The Forge of Darkness (Darkness After Series Book 3) by Scott B. Williams Page B

the yard, it made sense that there might be one or two more sneaking up from this side. If so, then they knew what they were doing and were not taking foolish chances. Whoever was in the woods here was probably waiting to see if the two going inside would flush anyone out of the house. Even though she’d been tempted, April was really glad now she’d made the decision not to reveal their presence by firing at those first two. She didn’t dare move now. Would the unseen stalkers step out into the yard now and walk over to the house after their companions? Or would they continue moving inside the wood line and walk practically right into her and Lisa and David? She expected to hear another footstep that would give her a clue, but what she heard instead was far worse: Kimberly! Her child suddenly cried out from deeper in the woods, no doubt catching Stacy and Samantha by surprise before they could react in time to hush her. When they did quiet her just a second or two later, April was sure it was already too late. Whoever was in these woods with them had to have heard it as well as she. She focused on the direction from which the breaking branch sound had come and crouched there ready to shoot as soon as a target presented itself. But the next sound she heard was not the subtle sound of a stealthy footstep, but instead more gunfire, coming from out by the road. It sounded like a shotgun; two blasts in quick succession! Could it be Benny? After those two shots she heard the sound of running horses again as well, but April could not let herself be distracted long by that distant commotion. She had to keep her focus close at hand, because she was certain someone was there in the woods with them—someone who would not go away without investigating the cry her frightened child had made.  

    * * *

    Benny had worked his way in close and now he could hear the voices of several men talking where the horsemen had joined the other six. He was close to the place where the steers and the teenaged boy lay dead, and where he’d left David and Tommy hidden behind the cluster of trees. Benny had circle around, and was approaching from the back, as far from the road as possible. He still didn’t know if first six that had gotten there had discovered David and Tommy, or if their signal just meant they’d found the dead boy and animals. Benny figured he would have heard David fire Tommy’s .308 if he’d been discovered, but he didn’t rule out the possibility that he’d lost his nerve and ran.
    It had gotten dark enough that he could hear some of what the men were talking about before he could see them. They were splitting up, and he heard several of them ride down the road in the direction of the driveway on horseback. After waiting and listening for a few more minutes, he was sure all of them were gone except for two that were waiting there with some of the extra horses.
    Benny crawled through the undergrowth until he was within mere feet of the trees behind which he and David had dragged Tommy after he’d been hit. He couldn’t see anything in the dark to indicate David was there, but there was a shape sprawled on the ground that he knew was his boy. Benny whispered softly, calling David’s name in case he was hidden nearby, but there was no response. He could just make out the two men standing over by the horses on the edge of the road, but nothing else moved that he could see. So David had left!  
    Disgusted at the thought of a coward who would abandon his friend to save his own skin, Benny slowly crawled the rest of the short distance to where Tommy lay, whispering his name as he took his boy’s hand. When he drew himself closer, to look at Tommy’s face to check that he was still breathing, Benny recoiled in horror at what little he could make out in the faint light. Touching him to confirm that what he was seeing was real, Benny knew immediately that Tommy was gone. His boy’s face was a ruined mess of blood and shattered