Page 60 of Maggie’s Match

Maggie rattled off the address while everyone held their breath in the silence. She mentioned Willy’s and Frank’s names and that they were shooting at them.

When the shooter couldn’t get inside, they started shooting at the house again, this time at a much closer range. They must have been standing just outside the dining room windows, which sent glass flying everywhere.

Maggie screamed again and covered her head once more. Glass, dishes, and even the door on the microwave exploded into shards, littering the kitchen and dining room floors.

“The front door,” Bridget said to her over the sound.

At that moment, something clicked in Maggie, and anger overtook her fear. She was not going to let someone walk into the house and kill everyone she loved.

Dragging herself up, she started to crawl down the hallway towards the front door.

When the shooting stopped again, she jumped up and raced to lock the front door. Then she turned and saw Becca rush down the stairs with a shotgun in her hands.

“Get down,” Becca told her. Anger filled her cousin’s face. At that moment, Becca was freaking wonder woman. She rushed down the hallway. Just as a dark figure started to climb through the broken window, a loud shot rang out and the man’s body flew back out the window and onto the porch.

“Get out of my damn house,” Becca screamed at the top of her lungs. “Leave us alone.” Then she turned towards the back door and shot several more times until the gun was empty. Even then she continued to pull the trigger several more times while she screamed loudly.

The door was shattered and lying in pieces. They could see the other figure, in all black, fall backwards and heard the loud thud as he landed on the porch next to the other body.

“Baby,” Bryson said when it was quiet, moving quickly to stand near his daughter and take the shotgun from her hands. “It’s over.” He moved to the door and glanced out, then returned to hug his daughter. “You got them.”

Bridget crawled over to Rick and Bentley.

Seeing the blood, Maggie rushed to their room and grabbed Rick’s medical bag. Everything inside was meant for animal emergencies, but she knew it could be used in cases like this for humans.

Her hands and face were covered in cuts and scratches. Blood trickled down her cheeks and arms. Just as long as she didn’t look at it, she would be all right.

“Bentley?” Bridget cried, taking her son’s face in her hands when Maggie returned to the room.

“I need my bag,” Rick said loudly as he started tearing Bentley’s shirt off to get to the wound.

Maggie had to look away from the blood as she set the bag beside him. “Here,” she told him, “it’s here.”

“Maggie?” he said without taking his eyes off Bentley.

“I’m okay. Just… save my cousin.” She knelt there and watched Rick work on doing just that.

Everyone gathered around Bentley, holding their breath, watching, praying, waiting for him to lose the battle.

When the police finally showed up, the cops shouted into the house as bright lights blinded them.

“We need an ambulance,” she cried out, but they heard shouts to raise their hands and come out of the house one at a time.

“Go,” Rick said, not even looking up from her cousin.

She did as she was told and was the first one outside. When she tried to explain that it was just her family in there and that Rick was trying to save her cousin, she was shoved face-first into the dirt.

“I called you,” she said over and over. “They shot at us,” she kept trying to explain.

Finally, she seemed to get through to them that they needed an ambulance. She was let go and stood up.

“Are you shot?” someone asked, pointing a flashlight into her eyes. She blinked and realized it was Officer Johnson.

“No, my cousin.” She motioned to the house, then gasped when she noticed that basically the entire back wall was gone. “Bentley,” she answered. “Rick, my fiancé, is a veterinarian. He’s trying to save him.”

Several people rushed inside while a couple state troopers approached the two men on the porch.

“We need a paramedic over here,” one of the officers yelled as he knelt next to one of the men in black.