Runaway (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 4)

Before he got any further, the door behind him suddenly burst open. Harry barely made it out of his chair before the first loud blast of gunshot shattered the silence.

Molly screamed. At first, all she could see was a flurry of something large and black in the doorway. The white blast of light from the wicked looking pistol the intruder carried made her ears ring.

“Harry!” she screamed.

Harry lurched forward and tackled her to the ground. Oscar jumped over them and practically flew out of the room. Rolling sideways, Harry managed to get both him and Molly into the hallway seconds before the wood of the door jamb shattered into tiny splinters.

“Get upstairs,” Harry hissed.

He lurched to his feet, withdrew his gun and slammed the door closed. It shuddered beneath the force of the third bullet that was released in the house. Yanking a stunned Molly before him, Harry cursed and shoved her up the stairs when she didn’t move and then turned to look on the front door which now shuddered alarmingly beneath the force of a second intruder trying to force their way in.

Racing up the stairs, Harry threw a glare at Oscar. “I need you to help me, lad. Go into my room, there are two more guns on my bed. Then go around the bed chambers and close all the shutters. Don’t put the lights on. Keep the house dark. Do it, boy. Now.”

Oscar scuttled off and returned moments later with both guns. Harry was in the process of firing at the thug who appeared in the open front door. Molly gasped at the sight of the large cloud of red mist that exploded from the centre of one intruder’s forehead the second he stepped into the house.

“Oh, my God,” she breathed in horror.

“Oscar. Also on the bed is a box. Give it to Molly,” Harry called.

As casually as if he was partaking in a jolly jape, Harry released another shot that took down a smaller thug trying to scramble over his co-conspirator to get into the house.

“What do I do?” Molly wailed.

“Sit on the floor next to me. Put your back to the wall and stay out of sight. I need you to pass me the guns. I have a shot in each. When I am empty, I will give you the guns. You need to reload them for me.”

Molly’s eyes widened. “How? I have never done anything like that before.”

“I will tell you,” Harry murmured calmly but firmly. “Just stay calm and follow my instructions. You can do this, Molly. You are stronger than you think you are. Use the shot out of the box Oscar gives you. There is a little pouch in there. You will need that as well but only a small amount, mind. Just keep reloading the guns and giving them to me. I will do the rest.”

“What about me?” Oscar asked, falling to his knees beside Molly.

“Keep checking the rooms to make sure nobody is getting in through the windows. Otherwise, help your sister.”

Before either Molly or Oscar could reply, Harry released another shot. He slammed the empty gun onto the floor and picked up one of the guns Oscar had just brought from the bed chamber. Quietly, while taking aim at the bottom of the stairs, Harry told Molly how to reload the empty weapon. He released several more shots from the guns Oscar handed him before he turned to look at them. It was only a matter of time before the shot ran out, at which point he had to get everyone out of the building somehow. Harry began to pray that one, if not more, of his colleagues would be back sooner rather than later, preferably before he had to risk taking Oscar and Molly out into the open.

“What’s that?” Oscar asked when he heard an overly loud hoot of an owl.

Harry grinned at him. “Reinforcements,” he replied with relish. “The cavalry has arrived.”

As if to prove his point, a rapid exchange of terrifying gunfire shattered the night air directly outside the front door. Deep in the neighbourhood, dogs barked, cats wailed in protest, sleepy residents screamed and shouted in protest, but it did little to interrupt the fierce gun battle that raged all around the safe house.

“I’m out,” Niall bit out in disgust. He glared down at his gun and slid it back into his pocket.

“Me too,” Jasper replied. “We have to get into that house.”

“It looks like someone has beaten us to it,” Oliver informed them. “How is your arm?”

Jasper barely glanced down at the gaping flesh visible through his now blood-soaked shirt. “It’s just a flesh wound. How’s your shoulder?”

“I’ll live,” Oscar grinned. “It’s just a flesh wound.”

They both looked in concern at Niall, who was pale beneath the faint glow of the moonlight.

“I will live,” Niall bit out grimly.

His wound, however, was far more than a flesh wound. His stabbing had been swift and had come out of nowhere. The wicked blade had sunk deep before it had been ruthlessly yanked back out again seconds before Niall’s attacker was brutally cut down by Jasper. While Niall was still standing, it wouldn’t be for long. He needed a surgeon, and everyone knew it. Still, there was work that needed to be done, and Niall wasn’t going to slink off for a visit with the surgeon’s needle when there was a job to do.

“Does anyone have any bullets to cover me while I cross that lawn?” Jasper asked.