I point towards the small, tinted glass window by the tub. Ace catches my drift immediately as he steps into the porcelain tub and lifts himself up on its side. The window flies open as he pries at it and a rush of cold air pours into the small bathroom. We both duck in anticipation, waiting for the sound of gunfire or men, but there’s nothing. All the noise is coming from the other sides of the home.
Ace moves to the side as I step in next to him. I’m just tall enough to be able to peak my head out the window slightly. From my vantage point, I see nothing but the neighbor’s lights flickering on. I grab a red towel from the holder and stick it on to the end of a loofa and wave it outside. Still, nothing.
It’s time. I take a deep breath before tossing my gun out first and then quickly shimmy out the open window and down the side of the house. My feet land softly on the brown grass and I slink towards the side of the walls. Ace follows me shortly after, landing harder on his hands and knees as he wobbles to collect himself and his handgun.
The two of us lower ourselves and race off towards the shadows of the clubhouse. As we get nearer to the entrance door, the sound of voices and shouts become clearer. We’re only feet from Coyotes, but no one has recognized us yet or taken a shot. I hear an unknown man command his men, “Get the door! Get the door!”
Shit! My mind goes blank. They are two steps ahead of us. As I predicted, they most likely cased the place in advance and know just where we would have weak spots. And stupid me fell for that trap and left my daughter defenseless.
I don’t have time to think or to be pissed. I watch as the shadows light up in red and yellow as a man lights a towel inside of a molotov cocktail. He holds it above his head as he yells out, “This is for Chris!” He looks towards the storm door entrance to the basement as another man is ready to open it on his go.
I can’t stop myself. I’m screaming, shouting wildly into the night. I lift my gun to my eye and shoot. Ace pulls me down as soon as my trigger is pulled. There’s the familiar sound of a whoosh as I see the black, brown and reds mix with a burst of sparks and heat. A fireball about the size of a car ignites mere feet from my face as the cocktail explodes on the ground outside the storm door.
The thrower is on the ground as his friends care to him. And then, the bullets. They are exploding over our head towards the bushes, but none of them land near us. All of them are being aimed at a totally unexpected sight. We watch as our Mustang club members run fast towards the attacking Coyotes. Their bodies duck behind trees and old junky cars in the backyard as they aim at the small band still fighting to get into that basement door.
Ace and I make a break for it, barreling out of the bush and into the yard next door. We take position from the side of the wooden garage. Ace fires towards the men, not even aiming anymore. He then turns to me, looking at me urgently. He shouts over me, “Cal! We got to get the fuck out of here!”
“No! We can’t leave until we know they’re not getting into that basement. Fucking load up the guns and let’s go!” He hands me one of his handguns in his pocket and I take over the shooting. I can’t see anything in the dark, can’t make out any figures. I just listen and wait, my eyes focused on the opening to the house. No one is getting in there on my watch. No one.
“Shit! Cal!” Ace grabs my arms as large beams of white lights fill the darkness. A small car pulls into the driveway, illuminating our hiding point. The car turns off and we watch motionless as someone gets out to the car.
“Cal? Cal?” The voice is urgent, concerned, terrified. I drop my gun to my side and walk towards it, my hand covering my eyes from the lights.
“Michelle?” Her curvy, feminine figure makes an eerie silhouette.
She doesn’t have time to respond before the next round of bullets aim directly at us.
Chapter 19: Princess in Another Castle
MICHELLE
“Michelle…Michelle?”
I struggle to wake up. I had fallen asleep in my bed early, transfixed in my dreams about fire. Erin stirring me, shaking me awake startles me to life. I turn to her groggily, wiping my eyes as I ask, “What is it? Why are you waking me up?”
“It’s your phone. It keeps ringing.” She hands it to me as I struggle to focus on the numbers as the phone plays its annoying little jingle over and over again. “I would turn it off, but I don’t know your passcode to get in. And I figure if someone is calling you over and over again, you’d want to know about it.”
“Yeah, I would.” My mind is trying to think about all the people I know that would call me like this. My parents are safely tucked away in Florida in good health and in good sunshine. The most they call me these days is to brag about the weather down there and to make sure I have been calling my aunt, Sally, on the weekends. The number doesn’t belong to them though, or anyone I know. It’s a random mix of numbers from this area code.