The Crucivire

Chapter Seven: Humans and Monsters

Alice had herself, Sara, Penny, and Betty move the bookcase back in front of the open doorframe. They then moved a heavy hope chest in front of it, putting a heavy safe on top of that. The bookcase by the window would be harder to get through than an open doorframe, but Alice still had them move a table in front of the bookcase so it would be harder to knock over. They also stacked a few chairs on top of that just to add as much weight as possible.

Finally, they moved the gunrack to the corner where Uncle Paul lay prone so that they'd have more loaded guns at arm's reach. As he lay there, his neck still bruised, Uncle Paul grunted, holding out his hand palm up. Alice understood and took a pistol from the rack, giving it to him. He grasped it in his hand, nodded to her, and Alice nodded back.

Finally, they planted themselves in the corner, guns at the ready. Alice and Penny held their rifles while the three elders had pistols, and all of them kept their eyes on the barricaded window and door. Alice could practically sense the fear written on everyone's faces. She kept it hidden, but she was as afraid as everyone else. Ryan's dead body lying in the far corner of the room didn't help matters much, and Alice tried not to look at it.

At that moment, Alice heard glass breaking throughout the house.

"They're coming," said Penny, her breathing strained.

"Stay calm," said Alice. "They aren't here to kill us. That gives us an advantage."

Someone broke the window behind the bookcase, making Penny jump.

"Steady," said Alice.

Something knocked hard against the bookcase by the window, shaking it. A minute later, something slammed against the other bookcase. All five of the Hayes's family members gripped their guns tightly as the intruders tried to break in. The bookcase by the window moved slightly, showing a narrow view of a sledgehammer smashing into it. The hammer was pulled back, and then it struck the bookcase again.

On the other side of the room, the bookcase in front of the doorframe also moved slightly. It was darker there, but Alice could just barely see people moving behind the bookcase. Judging by the sound, they were also using a sledgehammer.

Finally, the bookcase by the window opened up just enough for a man to climb in. Alice didn't even take a moment to look at him as she fired. The man screamed and fell back, but another one took his place immediately. Alice's mother shot this time, but now the bookcase by the door showed someone trying to slip in. Penny shot that man, and they all kept shooting anyone they could see. When Alice ran out of ammo, she just dropped the gun, grabbed another loaded rifle from the rack, and kept firing. When the others ran out, they shouted, "I'm out," and Alice passed them one. Alice just kept an eye on her Uncle, and they all had to get a new gun at least once.

This went on for a few minutes, men trying to climb in only to be shot by the Hayes family. It was unnerving seeing these men jump recklessly into the room, heedless of their own safety, but Alice kept her focus on the task at hand. For a moment, it seemed like they'd be able to hold them off, but then the intruders did something that made Alice's blood freeze. Men came into the room carrying someone else over them. Alice realized they were using men they'd shot previously as shields. She and her family kept shooting, and while some of the bullets got all the way through, it now took four or five shots to take one of them down. This meant that the men both got farther into the room, and more of them got inside at once.

"Alice," said Penny, worried.

"Aim for the legs!" Alice shouted.

On a certain level, Alice knew it was a desperate move. Shooting the leg wasn't as easy as one would think. Not only were they thinner targets than a torso, but they were also constantly moving. Just as Alice feared, it still took multiple shots from each of them before they could hit the men's legs as they advanced, two at best but sometimes as much as five. Even when they hit someone's legs, the men just fell to the floor screaming, and they had to fire another shot to put them down for good. It just took too long to do this, and Alice was running out of rifles.