Matthew Mark - Dark Days Rough Roads

Tom took this opportunity along with two more townspeople and started firing. Fifteen shots had been fired rapidly toward the sniper. He laid up on the roof as blood ran down from the rooftop. The militia positions returned fire toward the riflemen but were taking hits themselves from almost 30 different people. The sniper threat had been removed but at the cost of one more of Rob’s group dead and two injured.

Tom scrambled down the tree amidst the fire. He fell the last seven feet and came down on his ankle, snapping it. Two townspeople assigned to regular posts here provided enough fire so Rob could get Tom out of there. He took Tom back to the four wheeler and drove him over to the tooling shop they had started to use as their meeting area. They had a nurse there and she would do what she could. They were not able to convince any doctors to get involved yet.

Rob went back and met with Brad again. With the sniper gone now, they would make some moves to get closer. They thought of every possible contingency. Getting into the compound would be vital to eliminating as many of the militia as they could. Rob wondered how Haliday was doing.

The Jeep stopped about 10 feet from the woman. Two guys jumped out and ran over to her. They each grabbed a side of her and got her to her feet and were taking her to the Jeep. She couldn’t move well and they struggled moving her. She was insisting they take the man’s body with them. The man down turned out to be her husband.

The driver of the Jeep was yelling at them to hurry. They had to get out of there quickly. The smoke was practically gone. He put it in reverse and continued to yell at them to rush. As he waited for them he fired his own rifle into the house and at the landscaping areas around it. He was panicking; this rescue was taking far too long.

The driver was firing only toward the house now thinking people were at the windows. Blake, Mike and Kevin were returning fire along with Alan, who was firing from the second floor portal. There were Three more militia groups firing at the house from this side. The Jeep driver stopped firing and popped a can of smoke and tossed it in front of him hoping this would help continue to blind them.

Alan was taking aim into the center of the smoke when a round came in grazing his cheek and splintered the wood next to him causing bits of wood to fly. He backed away and put the rifle down. He grabbed a pouch from his pocket and tore it open and held it to the massive gash which had gone almost gone completely through his cheek.

He called downstairs for help. Bev came up the steps with a bag. She took the quick clot off his cheek and squeezed the gash together. She placed a few butterfly band aids over it and then taped another bandage over it. Right now this was going to be the best that he was going to get.

Haliday fired, striking the Jeeps’ driver in the back of his head. The round penetrated the windshield as well. The driver fell limp and the Jeep slowly rolled in reverse as the militia members were trying to get the woman into the side of the Jeep. They dropped down and crawled toward the vehicle in the ditch. They weren’t sure where the round came from.

The woman started to crawl that way as well, but was having a hard time. She was pleading for help. There wasn’t going to be any. The men who attempted her rescue were concerned with getting out of the area and getting to a safer location, so they let her lie there. They actually considered whether or not to try to get in the Jeep.

Across the street by an empty house Kayla saw some movement and called it out. Mark, David and Lisa along with Kayla kept an eye out over there. The angle was difficult for Kayla and she was trying to keep an eye on the woods. She yelled over to Mark and told him they needed help on the west side wood line.

Mark called Alan, who went over to the other side of the house and opened that portal. His cheek was still stinging like crazy. He eyed the woods and looked for the militia. They had really started shooting down the strobes now. Only a couple of them had NVG’s but even that gave them an advantage. The depth perception and detail lacked severely because they were early generation one NVG’s so they were mostly for movement or observation.

Mark called out more movement by the empty house Kayla had pointed out and confirmed it was militia. He fired single shots in that direction. Lisa and David waited as he did this. As soon as they saw the first flash they opened up on that location. They each fired around 15 rounds. Around 15 feet away from that area, another militia member returned fire, emptying a full clip toward them. There were at least two militia members by this house.

The woods to the west was getting fairly full with militia members as they shifted people to this area. This was the most vulnerable side of the house. Kayla, Linda and Nancy had their work cut out for them. It was very dark and they couldn’t make out anybody. They saw an occasional muzzle flash, but nothing in the same spot twice. Alan couldn’t find anyone either. He called Roger and told him the problem.

Karen had Elizabeth and Theresa down in the basement of the house along with the cats and mutant dog. Her job was strictly to keep them as safe as possible. She had a pistol and five magazines with her. If they called on her, she could respond if she needed to. She was also ready to usher them to a vehicle in case of a bug out situation..

Rich had Matthew and Bobby ready to douse any fires in the house. Bev was ready with first aid supplies for whoever could make it back to the house. Trying to use the house as their sole cover wasn’t exactly tactically sound, but it had been set up for a strong defense. They did have a few more tricks ready though. When the time came, they could use them.

The Jeep from the rescue had stalled out, and was now just sitting there in reverse in the ditch. The militia men decided to make their way toward their sniper. They called him so he could cover their retreat. Haliday heard the static and picked out a few words, hide, cover and retreat. He clicked the transmit button, but didn’t speak. All the militia men heard back was crackling.

They headed out at a crawl toward Haliday. Haliday could not see them well, but knew they were heading his way. He shot over their heads and toward a safe zone. He fired almost 10 rounds providing “cover” for them. Randy, Sarah and Blake had returned fire toward him. Haliday called, “Mike, tell them to stop. It’s me. I’m not firing at them.” Mike called over to Blake and told him to pass the word. They couldn’t quite reach him but he didn’t care. Now that they stopped, it really appeared that he was safely covering the militia.

They understood now, but they didn’t know any better when they had fired. They now focused on other militia firing toward them. The two men from the Jeep kept up their retreat. The men were about 150 yards away from Roger now. They just kept coming. Haliday watched them carefully. Come and get your cheese you rats, he was thinking.

Lisa called over to Mark about the two people by the empty house, “I think they’re coming over the road.” Mark was scanning back and forth. Lisa told Mark, “By the ditch. By the ditch.” One of the militia got up and sprinted toward the ditch. He dove down into it under a hail of gunfire. He raised his rifle and fired while the other person ran to the ditch as well.

There was one more militia at this house now who moved in to that location and who helped provide cover. He started to fire and the woods on the west side lit up at the same time. The two militia men were able to make it across the street into the ditch during the diversion. They were now closer to the house and a mere 100 feet from Lisa and Mark. The two militia lay in the ditch waiting to make their move.