It was silent as Corbin stood in the kitchen with Clara, helping her prepare dinner while Archibald rested upstairs. The knife clinking against the cutting board and the boiling pot of water filled the air while waiting for the others to get back.
"What's the story with Archibald, Luna, and Jasper? How did they become thieves?"
Clara let out a long, ragged breath as each chop sent a hard snap through the air.
"From what I know, Archibald always walked a fine line with the law. Apparently, the authorities learned it wasn't just coffee growing on his father-in-law's farm, and that's why the Soldados burned the place down. Everyone was killed, except for Luna. She hid in a tree for days, waiting. So I guess raising two kids by himself pushed him towards the corrupt world. I think it's the only way he knew how to support them."
"Sounds like they've been through a lot."
"Yes, and the scary part is weeks before it happened, Luna had nightmares about fires and bodies in the fields. Everyone thought it was just a kid having bad dreams but..." Clara paused and jerked her head towards the kitchen entrance. "Did you hear that?"
"No..."
At the sound of something slamming onto the ground with a strangled cry, they both flinched.
"Archibald must've fallen down the stairs!" Clara exclaimed.
They abandoned their cooking and rushed into the living room, but skidded to a halt when they found it occupied by five strangers. Corbin stepped in front of Clara, not knowing whether to focus on the men pinning Archibald to the floor or the tall muscular one, with obsidian eyes—Merric.
The woman with a mohawk grinned at them—toying with a pipe-like object before pressing it to her lips and blowing a dart. It happened so quickly as Corbin collapsed to the floor with another dart whizzing through the air and stabbing Clara. Her body hit the hardwood floor with a thud, her eye's slowly blinking at him.
Neither of them could move, despite Corbin trying to move his limbs. As his vision blurred, the last thing he saw was Merric's boots.
∆∆∆
Archibald came to consciousness with arms swinging, but when his vision cleared, he saw Gunner and Coyote crouched beside him. Their soothing voices contrasted with the blood, cuts, and fresh bruises covering their skin. His eyes opened wider as he remembered what happened.
"The Hounds. They were here!"
"What happened? Where's my wife?" Gunner said as he tried to stop him from sitting up. "Easy, easy, your wound has opened up and you're bleeding through your shirt."
"They're gone." He grimaced, getting into an upright position. "I was coming down the stairs and saw about five Hounds sneaking in through the front door. They spotted me and tackled me to the ground. That's when Corbin and Clara came running, but the woman..." He paused as he lifted his shirt to check his wound. "She shot them with some tranquilizer dart."
"We need to leave. We need to find them. NOW." Gunner got to his feet.
"Wait, wait!" Archibald grabbed his arm. "Where are my kids?"
"They took off."
"What? Why?"
"Clara was right." Coyote ran his tongue across the bleeding split in his lip. "We got ambushed by a bunch of angry folks wanting answers. Jasper and Luna made a run for it, but we just barely made it out of that angry mob."
"We need to wait for them."
"No," Gunner said and walked to the window to pull back the curtain. "Abraham is with them. He got there right as the mob started getting rough and Luna and Jasper jumped into his car. He knows to take them to the safe-house."
Coyote wagged his finger. "I told you that going into town wasn't safe for you and I told you we needed to leave, but now look at us!"
"Well, it's too late for regrets, but at least we have the Scout we took hostage and she'll tell us where The Hounds are heading next. And..." Gunner sucked in a breath. "It looks like we've got company."
Outside, a voice shouted, "Come out, Miguel. We need to have a chat!"
"This doesn't need to get ugly. Just a friendly talk," yelled another voice.
"Jesus. How many are there?" Coyote asked.
"Looks like Rusty and the crowd from earlier," Gunner answered, moving away from the window and folding back the area rug to lift a couple floorboards.
"Brother, I don't think we'll fit through there," Coyote said.
"We're not." Gunner reached inside and pulled out a black duffle bag. "Here, take this."
As Coyote opened it and searched inside, his eyes flashed to Gunner. "Does my sister know you have these weapons under her coffee table?"
"It's not the only spot. I've got weapons stored all over the house and a Gatling gun I rigged together under our bed upstairs. Looks like we'll need that too."
Archibald staggered to his feet. "Are you honestly thinking about having a standoff with these people? The ambush at the Scout camp was one thing, but I'm injured. We don't stand a chance against them with just the three of us."
"Have some imagination, Archibald! The forest surrounding my property is booby-trapped, so we'll just need to push that mob back far enough with gunfire and then set off the landmines. Take this..." Gunner tossed a remote-like object to him. "Coyote and I will cover the windows and when I give the signal, start pressing that red button on the remote. Alright?"
"Come out!" Rusty shouted again.
"We know you're there," said the other voice.
"I'm going upstairs to position the Gatling gun. Coyote, you take the window in the living room and pick them off when I give the signal. Archibald, stay where you are, and listen for my signal. The goal is to escape down the back road and get to my emergency vehicle."
"I don't like this." Archibald shook his head. "I can barely stand!"
"Well, then it won't differ from last night when I carried you up a mountain!" Gunner dashed up the stairs, two steps at a time.
Bursting through the bedroom door, he dropped to his knees and grabbed the small Gatling gun from under the bed. He propped it in front of the window and peeked through the curtain, but his stomach fell as Jamie rushed towards the mob with arms waving.
"Stop! What are you doing?" he yelled. Down below, the crowd shifted toward the grey-haired man as he ran in front of the house. "This is madness. This isn't who we are. We don't do this!"
"What about Miguel?" Carl asked. "He killed Gregory and all morning I thought it was my fault!"
"Carl, you're a good man. I find you reasonable and we can't jump to conclusions. We have no proof Miguel killed Greg," Jamie pleaded.
"Are you kidding me?" Carl cackled, his head swinging back. "The entire county, heck the entire state, knows about Gregory blabbering about Clara last night. It's easy putting it together. Miguel is guilty!"
"Move, Jamie," Rusty barked. "Everyone knows we've got different laws in the mountains and he has to pay for what he's done."
"Rusty, those laws are your laws!" Jamie's voice rattled. "You'll be breaking actual laws if you do this. Don't be foolish."
"I don't know about y'all..." Rusty glanced at his companions. "But I'm tired of this old buzzard."
Lifting his hand, he fired a shot square in Jamie's face, causing the elderly man to thud against the dirt.
"No!" Gunner punched the wall.
Jumping behind the Gatling gun, he let it rip with a purr that coursed through the air, and sent birds scattering from tree branches. As he rotated the lever, it pumped bullets through the multiple spinning barrels and sent a spray of death out to the crowd. He roared as the vibrations of the weapon reverberated through his limbs like a jackhammer. It only fueled him further as he swept the machine back and forth, a smile spreading over his face while watching the crowd flee. Just as he expected, most of them ran for the trees while others ducked for cover.
"Coyote, NOW!" Gunner shouted, abandoning the Gatling gun, and rushed downstairs.
Without missing a beat, Coyote fired his rifle at the ones hiding behind the trucks in the driveway. He aimed for their legs through the space between the vehicles and the ground, causing some of them to collapse. When Gunner got to the living room, he snatched a rifle from the ground and smashed out one window with the gunstock.
"Archibald, blow them up!" he shouted and began firing.
"Done!" He squeezed the remote.
Like tipping over a domino, the landmines hidden in the forest went off in a symphony of explosions. With each one, a shower of debris and red droplets peppered the yard, followed by a few limbs.
"It's time to get out of here," Gunner urged as he slid the black duffle bag to Coyote. "Take this. I've got Archibald."
Together, the three of them exited the house through the kitchen and hurried down the back road. Behind them, the explosions subsided, so they pushed forward and got to the emergency vehicle without looking back.
∆∆∆
It was dusk, with tentacles of sunlight creating a pink glow in the sky. Beyond it, the edges faded to purple as the stars shimmered, awakening the night. As Abraham, Luna, and Jasper drove behind the caravan of Hounds, the lush landscape of mountains transformed into dusty terrain across highway eighty. They accidentally crossed paths with the notorious group after escaping the vengeful crowd in town, and he insisted on following them to their next location.
After an hour of driving, the caravan pulled off the road.
"Looks like they go to the trailer park." He pointed to a small community sitting in the distance against a dry mountain with patchy brown grass and wind turbines. "We leave the car here and get a better look at the new camp. Ok?"
"I don't like this." Luna shook her head. "We should've gone back to Gunner and Clara's house. My Papá must be so worried."
Abraham shifted his attention to the rearview mirror, where he locked eyes on Jasper's reflection. They both knew what the other was thinking. Choosing his words carefully, Abraham's accent filled the silence again, "The Hounds left the mountains, that means they have what they want. You know what I'm saying?"
Luna furrowed her brows, creating little creases across her forehead. "You think they've captured Clara and Corbin?"
"Yes. Which means they either," Abraham paused and faced her. "They either take your Papá with them... o lo mataron."
"Killed him?" Luna gasped.
"Only one way to know for sure," Abraham sighed.
"What way is that?" Jasper scooted forward.
"Luna goes into the camp."
"Have you gone mad!" Jasper shouted. "No way!"
"She's the only one who can."
"You go! She's staying put."
"They will not harm her." Abraham twisted around to face him. "These people are superstitious. If she tells them she has the gift of vision, they won't touch her. They fear her soul will follow them for the rest of their lives if they kill her."
"He's right," Luna whispered.
"What was that?" Jasper leaned in, creating a squeak in the pleather bucket seat.
"I need to go into the camp."
"No." Jasper shook his head. "NO."
"Listen," Abraham sighed again. "We come to compromise. Ok? We go to safe-house in Winnemucca and get Miguel and Coyote. Then we come back with weapons. Bang. Bang. Kill everybody and we go home with Clara and Corbin."
"What if when we come back, The Hounds are gone?" Luna asked.
"That's a risk we take." Abraham shrugged and shifted the gear into drive.
After an hour of driving north, they pulled into the driveway of the safe-house. The place was hidden amongst other homes on a cul-de-sac and in a town that most people drove through on their way to surrounding states. Even the inside of the home appeared ordinary, with dated decor as if someone's grandparents lived there.
Spotting Archibald sitting in a Lazyboy recliner, Luna rushed to him. "Papá, you're alright!"
"Not too tight, my love." He winced. "I took a hard fall."
"Hey! Y'all made it." Coyote appeared in the living room. "I knew you would."
"We saw The Hounds," Jasper announced.
"I did too," Archibald replied. "They've got Clara and Corbin."
"That's what we figured..."
"How about you let the old man rest?" Coyote curled his finger at them and headed down the hallway. "Got something to show you."
"Like what?"
"You'll see." When he got to the linen closet, he opened it and revealed a hogtied woman wearing headphones with loud music playing. "Turns out the Scout y'all took prisoner isn't just anybody."
"Oh? Who is she?" Jasper asked.
"She's Merric's daughter." He grinned.
***
Dun dun duuuuuuun!!! Thanks for reading 🤗💓