Free The Journal: Crimson Skies: (The Journal Book 3) by Deborah D. Moore Page A

inside. I
casually dropped the blinds over the picture window and that’s when
I broke into a run.
    I grabbed the FRS radio and hit speak.
    “Hey, boys, the west is looking a bit active,
there might be some storm clouds branching out. It looks like rain
could be here really soon. You might want to get those two sheets
off the line,” I said calmly, knowing they would understand the
code: that I’d seen two hostiles.
    “Thanks, Mom, we’ll get the laundry in,” Eric
responded with another code, an acknowledgement of my message.
    “What is that all about, Allex?” Mark asked
as I hurriedly pulled on some clothes.
    “We’ve got at least two people approaching
from the woods, heavily camouflaged.”
    “Maybe they’re lost,” he ventured.
    “Mark, no one comes in like that, clad in
ghillie suits, unless they mean to take us by surprise, and
surprise is not friendly.” I picked up my M-14 and checked
the magazine. “I know you don’t like guns, so if you’re not going
to use one, please stay out of the way.” I looked at his startled
expression. “Mark, I don’t want you hurt in any way. We need
you . I need you.” I gave him a quick kiss.
    He laid his hand on my shoulder. “I
understand, Allex. Is there anything I can do to help?”
    “Yes, you can watch out the back window and
look for any movement. Let me know if you see anything, anything at
all.”
    Eric quickly made his way across the road in
his limping gait, his AR15 held in both hands. Without stopping to
talk, he climbed the construction ladder that was still in the
front of the house from when he was working on the roof.
Fortunately it was out of sight from the invaders coming from the
back. Maybe we should leave it there.
    Eric, Jason, and I had discussed different
possibilities and the codes we would use in the event our radio
signal was being intercepted. Any attack from the west was coming
from the woods, and whoever it was would have to descend into the
creek valley before making the final assault. That’s when they
would be the most vulnerable and when Eric’s sniper talents would
be the most logical to utilize.
    Meanwhile, Jason would guard Amanda and the
kids by getting them into the basement, then perching himself in an
upstairs window that had been recently reinforced with the metal
targets to protect the shooter. He had an excellent view of the
street and three sides of the house.
    I had the position of taking out anyone that
made it past Eric. I knelt down beside the picture window in the
living room and slid open the recently redesigned window panel.
Eric had replaced the six twelve inch square panels of glass that
decorated the sides of the larger pane. The new reflective one-way
mirrors provided a good view without being seen, and the two lower
ones slid open to provide a spot to insert a rifle barrel. I would
never again question their foraging! Mark stood behind one side of
the large window, watching. It was comforting to have a second pair
of eyes.
    We didn’t wait for long. A shot rang out from
overhead, and I saw a body tumble down the hill into the creek.
Seconds later another shot, but I couldn’t see where it landed. I
heard a dull thump as a round hit the side of the house. A
muffled shot came next and I saw a camo-clad body fly backward from this side! Somehow one of them had made it across the creek
and came up from the south, concealed by the hill and the southern
end of the house, though not concealed from Jason. This was
followed by a barely audible “Fall back!” and we saw three more
stand to retreat, which was then followed by three more shots.
    Then we waited again.
    Mark looked over at me. “Are we just going to
sit here?”
    “Yes. It could be a ruse. We wait until Eric
comes down. This is his forte, so his decision. I know it isn’t
easy, but we’re up against professionals and we can’t afford to
make mistakes. Fortunately, we have our own professional sitting on
the roof, and he’s highly