The Young Fighters

CHAPTER 16

Hunter jumped with surprise after hearing what sounded like a loud thud coming from across a far distance. He couldn't tell which direction it started from. Hunter began to turn his head in every direction with concern. To him the sound reminded him of an explosion; which he hoped wasn't the root of the sound. He took hold of his talkie and called in to Andy.

"Hey Andy, I just heard a loud thud. Did you hear it too?" He paused for a moment, waiting for a reply when he realized he forgot something. "Over?"

"You bet I did, and so did some of my guys." Even Andy sounded nervous from on the line. "Clear the line for now until I answer back to you, I'm going to phone in everyone to check up on them. Right now we're under attack from by the gas plant. We already got a man down. Keep watch and phone me if something comes up! Over!"

"Gottcha, over and out!" Under Attack! Hunter could feel his heart thumping as heard as the thud he'd heard just seconds ago. Now hearing that a squad at the plant was under fire had been made known he was really starting to feel worried. What if the attackers come here? I'm only one person! Please Grant, get back here now! Now he'd wished he didn't send Grant off to fetch that coffee.

Hunter ran over next to his backpack and shuffled through it for two small boxes of .22 caliber bullets that he'd been given right after he'd finished training. Only armed with a Henry Octagon rifle, he felt like a cowboy with the lever action gun that carried a capacity of twenty-one rounds, but limited on ammo. Each box contained fifty bullets. Use every shot wisely. Words of wisdom as said by Andy. At that rate, they may have to get more supplies at other neighboring towns for more guns and more bullets.

VROOM!

Something new caught his attention and brought him stumbling over the wall covered edge of the school roof and went into a crouched position. The hum came from either the north or the west, Hunter wasn't fully sure where it originated from. Whatever it was, it sounded huge and powerful like a sports car on a massive dosage of steroids charging at a hundred miles per hour. Is that coming from the squad that had one of their guys hit? It was the only logical guess he had in mind since the Village Elders had enforced speed limits for those who were allowed to drive cars and trucks.

Only difference was, no one drove any kind of muscle vehicles in Georgetown.

Several buildings were obscuring Hunter's field of view making him more tense. He stood up and moved all the way over to the farthest perimeter of the roof in the hopes of getting a better glimpse as to where the car might have been arriving in from. No luck.

"Please Grant, get back here." He uttered to himself. His hands started to grow sweaty while his knuckles started to dye white. Hunter's heart sped up so fast that placing his finger near the trigger gave him the nervous feeling that he might accidently pull the trigger.

Hunter kept the barrel of the rifle resting over the surface of the roof wall and waited patiently until he heard the roaring vehicle motor die with a screech. He was surprised that the sound of a crash didn't follow. He blinked once and faced the west side and kept his eyes focused on the roads and nearby buildings with anxiety.

From out of the corner came a total stranger in all dark followed by a five others with weapons propped in their hands that Caden would forbid and make Andy wish they had. Hunter assumed the youth in front of the group was the leader; seeing that he was the one making the calls. He couldn't hear what he was saying from the distance of a few hundred yards or so. None of them were wearing Georgetown Militia uniforms nor did any announcement come about of reinforcements within range of helping. He got on his talkie and called his commander.

"Andy, I got six guys all dressed in dark and heading my way. They got guns that are way better than ours. What do you suggest? Over!" There was a pause for a moment. With the gun barrel still hanging over the edge with his stance kept short, he hesitated, thinking it would be best to open fire.