Ryan Westfield - Staying Alive

He took a deep breath. Holding his knife in front of him, ready to stab, he pushed the door open.

Not that he’d be able to see a potential attacker.

He stepped across the threshold and the heavy metal door slammed closed behind him.

John couldn’t see his hand in front of him. He had no idea where the stairs began. He’d have to crawl on his hands and knees.

The farmhouse was at least an eight hours’ drive from the city. And John hadn’t even left his building yet. And he was currently crawling.

They had to deal with the approaching car first. It was closer than the figures across the field.

“What do we do?” whispered James.

“We wait to see who they are and what they want,” said Max.

Max certainly wasn’t above killing someone who was a threat. But at the same time, he wasn’t simply going to shoot someone for driving onto his property.

Hidden behind the corner of the house, they’d watched the minivan drive up the long driveway.

Maybe the fact that it was a minivan factored into his thinking. But Max knew that wasn’t rational. While a minivan conveyed the idea of an innocent family, anyone could be driving it. It wasn’t like owning a minivan made someone not dangerous, not a threat.

The minivan sat there. The driver turned the engine off. But Max couldn’t see the driver because of the glare on the windows.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the driver’s side door opened.

A man stepped out. Max couldn’t see him at first. The driver’s side door was on the opposite side from where Max was, and the body of the van blocked his view.

“Anyone there?” shouted the van’s driver.

The driver walked in front of the van.

He was tall and lanky, wearing a dress shirt that was partially torn along the side. He had about two weeks’ growth of beard, and his hair was disheveled and long. He looked like he might be of college age.

Max gave James and Sadie a sign not to move, by putting his finger to his lips. Then he gave them a sign to stay where they were.

Max moved slowly away from where James and Sadie were. His leg was killing him, but he pushed himself. He didn’t want to be by James and Sadie, in case there was any danger. He figured it was better to have his backup in a different position, anyway.

The van driver didn’t appear to be armed. But Max knew you couldn’t trust appearances.

“What do you want?” said Max loudly, giving away his position.

The man turned to look at him. His face broke into an expression of relief. He started walking towards Max.

Max planted his feet and pointed his Glock at the man. “Stay right there,” he said, speaking loudly and clearly. “Put your hands in the air.”

“Hey, I’m not here to hurt anyone… I’m just looking for…”

“Shut up,” said Max. “Stay where you are, or I shoot. Do you have any weapons?”

“Nope,” said the man. “I’m just looking for a place to stay… I was driving across the country and then something happened…”

Was it possible that this college-aged guy didn’t understand what had happened?

Max didn’t trust this guy, as a matter of pure precaution and common sense.

But he recognized that he might have information about the rest of the country.

When Max asked the question, he knew in the pit of his stomach that he already knew the answer.

“Is the power out everywhere?” said Max.

“Across the whole country.”

Max wondered how the man had gotten across the whole country without running out of gas, and without getting killed in the process. Maybe he’d been lucky. Or maybe he was lying.

Suddenly, a shot rang out from the other side of the house.

“What the hell?” shouted the man, startled.

There was yelling coming from the other side of the house. And the voices didn’t sound like anyone who lived at the farmhouse. It was those figures they’d seen.

Max’s heart was pounding. His body filled with adrenaline.

He wished he knew where Mandy was.

“Get farther back, and keep your rifles out,” he shouted towards James and Sadie. He needed them to get away from the house. If whoever was on the other side came around that side of the house, James and Sadie would be directly in their path. He needed them farther away for their safety, and for their rifles to be any good in a fight.

Max didn’t have much time. But he hobbled forward another couple steps. He raised his Glock to point directly at the man’s head.

“Did you plan this?” he shouted at the man.

“No! I don’t know what the hell’s going on. I swear…”

Max saw the terror in his face, and he believed him. Not that it did him much good.

Suddenly, Max saw two men racing around the far side of the house. They rounded the corner, assault rifles in their hands. Everything was happening too fast. Max could barely take everything in. But he saw their ruthlessness in the way they moved.

One crouched, using the corner of the house as a partial shield. He lowered his gun and let forth several shots.

The minivan driver crumpled to the ground. He’d been hit in the stomach.

It was all happening too fast.

But Max threw himself to the ground, his arms stretched in front of himself. He returned fire with his Glock. But the distance was too great. He missed, his bullets hitting the house instead of the assailant.

Another shot rang out. It must have been James or Sadie. Probably James.

It missed, hitting the ground, sending a clump of dirt flying into the air.

The men with the assault rifles retreated behind the side of the house, out of view.

“Chad!” shouted Max.

Why wasn’t Chad shooting them?

Maybe because he was terrified, hiding in the middle of the roof. From where he lay, Max couldn’t even see Chad now. Not that it mattered much. Chad was a terrible shot, and they all knew it, including Chad himself.

With the men out of sight, Max took his chance. He scrambled to his feet the best he could. His leg was killing him. But he managed to retreat backwards. He kept his Glock trained on where the men had been.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he made it to some bushes.

“James,” he hissed.

“Right over here,” came James’s reply.

“What’s going on?” said Sadie, her voice low. Max could hear the terror in her voice.

Max didn’t answer.

“Just stay alert,” he said.

He felt like he needed to give the kids some guidance, give them some instructions.

But the truth was that Max himself was way out of his element. Sure, he’d had plenty of practice at the firing range. And now he actually had to shoot people, rather than just basic targets. Max recognized that he simply didn’t know much about strategy in a situation like this. The best he could do was rely on his instincts.

Relying on his instincts was hard with his leg. The pain was coursing through him. He wasn’t supposed to be moving his leg this much.

James and Sadie crawled over to where Max was. They were right next to him.

“What’s happening?” said James. “Do you know who fired that shot?”

Max shook his head.

The minutes ticked by. The waiting felt like an eternity. There wasn’t another sign of the armed attackers.

Max glanced at the corpse of the college-aged man lying in front of the house. There wasn’t a breath of life in him. His eyes were wide open. The front of his shirt was soaked with blood.

The minivan still sat there, the driver’s door wide open.

It was as if the minivan with its open door was inviting them. It was the perfect escape. With a little luck, they could make it into the van without getting shot. They could drive away from here.