Chapter 4 - The Blind Surgeon
Thick, choking white smoke rapidly filled the kitchen, instantly burning Nathan's eyes and throat.
It was military-grade tear gas, entirely designed to incapacitate and blind anyone trapped inside.
Nathan dropped low to the floor, coughing violently as he desperately tried to breathe the slightly cleaner air near the tiles.
He could not see his own hands holding the shotgun, let alone the men breaking into his house.
The sound of heavy boots crunching on the broken glass echoed loudly over the hissing gas canister.
"Spread out and find the kids," Marcus ordered from the darkness. "Shoot the arrogant doctor if he gets in your way."
Nathan squeezed his burning eyes shut and relied entirely on his other senses.
He knew every single inch of this massive house; he had designed it perfectly himself.
He crawled silently backward into the adjoining dining room, sliding behind the massive mahogany table.
He heard the heavy footsteps of the masked man moving slowly toward the basement door.
Nathan knew the steel door would hold, but he could not risk them planting explosives on it.
He stood up quickly, ignoring the terrible burning in his lungs, and aimed the shotgun toward the heavy footsteps.
He fired a single warning shot directly into the ceiling above the masked man's head.
The deafening blast of the shotgun in the enclosed space caused the intruder to stumble backward in shock.
"He has a gun!" the masked man yelled, raising his own pistol and firing blindly into the smoke.
Bullets tore through the drywall and shattered the expensive dining room chandelier, raining sharp crystal down on Nathan.
Nathan moved silently to his right, perfectly navigating the familiar layout of the room.
He flanked the masked man and slammed the heavy wooden stock of his shotgun brutally into the side of the man's knee.
The man screamed in agony and collapsed entirely onto the floor, dropping his weapon.
Nathan kicked the dropped pistol far away into the smoke-filled darkness.
Before Nathan could secure the injured man, Marcus suddenly charged through the thick smoke like a wild animal.
Marcus tackled Nathan violently around the waist, sending both men crashing heavily into the living room wall.
The shotgun was knocked entirely out of Nathan's hands, sliding uselessly across the hardwood floor.
Marcus pinned Nathan to the ground, his eyes wide with absolute, manic fury.
"Where are my children, Nathan?" Marcus demanded, pressing his forearm painfully across Nathan's throat.
Nathan struggled desperately, but Marcus was significantly larger and fueled entirely by pure adrenaline.
"They are completely safe from you, you monster," Nathan choked out, gasping for air.
Marcus smiled wickedly and pulled a sharp tactical knife from his heavy vest.
"Then I guess I will just have to kill you and find them myself," Marcus whispered, raising the blade high above Nathan's chest.
Before Marcus could drive the knife downward, the entire house suddenly plunged into absolute pitch-black darkness.
The emergency backup generator had failed entirely.
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From the dark corner of the living room, a tiny, terrified voice echoed through the silence.
"Leave my uncle alone," Lily whispered.
