CHAPTER 17
The lanky, inky figure glanced back at the shocked trio. Brash and angry, Blane charged the figure, aiming for it's slim legs positioned with one knee bent and the other straight. It was like the figure was being playful and mocking. The other two stood back and watched in shock as the silhouette countered swiftly with a moving and seemingly effortless roundhouse kick. Its foot graced Blane's face like how a sledgehammer strikes a spike into the ground. The mighty strike was followed by a distinct slap of flesh, the blow sent Blane falling through the baby's crib with a series of cracks like exploding fireworks.
The figure slowly and methodically craned it's leg back into position, it let out a short and wicked cackle. The cackle was brief and had a closely followed echo, making it sound cold, metallic, and haunting. Also, the voice sounded vaguely female. If that were the case, she would've perfectly fit the role of femme fatale.
The figure held the baby bundled in baby blue blankets in it's arms like a football. In a move that shocked Tracy and Gavin, the fugue dove through the window; sending shards of glass everywhere as they heard her roll onto the front side deck.
Tracy pulled back the slide of her Desert Eagle and let it spring back, putting a bullet into the chamber. She ran ahead of Gavin and dove through the window in a similar matter as the dark figure had.
Meanwhile, Gavin took a much needed moment to take it all in as he glanced at Blane's scrawny body. His chest rose and fell at a slow and almost non-existent rate. I ought to make sure, thought Gavin as he attempted to shake his suspicions that Blane would be dead within the minute. His head had smashed through the floor of the crib and collided with the laminate floor.
Gavin quickly ran over and checked Blane's pulse; he thanked God that Blane still had a beat. In that moment, he realized the disparity of the situation as his eyes switched back and forth between Blane's unconscious body and the shotgun cradled in his arms. His frantic gaze finally settled on the cold shotgun in his arms. He thought to himself, maybe lethality is necessary. Gavin pumped his shotgun and dove through the window and rolled onto the wooden deck.
The second story deck facing the street was made entirely out of redwood. On the far left side of the narrow deck, in front of Gavin, Tracy and the mysterious figure were locked in and intense hand to hand battle. the figure seemed to duck and weave, sneaking in chops with one hand while the other hand held the baby. Tracy was swinging with fists that could've been made of lead. However, every swing missed and was repeatedly countered with chops that caused Tracy to wince.
It was time for Gavin to intervene, Tracy was quickly faltering while she clutched her side in great pain.
Gavin Garza felt the cold metal trigger brush against the tip of his finger. If he could associate a feeling to grief, he would immediately choose the cold steel of the shotgun's trigger.
It would be a close shot, the figure hadn't appeared to notice Gavin. Gavin could see a glimpse of it to the side of Tracy, aiming down the iron sights. He knew that he would be able to hit the figure and disable it without harming the baby and Tracy. He aimed down the sights with one eye squinted, he had the shot lined up but he couldn't bare taking the risk. A slight sway of the barrel would've taken out Tracy's side and the baby snatcher would've escaped.
Gavin didn't have the metal to shoot, so he decided to cling closely to the wall as he winced slightly forward. The figure noticed Gavin creeping along the wall with the shotgun pointed towards it, apparently the figure wasn't taking any risks either. The figure threw itself over the railing and did a corkscrew in the air like a gymnast as it drew a flare gun, firing a burning and flaring bolt of pink-red fire towards the two.
The figure landed safely on its feet as the deck began to set ablaze. Knee high flames flickered on the surface of the deck and began to climb the outside walls of the Cabin, blackening the redwood in absolutely no time at all. The strong and smoky smell of the burning wood that filled their nostrils and a quickly growing cloud of dark grey smoke obscured their vision, stinging their eyes. Tracy ran over, running through ash, to the other side of the deck. Gavin followed, kicking up weakened splinters of wood and embers. The two ran over to the other side of the deck that hadn't been touched by the torching fire yet. Gavin and Tracy stopped towards the very end of the deck and withdrew their guns, firing rapidly and without remorse at an escaping figure. The shadowy figure was running away from the Cabin and towards the mouth of the street, the bullets were missing drastically. It was no use.
The flare was still lit, giving off a red and black smoke that seemed to have acted as a signal. Perhaps it was signals for the four massive pick up trucks with lit floodlight attached to their roofs drifted into the street. They swerved halfway into the street drifted to the side, creating a blockade that completely sealed up the cup-de-sac from the main street. After the trucks came to a complete screeching stop, men popped up from the beds of the trucks. They were normally dressed in casual wear and were armed with light machine guns, automatic weapons popped out of the windows of the trucks as well. Their sights aimed at the cabin.
Time seemed to slow as Tracy yelled at Gavin to get down as she dropped herself to the floor of the deck. But it was too late. Over the deafening roar of dozens of machine guns firing a hell storm of bullets, dozens upon dozens of bullets sunk themselves into Tracy's falling body while more bullets ripped past her and buried themselves into the cabin's walls. Tracy was dead and mangled to a near unrecognizable by the time her lifeless bod hit the floor. The blood mixed with the raging fire, and her body began to incinerate and go up into smoke. The fire cooked what was left of her body as evident by the loudened crackling of the fire.
Gavin looked back in horror and panic as he crawled away from Tracy's body that quickly disappeared behind a destructive wall of burning fire, her body was practically alien. He reached the other end that was now lit with fire that tantalized his underside. As he crawled, he propped up the shotgun and set the stock against his shoulder. He shot his shotgun, causing a sharp pain in his shoulder from the immense recoil, the blast took out a weakened section of railing that was blackened and already falling apart. Gavin sweated profusely as he felt the flames cook his underside like a steak as he rolled off the deck, falling fifteen feet into a grouping of thorny bushes. He landed on his back, the drumming of machine guns continued.
Gavin groaned in pain at the thorns that jabbed into his back and sides, he could still feel the flames burning his chest, stomach, and sides. He lay still on his back, his eyes were like saucer as he stared grimly and sadly at the starry night sky above him. Every now and then, an ember would be flung from the deck and would land on him before dissipating like a cigarette being extinguished.
He could hear people shouting in a foreign language and the slamming of truck doors after the machine gun fire had ceased. He couldn't believe these monsters, whatever they were; they were going to get away. The prospect sickened Gavin to his very core. He heard the vibrating thumps and revving of the engines as the trucks accelerated out of the street.
Gavin exhaled, out of fear, he had instinctually held his breath. The exhale turned into a swirl of crystal crisp mist into the air above his face. The thorny bush he was lying on felt almost comfortable, it's leaves embraced and comforted to is body. Gavin yawned as his eyelids grew heavy, but his hands were still trembling from the recent events and his shoulder ached from the recoil of his shotgun. He couldn't help but wonder if Blane had made it, he knew he should go check but he was too weak to. So he did the only thing he could do at the time, he fell asleep under a blanket of twinkling stars that studded the black sky that early Christmas morning.
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