A Life Sentence

July 6th, 2026

I couldn't do anything about it now. Even if I wanted to move the car I could see flashlights coming up the road. It didn't take much longer after that for me to hear their voices. These people, whoever they were, wouldn't be winning any medals for stealth that's for sure.

Thankfully they weren't dressed up like commando wannabes or anything like that. They just had on the usual jeans and T shirts, but they all carried rifles, but I couldn't tell what kind and I assumed they had weapons on their hips, I would have.

Once they got closer I could see there were a couple of women, more like girls, with them. In fact they all looked like kids. Not that Lucas and I were all that old, but compared to this group we were.

I had hoped they might miss the house, it was hard to see from the road especially now that there was no power for the security lights, but they were being thorough and the moon was like a big damn beacon in the sky. They stopped at anything that looked like a driveway to investigate. It didn't take no time for them to spot ours.

All of them changed directions and started up our driveway. They were not being careful in any way. They clearly didn't think anyone would be in these houses. I guess in the end that was our intent, to make the house look abandoned. I think we did too good a job. Maybe they would back down pretty quickly if they met someone. We were going to find out.

They spotted mom's car and ran for it. One of the girls pointed at it with excitement. My fear came true, even in the dark and through all the filth they could still tell that the car was still being used. They then turned their attention to the house. Oddly enough they didn't act any more careful.

Lucas was watching them too. They were closer to his position. We could see each other from where we were. Lucas decided to try to warn them off. I didn't argue I didn't want to kill anyone and despite Lucas's words to the contrary I knew he didn't either.

Slowly, Lucas opened his window. As he did so I opened mine and readied my rifle. I can remember taking a deep breath.

Lucas's voice echoed through the still darkness. He warned them to leave and that would be it. They just looked at each other and then opened up on us.

I couldn't believe it, but I never hesitated. I started shooting back. I could hear bullets pinging off the side of the house and the wood over the windows, but so far none made it inside. We fired through our peep holes. We had decided long ago that if we were forced to shoot, we would shoot to kill, without hesitation.

The entire thing was over in the blink of an eye. Once Lucas and I saw the last two start to run away we stopped shooting, ammo was too important to waste. The other three were on the ground. I was sure one was dead. I saw the back of the boy's head explode, but I have no idea if it was me or Lucas that scored the hit.

We knew that at least one of them was still alive. It was one of the girls. We could hear moaning from where she lay on the ground. Occasionally we would see her arm move. I was pretty sure the third one was dead. He never moved.

We never went out to help them. We held our positions until daybreak. I know it sounds cruel, but for all we knew they could have sneaked back to the house and were waiting for us to come out so they could kill us. We were going to help them if we could, but they would have to wait until morning.

I have to admit it was tortuous listening to the girl's cries. They got louder as she grew more scared and desperate. Lucas and I decided if the two who survived returned to get their friends we would let them take them without harassing them, but for all we knew they had been hit too and didn't make it that far away before they themselves died.

The next morning when we finally went out the girl had gone quiet. She had probably bled out about an hour before. The other one was also dead. We were pretty sure he died where he fell. The guy whose head exploded was never in question.

Once we were sure it was safe we buried the three as best we could, with as much respect as we could muster, it seemed right. To be honest though I did not feel any sympathy for them or second guess why we killed them even though these were first people either one of us had ever killed. That was the kind of world we lived in now and you cannot have those kinds of sentiments. Part of me wondered if losing Elena also killed something in me, but I chose not to think about it.

For the next couple of nights we were on high alert. We kept our little deer stand manned at all hours, what a pain that was, but at least we didn't see anyone else. We also decided to move the car behind the house. We knew there was nothing we could do to make it look like it wasn't being used without disabling it so we thought it best to just hide it.

Last night was the first night we both resumed our respective places on the porch to enjoy the weather. It was the first time we really talked about what happened. We both agreed we did what needed to be done. However, we both wondered about their specific circumstances. Were they just kids out looking for trouble, or were they really desperate and just needed help and reacted on instinct. We also wondered if that was the case would either of us act any different if we were in their shoes?

I suppose it's best not to think about it. It truly is the survival of the fittest.

Looks like life is getting a little bit more challenging for them. The next chapter will be out soon! Vote and review!