Glimmer of Hope (Land of Tomorrow Book 1)

Part I, Chapter 5

Joshua saw the men running across the bridge toward his family below. He had seen them sitting and smoking cigarettes at the opposite end of the bridge before his father even approached the road block, but he saw no way to warn him in time other than by firing a shot.

He tracked the approaching men in his rifle scope, not sure if his father wanted him to fire or not. Joshua couldn’t even see his family now, only knew they were somewhere at the bottom of the hill.

He saw four men running their way, one tall, thin and fleet in the front, the other three trailing behind. At the very end was an old codger who couldn’t have been a day less than seventy, carrying a double-barreled shotgun. The two in the middle looked like they were brothers and Joshua could easily spot the resemblance from his vantage point two hundred yards away.

Joshua tried to think. Normally his father initiated all the action, but maybe he hadn’t foreseen this. If those men got to the road block, saw what happened, and then took up covered positions, they would be in the same situation they were when they first approached except without the element of surprise. Retreat would be difficult at best. They probably also didn’t want the men to escape now that they were in the open. If they escaped, they could run back to their barricade at the other end of the bridge and prevent them from crossing. They needed to take these men in the open before they reached defensible positions on either side of the bridge.

The tall thin man in Joshua’s scope slowed to a jog as he saw the bodies. His arms sagged and he looked around in disbelief. He didn't look to have any thoughts of a possible threat nearby, only staring at his dead comrades in disbelief. Joshua knew his shock could wear off quickly. He also knew he should look for stationary targets and “Mr. Tall and Thin” was now standing still less than twenty yards from the barricade.

Joshua forced himself to slow his breathing and his heart rate. He closed his eyes and then opened them again, sighting on his target. He drew in a deep breath, held it, then let it all out slowly. As the last of the breath left his lungs he began to pull the trigger slowly and steadily. When the rifle jumped against his shoulder it was a surprise, like always.

*******

You bumbling fool, Nathan thought of himself. Of course, they would block both ends of a long bridge like this one. It would do no good to only bottle up one end! He heard the approaching men’s footfalls and muffled yells although he could not yet see them. He needed a plan.

If he attacked them now in the open it would be touch and go. He didn’t even know how many men he faced. Joshua might give them an advantage on the hill, but he would be waiting for Nathan to make a move. Nathan couldn’t let these men occupy the position they had just cleared or they were dead.

“Cover me,” he whispered to Bethany and signaled to David. Bethany looked at him in alarm seemingly to ask him if he were crazy. Nathan just shrugged. He would have to count on the element of surprise and hope there weren’t too many to deal with.

He saw a tall thin blond man come into view and then stop in his tracks. His eyes were wide and he looked like he could not believe what he saw. The man just drank in all the bloodshed and horror. Sudden comprehension showed in his face and he pulled the rifle up from his slack hands and began looking around at the tree-line. His eyes met Nathan’s a split second before a bullet tore through his chest, sending him to the ground in a crumpled heap.

The silence was deafening. Nathan couldn’t see anyone else; maybe there was only one. That thought left his head as he heard other shouts from beyond the barricade and then another shot from Joshua. He couldn’t wait any longer.

Nathan sprinted up to the parked cars and carefully peeked over one of the hoods. He saw the tall thin man trying to crawl under one of the cars, bleeding badly. He also saw an older man around the middle of the bridge lying on the ground without moving, evidently a result of Joshua’s second shot. There were two other men who looked a lot alike at the edge of the bridge, using the concrete barrier as protection. They appeared to be in a heated discussion. One looked to argue for heading back over the bridge and the other for the closer protection of the road block. As they were arguing, Joshua took out the man on the right drawing a scream of frustration from the other.