Plot Line
wasn’t. She smashed her toe on a large wood hope chest at
the foot of the bed. A small cry of pain slipped from her lips. Ray
knew it took a heroic effort not to scream in pain.
    Nora was immediately awake. “Ray?”
    “Quiet,” he commanded in hushed tones.
“Someone’s breaking into the house.”
    “Oh, my . . . Amy.”
    “She’s here, now hush.”
    Ray felt his way along the bed until he came
to his nightstand. Fumbling along the face of the wood furnishing,
he found the pull knob and opened the top drawer. He reached inside
and found what he was searching for: a flashlight. Placing his hand
over the front of the light, he turned in on. Small beams, shreds
of illumination, shone between his fingers providing just enough
glow for Ray to see.
    He heard something. Someone was trying to
turn the locked doorknob. “This way.”
    His wife and daughter followed him into the
master bath. A narrow, sliding window opened to the outside. The
intruders were in the house and Ray knew at least one had been
outside the kitchen window. Maybe they all had come in, leaving the
backyard unattended, if so, then Skeeter and Nora could slip
through the window and run to a neighbor’s house. There they could
call for help. “Open the window as quietly as possible,” Ray said.
“I’ll be right back.”
    “What are you going to do,” Nora asked.
    “Just do as I say,” he said as he handed the
flashlight to his wife. “I need to slow them down. Maybe get a
weapon.” With help, Nora and Skeeter could fit through the narrow
opening. Ray held no such hope for himself. He was too big. Beside,
someone had to stall the attackers. They were after him, not
Skeeter and Nora. At least, he hoped so.
    Quick as the dark would allow, Ray exited
the bathroom and felt for the bed, got his bearings and moved four
steps across the room. With his hands before him, he felt something
cool and smooth. Glass. It was the glass of the old television
screen that sat opposite their bed. Ray wrapped his arms around the
set, lifted, took two steps to his left and set the device on the
floor. The set’s electric cord was just long enough to reach. He
hoped he had the distance right. Whether they chose to pick the
lock or kick the door down, they would move quickly. So quickly,
Ray hoped, they wouldn’t see the television on the floor. If his
plan worked, one or more would trip and fall. Ray might then be
able to seize an attacker’s weapon and fire at the others. Success
was doubtful, but it was all he had. A gun battle would mean his
death, but maybe his family could get away. It was a slim chance,
but one he was willing to take.
    He heard the bathroom window open. Ray
pivoted and charged toward the master bath. Nora and Skeeter would
need help getting out. He also wanted to make sure no one was
waiting for them in the backyard. Despair again washed over him.
Everything he tried had so little chance of working. They were
desperate acts made in an impossible situation.
    “Nora, you go first, then Skeeter.”
    “Then you, right, Dad?” Skeeter said.
    “When you get outside, run next door to
Bill’s. Call the police.”
    “You’re coming with us, right, Dad?”
    “No.”
    “Then I’m not going,” Skeeter said.
    “Yes you are. We don’t have time to argue.”
Ray peeked out the window. A gun, a pistol, appeared in the
opening. Moonlight glinted off the gun. Ray staggered back. Nora
gasped loudly. A new sound: a loud crash and the noise of the
bedroom door slamming into the wall. Another crash followed by
several loud curses. Ray spun and interposed his body between the
bathroom door and his family. A figure, barely visible filled the
doorway. Nora directed the flashlight at the shadow. Ray saw the
face of Devlin Chambers.
    “Hello, Ray,” he said. “I’m very sorry about
this.”
    Two sharp pains stung his chest and Ray
raised his hands, clutching at the source of the injury. He felt
two small metal needles. A second later every nerve in

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