Matt Hilton - Blood and Ashes

Returning to the door, I propped the assault rifle round the jamb. Two more men were coming inside. I rattled a storm of rounds at them and saw one of them dance a jig before collapsing beneath a red mist. The other cried out and back-pedalled quickly. He fired as he went, and this time I was the one who had to jerk out of the line of fire. Beside me the door jamb was chewed to shreds. When next I poked my head out, the man was gone, seeking cover outside.

Beyond the open portal were flickering orange flames and gouts of black smoke; the cars were no means of escape now. Had to find another way out. I went into the vestibule and began backing up. ‘Don. Millie. Bring the children. You have to get upstairs.’

Just as I said it, there was a detonation from outside. One of the cars exploding? No. That wasn’t it. Someone had thrown an explosive device against the side of the house. The blast was followed by the tinkle of glass shattering, the rumble of falling masonry.

Diversionary tactic, I decided. Why would they bother blasting a way inside when there were so many windows and doors to come in by? Whatever the reason, it didn’t bode well. My initial thought was to take the family to an upper floor where I’d have more chance of defending them. Little good the high ground would do, though, if grenades were thrown in through the windows at us.

Someone popped into the open front door, a bird-like figure with a hawk nose and large Adam’s apple. He fired, and so did I. Neither bullet found its mark as both of us jerked away. Then I was back at the door to the kitchen. I met Don and Millie, each carrying a terrified bundle in their arms. ‘Forget it,’ I said. ‘Get back behind the island.’

‘We can’t stay here!’ Millie cried.

There was a thump at the back door, proving her right. I unslung the second rifle from my shoulder, while passing the first to Don. Encumbered by Beth hanging tightly to his neck, and the meat cleaver in his hand, Don almost dropped the rifle. He allowed the cleaver to fall instead and brought up the gun.

‘Don’t know how many rounds are left,’ I told him, ‘so use them wisely.’

There was another splintering thud on the door, and I snapped my gaze that way. Why were they using an axe when they had grenades that would blast the door into fragments?

The thought was fleeting. What did it matter? An axe would get them inside soon enough. Lifting the rifle, I flicked it to semi-auto and fired a short burst directly through the door. It was gratifying to hear another thud, this time as a dead weight fell to the ground.

Glass tinkled, someone lifting a gun through the hole he’d just smashed in the kitchen window. The gun rattled and pots and pans lifted off a counter next to Don. The old man returned fire, but his aim was panicked and wide and drilled holes in the ceiling. Bethany squealed at the rapid chatter of gunfire so close to her face.

‘Get out! Get out!’ I yelled as I swung to offer covering fire.

I shot at the window, blasting it to smithereens, but also forcing the attacker to throw himself down to avoid being cut to ribbons. Don, Millie and the kids all scrambled past me to get into the vestibule. I swung after them: the hallway was a shooting gallery if another attacker had made it inside.

Luckily the front door remained open and no shadow lurked there. Perhaps the bird-like man who’d ducked outside moments before had gone off in search of a safer route of ingress. I wasn’t familiar with the layout of the house, but it was an easy guess that the door opposite led into a utility room. I didn’t bother with the handle, just booted the door open and shoved the others inside. I followed, slamming the door and putting my back to the wood. If nothing else I’d stop the bullets before they reached the children.

Shouts filtered into the room. Men were climbing into the kitchen via the shattered window. If I’d urged the family into a dead end.. well, we were supremely fucked. However, I found that my assumption held some logic. We were in a room furnished with a washing machine, dryer and a dishwasher. From a water heater on the wall pipes led away to the ceiling and floor. I gestured at a small hatch in the wall. ‘Through there, quick.’

Millie glanced down at the SIG in my hand. ‘Give me a gun.’

‘Forget it; just get everyone through the hatch while we have time.’

‘But I can help.’

‘You can help by doing what I ask. Go, Millie. We’ve only got seconds before they come through that door.’

Millie opened her mouth to argue, then thought better of it. She turned, hitching Ryan in her arms, even as Don placed Beth down. The little girl was crying, her face as pale as virgin snow. She looked down at the tomcat huddled by her ankles. She stooped and picked it up, and the old tom allowed her to cradle him without complaint. It blinked slowly at me, and I spared a moment to frown back. I’d idly thought that the cat and I had much in common. Well, nine lives would come in very handy.

Don lifted the assault rifle and used the butt to slam open the plyboard hatch. A draught washed over us; smelling the tang of petroleum I sighed with relief. The hatch had once opened into an anteroom that had since been converted to a garage connected to the side of the house. Brook’s vehicle had been reduced to a tangled burnt-out wreck, so I could only hope that the Reynoldses had been a two-car family.

Don lifted Beth and her charge through the hatch, followed by Ryan, then there was a moment of pushing and shoving until Don finally went first. He squeezed through the gap, his big body defying the dimensions. Millie turned back to me. Her eyes flashed before she swung round and went through the gap more easily.

The door shuddered behind me. The lock was already burst from my injudicious entry. My weight held the attacker back, but that would only last for so long. Hearing muffled voices, I knew that I didn’t have much time left on earth if I didn’t get out now.

I ducked across the room expecting to be cut apart by bullets, or ripped into chunks by a frag grenade. Instead I made it to the hatch, just as the door burst inward. I caught the flash of a face — a crazy pattern of tattoos up one side, framing a pinched yellow eye. Then I was through the hatch, thighs bumping painfully on the edge as I flung myself bodily into the garage beyond. Ignoring the pain, I lurched back to throw the hatch closed again. Once more I saw the tattooed face, and caught the glare of hatred its bearer shot at me; but my own return look was equally ferocious. To the right was an old cabinet, like the Welsh dresser that had been in my parents’ house when I was a boy. Adrian had reclaimed the old item of furniture to hold the tools he used when he tinkered with his vehicles.

Without urging, Don joined me and together we muscled the dresser in front of the hatch, just as the pounding began on the other side.

I would have cheered if I’d had time, but Millie was already helping the two children and the cat into the back seat of Adrian’s vehicle: a minivan that he’d undoubtedly used to transport the kids to and from school. Please, I prayed, let the keys be in the ignition.

They were, and I started the minivan even as Don scrambled into the passenger seat. I revved the engine, looked at the closed door. It was a tin-sheet roller shutter. No time to open it. ‘Everyone… get your heads down,’ I said through gritted teeth. Then I released the brake and the minivan bolted forward.

The door resisted the onslaught, but couldn’t withstand it for long. The minivan burst through, the buckling door gouging stripes in the paintwork. The wheels sent up plumes of gravel and shells, and the vehicle slewed to the side before I got it under control. Ahead of us were the flaming carcasses of the Audi and Lexus, and I had to yank on the steering to avoid them. I caught a glimpse of Adrian’s body burning like a flare between them and hoped that the kids weren’t looking. ‘Keep down,’ I yelled again. Not to ensure that the children didn’t have nightmares — it was already too late for that — but because the bird-like man was rushing towards the minivan lifting a rifle. I’d jammed my guns inside with me, but had no way to shoot the man, not without letting go of the steering wheel, and I saw that Don was equally hindered. Our only chance was to keep going, trust to speed and hope that the man was a lousy shot.