Another shot from the rifle sent Bryan running. He ducked around the side of a crate and saw Harold less than fifteen feet away. He hurried back just as the edge of the crate caught on fire. He scurried backwards, closer to Jared and the rifle. If he could only get around the side without the sentries noticing, he might be able to get a shot at the fire starter before he became a matchstick.
There were two more fires back the way he had come. Bryan snuck to the closest, tried to look through it. The area behind it seemed clear. There might be a path through the crates there that kept him hidden. He had thought of going up, over the crates to get a shot, but one glance upward from any of the men would be the end of him. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and ran through the fire.
He felt an impact on the ground next to him before he opened his eyes. Something heavy had landed close by. He raised his gun automatically, but felt his arm trapped. A hand covered his mouth and Bryan opened his eyes. It was William. The left side of his jacket and scorched pants were covered in blood.
"Please stop trying to shoot me." William let go and looked straight at the nearest crate, then turned his head and focused on another one. He pointed. "Jared Smith is there. Harold is there. The guards are still by the door."
Bryan nodded.
"You need to get Jess. She's right at the top of the stairs," William said.
Bryan looked up. Smoke edged out of the door at the top of the stairs. There were also fires growing in the crates underneath the loft. She wouldn't be safe for long. He looked at the stairs. Getting up there wasn't going to be easy.
"What does he want?" William's voice pulled him back, but Bryan saw his friend wasn't talking to him. He was staring through the crates, towards the spot Jared Smith was. William nodded, turned back to Bryan. "I can distract him."
"What?" Bryan asked. "What did they say?"
"That both those men want to kill me a lot more than they want to kill you," William said.
Bryan stared back. "So the person with the biggest target on his back acts as the distraction? How is this a good plan?"
William smiled back. "Do you really think Jared's going to be able to shoot me?"
Bryan nodded slowly. William's jacket was covered in blood, and the rips in the arm looked like bullet holes. It wasn't a good plan, but he had a better chance of outrunning Jared than Bryan did. "What about the other one, Harold?"
"I'll get his attention too."
"Won't he burn you to a crisp?" Bryan asked. He looked around the crates. The noise from the fires was growing, but he thought he heard Jared shout an instruction to Harold. He ducked back down.
"I'll be fine. The guards are yours. Go get her." He pointed a path out to Bryan.
Bryan waited a moment. He knew they had to get Jess out, and quickly, but what was William thinking? He had no doubt his friend could take care of Jared, no matter what the man was shooting. That didn't worry him, though the fresh blood and bullet holes in his clothing made him worry that William might be nearing the end of his rope. But Harold was another matter. A quick bullet to the back of the head seemed like the only way to beat someone who could set you on fire by thinking about it.
He offered his pistol to William. He would have liked to have kept it. He didn’t think he’d find much use for Hayes' empty Ruger. Unfortunately, the two guns were different calibers so he couldn't share a few rounds between them. If he and the lieutenant lived through this, they'd have a talk about equipment standards, and maybe better body armor.
William stared down at the gun. "What?"
"Do you want it?" Bryan pushed its grip toward William.
William nodded at his left arm. "Anymore, I'm kinda with MacGyver on the gun thing."
Smiling, Bryan gripped the gun. "Never bring a gun to a super-powers fight, huh?" He watched William roll his eyes.
"Go away. Please." William shook his head.
Body and head low, Bryan started toward the crates William had pointed to. He felt William's hand on his back. He turned.
"Good luck," William said.
Bryan didn't like the way his friend said it.
*
(Author’s note: Yup. William’s about to sacrifice himself, isn’t he? What do you think, will it work? Thanks again for the votes and notes! Signed copies of Schism are available at http://hopebooksllc.com/buy and the full ebook is available everywhere online. Also, as the last two chapters are up next, I want to let you know that Schism book 2 and book 3 are looking awesome. Read on and stay tuned!)