The raider leader ducked back into his truck and slammed the door, and almost immediately the heavy vehicle peeled out as it flipped an awkward U-turn off the shoulder of the road.
Matt was so busy watching the truck that he almost didn’t notice Turner up behind the .50 cal manhandling the big gun to point towards the roadblock. When he finally saw it he barely had time to scream a warning for everyone to get behind cover, even as he leapt off the roadblock and flattened himself on the road behind the piled up debris.
For the second time that day he heard the roar of the mounted gun, but this time it wasn’t a demonstration. Over the distant noise of the shots he heard a swift succession of pings like the loudest hailstorm in the world, along with quieter thuds. He raised his head to see sparks flying from the furniture, the cars, and the buildings to either side as the spray of bullets panned over them.
He also heard lots of screaming, and although most of it was terror he had the sick feeling that at least a few voices among the chorus were shouting in pain.
After what seemed like an eternity but couldn’t have been longer than ten seconds the spray of gunfire ceased, probably because the truck had gone out of range or the .50 cal couldn’t turn enough to point straight backwards.
The radio was going crazy with voices asking what had happened, what was going on. Lewis’s was among them. Matt stumbled to his feet and peered cautiously over the roadblock in time to see the taillights of the truck disappear.
He was shaking, and in his shocked state he wasn’t sure if it was adrenaline or rage. Turner had shot at them. Shot at them with a big gun intended to inflict as much damage as possible.
“Anyone hurt?” he shouted. There was more than one “yes” answer to that, and he grit his teeth and lifted his radio. “Quiet!” he screamed over the babble on the airwaves. Most of the voices he heard kept talking until he identified himself and yelled for quiet again. “What’s happening is that Ferris made it clear he’s going to kill us all if he can, and before leaving to get his men he had Turner shoot up Roadblock 1 with his .50 cal to make his point. Terry, I need you here as fast as you can.”
His brother-in-law hastily replied he was on his way, but Matt barely heard it as he spoke again. “Lewis, what’s going on?”
His friend was quick to respond. “Ferris is back and from the looks of it the whole convoy is gearing up for an attack. They’ve—” He cut off, then continued in a different tone. “Matt, we were right to worry about the weaponry they brought with them. With what I see down there they could blast right through the roadblock and blow up any building we tried to snipe at them from. Whatever Ferris’s plan is, it’s going to be bad for us.”
Matt felt his face pale, and when he replied he did his best to keep his voice from shaking. “Roger that, we’ll clear the roadblock.”
There was a long pause before Lewis continued quietly. “Turner fired at you. The gloves are off, right?”
Gritting his teeth, Matt looked towards a clear patch of ground where the town’s defenders were gently carrying the wounded. Three people, none fatal but all serious. Getting hit by a bullet that big moving that fast usually was. And if Lewis was right they’d only be the first of many casualties tonight. “Yeah, the gloves are off. Why?”
“I’m going to do what I can to stop the attack, or at least slow it down.”
Matt sucked in a breath. Trev had a lot of faith in his cousin’s ability to find answers, and Matt had to admit that some of that faith had rubbed off on him. “Sounds good. What did you have in mind?”
There was no response, but Matt wasn’t too bothered by that as he turned his efforts towards seeing the wounded cared for until Terry could arrive, as well as preparing for whatever explosives the raiders had brought with them. Hopefully the silence meant Lewis was concentrating on finding a way to save the town.
In spite of his urgency Matt froze along with everyone else as the distant crack of a gunshot sounded. He whipped his head around to look past the roadblock, and most of the people around him followed his gaze. They waited in tense silence for a moment, their radios buzzing with questions. He was reaching for his radio to tell everyone to calm down when he was interrupted by another sharp crack, then with less of a delay this time a third.
Matt finished reaching for his radio. “Lewis? What’s going on?”
There was a long, tense pause before Lewis answered, voice strained and juddering as if he was being jolted around. Or running. “Can’t really talk right now. My position has been compromised. I’m heading back to town.”
“What happened?” Matt demanded. “Did you manage to delay them?”
There was an even longer pause, but in spite of the tense situation nobody else spoke on the radio. Finally Lewis responded, voice even more strained from exertion. “If losing their leader and one of his lieutenants and possibly one of the men handling a missile launcher is enough to delay them then yes, I think I did.”
Trev snatched the radio out of Matt’s hands, in the heat of the moment apparently forgetting his own was hanging from his belt. “What?”
There was a shorter pause before Lewis responded between pants. “You heard me. Ferris and Turner are dead.”
Trev stood stunned at the news, along with everyone else in the crowd. Matt was the first one to respond, snatching back his radio. Trev barely noticed as his friend spoke into it.
“Good shooting, Lewis. I hope to see you safely back here soon.”
The words broke the shocked silence, and Trev felt a palpable shift in the air around him, as if everyone had let out a silent breath of relief. Trev certainly felt his own sense of relief at the knowledge that two major threats to the town were gone.
A few of the younger defenders even gave subdued cheers, and the radio was swamped by dozens of voices asking for details or about what they should do now, making a distorted jumble between bursts of static and feedback.
Matt interrupted the hubbub on the airwaves in a firm voice. “All right, everyone, quiet down. If two of the raiders’ leaders are dead they should be in disarray right now. There’s a chance they might decide to run and leave Aspen Hill alone, but there’s also a chance they’ll decide to attack us. And as Lewis said they’ve got explosives. Stay sharp and be ready.”
That did a good job of dampening the mood again, at least enough to get everyone back doing what they needed to do. For Trev that was returning to his place on the roadblock and watching the road through the scope on his Mini-14.
Lewis had done it. His cousin was one of the most competent people he knew, one reason being that he spent so much time learning how to do things properly and making sure they were done in the best possible way. Trev could’ve trusted he’d figure out the best way to defend the town.
Matt was right that they should probably stay on their guard, but deep down Trev knew there wouldn’t be any attack tonight.
Everyone at the roadblock waited in tense silence aside from a few rustles and coughs. In fact Trev was so on edge that he jumped slightly when the quiet was broken by Tom Harding speaking over the radio. “I’ve got movement on the road. One person, coming our way from the direction of the convoy.”
Trev brought his scope up to his eye. He didn’t see anyone yet. Beside him Matt lifted his radio. “Is it Lewis?”
“Not unless Halsson turned into a Hispanic dressed in combat fatigues and body armor and carrying an M16 on his back.” Tom paused for a second. “He’s not carrying a white flag or anything, but he’s just jogging towards the roadblock and he doesn’t look like much of a threat.”