Page 36 of Intangible
“I’ll go, but I’ll be back with help. Okay?”
He nodded his head before turning back around. The men were crashing against the door, forcing it open a little at a time. Memphis set the shotgun against his shoulder, ready to unload it on the first person through the door.
“Murphy. Scout,” Memphis said to the dog, who immediately shot out of the dog door. Thayer sent up a quick prayer, begging that the dog would be okay.
When an arm with a gun slid through the slit in the door, Memphis unloaded the gun at it. He quickly reloaded, looking up only when he heard Murphy bark.
“Okay, here we go,” Memphis said, shooting once more at the door to the living room as he gently opened the back door, looking out. He closed his eyes for a second when he saw Knox in the trees across from him, clearing the back. “Knox is out there. Run past him deep into the woods, he’ll come get you. Understand?”
“Yes.” Thayer nodded as tears streamed down her face. The men in the living area continued to shoot at them, slowly forcing their way in. Memphis brushed his hand down her cheek, trying to wipe away her tears.
“Stay low.” With a quick kiss, he shoved her out the door. “Run!”
Turning back to the living room door, he emptied the other barrel at it, hoping he could hold them off long enough for her to get away. He was reloading when the door crashed open, letting two shooters in.
Falling out the back door that was still hanging open, he managed to get two more shells loaded as he landed on his back. He couldn’t figure out why his left arm wasn’t working right anymore, but he aimed as best he could with his right, firing through the doorway.
When the gun was empty, he knew he was done. His bloody left arm was no longer capable of helping him break the big gun open anymore.
He had begun trying to push himself toward the trees when he felt teeth clamp onto his pants. Since he had never put on a shirt, Murphy was doing his best to use whatever he could to pull him toward the trees.
“Murphy. Go!” he yelled as a man stepped onto the back stoop, aiming his gun at Memphis.
Suddenly, the back of his house exploded into flames as a large ball of fire hit it. Memphis could only throw his good arm over his face as the ball was followed by a second.
Soon the entire cabin had gone up in flames. The scene had gone completely silent except for the sound of the flames consuming his cabin and screaming from inside.
“Come on, we need to get out of here.” Memphis heard behind him as he felt himself pulled off the ground in one mighty heave.
“Knox, where’s Thayer? You need to find her. She has to be kept safe.” He said, trying to wrestle out of the big man’s grip. The large arm around his waist was pulling him toward the front of the house as he fought to get away. He had to find Thayer.
“I’m here, Memphis,” he heard her say from behind him. He finally managed to break free of Knox’s grip, pulling her against him in a one-armed hug when she ran over sobbing.
“Thayer. Thank God,” he said, squeezing her tight. With a sudden scowl, he used his good arm to hold her away from him so he could look in her eyes. “You were supposed to keep running.”
“Come on, we’ll have enough time for tearful reunions, or whatever this is, later. We need to be gone when the cops arrive. There’s going to be a lot of bodies in that house to account for.” Knox pulled Memphis’ good arm over his shoulder, heading toward his car. Thayer followed them with Murphy and the shotgun.
Easing him into the back seat, Knox shot a concerned glance at Thayer. “We have to get him patched up, but we can’t risk a hospital. Any suggestions?”
“My vet tech can do it. Take me to my office.” As Knox drove, Memphis recited both the tech’s and the receptionist’s number to Thayer. When they pulled up to the back door, Jonathon met them to help carry a barely conscious Memphis into the surgery room.
* * *
“You understand I’ve only watched this, right? I’ve never been allowed to suture something myself. He’s losing a lot of blood, you need to drive him to the hospital,” the high school student said, looking around at the group gathered in the room.
“Just do what you can,” Knox growled. Turning, the tech began gathering what he would need to clean the wounds before sewing them up.
After twenty minutes, Knox studied the kid’s handiwork. “Well, I’m not sure it’ll win any awards, but it should do the job. Got any horse tranquilizers we can give him for pain?”
“Or, instead of killing him, how about some antibiotics and ibuprofen?” Jon asked with a smirk. Thayer saw a slight twitch at the corner of Knox’s mouth. She agreed with him, she liked this kid too. “I don’t think the bone is broken in his arm, but it will take me a little while to get the X-ray machine warmed up.”
“I don’t know what you’ve got him into, but I brought everything you asked for,” the receptionist said, bustling through the door, giving Knox a steely stare. She had rounded up some fresh scrubs for Memphis and Thayer, food, more twelve-gauge shells and even another pair of boots.
When Knox opened his mouth to speak, she held up her hand. “We know, if asked, we know nothing. He called in with the flu yesterday.” Knox gave a full smile this time.
“We have one more favor to ask,” he said, looking at the woman with a glint in his eye.
When he had Memphis loaded into the receptionist’s Bronco, he turned to Thayer. “You have to disappear until I can find out who is after you. You’re not safe here. Hell, I shouldn’t even know where you’re headed until you’re tucked away somewhere.”
