KAT'S POV
It sounds like a window has been broken. When my eyes adjust to the near darkness, I realize that one of the two huge frosted glass windows next to the door is completely shattered. Two figures emerge from the shadows of night. I don't make out any weapons, but they could easily be concealing them. It's definitely not Isaac.
Well, hold that thought. If he really wanted to, couldn't he have fabricated that whole story earlier? Was that even an apartment complex burning in the distance? What if he has other people and they waited until tonight to attack? But that wouldn't make sense. Ugh, i'm so confused. It couldn't have been him or his sisters, or could it?
From my precarious spot on the stairs, I remain invisible for the moment. The hallway light above is off, shrouding the staircase in darkness. I silently fumble for the shotgun as I watch the two assailants haul in what looks like a couple backpacks. Bombs maybe? What the hell are they doing with backpacks?
I pump the shotgun slowly, not to draw any attention towards me. A cold breeze comes in through the broken window, chilling me immensely. Even with the bitter cold, I aim at one of the robbers when he suddenly disappears from view. A fair amount of grunting and shuffling can be heard. Is somebody fighting them?
Taking a huge chance, I race down the stairs and jump on the second robber. They go down in a clumsy heap, pulling their forearms across their face to prevent harm.
"Kat stop! You know me man!" A familiar teenage voice screeches, curling up into a ball on the glass covered floor. I cannot believe this.
"Joshua Banks? What the actual fuck man?!" Josh lives with his aunt and uncle next door. One of the quiet types, into reading and writing and all the kind of stuff. I wouldn't even know him if he hadn't mowed my lawn for the last 3 summers, since he was 15. He stays in pretty good shape, for a book nerd. Short and thin, with slightly pale skin and styled shaggy blond hair.
"I can explain! Just let me up!" He sounds flustered.
"Why are you breaking into my house?" I ask in fury, stepping away so he can sit up at least. Isaac shows up a second later with another teenage boy locked in his arms. This one has brown hair about the same length as Josh's. This one is taller though, and more muscular. I can't see much else in the horrible lighting.
"Let'em go, Isaac. He's just a friend." I say through gritted teeth.
"You sure?"
"Yeah." Isaac releases the kid, who trips on himself and falls on the floor, next to Josh.
"Explain. Now." I say, folding my arms. I almost freaking shot this damn kid, he better have a good explanation.
"I-well, uh, I had my friend Lucas over, alright. And we were up watching movies and stuff, when we hear somebody knock on our door. And, and, Uncle Bobby went to go answer it, and there were like these three guys in all black. Masks and everything. They shot him in the chest. We saw it happen from the hallway, but I don't think they saw us. Aunt Kim came rushing out and they shot her to, and I think they're dead and we grabbed some stuff and climbed out my window and I didn't know where to go so I came here but you wouldn't answer the door-" Josh stutters through his story, complete with ragged breathing and sniffles.
"Oh that's horrible I'm so sorry." I honestly don't know what to say.
Suddenly Issac says, "Kat, we need to get something in front of these windows now!" I see his train of thought immediately, connecting the dots. Those guys are the ones who were following Courtney and they thought she went into the house next door. If they saw Josh and his friend climb out his window...oh no.
"What the fuck is going on down there?" Dad and Courtney appear at the top of the stairs, Veronica and Vanessa behind them.
"It's just Josh!" I answer.
"Josh Banks?"
"Yup!"
"We need help blocking this window!" Isaac says.
"We can help." Vanessa and Veronica push forward and race down the stairs. I pull Josh and his friend, Lucas, out of the way.
"Uh, grab the dining room table and prop it up. I'll get some nails and a hammer." I race past Isaac and his sisters in the dining room, through the living room, and down the stairs to the basement. The cement is cold on my bare feet, leeching out any warmth I had left. The basement spans the entire length of the house. Dad and I had been slowly working on renovating it, but after everything started happening, the basement seems less important.
The air feels damp and smells of sawdust. I switch on the light, casting a soft yellow glow on the bare cement floor and naked wood beams holding the ceiling up. It takes a minute, but I find a large hammer and a jar filled with nails. By the time I get back upstairs, the dining room table is lodged firmly over the gap Josh and Lucas opened.
"Here." I thrust the hammer and nails into Isaac's waiting hands. He goes to work on the table, maneuvering around the table legs.
"Are those guys coming over here?" Courtney asks, stepping away from the door.
"I don't know, Court. Maybe they're just, I don't know, uh-"
"That house next door is on fire!" Dad says from upstairs. Josh's eyes go wide. He bounds up the stairs, his friend right behind him. Courtney and I get upstairs and into the bathroom where I can see Josh's house in a roaring blaze. Wild patches of fire are burning outside of windows , columns of smoke billowing up towards the sky.
"That's my house! My-" Josh starts, gaping in awe. The flickering light of the fire illuminates his face a ghastly orange. I can make out wet spots on his cheeks. Wordlessly, I entangle my hand with his for support. He doesn't seem to notice at first, but I feel his hand squeeze mine. I don't know what to say. Anything I could say would just seem shallow or false. I don't know what it's like to have my family killed and my house burned down within minutes of each other.
I hear several pairs of feet pounding up the stairs. Exiting the bathroom, I'm about to ask Veronica what's going on, but she puts a hand over my mouth.
"Shhh!" She whispers. What is this, betrayal? Thoughts of death swim through my head. I bite down hard on her hand and start yelling.
"Shut up!" Isaac says.
"What the hell?" Dad asks.
"Those guys are here! Everybody needs to shut the hell up!" Isaac whispers harshly. Courtney's eyes go wide.
"Are they in the house?" She asks, already running for the end of the hallway.
"No, they knocked on the door. I looked through the peep hole. Three guys, all in black. Each of them have heavy guns and blood on their clothes. We need to get the hell out of here!"
"I don't think so! You're not going anywhere with us!" Dad tells Isaac. "This is all connected, isn't it? Those are your guys out there, aren't they? And tell the truth!"
Isaac looks frustrated. "Are you kidding me? Why would they be with me?"
"You're their inside man, aren't you? Get our guard down and then attack in the middle of the night, huh? Sneaky." Dad looks at me. "Where's the shotgun?"
"Downstairs. Dad, I don't think they have anything to do with this-"
"Of course you don't!" Dad starts for the stairs, but Vanessa and Veronica block his path.
"Get the fuck out of my way!" He growls. The sisters hold their ground.
"You're not going down there. Those dudes could break in at any second." Vanessa says, crossing her defiantly.
"The hell they are! You're probably using them as an excuse to keep us up here, huh?! I bet they aren't even down there!"
The familiar sound of a glass window breaking answers Dad.
"Oh shit." He whispers.
"Can we get out from up here?" Isaac asks, gently resting his hand on Dad's shoulder.
"Unless you want to go through a window, no. And i'm not having my house burned down."
"Where's my weapons?" Isaac asks.
"My room. Kat, get everybody else outside. We'll hold these douche bags off."
"Dad, no." I whisper, knowing that Isaac and Dad aren't any match for three guys with big guns.
"Go!" He pushes me away, ducking into his room with Isaac. I don't have a choice.
"C'mon! We're getting out of here!" Everybody follows me down the hallway and into my bedroom. I open the window facing away from the burning house. It's at least a 15 foot drop, and i've always been afraid of heights.
"I can't." I mutter. "I can't do this." I back away from the window in fear. There is absolutely no way i'm jumping out that damned window. I'll break my ankle, or maybe one of those not-dead dead things is out there and i'll be eaten alive...I just can't do it.
"I'll go." Veronica volunteers, pulling something from her boot. A knife, I realize.
"I thought you guys gave us all your weapons?"
"Sorry, but we didn't exactly want to be completely helpless. I'll swing back to the front and see if I can't surprise one of those fuckers."
Vanessa grips her sister's arm tightly. "No, you'll kill yourself!"
"I need to do something!" Veronica says, releasing herself from Vanessa's grip and slipping out the window into the darkness. She drops with a grunt, but the rustling of the grass and leaves signals she's still mobile. I hear footsteps on the stairs, and my heart stops. Oh god, they're here.
"Hide!" I whisper. Vanessa slides into the closet with Lucas. I look around, trying to find some place to hide. Josh drops to the floor and begins to wiggle underneath my bed. Great idea. I slide under the bed as well, pulling the blanket down to cover my tracks. Let's just hope they don't check this room.
Gunshots erupt several times. A scuffle goes down in the hallway, and somebody falls down the stairs. I hear yelling and screaming and people dying. My imagination goes wild. I think ten minutes pass before I hear my Dad being dragged down the stairs. I can tell he's alive because he's yelling at them.
One of the men searches the rest of the house, finally ending up in this room. It's like some kind of twisted game of hide and seek. He opens the closet and seizes Vanessa and Lucas. They screams and fights back, but he subdues the,. I don't know how, since I can't see anything. No guns are fired, but that doesn't rule out the possibility of a knife. They exit the room and travel down the stairs. Josh tenses up next to me.
It then dawns on me that Josh and I have evaded capture. They don't know we're hear, and I need to use that to my advantage.
ISAAC'S POV
Each footstep sends another stab of anxiety through my veins. I may have my dad's hunting machete in hand, with Dave covering me, but i'm still nervous beyond belief. I've never killed a man, and now i'm preparing to kill three? No. I don't know if I can do it.
"Come out, come out where ever you are." A European voice calls out menacingly.
"Oh shit." I whisper to myself, backing against the wall even more. When one of those guys opens this door, i'll be right there to slit their throat.
I see the knob turning ever so slightly. Beads of sweat roll down my forehead. Everything is silent. The knob rotates back into its normal position. Has he decided not to open the door? What's going on?
A series of loud shots fill the air, like firecrackers. The door is kicked down. I back away disoriented. The first man strolls in, turning on the light. Dave fires two shots at him, hitting the masked man in the chest. He falls down quietly and suddenly. Just like that, he's dead.
The remaining two guys enter the room, spraying bullets at Dave. He falls behind the bed, I can't tell if he's okay. The masked men don't see me at first, giving me an opportunity to stab one in the shoulder. Before I can pull out my machete and strike again, something hard hits me in the head. I see stars. Fucker must have hit me with the butt of his gun.
I swing with my first, connecting with something metal, I think his gun. My vision is blurry, but I can make out a black blur coming at me fast. I sloppily dodge and tackle him into the hallway. We crash into the wall and roll onto the floor. I hear more gunshots. The man I'm fighting with grabs my hair and pulls violently. In response, I knee him in the stomach hard. He rolls over so he's on top, connecting his fist with my face twice. A sharp pain erupts near my nose.
With a guttural scream, I roll over, trying to regain control, but i'm lost in a tumble down the stairs. My arm is twisted at an awkward angle along the way, and I hit my head several times. When I get to the bottom, I see that my opponent has a broken neck. He's making a horrible gurgling noise.
"What the fuck." I hear another voice. Warily, I look up to see a figure standing in the doorway, dressed like his partners. A fourth man, I realize. In his arms I see a woman struggling wildly, screaming loudly. Hold up, that's my sister. But which one?
I don't think it matters though, because we've been defeated.
