Part 18 A week with Homeschoolers

Part 18 Besieged
The figure behind the beast crossed his arms, muscles rippling and knives dripping blood as the beast head rolled away. Frank looked up, “Cool! Where did you learn that move?”
Ben snarled, “The Chronicles of Riddick, Escape from Butcher Bay”
Frank looked puzzled as he tried to revive Carol. Ben walked over wiping some of the blood off of his knives and sheathed them. He bent over and started slapping Carol’s hands. “Come on, we have to head back now. We can return and bury them in the morning, when we have tools.”
They heard a shot, startled they looked up towards the direction of the hotel. It was time to move. Carol didn’t wake up, so Ben picked her up and through her over his shoulder. Frank picked up the extra shotgun and they headed back.

Michael spoke up. “I see something!!!” He racked his rifle and sighted down. His finger tightened and his 30-30 rocked and he levered in another round. “I missed.” He sighed
Then they heard the howls and hoots again. Bekah and the other girls started crying, yes even Kim started crying. Bekah was shaking and went into hysterics. Sara hugged Bekah and sobbed uncontrollably. Scarlett ran over to Matt and just wanted to be held. The other girls who could followed suit. Sara and Kim hugged each other and cried yet more as the howls and hoots got louder and more frequent. Chris muttered as he tried everything possible to try and get his Cell card to work, or Klaus’ Sat Phone, neither of which worked. It was so wrong. Even the wireless and phone lines for the hotels were down. The power lines and phone and internet could be down, maybe even the Cell towers had malfunctioned. All of them at the same time were suspicious but the Sat phone was downright disturbing. There had to be a short circuit somewhere! Or worse, someone had somehow drawn a communication umbrella over the whole area cutting off everything. It was possible to do it, theoretically. He had only heard on some of his backwater chats that it was suspected that the government could do it with a laser in the atmosphere, turning it into a radio mirror. But why would they block this podunk town. He checked anyways. There was deff something blocking his connection. He poked at it a bit. Yup, someone had placed this umbrella over it all. Now what? He would figure it out!! Finally a challenge worth his mastery of Cyberspace! Chris reached for his bag of illegal hack tricks.
Chad fired twice. The others fired too. “They are closing in!” Elisabeth grabbed a shotgun and ran to a window where she fired off her entire magazine missing everything except the antique sign, which she riddled. The dark figures ran about as the others inside the hotel started wasting ammo with little success.
“Stop!!” Scarlett screamed and knocked away Matt’s gun. “Carol, Frank and Ben are out there. We might hit them.”
“Serve Ben right if he did end up dead.” Matt put down the rifle. “Well can’t be sure I hit anything anyways, what are those things?”
Everyone stopped firing and just watched. The beasts stayed out of the light horizon. They did wonder how the others would get back, if any of the other party would get back, if any one would survive.

The sounds of gunfire echoed off the surrounding mountains as Ben carried Carol back. Well, he didn’t carry her like you see in the movies, but he carried her like a sack of grain, way easier. They hurried back as quick as they could. It was a good thing that Carol was as light as she was or Ben would have never been able to make it back. He really wasn’t Superman if you hadn’t figured it out by now. The firing stopped. Ben panicked and looked at Frank.
“Do you think they are? We need to get back now.”
The two of them started running, panting heavily as they covered the ground. Frank held up his hand and Ben lowered Carol gently to the ground. He checked her pulse and breathing then the actions and clips on his weapons. Frank did the same. Ben did a very ungentlemanly thing and proceeded to sling Carol over his muscular back then fashioned a sling around her feet and chest so she was like a giant bandolier. Ben hollered that he was back and they started to run towards the hotel. As soon as Ben yelled the beasts that were running around the hotel stopped. They saw Ben and Frank running hell bent for leather. Then the beasts moved in screaming and running. Frank, while running, started to use his shotgun like it was an extension of his arm. Ben pulled his twin 45s and started firing. One shot one kill. Frank dropped his shotgun and unslung the one Ben had given him and blasted a nearby thing. It was an aggressive thing, not the thing that Elisabeth shot. That poor sign.
Inside they all heard a “Hello the Hotel!” Kim grabbed a rifle and ran to the back window. Every one readied their weapons and were at their posts and Scarlett ran to the door. Kim leveled her rifle and squeezed off a round. Scarlett swung open the door as Ben and Frank ran in. Ben accidentally swung Carols head into the door frame… waking her up rudely.
The guys fired a few more rounds off as the others gathered around Ben, Carol, and Frank. The others took in the sight of the three. Carol shook herself awake while rubbing her head. “Ouch…” then she burst into tears. Scarlett just hugged her as everyone realized that the other party was all dead.
Matt clenched his fists in anger as he saw the blood all spattered over his sister, then the slight matter of gore besmirching Frank, then all the blood covering Ben. He was a bloody man indeed. Ben would be the death of them all.
Ben dropped his clips and reloaded, chambering a round in each. Then he spoke up, “There are tons of those things out there, I think we are besieged.”