessions and leaving.”
“I don’t think so,” said Georgia. “I have a feeling they’re going to want the house. They were… it’s hard to describe their attitude. But they just want to take. They want complete control…”
On the roof, Chad was still pointing down into the house, indicating that he hadn’t seen the men leave yet.
“Either way,” said Max. “We’ll shoot them when they leave. They’re probably more likely to leave the way they came in. You’re the best shot by far, Georgia. So you’re going to need to move out. You know what to do. Find good cover, and wait. There aren’t going to be any shifts. We’re going to have to stay awake as long as possible. Here, these might be useful.”
Max took a bottle of strong caffeine pills from his pocket. He shook some into Georgia’s hand. “You’re going to want to take them frequently.”