Beyond the Barriers by Timothy W. Long Read Free Book Online Page B

weren’t soft.” He grinned.
    I didn’t bother pursing the matter of what branch he represented. Lee had his secrets, and I didn’t care to know any more about them. Whatever these guys were up to was none of my business. But a sense of unease settled over me. A feeling I couldn’t quite put my finger on. I decided it was in my best interest to move along and follow my original plan to strike for the cabin.
    Before I could offer a goodbye, a man ran out of the trees like he was being chased by fire. Lee’s head shot up to take in the sight, then he started calling out orders. Men piled out of one of the transports with guns in hand. Some were ready, but others fumbled for magazines.
    “If you want to get your hands dirty, feel free to break out that cannon and help out. Just don’t get in the way. And don’t let any of my men shoot you.” He smiled. His teeth were yellowed—probably a lifetime smoker. One tooth was missing on the left side, and it gave him a garish look.
    I sat for a few seconds, unsure what to do. These guys could probably handle a small army. Already they were taking cover where they could. Rifles were lowered, and someone was even putting together a large machine gun.
    I could just drive away. Leave them to handle whatever was coming. I could put the automatic stick in D and just make for the cabin. I was just one guy and they were many. Would my little shotgun make that much of a difference?
    I looked after Lee as he strode away. He tugged a large caliber handgun out of a holster at his side. His feet kicked up dust as he made a beeline for the trees.
    I stopped when the first thing came out of the woods. The road in this location ran straight through the City of Vesper Lake, and ended in the city of Auburn before winding around to the mountains. A pair of cars came from the direction of town and swerved to avoid us. Why didn’t I follow their lead and punch it?
    I opened the door and stepped out. Emptying a box of shells on the seat, I pushed a few into my pockets then reloaded the gun as I followed Lee.
    There was just one at first—a man in his twenties, with a halo of blood dripping from his forehead. It splattered on his bright blue bowling shirt, then cascaded down around a huge wound in his abdomen. This person should have been on the ground howling in pain, or dead.
    One of the men didn’t hesitate. He raised his M-16 and fired a shot that took the guy right between the eyes. His body flopped back and thumped on the ground. Whatever had pulled his strings was now severed.
    A few more broke free of the woods. I felt the hair on the back of my neck come to attention. A chill struck me, like I had just stepped into a freezer. What was I doing here?
    Lee didn’t have any trouble. He raised his hand cannon and blew one of them away.
    Several more came from behind us, in the direction I had driven. My gun was at my chin in a split second, but I couldn’t pull the trigger. Shots echoed all around me. Calls of “Good shot!” and “Nice one.” Didn’t affect me with any sense of peace at what we were doing.
    It horrified me.
    Not so long ago, I had killed to protect. So how was this any different?
    A large man shambled toward me. I had no choice. I aimed low and blew his lower leg back. His knee disappeared as it splattered all over the pavement. He went down hard, but he didn’t stop. He dragged his body along the ground as he kept coming at me. His eyes locked on mine and they were dead—devoid of any kind of life.
    I shook as I lowered the gun and pumped a ball of pain into his head. He flopped so hard that his head bounced back up and came to rest on a smashed nose. Brain and gore stained the ground, but I looked away.
     
    * * *
     
    The fight was brief.
    Lee’s men stopped to congratulate each other. Some kept their eyes and weapons trained on the trees. Others went over their weapons while comparing stories of shooting brain-dead people to death. I didn’t feel the fire I had