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

then practically ran back to the house pulling the empty rig behind them. It was a great design Benny had come up with shortly after he and Tommy arrived there with April. Seeing how far they were having to go into the woods to carry wood, he looked around the barn and found a wheel from an old mountain bike Mitch had broken in half years ago jumping ditches. Benny had mounted it between two long support rails made of oak lumber he also found in the barn, carving handles at the towing end so that it resembled a stretched wheelbarrow one person could pull behind while walking. The travois was narrow enough to weave through the woods yet stout enough to haul two or three hundred pounds. The loading surface was narrow but wide enough for Tommy to fit as long as they were careful not to dump him off on a bump. Lisa figured if David could do the towing, she and Samantha could walk alongside him on either side and make sure he stayed aboard.  
    Samantha was ready to go when they reached the house and was carrying her rifle and a couple of blankets to put under and on top of Tommy. April watched from the porch, Kimberly in her arms and her carbine slung from her shoulder: “Be careful!” she warned. “Don’t fool around out there; just get Tommy and get right back as quickly as you can. If Uncle Benny doesn’t find whoever shot him, Mitch will when he gets back in the morning!”  
    They hurried down the drive at almost a jog; the fastest pace Stacy could pull the travois. Samantha was behind her with her rifle and Lisa was in front, taking point with her 10/22 carbine, for which she now had three extra magazines in her pockets. Lisa knew that April really wanted to go and would have gladly taken her place in the lead, but Kimberly had to come first for her, so she would wait this one out. Lisa was determined to make that wait as short as possible. When they were half way to the road, she turned off into the woods to take the shortest route back to Tommy. They had just entered the trees when she heard the sound of someone running, crashing through the underbrush and apparently coming right at them. Lisa stopped and motioned to Stacy and Samantha to do the same. She barely had time to raise her rifle to her shoulder before a surprised figure burst into view, almost on top of them. Lisa’s finger had just found the trigger when she realized who it was.

    * * *

    Benny was moving slow and stealthy through the woods, careful to stay back, well out of sight of the six men he followed. They were far too alert and too much on edge to risk shadowing them close, and besides there was still the other shooter to think about. Benny still had no idea where he was, so he had to consider the possibility of being spotted by him with every move he made.  
    As he pushed his way quietly through the wet pine branches, he wondered what David would do when he saw these other strangers. The men were bound to find the two dead steers, because they were plainly visible from the road. Then they’d spot the body of the dead boy he’d shot, lying just a short distance from where David and Tommy were hiding. When they closed in to investigate the scene, would David be able to keep his composure and remain quiet? Or would he panic and start firing at them at once? Benny didn’t know what to expect from David. Hell, the boy didn’t even know who he was! What he did know though, was that if he started shooting at those six men, he might get lucky and get one or two, but the rest would kill him quickly. Then they would find Tommy and it would be over for him too.
    Benny was trying to come up with a plan, even as he eased closer. Six armed men in a group and another unaccounted for didn’t make for good odds in an outright gunfight. Then, there was the issue of the girls coming back with that travois for Tommy. They had no way of knowing these other men had arrived and Benny had no way to tell them, unless he circled around and tried to get to the house