“Stay here, boy,” Joe ordered, extending his hand out to the dog. The animal obeyed, watching the two of them head to the opposite door.
They passed into another, longer container lined with more fluorescent lights on the ceiling. The second unit was empty, and much longer than the other, stretching forty feet. At the end was another metal door like the one they’d just gone through. Helen rushed to the other side of the bunker with Joe close behind. She swung open the door, revealing a set of wooden stairs and a storm door at the top. They quietly ascended the steps and eased open the hatch, flashing their weapons in every corner to make sure it was clear.
They climbed through the opening into the tool shed, still wary of any possible intruders. Various items like a leaf blower, rakes, sledge hammers, gardening tools, mowers, hedge trimmers, and other items lined the walls and floor of the 12x12 building. The muffled sounds of the gunfire could be heard through the walls. Joe tiptoed over to the door and eased it open to get a peek at the situation.
Outside, four men were in front of the house, and another four were in the back. The ones in front were still firing a barrage of bullets into the building while the men in the backyard were laying low on the ground, probably covering a possible rear escape. Had Joe and Helen gone out the back door, they would have been mowed down on site.
“There’s four in front and four in the back,” he apprised her.
“So, eight of ‘em, huh? Well, the first two will be easy. The last six won’t be when they see what’s happening.”
He nodded, agreeing with her assessment.
She slid the handgun back into a holster and took the bow off of her shoulder then removed an arrow from the quiver before placing the container on the ground. Fitting the arrow in place, she lifted it up and stepped over to the door.
“Grab one of those arrows for me. As soon as I let this one go, have the second one ready.” He did as told and grabbed an arrow out of the quiver, holding it next to her as he prepared to open the door again. “Ready?”
“Yep,” he smiled up at her from a crouching position.
She gave a nod and Joe slowly pushed the door open. The men were reloading on the lawn, putting fresh magazines into their weapons. One of them had started ascending the stairs with another guy in tow. The men were wearing black sweaters and matching winter caps. Their faces had been painted in dark camouflage. The last two guys in the yard spread out, holding the perimeter. Those would be her first targets.
Helen drew the bowstring back and put the farthest man in her sights. He had stopped in a position on the other side of the walkway leading up to the steps. She held the string steady for a moment and let out a long breath. Her fingers released the string, sending the arrow across the span in less than a second. Before the tip of the projectile went through the man’s neck, she had already taken the next arrow from Joe and was reloading. The other man saw his companion drop to the ground out of the corner of his eye, and turned towards the body. He must have noticed the arrow sticking through the man’s neck because he crouched down and began scanning the woods beyond the twitching figure.
His mistake was giving Helen a larger target. She wasted no time loosing the second arrow, sending the blade deep into the man’s back. He groaned loudly for a second before collapsing to his knees and falling on his face.
Joe eased the door of the shed closed so they wouldn’t be seen. “Did I tell you, you were good?” he whispered.
“About five times this week, honey,” she said equally as quiet. “Now check the window over there and see what’s going on. If those men start snooping around, we might be better of going back into the house.”
“The old backtracking move. I like it,” his teeth shone brightly in the darkness. “But I want you to stay here. I can go back in, take a few shots at them, and then you can pick them off from out here.”
She contemplated what Joe had suggested, and finally agreed. “Okay, but be careful. Don’t go back in through the trap door if you hear anyone inside.” He kept a wisecrack comment about her obvious warning to himself. He quickly shuffled back over to the storm doors and disappeared inside.
Joe made his way back through the escape bunker, past the curious dog, and back up the chute to where the ladder led into the living room. He put his ear up against the bottom of the trap door and listened carefully, making sure there was no movement above. There was nothing. The men Helen had killed had probably distracted the ones who were about to enter the cabin. That meant they would be looking for her, which also meant he needed to act fast.
He prodded the hatch up and slipped out, whipping his hand gun around in a quick motion to make sure the room was clear. Everything was in tatters. Every window was obliterated. Lamps, their leather chairs and sofa, the computer monitor, it was all riddled with bullets. Even the logs of the cabin were in splinters. Joe didn’t have time to worry about material possessions, though.
He climbed out of the cavity and crouched low, making his way over to one of the shattered windows. The men outside weren’t saying anything, obviously aware that they should use silent communication. Joe stood slowly, careful to keep pressed against the interior wall. He took a peek around the edge and saw one of the men checking the body with the arrow through the neck. Another guy from the back of the house had come around and was checking the other corpse. Joe quietly slid the handgun back into its holster and pulled the assault rifle around from his back. He put the stock against his shoulder and winced for a second. It was where he’d been shot nearly a month ago. While most of the damage done had healed, the skin and tissue were still tender.
He raised the weapon put the man standing closest to the porch sights, aiming at the side of the man’s torso. Joe took in a deep breath of air then let it out, much like his wife had done with the bow. He squeezed the trigger, cutting down the man almost instantly. The blast from the gun’s barrel was the loudest thing he’d ever heard, causing his ears to ring painfully, but he remained focused on the attackers. Before the intruder closest to him could react to the sound, Joe had already fired the next round, sending the man sprawling over top of the corpse with the arrow in its back.
On the other side of the lawn, the last man remaining in sight dove towards the cabin in a desperate effort to take cover. Joe turned quickly in the henchman’s direction, but his shot was blocked by the wooden railing on the steps. It must not have obstructed Helen’s view, because a second later, he saw a blur go through his field of vision accompanied by a quiet whoosh. The man on the receiving end of the arrow shot yelped for a second then fell onto the grass just short of the walkway.
Joe allowed himself a devilish smile for a moment, despite his ringing ears. His wife was a woman full of surprises. Just as he was starting to feel better about things, he was reminded there were still three men left outside their home. Bullets started ripping through the house again. Joe hit the floor and tried to assess where the assault was coming from. It only took a second for him to realize someone was firing from the rear of the house.
He belly crawled through the broken glass and splintered wood to the closest end of the cabin, and into the laundry room. Joe sat up for a few seconds, allowing his back to lean against the clothes dryer. Deciding he needed more mobility, Joe set the rifle against the wall and withdrew his pistol again. A couple of seconds later, the hail of metal stopped, leaving the living room slightly more destroyed than previously.
Joe crept over to the nearest window and risked a peek outside. What he saw caused him a great deal of concern.
No one was there.
Back in the shed, Helen had heard Joe firing the assault rifle, picking off two men then dropping the fifth to the ground herself, the arrow catching him in the upper part of the chest. She’d kept the door to the tool shed cracked so she could see if anyone else came around to the front, but no one did.