A road less traveled

Chapter 5

William trailed along behind the woman and child as they left the store and headed towards the guest house.

She walked with her head constantly moving, looking for dangers in the dark. He wondered what must have happened to her for that to be the case. He stayed to the shadows and tried to walk silently behind them. He stole behind a dumpster as they neared the house and watched as the boy let them in. She pulled him behind her as he was about to walk in, and explained to him that dangers could be waiting inside. William was impressed that she was that aware of the possibilities, the boy was young and still trusting, the mother however was not. She nudged the door open with her foot and then flicked the light on before ever entering. A quick sweep and she allowed him entry. Pulling out his phone as soon as they were inside and the door shut, he shot Rayce a text.

They are inside now. What do you want me to do? She is savvy, wouldn't walk in blind. There is some type of past going on here.

Stay where you are and keep an eye on them. Find some shelter from the weather but where you can still watch safely. Let me know if anything odd happens.

You got it boss.

Settling down under an old awning that provided a bit of shelter William sat back in the shadows and watched and waited. The time seemed to pass slowly as he watched from outside. The windows didn't have shutters so he could see movement inside, but he wasn't trying to spy inside and watch every single movement, that seemed an invasion of privacy to him and plain rude. This wasn't the worst job he had ever been given, it sure beat literally living on the streets as he had been before Rayce found him and took him in. Everyone thinks being part of a gang is bad, and in most gangs, it probably is, but with Rayce it was different. It was about being a family and looking out not just for each other, but for the whole town. Nobody really knew Rayce's story, how he came to town, how he became the leader of a gang of misfit's hell bent on protecting a town, or much of anything about him. He was tough but fair, if he asked you to do something, it wasn't because he couldn't or didn't want to, it was because he was offering you trust to do something he would normally do himself. That was the thing about Rayce, he would never ask you to do something he wasn't willing to or hadn't already done himself.

He was fair to everyone he encountered. It took a lot to make him mad and get him on your bad side, but when you did, it was best if you just went away for a long time, possibly even forever.

William glanced up as he heard a noise from the side of the house. Standing he was about to head over when he realized what it was. Sitting by the window on a pile of junk was on old black cat, it's paws on the window staring inside. Its fur was sopping wet from the rain and looked a little matted as well, and funnily enough there was a dog on the ground waiting beside it. Shaking his head, he stepped back into the shadows just as the woman's head popped into the window peering out. The cat's perch was precarious and suddenly the pile of junk shifted and the cat went flying, landing on all four feet of course because they always do. The pair walked off and went around to the front of the house to watch the door from the safety of a box that was still mostly dry but was beginning to sag as the water seeped further in. William sadly shook his head, he wished he could save them, he wasn't a fan of cats, but if a dog liked a cat it stood to reason it must be a good cat. The rain continued to pour down, falling heavily and soon he could feel a little chill creeping up on him, pulling his jacket tighter around him, William leaned back into the wall and stretched out his legs. A sudden crashing sound had him jumping up and looking around wildly, only to realize he had knocked over a pile paint cans when he stretched out.

The front door of the house flew open and the woman stood there, brandishing what could only be a fire poker, AND she was in her underwear. His face turned bright red as he quickly looked away and pulled himself further into the darkness. He wondered if this counted as something odd and should be mentioned to Rayce but decided against it because then he would have to admit he caused it. She spoke to the outside hidden dangers that she was prepared to use the weapon in her hand, but suddenly she lowered it as the animals took the opportunity to come out of their hiding spot and make a break to weasel their way into a warm, dry abode. He had to give them credit, they pulled it off and thankfully it didn't take too long because William was about to die of embarrassment due to the fact she still hadn't noticed she was almost naked! This would be a night to go down in the history books for him and him alone.

Roughly about an hour later the light shut off and all movement in the house ceased. Taking this as a sign that he could now also relax and rest, William shifted himself into a comfortable position, without disturbing anything this time and settled in to keep vigil the rest of the night. Sometime later, he must have dozed off, he heard the unmistakable sound of multiple pairs of feet coming down the alley from the opposite direction. That was unusual because anyone else would know he was here and watching. Slowly and silently moving himself into a better position for watching the alley from that direction, William pulled out his phone to be ready just in case. The one light in the alley soon revealed enough for him to know this was going to be bad. Quickly shooting Rayce a text informing him of who was on the move in their area, he slipped from his place and moved swiftly to a better one, out of sight of the people moving towards the house. His phone vibrated in his pocket just as he reached the front corner of the house, slipping behind the railing and a pile of junk, William pulled it out, looking at it quickly.

Deal with it until I get there.

That was it, that's all he got?! Deal with it until I get there. Shaking his head and slipping the phone back in a pocket, William stood up and slid out of his hiding spot and headed to the other corner, doing his best to stay silent and try and slip around behind the intruders. As he heads across the street on the opposite side of where he was he came up behind a group of 10, about 5 more than he saw originally. He could hear the dog inside growling and then the soft voice of the woman speaking to the dog. The door handle was being jiggled by one of the guys but they didn't have the key code and wouldn't open without it unless the door was opened from the inside. The building was very secure despite what it looked like from the outside. The door suddenly opened and there she stood, thankfully fully clothed this time. She leaned against the door frame casually and surveyed the group in front of her appearing to be unconcerned by what she was facing. Grabbing his phone William slipped behind another dumpster he sent a final message.

She's engaging them, alone, without a weapon. HURRY!

Overhearing the conversation, she was having with the leader, William stole in behind one man and knocked him unconscious with a swift hit to the back of the head. The man moved toward the woman, insinuating that he would allow his men to do unspeakable things to her. He was mildly surprised when she stated the home was hers and not belonging to anyone ese, taking ownership and trying to deflect the attention. He had to admire her a little bit. As the man went to raise his cane and strike her, she swung a fireplace poker and smacked him across the side of his head and he dropped to the ground in a bloody heap. This situation was about to go from bad to worse.