Page 31 of Shadows Relived
Another shot. This one closer. Bark exploded off a tree two feet to his left, spewing into the air.
He returned fire. Two quick pops toward the muzzle flash. Then a third when another shadow moved to the right.
More gunfire came in response.
Too many.
They weren’t just being tracked; they were being hunted. Something changed, but he had no time to figure it out. He needed to get them out of there.
He didn’t wait. He bolted for the kids.
“Change of plans,” he hissed, scooping Sophie into his arms. “Into the woods. We’ll follow the ridge down to the old ranger trail.”
Meaghan’s eyes widened. “They’ll follow us.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll cover us. And my dad and I set traps around I never really got around to packing up. Now move!”
Meaghan grabbed Willie and Lucas, pulling themtoward the thick line of evergreens that bordered the clearing. Callen brought up the rear, crouched low, his breath coming hard.
The forest closed around them in a rush of wind and fallen leaves. Branches whipped at his face as twigs snapped under their feet. A bullet tore through a low-hanging limb to his left, showering him with bark and ice.
Sophie sobbed into his shoulder, her tiny fingers tangled in his coat. Callen’s legs burned, but he didn’t slow.
Another crack of a rifle behind them. Another snap of branches.
“Keep going!” he yelled. “Follow the trail; there’s a game path up ahead!”
He kept them moving, dodging tree trunks, using every inch of terrain knowledge he had. He remembered this park as a boy: long days tracking deer with his father, the old fire routes carved into the woods like scars. He could hear the kids gasping, stumbling through the underbrush, Meaghan’s low voice urging them to keep going. The terrain was rougher here: fallen limbs, slippery moss, uneven dirt.
They reached a ridge of fallen trees and ducked behind a massive pine. Meaghan dropped beside him, shielding the boys.
“Are we safe?” she asked, voice shaking.
“No, but we bought us some time.”
Lucas was crying now, full-body sobs that made Callen’s throat ache. “I’m sorry, Mr. Callen. I didn’t mean to… I didn’t want them to find us.”
“You didn’t do this,” Callen said firmly, reachingout to squeeze the boy’s shoulder. “I should’ve checked. This is on me.”
Meaghan reached for him too, her hand warm against Lucas’s back. “He’s right. You’re safe with us. That’s what matters.”
Callen strained to hear a sound, any sound: branches cracking, boots on fallen leaves. But there was nothing.
That’s when it happened.
CRACK!
Fire bloomed across his shoulder as the world tilted.
The pain hit so hard and fast he didn’t make a sound at first. Just stumbled, arms clenching around Sophie to keep her from falling.
“Callen!” Meaghan screamed.
“Shit,” he wheezed, clenching his eyes for a moment. He dropped to a knee, breath gone, blood hot and seeping down his side. The burning spread through his ribs, hot and thick. Blood soaked his shirt. He knew the signs; it wasn’t a graze. But it had hit nothing vital. Not yet.
He could make it. He had to.
He looked at Meaghan, gasping. “Take her. Keep going.”
