Essem pointed toward the end of the house. “Hal, cover us.” He moved his finger toward a portion of the roof that wasn’t on fire, then looked at Kelly. “Can you make that?” Essem was indicating the distance to jump from the ledge of the outer wall to the roof.
Kelly nodded.
“I think so.”
Essem took a breath and backed up as far as he could. The distance was a little over three meters, but the pair would have a running start. Essem knew they had to slow the Rotars’ initial thrust beyond the gate. If the gang managed to establish a foothold , they’d be able to pour in unopposed. Already he saw small squads of gangers trying to move beyond the perimeter that was being set up. And they seemed to be doing it with little resistance. Either the Shade’s Rest defenders weren’t putting up much of a fight or they simply weren’t there. Essem didn’t like that last option at all. James was down there somewhere. His old man wasn’t one to give up easy, though. Essem knew his dad wasn’t stupid either. If hiding meant that he would live, Essem was sure James would do it.
Essem looked back at Hal one last time. “Once we get into position, you worry about anyone else trying to get in.” He jerked a thumb back toward the outer wall. “And don’t forget to use those rocks.” Essem gave a quick glance to the pile of fist-sized stones lying near Hal. “Let’s go!” Essem barked before taking two powerful steps and leaping off the ledge.
He landed with a loud thump, and quickly threw himself forward to avoid rolling over backwards and off the roof. Essem turned and waved Kelly forward. She hesitated at first, then found the courage. Her jump wasn’t as powerful as Essem’s, but it got the job done. She landed closer to the roof’s edgeand quickly scrambled into position. Essem held out a hand, which she used to pull in closer. Both heard a shout from Hal.
Essem looked up to see Hal taking aim and letting fly with an arrow somewhere behind him. With his hand still holding Kelly, he yanked her forward and let go. Spinning, Essem dropped down into a crouch as a short spear whizzed just overhead. Bringing his pistol to bear, he steadied his aim with his other hand and quickly assessed the scene.
Two Rotars had come around the side of the house. A third was on the ground clutching his leg where Hal’s arrow had struck home. Essem couldn’t tell how the other two were armed and he didn’t wait to find out. He squeezed off one round from the pistol and the bullet impacted in the ground just in between both men. Damn it! Essem cursed to himself as both men split away. One readied another spear , while the other opted instead for a pistol of his own.
Essem tried to track the man but he kept darting back and forth. The ganger’s progress was quickly stopped as another arrow thunked into the ground right in the man’s path. He hesitated long enough to give Essem another chance. He took aim, squinted and fired. The round clipped the man in the shoulder, blowing free flesh and bone. The man howled as he dropped his weapon and hit the ground.
A deep thud struck right near Essem’s foot as the other man’s spear hit. Essem jerked to the side and started to scramble up the roof. He saw the man move away as Kelly and Hal both sent arrows in his direction.
“C’mon!” Essem shouted to Kelly as he completed his scramble to the top of the roof. She followed as Hal sent one final arrow toward the fleeing ganger.
Essem and Kelly laid flat on the rooftop and peered over the edge. He could see that the Rotars had not only pushed through the gate but were close to establishing perimeter. The remaining vehicles had moved in and were huddled close to the entrance, waiting to get inside.
It was then that Essem realized that the gunfire had subsided and that he and Kelly were the only defenders from Shade’s Rest still around. Essem wasn’t sure if everyone else had fled, died or both. He looked at Kelly, while he signaled to Hal.
“Looks like it’s just us. Get out your firebomb.” Essem pulled his free and secured his sparker. He looked up and saw that Hal was crouched and staring at him. Essem mouthed the words, ‘stay down’ and followed it up with a hand gesture.
Moving quickly, he lit the cloth fuses on both pieces of pottery. He pointed toward where he wanted Kelly to throw. She nodded.
“Once we throw these, we need to get the hell out of here.”
Kelly nodded again.
Then Hal screamed.
Essem stole a quick glance and saw that Hal had slumped against the wall. Looking back, he saw close to ten gangers around the house’s edge. Without hesitation, Essem switched targets and hurled his firebomb toward the group while shouting to Kelly to throw hers.
Essem’s hit the ground with a burst of flame that caught three of the Rotars in its radius. The others moved but took aim at the pair and fired. Bullets punched through the shingles and into the wood below, sending splinters toward Essem’s face. Standing his ground, he returned fire, catching one of the ganger square in the chest, dropping him to the ground. Somewhere on the other side of the house, Essem could hear screaming. Good shot, Kelly.
“Back to the wall!” Essem shouted as he grabbed Kelly’s hand to take her with. He jerked suddenly when she didn’t follow. Looking back, he saw a pool of blood rapidly expanding from her midsection.
“Shit.” Essem said as he let go of her hand.
Then the explosion hit.