Page 56 of Hero

I give Buddy a quick scratch behind the ears. “You go with them. Okay? You go with them.”

The dog whines. I have no idea what he understands or what he’s going to do. He’s always stuck right at my heels, and I’m afraid that’s what he’s going to do even now.

“Now,” I say, holding a gun in each hand.

Zed sets off at a run, carrying Rina in a tight hold. As I expected, Buddy doesn’t follow. He stays right beside me as I stand up and start shooting with both guns.

They must have seen Zed running because they advance again, shooting back at me. I get the woman and she drops, but there’s one more man, and he’s shooting steadily.

Soon there will be more. Even if I manage to get this last guy, I’ll still have to stay and wait for the others, or they’ll just follow and maybe catch up to Zed and Rina. I have to hold this position until the very end to give Zed and Rina as much time as possible to escape.

There’s no hope for me here. Absolutely no hope.

Maybe they won’t kill Buddy.

I’ll never get to space like I used to dream. And I’ll never be a wife to Zed and a mother to Rina like I’ve finally realized I want.

But at least I will have done something worthwhile. Had a life worth living.

I can save them.

I keep ducking and shooting, being careful only because it will give Zed and Rina more time.

When I hear voices, I know what it will be. I don’t have any idea how many there will be, but there must be enough for the ambush that was intended. Far more than I can handle on my own.

I’ll get as many as possible and last as long as I can. Zed is strong. Fast. Smart. He’s not going to let Rina get hurt. Whatever time I can give them should be enough.

It has to be.

When more shooting starts, I’m not surprised. I do my best to return fire, only occasionally managing to aim with any accuracy. There are at least five new guns in addition to the one left of the four.

Six against one.

They’re starting to flank me.

I figure, if I’m lucky, I can last maybe three or four more minutes.

The trees rustle to my right, so I wait until I see the motion of someone moving around the van toward me. I shoot. Whoever it was goes down.

But now there’s more rustling—to my left and to my right. They’re coming around.

This is going to be it.

It should have been—by any reasonable expectation. I long ago stopped praying for miracles.

I keep my gun poised, aiming for whoever is coming around my left. Maybe I can get him before the other one on my right gets me.

Then the person on the left drops before I can get a shot off. I whirl around to shoot the one on the right, but he falls down too.

There are more shots from the other side of the van, but they’re different than before.

They’re not shooting at me. They’re shooting at my attackers.

It happens in the space of two minutes. Every one of my attackers goes down.

It’s over. Completely over. And I have no idea how.

The road and the woods around us are suddenly filled with women. A lot of them. All of them well trained and efficient and several of them smiling at me.

---