His Hostage

I take aim at the open window, and once I see them appear through the front entrance, I feel my heart sink a few inches in my body.

“Here we go,” I mutter.

I shoot one down, but there’s at least a hundred more. I turn and look at our men. There’s probably forty. Maybe thirty-five. We’re fucked. We’re so fucked.

I shout, “Get those engines ready.”

The cars come barreling out at them, headlights blazing. One is set on fire. It’s distracting.

Thankfully, the vehicles take out a few of their men. However, it’s not enough to save the day.

I keep shooting, ‘cause Caroline’s life depends on it. For the first time in my life, I’m thinking about my future, and it’s not just me in that vision. She’s with me. We’ve got kids. We’ve got a house. We have a life together.

Bang. I shoot another down. Bang. One gets clipped in the arm. Bang. Another falls amidst the dust and explosions.

They’re getting closer now, so I run outside to try and pick off some more. At least another hundred come out behind the other guys, and then I see him.

Kaine.

It’s the bastard who started all of this bullshit. He comes in, riding on a shiny hog, submachine gun strapped to his chest, and he’s laughing. It makes me sick to my stomach.

r /> I start running, and I scream at the men on the roofs up ahead. “Now, get those vats ready!”

As Kaine’s men come forward, pots of hot, melted rubber, oil, and anything else they could find are lifted up onto a pulley system.

“Now,” I shout.

The tar spills across the front lines of his men.

It’s not a pretty sight, and it’s something I won’t be forgetting for a while.

Meanwhile, Kaine pushes forward.

“Shit!” Jeffco curses. “This is getting ridiculous. I didn’t become a biker to get involved in heavy artillery.”

Iago turns to him and scoffs. “You think any of us did?”

Left and right, bullets wiz by our faces and bodies. This isn’t just some territorial scuffle. This is all out war.

When this ends, things will be different.

I don’t know how any of our men are going to come back from this. Things will be harder. I just hope the leaders can create a better set of rules, to keep people in check, ‘cause I’m not doing this shit anymore. I’m out.

This is it. My final war.

The Hunters press on.

Jeffco keeps whispering, “We’re fucked. We’re so fucked,” and it’s getting on my damn nerves because he’s hitting at the truth of the matter. We might actually be fucked.

We inch back into the house as Kaine’s men infiltrate the premises. “We have to surrender,” Iago says. “If we don’t, everyone might die.”

I don’t want to be responsible for that. I think of Caroline and how important that woman is to me. I don’t want to be responsible for losing her either.

“The Hell Squadron never came,” I say, shaking my head.

A small explosion goes off about 20 yards away. I drop my gun into my lap and sigh.

“They never fucking came,” I repeat.