Out Of Time

The Attack

Hosea's head lifted from the sound of bullets before looking at his father. Arthur looked at him grimly.

"Hosea, go get your gun. Now."

Hosea ran to his room and grabbed his gun from underneath the bed along with a box of ammo. He raced back to the kitchen and pocketed his ammo and gun. Everyone except Arthur was by the front door by now so he raced over. He was absolutely petrified.

"Mommy, what's going on?" Scarlet asked. "What's that noise outside?"

Sam looked down at the kids. "Don't worry about that sweetheart. When we open the door and tell you to run, you run and do not look back. Hosea, get them to the tree house. Got it?"

"Yes, Momma," Hosea replied.

"Scarlet, you take Clarice." Sam handed Clarice to Scarlet. Arthur came out of the bedroom and tossed a rifle to Sam while carrying his own. Sam creaked the door open and looked out. "Okay, you guys ready to run?"

"But Momma!" Tiffany yelled. "I'm scared."

"I know, baby, but it's going to be okay as long as you do what Daddy and I say." Sam looked at her children and nodded to Hosea. "Okay. Let's go."

The whole family crept outside the house and Hosea made sure his gun was loaded, just like his daddy taught him, before shoving it behind his back. They went around the house in the direction of the forest. Suddenly a man popped out of nowhere and Sam shot him in the head. The kids screamed and Arthur looked at them.

"Run!" He barked out.

Hosea grabbed Scarlet and Tiffany's hands and went running toward the forest. When they got to the tree line, more shots were being fired and Jack came running to join them. They screamed a little as they ran through the landscape, their feet padding over dirt and rocks. They were deep in the woods when they got to their tree house, which looked more like a log cabin stuck in a tree. Hosea had the girls climb the ladder first before he and Jack followed. After locking the door shut, they all clambered to the back of the house, waiting for it all to be over. They could still hear gunfire going off. Tiffany and Scarlet were crying and Clarice was hissing like a maniac.

"Girls, you have to stop crying," Jack said. "The bad guys will hear you if you don't." Their cries turned into whimpering sobs and Clarice clung to Scarlet's neck. Hosea pulled out his pistol and went to one of the windows. He couldn't see anyone and he was almost certain they hadn't been followed. His hands were shaking and he was still out of breath when Jack approached him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay, Hosea?"

Hosea shook his head. "I'm scared, Jack. What if Momma and Pa don't come to look for us?"

Jack looked out the window with Hosea. "They will. This will all be over soon."

Hosea spotted movement and ducked back from the window with Jack. "I think I saw somebody," he whispered.

Jack nodded and pulled out his own pistol. "Is the door locked?" Jack asked.

"Yeah."

"Good. Aim the gun at the door."

Voices were heard outside on the ground as both Jack and Hosea pointed their guns at the door. The girls were still whimpering and Jack hushed them quietly. The men on the ground were speaking Tahitian but only Jack knew the language.

"What are they saying, Jack?" Hosea asked him.

"Nothin' good," Jack replied. "They're gonna shoot all of us."

The girls whimpered again and Hosea shushed them. They heard someone climbing the ladder and Hosea tensed up, ready to shoot once the door was open. The door shook and the girls ducked into a corner, holding each other. Clarice was shrieking at this point and practically bouncing off the walls. Suddenly the door cracked open and both the boys fired their guns.