Their guns are black. Their eyes are even darker. It's the absence of anything good. The way they walk. The way they don't waste a second to lock their guns on us. It's evil. Everything about them is haunting.
Titus and I slam to the walls of the house, ducking for protection. We move around the corners and closer to the door. We figure we would have a better shot at them. Maybe we can take them out...before they get us.
I flash a look of terror at Titus; I'm trying to tell him I don't know what to do. His wide blue eyes just stare back at me. A bullet shoots through the wall above my head with more to follow. Splinters of wood rain from the walls. Titus and I both launch from the wall and into the floor crawling and grabbing for anything. Titus checks his gun and tells me it's empty.
A man outside screams, "inside!"
I don't know how to check the gun for ammo, and I don't think I could with the way my hands are shaking. Not just my hands, my entire body is shaking in terror. I don't know what to do.
One man runs through the door looking straight down the hallway and into the kitchen. He takes a single step deeper into the house, keeping his gun pointed out. He doesn't even notice Titus and me to his sides. I raise my shaking hands to align the barrel of the gun with the man's head. I notice Titus behind him, silently yet aggressively nodding his head at me and mouthing the word 'yes'. I pull the trigger, taking the risk of it also being empty like Titus'. The loud gunshot rings throughout the house, echoing outside and into the yard. The lifeless man hits the floor. Titus, wearing blood-splattered clothes, grabs the larger gun from the man's dead fingers.
"Stay here," he yells at me. He leans against the wall, just next to the opening. I look up from the floor, outside the door, to see the other two men running into the house. I raise my gun and shoot again, this time, getting one of them in the leg.
"Ahhhh!" the man screams and grabs his injury, falling to the ground. The man behind him ignores it and leaps over him. They work together but have no sympathy for each other. They see themselves as soldiers without souls.
Titus reveals himself and unloads the gun on the two men. They shoot at us at the same time. I still can't stop myself from shaking. I can't focus enough to fight back, forcing Titus to do all the work, shooting at both of them. All three of the attackers are on the ground, without a heartbeat. Without air-filled lungs. Without life.
"No. There's no way we just killed them," I say. Not believing what we had to do.
"We did. We had to."
"There was no other way?"
"No. We have to fight... or we die."
I drop my gun, feeling safe, but ashamed. I lean on the wall and slide to the ground. I look behind where I was lying to see bullet holes in the wall. Had I been standing, each and every one would have hit me.
"Stand up. Pick your gun up. We're not back yet. We're never safe," Titus tells me.
Snap out of it, I tell myself. This is what it has come to. I guess you have to deal with horrible situations to get out of horrible situations. Honestly, we still don't have a clue what exactly we're dealing with or even why they are after us. Who are they? Why is this happening? What do they want? Where are they? I pick up my gun and nod my head at Titus.
We peek outside, looking around for more. "Be ready," he tells me.
"Always," I lied.
Titus grabs the other two guns dropped by the men, "Assault Rifles—This is interesting." He puts them into his bag, and we go back to the ditch where we use our decorated backpacks as cover.
After looking death in the face, we are even more alert. We crawl and try to get back to the cabin. Heavier breathing. We're like two birds ready to fly at the slightest sound. Titus seems less timid as he leads the way. Something about leading makes him feel safe.
My heart's still pumping hot blood through me, proving two things:
1: I am still human. I know I have taken a man's life, but I don't regret it. I had to save us.
2: I can feel the adrenalin; I can feel the heavy breathing. I am alive.
Almost back to the cabin, Titus tells me, "Honestly, Vince, I thought you were weak for a minute. I thought you wouldn't do something like that. You proved me wrong... I'm sorry I felt that way, too."
"It's okay," I tell him, "I proved myself wrong." I take a long pause before finally saying, "I am going to fight."
__________
Back at the cabin, it seems Lindsey is doing better; she's making progress. She is drinking water in the living room talking to Kris. "I hate to break this up, but we have your guns... and even more."
"What happened?" Lindsey asks.
"We were attacked," Titus answers.
"Oh, I see the blood now," Lindsey says before she covers her mouth with her hands, flinching.
Kris stands up, "where did it happen?" He doesn't act any different. He's still mature, strong.
"Your house. We were leaving and they were waiting outside. We had an advantage using the house. One came in and Vince took him out," Titus waves his hands over his clothes to show the damage, "then the other two came running in together. We barely escaped, but we survived and took their guns."
"I knew you two could make it. Did you check them for information or other weapons?" Kris asks.
"No," I answered, "we were just worried about getting back."
"I understand," Kris says, "just if it happens again—and I'm sure it will—check them for everything."
Titus and Kris lay the new guns over the dining room table and check them. They fiddle with them and bounce them in their hands. They check the weight and look in the bags for ammo. Kennedy is cleaning the kitchen with Rosemary when I take a seat with Lindsey on the couch.
"We just cleaned that," Rose tells Kris. She points at the kitchen table.
Titus and Kris look up, "okay, and we are using it now. Don't worry about it."
"Don't worry about it?!" Rose shouts at Titus.
"Rosemary, stop!" Kennedy yells as she slings a dish towel to the counter, "that is completely uncalled for. There is not a single reason for you to even begin to say that. It's fine, Rose. Our protection is more important than your sloppy cleaning job."
Rose raises her hand to slap Kennedy. Kris stands tall and Titus joins him. "Do it," Kennedy demands. Squinting her eyes at Rose.
Rose lowers her hand and goes to her bedroom, slamming the door.
"Child," Kris says.
Titus says, "Thank you, Kennedy."
"I know she is an adult and all that, but that table should be the least of her worries. It's trivial. It's petty," Kennedy says.
"That's going to be a problem," Kris says.
____________
That night, I decide to talk to Lindsey on the balcony. The stars are shining bright like scattered glitter throughout the night sky. The full moon gives the perfect amount of light. The breeze is perfect, chilling just enough to take away your worries. However, in this state, worries will stay no matter what you do to stop them.
The conversation with Lindsey could go in several different directions. I could break up with her, but it would destroy her in the worst time of her life. I could talk about her relationship with Rose and how she could potentially become a poison for our group...how Rose already is poison for our group. I could comfort her, and that's exactly what I decide to do.
Ignoring my selfish loss of love for the time being and holding her close, I say everything I know she needs to hear. I know it's like telling a fish to fly, but I have to do something. I use the moment like glue, keeping her together...for now.
A sound in the woods catches our attention. Using the moonlight, we both lean over the railing of the balcony to see what it could be. A man appears in a ray of light escaping through the leaves. He's running straight for our cabin.