Status: Updates are sporadic and may occur at whim, but I do try to add chapters regularly.
Silent Nights
Shots Fired
I drop back into the room. The noise from the first explosion was deafening from out there, and the second one’s not much better. My ears are ringing as I hit the floor gracelessly. As soon as I’m out of the way the girl crouches down in front of the window.
“They’re moving away,” Anna whispers. I stand back up to see for myself, careful not to bump the girl’s rifle. If I’d known she had this kind of firepower in the study, I probably wouldn’t have even bothered with her handgun.
Matt has the other window closed already and we all stand there watching the morbid parade below. The flashbangs did their job. The crowd is slowly lumbering back into the street. The girl has plenty of targets to shoot at now, but she isn’t even looking through the sights yet. I can’t leave him like that, she’d said again. I watch her carefully scanning the scene below and wonder what that guy did to deserve such loyalty. The only thing I saw him do was act like a drunken asshole and almost get her killed.
Without warning the girl fires off a shot. The silencer cut back on the noise, but it’s still loud enough to surprise me. I turn my attention back to the street and see what’s left of that guy go down and stay down. There are still plenty of others out there, though, and a few turn back toward the house at the noise. I wonder if she’s going to keep shooting, but she just leans to the right and fires a round into a car about a block down the street. It immediately lets out a shrieking alarm.
Without a word the girl pulls out the mag and ejects the last bullet. She slides the window down as she stands up and sets the rifle on the bed and leaves the room. I expect her to head back into the study. From the blankets and pillow on the couch and the amount of other stuff in there, I figure that must be where she spends most of her time. Instead, she walks past it and slips into a room at the end of the hall, shutting the door behind her.
“So what now?” Anna asks. She’s still staring at the closed door. She pulls her gaze to me and raises her eyebrows expectantly.
“It’ll be a while before they thin out,” I answer. “Depends on how long that alarm keeps up.” The words had just barely left my mouth when the alarm suddenly cuts off. Matt walks around the bed and grabs the rifle. He pushes the window up a bit and looks through the scope at the car.
“Only nice car on the block,” he observes. After another minute he stands and puts the rifle back on the bed. “Newer cars have timers on the alarm,” he explains. “Looks like she knew it, too.”
“What do you mean?” I ask. He pushes the window shut again before answering.
“I counted six other bullet holes in that car.”
“They’re moving away,” Anna whispers. I stand back up to see for myself, careful not to bump the girl’s rifle. If I’d known she had this kind of firepower in the study, I probably wouldn’t have even bothered with her handgun.
Matt has the other window closed already and we all stand there watching the morbid parade below. The flashbangs did their job. The crowd is slowly lumbering back into the street. The girl has plenty of targets to shoot at now, but she isn’t even looking through the sights yet. I can’t leave him like that, she’d said again. I watch her carefully scanning the scene below and wonder what that guy did to deserve such loyalty. The only thing I saw him do was act like a drunken asshole and almost get her killed.
Without warning the girl fires off a shot. The silencer cut back on the noise, but it’s still loud enough to surprise me. I turn my attention back to the street and see what’s left of that guy go down and stay down. There are still plenty of others out there, though, and a few turn back toward the house at the noise. I wonder if she’s going to keep shooting, but she just leans to the right and fires a round into a car about a block down the street. It immediately lets out a shrieking alarm.
Without a word the girl pulls out the mag and ejects the last bullet. She slides the window down as she stands up and sets the rifle on the bed and leaves the room. I expect her to head back into the study. From the blankets and pillow on the couch and the amount of other stuff in there, I figure that must be where she spends most of her time. Instead, she walks past it and slips into a room at the end of the hall, shutting the door behind her.
“So what now?” Anna asks. She’s still staring at the closed door. She pulls her gaze to me and raises her eyebrows expectantly.
“It’ll be a while before they thin out,” I answer. “Depends on how long that alarm keeps up.” The words had just barely left my mouth when the alarm suddenly cuts off. Matt walks around the bed and grabs the rifle. He pushes the window up a bit and looks through the scope at the car.
“Only nice car on the block,” he observes. After another minute he stands and puts the rifle back on the bed. “Newer cars have timers on the alarm,” he explains. “Looks like she knew it, too.”
“What do you mean?” I ask. He pushes the window shut again before answering.
“I counted six other bullet holes in that car.”