Chapter 14 - The Forest Chase
The intruder staggered back off the porch, clutching his shoulder as his partner fired three rapid rounds through the cabin window.
Glass shattered everywhere as David pulled Ethan and Lily out through the rear cellar exit into the freezing mountain night.
"Run for the tree line!" David yelled, guiding the children across the snow toward a dense thicket of spruce trees.
Flashlights cut through the dark woods behind them as two additional hired mercenaries pursued the fleeing family.
Ethan pushed his younger sister forward through the heavy drifts, his lungs burning in the icy sub-zero air.
David lagged behind, using the shotgun to fire suppressing shots into the trees to slow the pursuers down.
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"Over here!" Ethan called out, spotting a low granite cave structure half-hidden beneath an overhang of fallen hemlock.
They ducked inside the narrow stone fissure, holding their breath as heavy footsteps crunched in the snow three feet away.
