For Them, We Must

How do you do this?

A gun came into the door frame, the light source being the flashlight on top of the barrel. Oakley held her breath as a gloved hand was then seen, followed by an arm inside a sweatshirt. A man then was seen and then it happened in slow motion. Oakley had never seen him before, no ounce of familiarity to him.

Oakley saw the man turn his light into the room. He started on the far left side as the light lit up a circle of the room. The light circle moved across the room, inching closer to where Oakley knelt. Her finger moved to the trigger and when the light hit her eye, she fired.

The twins must have moved because Tate moved next to Oakley. She could hear Tate hushing the twins lowly behind her as she slowly stood up. Oakley kept the gun against her shoulder as she took two steps toward the man who was now lying on the floor. Oakley didn't need to go any closer, she knew he was dead.

Oakley took a shaky breath but tried to listen in the silence. The twins were still breathing hard as Oakley stayed standing. It took everything in her power to not turn around and comfort her babies. She did, however, lower the gun a few inches, her ears trained to the doorway.

She took a chance and glanced back. Tate had his arms around both twins who were holding onto him for dear life. Oakley couldn't see their face, having smushed them into Tate's shoulders. She looked forward again, her heart beating out of her chest. She desperately wanted Kayce. He would know what to do and what was going on. She didn't have her phone...they were all alone in there.

Oakley took a few more steps toward the man and looked down at him. She still didn't recognize his face and she knew they hadn't hired any new hands in the past few weeks. Another sound made her move back into her firing position. It was the front door.

"SHERRIF'S OFFICE...COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!"

Oakley lowered her gun and breathed out harshly. They continued to yell but she dropped her rifle and turned on her heel, knowing the sound would make them head toward her.

"We're in here!" Oakley called out as she fell next to Tate, wrapping her arms around all of them.

It was then she could feel Evelyn and Lee still crying and her heart broke. Oakley pulled them closer to her as best she could, pressing her lips to Tate's forehead.

"Oakley!" Kayce's voice rang out and suddenly the light was turned on.

Oakley barely had time to turn her head before Kayce's arms were around all of them. She wrapped one arm around his neck and that's when she felt the tears fall. She didn't see the deputies all behind her, guns pointed at the man on the floor. She didn't see John and Jamie also enter with their guns drawn.

**

It was going on two in the morning at this point. Oakley was sitting on the front porch of the main house, blue and red flashing lights still lit up the area. She knew the twins and Tate were upstairs in her and Kayce's bed, but they probably were wide awake like she was. There were also two, armed officers guarding the second floor of the home too. The only reason Oakley was out here.

Kayce was in a huddle over on the dirt path. There were countless deputies and officers around them all. Oakley had a blanket thrown over her as her eyes stared at the porch floor. A pair of polished boots came into her vision, making Oakley look up to a cup of coffee being offered to her.

"For the warmth of nothing else," Jamie said to her.

Oakley reached up with shaky fingers and grasped the mug from Jamie. She brought the cup to her lips but didn't feel like she could take a sip. It was too hot and she was too anxious. Jamie frowned, moving to sit in the chair next to her. Oakley chose to hold the mug so it would warm up her hands.