Carl and Jordan looked up at each other as they heard several trucks with obnoxiously loud engines roaring up the gravel driveway. Jordan ran through the kitchen to the back entryway and grabbed his gun, then threw the back door open and ran out. He heard Carl follow right behind him. A series of pickup trucks were moving in a line to circle the side yard then, in succession, turn to face the house. Doors opened and men and women stepped out of the trucks. Jordan counted fifteen people, twelve of whom had guns strapped to their hips.
“Carl, get back in the house!” Jordan shouted, keeping his eye on the group in front of him as he ran forward, gun pointed down. They all wore faded jeans and plaid shirts. The men were bearded, and one of the women was looking over Jordan’s shoulder. They were all in a semicircle, and seemed intent on some purpose. “Get back in the house, dammit!” He yelled to Carl as he raised his gun.
He heard Carl’s footsteps retreating until the men with guns raised them and a man pulled out his own handgun and said “Stop,” aiming the gun past Jordan at Carl. Jordan froze in place, legs in a wide stance and arms out and forward, gun aimed at the leader, but ready to dive in any direction, as he assessed the situation.
Shit, he thought. He had heard Carl’s footsteps stop at the same time as his own. What do they want?
He heard the door open again – it wasn’t Carl. From the sound of his footsteps earlier, Jordan was sure Carl was about eight feet behind him and slightly to the right. The door opening had to be Diana.
“Who are you and what do you want?” Carl yelled at the men.
The leader was still focused on Carl, but all the other guns shifted to aim at the back door, where Diana must be standing right now. None of the guns were aimed at Jordan, which surprised him. Did they think he was no threat? That seemed unlikely. He was always identified as the primary threat during any altercation he’d been part of ever since he bulked up in high school. So, they had charged in and were threatening Carl and Diana. “Apparently, they want to kill you, Carl. And maybe Diana as well. You might want to ask why.”
The leader answered, “We’re here to do what we should have done a while ago. You’re dying already, boy, and that woman has come here to kill you even faster. She has to go.”
Jordan heard the click of Diana’s boot heels on the narrow cement patio, then they crunched on gravel, and he saw Diana step forward into his peripheral vision to his left. She had his gun, the one he kept at his bedside, and it made him furious.
On the other hand, there were now two of the three of them with guns, against the twelve guns aimed their direction, which helped to even things up. “Carl, get back in the house,” he said quietly. Then louder, “If anyone shoots him, I’ll kill you.” Carl took a step, and he saw the leader’s finger move slightly, then all movement stopped, and he saw looks of shock register on the faces of every one of the strangers. Diana cursed.
A tall, broad-shouldered man with wavy gold hair and blue eyes stepped out of the trees and walked forward. Jordan discovered that he couldn’t move at all; it was as if he’d been turned to stone. He could move his eyes and blink, but he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t move his head, nor any of his limbs. He was breathing and his heart was beating. That was all the movement he was capable of. From the looks of it, the same was true of everyone else, except this man.
“Who are you?” The man asked Diana, but it seemed less of a question than an imperative that she expose her secrets publicly.
Diana gasped, then answered, her voice an odd guttural sound, as if she was resisting a compulsion. “I’m Diana. I’m visiting the owner of this property to determine whether it can be turned into an ecotourist spot for viewing wildlife. Wolves in particular. I’ve heard there are wolves in this area.”
The man laughed. “Wolves – I could tell you about the wolves, but that is not why you are here.” The man’s voice became low and menacing. “You are here to kill your host, as soon as you are sure he is the monster you think he is. Except it is you who is the monster here.”