Warren leapt down from the back of the truck and offered his hand to Kassandra. Once she was safely out of the vehicle, he helped the elderly couple and the family out of the cargo bed.

  He pointed at the cabin before shooting a glance over at the driveway; the dark shapes had spread out into the forest, though they seemed to have trouble traversing the thick undergrowth.

  “What the hell do they want?” he muttered to himself.

  It was clear whatever was approaching the cabin wasn’t the aliens he’d encountered in town. Though the purple-skinned aliens had horns, they were still humanoid. But whatever was lumbering through the woods now was anything but.

  Kassandra hurried over to his side, clasping her injured arm to her chest. “Do you have any weapons here?”

  “I guess you could say that.”

  She raised her eyebrow quizzically.

  “My dad was a bit of a gun collector,” he explained. “If it was legal, he owned it.”

  Kassandra smiled at his words. “Good, because I only have a few bullets left in the magazine.”

  “Do you want me to pop in a new one for you?” He knew reloading would be difficult with an injured arm.

  She shook her head. “I only had the one in my weapon. Needless to say, I wasn’t expecting Armageddon to break out today.”

  “I think it took us all by surprise,” he said dryly.

  He shot one last look over at the approaching aliens, then hurried over to the cabin with Kassandra at his side. At the front door, Lisa was struggling to open a lockbox hanging on the doorknob. “What’s the holdup?” Warren asked. “Why don’t you just use your key?”

  “Oh, what a great idea,” Lisa said, rolling her eyes. “Why didn’t I think to use my key? Oh, that’s right, it’s in the lockbox for the realtor!”

  “Don’t you have the combo?”

  “No, I don’t have the combo!” she exclaimed, the frustration clear in her voice. “I don’t know where dad left his keys, so I had to give the realtor my spare. And the realtor didn’t tell me what the combo was. She was supposed to take care of all the showings.”

  “I think I have an idea.” He raced around the side of the building and searched for the loose stone in the foundation. It had been so many years since he’d lived here, he wasn’t sure if it was still there. After examining the masonry for a few seconds, he finally spotted the slightly discolored rock.

  Leaning down, he grabbed the stone with both hands. It took a few solid tugs before it came loose to reveal a key hidden in the alcove. He grabbed the key and raced back around to the front door. He had to hope his dad hadn’t changed the lock since before he left. Otherwise, they’d have to find a way to break through the shutters.

  “Where did you get that?” Lisa asked.

  Warren slid the key into the lock and felt a rush of relief as it turned. “Dad was always locking himself out,” he said. “So, I hid one for him in the foundation. Of course, he could never remember where I hid it, but at least I could let him back into the house after school.”

  He swung the door open but stopped as Kassandra touched his arm.

  “What’s the plan?” Kassandra asked. “Are we going to make a stand here? There’s still a chance we could lose them in the forest.” She gave him a soft smile. “I remember playing on these trails with you when we were kids. There’s no way they could find us out there.”

  His thoughts flashed back to all the times he used to explore the hills with Kassandra and his sister. It had felt like they’d ruled the hills when they were kids; they knew every cave, every stream, and every trail. Maybe they could survive out there until help arrived.

  “If we’re going to do that, I want to grab some weapons and supplies first,” he said. “Then we’ll see if we can lose those bastards in the foothills.”

  His sister stared at the forest as she chewed on her fingernail. “How did they find us, anyway? I didn’t see anyone following us on the route from town. It’s like they just beamed in behind us.”

  Warren shrugged. “Maybe they have drones watching the area? Or maybe we just got unlucky and stumbled into another group going door to door in the hills.”

  As he tried to step into the house, Kassandra held out a hand to stop him. “If they have those beam weapons, this place isn’t going to last long. We need to move fast.”

  He nodded, but this time, his sister interjected.

  “We’re not running off into the hills to live like hobos, you dunderheads,” she said. “Why don’t we just get back into my truck and make a run for it? The gas tank is almost full, and we could easily make it to the next town. It’ll be a bumpy ride but doable.”

  “Their beam weapons will turn your truck into scrap metal.” Warren thought back to the horned woman who had stopped the soldiers from firing on them. He wasn’t sure if anyone else had witnessed her actions. “We… got lucky back in town. I don’t think we’ll be so lucky a second time.” Especially not after Kassandra had taken down one of the soldiers with a headshot.

  “I’m still not going to live like a mountain woman in the bush.” Lisa pressed her lips together, then her expression brightened. “Oh wait—there’s the old bootlegger trail leading over the mountain. I doubt the aliens know about those. It’s been a while, but I think I still remember the way.”

  Warren rubbed a hand down his face as he mulled over his sister’s plan. He’d hiked the trails a few times in his youth. They were difficult to traverse, but you didn’t need any special climbing gear. And even the children should be able to handle it.

  “I think—” A dark beam slicing through the forest cut him off. Unlike the weapons he’d encountered in town, this one was as black as midnight and the sound it made was horrifying—almost like a tortured soul screaming. Anything the beam touched crumbled into dust.

  “Into the cabin!” he shouted. “It should give us some protection.”

  He waited until everyone had piled into the building before he stepped inside and slammed the door shut behind him. The inside of the cabin was dim, with the shuttered windows only letting in narrow shafts of light. He fumbled around for a second until he found the light switch.

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  Warren flipped the switch on and was immediately transported back to his teenage years. Though he’d been away for almost eight years, almost nothing had changed inside. He was standing in his family home’s living room, with the rustic wooden furniture, faded wallpaper, and the various knickknacks his mother had collected over the years dotting the shelves.

  Despite the circumstances, it felt good to be home again after all these years.

  “Oh wow,” Kassandra exclaimed. “This place hasn’t changed at all.” She pointed at a dusty old television. “I remember watching DVDs with you after school.”

  Warren took a second to shake away the nostalgia. Before he did anything else, he needed to find weapons for them. He sprinted over to the closet where his dad kept the guns. Thankfully, it wasn’t locked, which probably violated at least a few state laws. Not that his dad had ever cared much about those.

  Swinging the door open, he stepped back as he was greeted with the sight of piles of weapons and ammunition. The racks on either side were filled with rifles, while the back had pistols hanging on pegs. And propped up in the corner was the biggest gun he’d ever seen. “What in the world is that thing?”

  Lisa popped her head around the corner to look. “That’s a Boys anti-tank rifle. It was made in Canada during World War 2. Dad bought it at a gun show a few years ago.”

  Warren examined the weapon; it had a magazine mounted on the top, and a bipod at the front. The entire gun must be almost six feet tall. He’d never seen anything nearly as ungainly in his life before.

  His sister smiled as she reached and grabned the Boys antitank gun. “I’ll take that, thank you.”

  Warren could only shake his head. He grabbed an AR-15 rifle, along with his father’s favorite revolver. The pistol he stuck in his waistband, while he slung the rifle over his shoulder. Then he grabbed a few boxes of ammunition and some spare magazines. Finally, he took some bullets for Kassandra.

  When he stepped back, he noted Lisa had found a few backpacks and was distributing them to the others. Victor, along with his wife Eleanor, was seated on the overstuffed couch. Meanwhile, the parents of the family they’d picked up in town were trying to calm their kids.

  From outside, the scream of beam weapons sounded again like the trumpet from the Book of Revelations, followed by the sound of a collapsing structure. He winced and hoped the aliens had spared his father’s woodworking shop. The barn was about to fall down on its own, but there was a lot he wanted to save in the wood shop.

  Warren moved over to the window and peered out through a slit in the shutter. Outside, he could see a group of the aliens hosing down the barn with fire from their weapons.

  The creatures looked utterly foreign—they had eight stubby limbs, and an elongated body like a worm. The bottom appendages were used for walking, while the others clasped snubnosed weapons. Where the heads should be located was only a writhing mass of tentacles. Each of them was clad in segmented sandy colored armor.

  The worm-like creatures had nearly finished destroying the barn and it wouldn’t be long until they moved on to the house. He gritted his teeth at the thought of them razing his dad’s old place. Still, there was nothing he could do about it.

  “Grab what food you can,” he said, pointing toward the back door. “We’re going to head up the old bootlegging trails into the mountains.”

  No one objected, though Victor struggled to rise from the couch. After the man’s third failed attempt, Warren hurried over and hefted him to his feet. Once he was sure the elderly man wouldn’t fall down again, he strode over to the kitchen.

  It took a bit of searching, but he finally found a stash of water bottles and canned food. He tossed them in the backpack before retrieving a flashlight from under the sink. He also found a good knife in one of the kitchen drawers.

  After tying his backpack shut, he walked over to the backdoor. He pulled back the curtain hanging over the glass window and peered outside. Immediately, his heart sank as he spotted a line of aliens approaching from the other direction.

  “Shit,” he breathed. “We’re surrounded.”

  “Are you serious?” his sister exclaimed as she rushed over to the door’s window. She leaned the oversize rifle against the wall and placed a spare magazine on the counter before she peeled back the curtain. Her eyes went wide at the sight of the approaching aliens. “How many of those stupid things are there?”

  He gazed around the room as he watched the hope die on everyone’s face. None of them believed they were getting out of here alive. As he watched the mother draw her children close for a hug, his resolve hardened.

  He’d stay and buy the others time to escape.

  Warren unslung his rifle from his shoulder and pushed it into his sister’s hands. Then he grabbed the anti-tank gun. He checked the magazine and found it already loaded. His sister must have put some bullets in it when he was gathering the rest of the stuff. “I’m going to buy you some time.”

  “Hell no!” his sister replied. “I’m not going to leave you behind to die.”

  “You’re the only one besides me who knows the trails,” he said. “I need you to get them over the mountain. This isn’t going to be some heroic last stand. Once I take out a few of the aliens, I’ll catch up with you.”

  Kassandra stepped forward. “He won’t be on his own. I’m staying as well.”

  “I don’t need anyone else to stay.”

  Kassandra gave him a fierce look. “It’s my sworn duty to protect the townsfolk. I don’t care what you say—I’m staying.”

  He opened his mouth to reply, but he could see she hadn’t changed much since they were kids—once she made up her mind about something, it was impossible to change it. Instead, he took her pistol, popped the magazine out and started to push bullets into it.

  Lisa pressed her lips together until they turned white. She then scrubbed at her eyes and scowled. As she spoke, her voice cracked. “I swear, you better not die. If you do, I’m going to kick your ass so hard.”

  He gave her a weak smile. “It will be hard to kick my ass if I’m dead.”

  “Don’t bring logic into this!” She hit his shoulder. “I’m serious! I’ll wait for you on the far side, and I expect you to be right behind me. Got it?”

  He nodded and stuck out his hand for a fist bump. Instead, he was shocked when his sister stepped in and flung her arms around him. She normally wasn’t the hugging type.

  Warren gently tried to disentangle himself from his sister. “You should go.”

  Lisa sniffed, her eyes shining as she gave him one last squeeze. “Stay safe,” she said. “I can’t lose you, too.”

  As his sister released him, he hefted the anti-tank rifle and stepped over to the window next to the back door. He unlocked it and then slid the pane open a crack. With a grunt of exertion, he manhandled the ridiculously heavy rifle to rest the barrel on the windowsill. Hopefully, this oversized weapon could pierce the alien armor. Otherwise, a head shot should take them out if he could manage one. It had been quite a few years since he’d fired a gun.

  “Is everyone ready?” Warren asked, gazing across the people gathered in the kitchen. He realized he didn’t even know the family’s name. But he wasn’t doing this for them—he was doing it for his sister. “Once I open fire, I want everyone to head across the clearing to the forest. I’ll try to draw all of their attention.”

  When everyone nodded, Warren returned to his weapon. He peered down the sight of the rifle and lined it up with one of the worm-like aliens. He closed one eye, breathed out, and squeezed the trigger.

  The weapon kicked like a mule, and a sharp crack reverberated between the hills. He watched as the heavy bullet caved in the front of the closest alien’s armor; it went down with a shrieking scream.

  “Go!” he shouted, already taking aim at the next alien. “I’ll cover you.”

  His next shot went wide, and the bark exploded off a tree next to his target. He waited as the others streamed out of the house, fleeing toward the trail. He pulled the bolt back, ejecting the spent cartridge, and then chambered another massive round.

  Nearly a dozen black beams erupted from the forest and slashed the area in front of him. Deep furrows were carved into the overgrown back lawn, and where the weapons struck the cabin, the stone hissed and cracked before bursting into dust.

  From beside him, Kassandra added fire from her own weapon. She fired off a few shots one handed before ducking back down.

  He scanned the forest and noted nearly a dozen aliens were rushing toward the house. None of them appeared to be paying any attention to his sister leading the others toward the forest.

  His plan had worked.

  “Good luck, sis,” Warren whispered to himself. He turned to look at Kassandra. “There’s still time for you to leave.”

  “And let you have all the fun?” Her lips curled up into a smile, but her face was pale and her eyes tight. “Not a chance.”

  He nodded and lined up another shot. He would make the aliens pay for attacking his dad’s old place. And no matter what, he would buy the time his sister needed to escape.