The Chosen Ones

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

He had maybe ten seconds before they exploded, and when they did it would ignite the tanks and the house would blow. He knew very well this might be the end for him.

Matt didn't even know if the man was in pursuit, there was no time to turn around to check. His skin felt like it was on fire and he was gasping for air, but he didn't slow down as he ran for the open window.

Then, an explosion. Was it the house? The grenades? No, a propane tank blew. It threw him off course a little. The grenades would be any second now. The window was right in front of him. Matt sprinted for it and prepared to jump. Casey had left it wide open for him. He was in full stride, the tree was in sight....

He never made it. The next explosion wasn't just a propane tank, it was all of them, plus the grenades. The sheer force from the blast blew Matt right out the open window and right past the big tree outside. He was lucky it didn't blast him right into the mighty oak. Instead he went through two of its biggest limbs and landed onto the ground two stories below with a sickening thud.

Then, there was blackness......The grenades had exploded. That alone would have been enough along with the fire burning, but then ALL the propane tanks blew. Technically, their plan worked. The house itself was one big bomb.

Matt struggled to open his eyes. He had been unconscious, but didn't know for how long. His eyes were burning from the smoke and fire and his ears were ringing. He was lying on his stomach, pain shot through his entire body. He wasn't dead, but he should have been. Nobody had any business surviving a blast like that. The fall alone from two stories up should have killed him.

He knew he had to get up and get out of there. He struggled to get to his feet. He had to stay down on all fours. He was dizzy and he felt the pain all over. He took a look back at the house.

All that was left was a few standing beams that continued to burn. It was destroyed, along with all the members of the cult that never made it out of the basement. The ones responsible for the murders of his parents and Amy, the ones that killed Casey's family and Bill. They were all gone now, even the man who gave Matt the fight of his life just moments ago.
They had done it. It was finally over.

Matt finally got to his feet and tried to steady himself. He realized immediately that his shoulder was dislocated and his ribs were broken, this much he knew. Breathing was getting harder and harder. His chronic knee felt like the first time he tore his ACL. The other injuries he wasn't sure of. Collapsed lung? Internal bleeding? His entire body hurt. He hurt in places he didn't even know he could feel pain in.

He limped towards the far part of the backyard. His right knee and both ankles were killing him. His hand was broken also from the fight. He needed to get to a hospital, or better yet, he needed Tyler.
The sound of sirens told him the fire department was on the way, with police not far behind. He wasn't sure of the response time but he estimated he had only been unconscious for ten minutes, maybe less. It was truly a miracle he was even alive.

There was no sign of Casey, Shannon or Shaun. They had stuck to the plan and were hopefully waiting for him at his house. He cut through the hedges and came to the road. His truck was no longer there. Casey had taken it. Good girl, he thought.

He braced himself against a tree. He knew he had to get it together if he was going to make it home. He thought of calling Shannon or Shaun but he didn't want them returning to the scene. He needed Tyler to heal him. Once that was done they could celebrate. There was no way he could let the police see him in the shape he was in, especially after a house just got blown to shit in the area. There would be no explaining how he got his injuries.