More shots were fired from the watchtower.
Two more canners fell, screaming. One walked sideways, stumbling, trying to keep his balance.
An explosion went off by his leg sending him and a blast back into the group of kids standing near Gail.
Lightning struck the ground less than a mile away, setting fire to some distant brush. Thunder came right on its heels.
More cracks of gunfire came from the back side of the compound and then the right.
“They’re coming from all sides,” said Jamal, his shield trembling.
We all screamed when a bullet smacked into Ronald’s shield.
“Steady!” I yelled. “Keep the shields up and your heads down.” I put my gun in between my shield and Jamal’s.
“Winky! Get back inside!”
She turned and ran, her shield on the wrong side of her body.
A shot rang out.
Too late.
I was too late to warn her.
She fell when the bullet caught her leg.
“Aahhhhh! Shit! I’m hit! Bryn, I’m hit!”
The lobby door opened, and Peter came running out. He grabbed Winky’s shield and held it up in front of them both, letting her use his shoulder to get up on her knees. Together the two of them crawled into the lobby and shut the door behind them.
Bullets hit the glass but didn’t shatter it; I couldn’t tell if they went through or not. I prayed my friends were okay inside.
More explosions came from the back of the compound. The distant sounds of dogs barking came from the far side where I knew Paci had been.
“What do we do?” asked Jamal. “Run or stay put?”
“We stay.”
I just needed the canners to get a little closer so I could take a few of them out. But the kids who were part of the treehouse group were huddled together and crying, and it was so distracting I couldn’t concentrate.
“We have to get those kids in here,” I said. “Dammit!”
The sound of a diesel engine came into range.
“It’s a tank,” whispered Ronald. Then he yelled, as if he’d just heard his own words and their meaning had finally sunk in. “We’re doomed! It’s a tank!”
“It’s not a tank,” I said. “But it’s not good news either. I think it’s a big truck.”
I couldn’t see it, but I could hear the high pitched whine of its engine as it blew smoke out its stack. It was coming for us, no doubt about it.
“No wonder they just stood there,” said Jamal. “They’re going to ram us!”
A flame came out of the middle of the canner group and flew over the fence, landing in the middle of the front sidewalk area and smashing into a lake of fire.
“Molotov cocktail,” said Jamal. “You awful demons.”
Several more gasoline bombs followed, but none of them got near us. One landed near the lobby and my fearless buddy Peter opened the door with a shield and sprayed it with an extinguisher before going back inside.
“Peter is a brave soul,” said Ronald.
“You have no idea,” I said, so proud of him I could burst.
“Open the gates!” yelled Gail. “Or we’re going to shoot them!”
The kids in the huddled group started to run. They split apart at little, but all of them were converging on the spot where we stood.
“What should we do?!” yelled Ronald.
“Cover them! That’s all we can do!” I held up the gun and sighted down the barrel. Anytime I saw a kid lifting a weapon, I pulled the trigger.
Before the treehouse kids got to the fence, two canner kids went down, either by my bullets or someone’s up in the watchtower.
The first of the treehouse girls to reach us threw herself against the gate. “Please!” she screamed. “Let me in!”
And then she stiffened and blood came pouring out of her mouth. She choked on it, and it splattered across our face masks.
“Oh Jesus, Lord,” pleaded Jamal. “Please stop this madness!”
The second kid to reach the fence tried to climb it. They shot him down in seconds, and he landed with a terrible thump on the ground near our feet.
When the third kid reached it, I yelled, “Lie down! Don’t climb, don’t stand! Lie down as low as you can!”
She dropped into the dirt without hesitating and pressed her face into the fence. “Please save me! Please don’t let them kill me!”
Peter came charging out of the front door, shield out front and keys in hand.
“Peter get back inside!” I screamed.
“No! We have to let her in!”
The diesel engine was getting louder.
Rain began to come down in buckets.
We went from cowering under a darkened sky to drowning in a deluge seconds later.
The keys slipped out of Peter’s grasp.
Ronald put his shield on the ground and bent down, getting as close to the fence as he could. He reached under the heavy protection and through the chain links, taking the desperate girl’s hand in his. “Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…” Together they recited the Lord’s prayer while Jamal and I covered Peter opening the gate.
“The tank is coming!” said Jamal, practically crying. “Get her in here before it smashes us! We have to get inside!”
More shots were fired in the back, and then some from what sounded like inside the lobby.
I turned sharply to see if I was just hearing things and saw a flash of light from behind the glass.
“Someone’s inside!” I yelled over the sound of the rain. “Winky’s in there!”
Fohi’s voice came out over the bull horn again.
“Heh, heh, heh … better run canners. You too, Gail, you greasy haired, beady eyed redneck dumbass. Triple Bar D’s all up in your asses! Wooo hooo!!”
It was the next flash of lightning that finally made Fohi’s nonsense come together for me.I saw the grill of the truck headed our way.
It was bashed up and dented like it had been in a smash-em-up derby, and it was headed right for the crowd of canners at the gate.
They scattered when they saw it coming.
Rifles picked them off one at a time as they tried to escape into the night.
Several disappeared into the darkness on the sides of the truck, missing being run over by mere feet. Some weren’t so lucky. The truck didn’t stop for anyone.
“Let me out,” I said, frantic I would miss the chance to save some lives. There were still some treehouse kids standing there, and they looked like they were too scared to move.
“Come to the gate!” I screamed. “Come to the gate! Get out of the way!”
They couldn’t hear me over the sounds of the rain and the thunder and the truck.
Fohi’s bullhorn came again.
“Hey, treehouse kids. You want to get run over or what? Move, move, move! Get to the gate now!”
They didn’t need to be told twice. Those who could, took off sprinting in our direction. The few who weren’t able to limped along, helping each other as best they could.
By the time they reached the fence, Peter had the lock undone.
I dropped my shield and grabbed onto the gate, pulling it for all I was worth. It flew open far enough to let the kids in. Ronald crawled out on hands and knees and pulled the girl who’d been praying on the ground in.
“Close it!” yelled Peter. “They’re all in!”
“Not all,” I said, smiling like a lunatic. “Just wait.”
“Are you crazy?” yelled Jamal. “We need to get inside!” He looked at the truck and screamed.
I smacked him on the shoulder. “Stop that.”
He looked at me confused. “But we’re about to die. That’s what people do when they’re about to meet their maker.”
“You’re not going to die. I know that guy.” I gestured to the truck that had stopped just outside the concrete barriers in front of the gate.
The truck’s brakes engaged and a big shot of steam or air came out of somewhere. Then the door opened and a guy got halfway out.
“Am I too late for the party?!” he shouted.
“No, you’re right on time!” I yelled. “But wait there! We have canners on the loose!”
“Not for long you don’t!” he shouted back. “Whoo hoo! I love me a round up, don’t y’all?!” He got back into his truck and honked the horn a bunch of times.
Fohi’s voice came over the bull horn. “Haven welcomes … what’s his name again? Oh, yeah … Jackson! We welcome Jackson from the Triple Bar D Ranch.”
Jackson honked the horn a few more times.
“What in Jesus’s name is going on here?” asked Ronald, sounding totally confused.
“He’s the guy we met on the highway before. The one with the big semi, smashing cars.”
“Oooohhh, that guy. What excellent timing.” Ronald shot me a huge grin, showing off the most beautiful smile in Haven.
“I’m sure he got a message from the Amazons just like we did. Guess he decided to come rescue us.”
“Those are the kind of friends I like having,” said Jamal.
“Should we go get him?” asked Ronald.
“Yes. I’ll go. You guys get these kids inside and take care of Winky. She got tagged in the leg. But be careful! I saw light inside. I thought I heard shots, too.”
Jamal nodded. “Right.” He faced the kids. “Okay, you people. Follow me. Stay between my shield and Ronald’s.”
“You go too, Peter. Leave me with the keys.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. Go.”
Peter joined the group of kids, all of them huddled together and crying, several of them looking back at Robson on the ground.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get her later,” said Ronald.
I waved at Jackson through the fence, and he stuck his head out. “Ready for me?”
“Yeah. Let me come get you.” I looked all around, hoping we were alone but not trusting that we were. Our riflemen hadn’t gotten everyone who’d come, and I had no idea what was going on behind us or on the sides. I had to trust that my people had me covered. I couldn’t leave Jackson out there like a sitting duck.
I ran as fast as I could with the awkward shield banging against my knees and the helmet sliding all over the place, only stopping when I was next to Jackson’s door.
He climbed down and stood next to me for a second in the rain.
“Long time no see,” he said, smiling down at me.
“Too long. How’s Katy and the others?”
“Everyone’s good. She sends her love. And Chantal says she’s coming next time I make a visit.”
“Awesome.”
“I got a present for ya in the back.” He jerked his thumb towards the trailer. The distinct sounds of mooing came to my ears.
“Can I see it in the morning?”
“Yeah, it’ll keep. Better get us inside before someone decides to take a pot shot at my hind end.”
I gave him my gun and put my arm around him, holding the shield in front of both of us. “Ready to run?”
“Yeah, I’m ready. Let’s hit it.”
We took off running across the pavement.
Halfway to the gate I realized my mistake. I’d taken my eyes off the entrance for too long, standing at the door of the semi.
Gail had slipped through the gate and was headed for the lobby door.
***
“Gail! Stop!” I screamed, dropping the shield and running with everything I had.
Jackson shouted behind me as he tripped over the heavy barrier I’d been carrying and went down on his knees.
I couldn’t help him, I had to get to her before she could reach my friends.
“Stop! Gail! I have a gun!” It was a lie. I wasn’t armed. I had to stop her anyway.