Chapter Fifty-Seven
We gather all of our supplies and walk down the hidden stairs into the wide main room. Not long ago, we had equipped the room with a long couch, a recliner, a TV, and shelves lined with old board games and emergency supplies. Five doors branched off from the main space. They were small but comfortable bedrooms, each with a bed, dresser, and lamp.
A bathroom sat at the far end, complete with a walk-in shower, toilet, and sink. Next to it, a compact kitchen area that held a mini fridge, a small stove, a microwave, and cabinets stocked with non-perishable food. We hadn't noticed the extent of the hidden room the last time we were down here. Preparing for a night like this made us realize how massive it actually was.
Uncle Donovan steps off the stairs and looks around. "I still can't believe this is here. It's a mini house inside a large house. It's actually nice. It was as if my parents were prepping for the apocalypse," He says in awe.
"They were," Zeke says, snorting.
Andy nodded and said, "They had their reasons."
Uncle Donovan opened the fridge. "Oh my god, there's pudding cups," he says excitedly. I take back everything I said about the murder basement because this is now my happy place."
Agent Williams was busy closing the hidden door and didn't hear Uncle Donovan's nonsense. When he was finished, he climbed down the steps to join us.
"Try to keep the noise to a minimum, if possible," he tells us, but directs his words mostly to Uncle Donovan.
"What? Why are you looking at me? I'm enthusiastic, not loud," Uncle Donovan says, smiling.
"Anyways," Agent Williams continues. "We rest in shifts. NO one stays up alone. If anything happens on the monitors, wake everyone. The book needs to be in your and Zeke's room." His eyes land on me. Zeke and Andy immediately position themselves on either side of me. "Also, Roxanne needs to rest the most. So the shifts will be done by the rest of us.
"Try to get some sleep," Andy tells me. "Donovan and I will take the first shift."
"Yeah, baby girl, come on," Zeke says, wrapping an arm around me. "Let's go rest."
"Andy, I'll stay up too," Agent Williams says, knowing he's too wired to sleep. "Get some rest, guys," he says to our retreating figures. "Tomorrow will be worse." It wasn't a very comforting thought, but he wasn't wrong.
Everyone slept in shifts or tries to, anyway. Every creak of the house above us makes my heart jump, every gust of wind sounds like footsteps, and Zeke keeps tensing. Andy would reach for the nearest object that could be used as a weapon. Even though we're hidden and safe. Everyone is still on edge.
Uncle Donovan cracks us up because he snores once and scares himself awake. "I thought it was a ghost," he whispers.
"It was you, dufus," Zeke mutters.
"That's worse!" Uncle Donovan says.
Morning comes slowly. Agent Williams climbs the stairs first. He opens the hidden door and listens for any movement in the house.
After a long moment, he whispers down to us, "Stay put. I'm checking the house. No one comes up until. I-.."
Uncle Donovan becomes impatient and shoves past him. "Nope, I need sunlight. I need air. I need to pee in a bathroom that is not underground."
"Donovan," Agent Williams snaps, but it's too late.
Uncle Donovan steps into the office and walks straight to the door. When he opens it, a masked man stands across the hall, shocked to see him.
All we hear is footsteps, the office door opening, and then a gunshot followed by a scream. We bolt up the stairs so fast we almost break the hidden door. My heart is in my throat. I pray he is ok. He has to be ok.
We burst through the office door just in time to see Uncle Donovan stumbling backward as blood streaks down his arm. The masked man raises his gun again, but before he can fire, Agent Williams tackles the man from behind. It all happens so fast. Agent Williams slams the man to the floor, cuffs him, and kicks the gun out of reach.
"All clear," he barks. "Roxanne and Andy get the first aid kit. Now!"
Zeke drops to his knees beside Uncle Donovan. "Hey, man! Are you okay?"
Uncle Donovan stares at the blood on his sleeve, horrified. "Holy shit balls, Batman, I'm leaking. I'm actually leaking. I don't do well with the leaking."
"You're okay! It's just your arm," Zeke says, grabbing his face.
Uncle Donovan blinks rapidly before saying, "Blood makes me queasy. I think I'm going to pass out or puke."
Andy and I sprint to the hall closet, grab the first-aid kit, and rush back. Agent Williams is already dragging the cuffed intruder into a chair and securing him to it. The man groans, dazed.
Agent Williams ignores the man. Instead, he looks over at Zeke and Uncle Donovan. "Donovan, please sit down. Zeke keeps pressure on the wound."
"I'm too pretty for stitches," Uncle Donovan whispers.
"You'll live," Andy snorts.
"I'm calling my colleague, agent Williams says, pulling out his phone and walking away from us.
"He's one of the ones who are on our side and not corrupt. Right?" Zeke asks.
"Yes," Agent Williams says. "His wife is an ER nurse. They'll come here. We can't take Donovan to the hospital. It would be too big a risk because Dunhill has eyes everywhere."
Uncle Donovan perks up weakly. "A nurse? Will she bring numbing stuff? I like the numbing stuff."
"You're fine," Zeke says, squeezing his shoulder.
"I'm not fine! I got SHOT! Do you know how many people get shot before breakfast?" Uncle Donovan asks.
Andy deadpans. "Apparently at least one!"
Agent Williams walks further away to make his call. His voice is low and urgent. The intruder groans again, tugging at his handcuffs.
Uncle Donovan points at the intruder with his good hand. "And you! You scared me so bad I think my soul tried to leave my body!"
"Stop yelling at him; you're bleeding," Zeke says to him, pushing him back down.
"I KNOW I'M BLEEDING," Uncle Donovan hollers.
Agent Williams finally returns. "They're on their way. Their ETA is ten to fifteen minutes."
Uncle Donovan sags in relief. "Thank goodness. I don't want to die."
Zeke rolled his eyes. "You're not dying."
"I MIGHT BE!" Donovan states.
"You're like a cockroach. You'll outlive all of us," Andy mutters.
"That's the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me," Uncle Donovan gushes.
Agent Williams checks the windows, his jaw tight. "Everyone, stay alert. If one got in, more could be close."
The intruder groans in the chair; his head was slumped forward. Agent Williams stands beside him like a stone pillar, gun holstered, but his hand is never far from it. Uncle Donovan sits at the kitchen table, pale and sweating, clutching a towel to his arm.
"I'm fine," he insists weakly. "Totally fine. I'm just… leaking, and dizzy, and seeing spots. But like in a manly way."
"You're okay. It's just a graze," Zee says, kneeling beside him, trying to keep him calm.
"A graze that needs stitches!" Uncle Donovan hisses. "Do you know how many people get grazed in movies and then die dramatically? A lot."
"You're not dying," Andy snorts.
"I might be," Uncle Donovan says, pouting.
"They're close," Agent Williams tells us as he checks out the window. As if on cue, headlights sweep across the yard. A dark sedan pulls into the driveway fast. Agent Williams raises his gun, then lowers it as he watches two people step out of it.
"They're here," he announces. Agent Williams opens the front door. A tall, broad-shouldered man in a bureau windbreaker and a small woman carrying a medical bag rush inside.
"Agent Williams, good to see you," the tall man greets.
"Thank you for coming, Agent Garcia." But the small woman doesn't wait for an introduction. She heads straight for Uncle Donovan.
"Hi, I'm Julia," she says in a quiet but firm voice. "Let me see the wound." As she waits for my uncle to uncover his arm, she starts snapping on medical gloves.
Uncle Donovan blinks at her. "Are you the nurse? Please tell me you're the nurse."
"Yes, I'm the nurse," she tells him soothingly. "And you're going to be just fine."
"Thank god. I was about to write my last will on a napkin." Uncle Donovan mutters as he sags in relief.
Nurse Julia peels back the towel and examines the wound. "It's a deep graze." She says, assessing his arm. "You're lucky. Another inch either way and you'd be in surgery right now."
"I'm gonna faint," Uncle Donovan whispers as his eyes roll back in his head.
"No, you're not," Zeke tells him as he grabs his shoulders from behind to keep him planted in his chair so Nurse Julia can do her work. She cleans the wound, then numbs it, and begins stitching it up.
"I can feel it. I can feel everything. Pretty sure I'm dying," Uncle Donovan whimpers dramatically.
"You are not dying," says Julia calmly, "you are being overly dramatic."
"Well said," Zeke nods.
"You are all so mean to me," Uncle Donovan gasps, acting offended.
Agent Garcia turns to Agent Williams. "Any word from the others?" he asks.
"They're coming," Agent Williams tells him. "But Dunhill's has half of the sheriff's department in his pocket. They'll stall our guys for as long as possible."
The other agent's jaw tightens. "We'll hold out as long as we can. I just hope it's long enough. Do you have a strategy formulated?" Agent Williams explains the house's layout, including hidden areas like a room in the attic and one under the floor. Agent Garcia is amazed by how many surprises the house contains. While they discuss the house, the rest of us gather around Uncle Donovan and Nurse Julia.
"There you are, all stitched up. You will live to see another day." Nurse Julia says as she finishes the last stitch and bandages the wound. She gives Zeke some directions on caring for the wound, as well as things he should and shouldn't do.
Uncle Donovan grabs her hand, "I promise to name my firstborn after you."
"I do not think that's necessary," She explains to him.
Before Uncle Donovan can banter back, the house goes unnaturally still. Too still. This is a bad omen. Agent Williams froze mid-step. Zeke grabs my hand, tightening his fingers around mine. Andy's eyes flicker to the front window. Agent Garcia shift his stance, gun drawn but low. Even though the intruder was stressed, he lifted his head. He could sense the shift.
"Something's wrong," Nurse Julia says, clutching her medical bag and backing toward the kitchen sink.
"Everyone, stay back and away from the windows," Agent Williams says. Then a loud thud. It startles us all.
The sound didn't come from inside. It came from the ground outside. It was a sickening sound that made my skin crawl.
"That's not an animal," Agent Garcia says.
Then there's another thud. A muffled scream and more shouting. Angry shouting or a panicked shout. It was impossible to tell which it was.
Agent Williams raises his hand, signaling us to be quiet. Zeke pulls me behind him, and I latch onto his shirt, both hands gripping tight, holding on as if my life depended on it, and right now I believe it does. I was scared, so scared, but didn't dare admit it. Andy steps in front of us, gripping a fireplace poker like a weapon. Uncle Donovan clutched a broom with his good arm, shaking. He hid behind the kitchen island with Nurse Julia. The perfect pair of scaredy cats.
The shouting outside grows louder and more frantic. The fear of waiting is almost too much for me to bear. Dunhill can't win; I won't allow it.