Chapter 7 - The Last Stand
My ears rang loudly as thick, gray dust completely filled the ruined kitchen.
I pushed the heavy wooden debris off my chest, ignoring the sharp pain radiating from my ribs.
I dragged myself into the narrow hallway just as six armed men stepped through the smoking hole in the wall.
I had lost my rifle in the explosion, leaving me with nothing but my bare hands and sheer willpower.
I retreated toward the basement door, knowing I had to protect my family at all costs.
I pulled the door open and threw myself down the wooden stairs, locking the heavy deadbolt behind me.
Sarah was huddled in the corner behind the water heater, shielding Lily and Tommy with her own body.
The operatives began hammering brutally against the basement door, splintering the old wood with every strike.
"They are going to break through in less than a minute," I told Sarah, desperately looking around for a weapon.
Sarah reached behind the water heater and pulled out a heavy canvas duffel bag.
She unzipped it, revealing a massive cluster of military-grade plastic explosives wired to a digital timer.
"I stole this from their armory today, and I wired the entire foundation of the house to blow," she confessed.
I stared at her, realizing my wife was far more dangerous and resourceful than I had ever known.
She pointed toward a rusted iron grate in the floor that led to the old neighborhood drainage system.
May you like
"Take the kids through the pipe, Mark, and I will stay behind to trigger the detonator," she commanded.
The basement door violently cracked open, and a flashbang grenade bounced directly down the wooden stairs.
