"I'm sorry, mate. Listen to what's happening out front. It doesn't sound like anything good is waiting at our door." Kyle brushed a hand over Larry's hair as he bent to kiss his forehead. Larry stayed still long enough for Kyle to back away before his inner soldier visibly kicked in. He was on his feet, dragging on a pair of sweats and stepping into shoes before I managed to finish fastening my pants.
Larry firmly edged around Kyle, grabbing a gun from the dresser and checking the clip as he headed out of the room. A man after my own heart. I did the same, only pausing long enough to grab my own gun and a few extra loaded clips before following my mates.
A beautiful sunrise was flooding the solarium—as Larry had begun calling the ICF part of our home—with the fresh, orange light of dawn. I couldn't imagine who was so intent on seeing us but the pounding on the door was so hard that it rattled in the frame.
Holding his gun at shoulder height with it carefully pointed to the ceiling, Larry undid the locks and opened the door. Silas was mid knock and nearly fell over the threshold when the door swung open.
His eyes were frantic as he looked past Larry, directing his attention to me. "Good, you're awake. We need you down the hill. I was the only one skinny enough to escape through the basement window. I got my buddy Shane to give me a lift when I couldn't get to my car. Luckily he lives halfway up here. I would've shifted, but I can't right now. The doctor put me on a new acne medication and it is messing up my senses and causing a disconnect with my beast. I'd never bug you so early in the morning just—" He had been rambling so fast that it was almost a shock when he stopped short, his cheeks turning red. "Sorry, I just don't know how to describe it to you without sounding insane and I tend to babble when I’m scared."
Kyle moved in and rested a calming hand on his shoulder. "Try us, kid. You'd be surprised by our high threshold for crazy."
I didn't want to scare the guy by being too gruff, so I made an extra point to sound as gentle as possible. "My mate is right, Silas. And even if we didn't, you should always feel free to come to me with anything. Why don't you start by explaining why you had to crawl out of a window?"
Silas gulped, his eyes going wide again as he waved his arms so wide that he accidentally smacked Kyle in the chest. "It's geese! As far as the eye can see, I've never seen so many in one flock before. Wait, it's not called a flock, right? It's… a gaggle? Is that the word? Whatever you call it, it's the biggest group of those nasty bastards I've ever seen. They're spread out all over my parking lot, sitting on cars, covering the porch and roof… I even saw a few dozen more flying in a circle overhead. And in the middle of it all was a gorgeous chick with evil eyes. After I made my escape, I watched her from the cover of the trees while she screamed outside The Spot's door." He shuddered at the memory.
Larry's shoulders slumped as he squared his jaw with a resigned look on his face. "What was she saying, Silas?"
Silas startled at the sound of his name. "Huh? Oh! She said they weren't leaving until the alpha returned her possession. So whatever you have of hers, could you maybe just… give it back?" Despite the hopeful way he spoke, I could tell he knew that wasn't an option from the terror in his eyes.
I caught Larry's hand and gave it a quick squeeze. "Afraid I can't do that, son. I don't have anything—or anyone—that belongs to her. Don't worry, my mates and I will settle this once and for all."
Kyle looked surprised to be included. "Does this mean you're going to trust me with a gun? I mean, I can overlook my hard limit and give it another go if you insist."
Larry and I both winced as I slowly nodded. "Just remember not to point it at anybody or anything that doesn't need killing."
"And don't put your finger on the trigger unless you’re prepared to fire," Larry added solemnly. I was about to ask Silas to give us a moment so we could grab shirts and a shotgun for Kyle, when Sandy and Dottie came running around the corner with their own firepower cradled under their arms.
Sandy was red-faced from the exertion while Dottie was already on the offensive. "What's going on out here? I hear bears growling and people pounding and that makes me think something needs killing. Point me in the right direction and consider it handled."
We all stuck our heads out the door to see what Dottie was talking about, only to see an oversized black bear standing off to the side as if he were guarding Silas. I nodded at the bear, assuming that was the friend Shane that Silas had mentioned. While Silas turned to fill them in, we slipped back inside to finish dressing and grab some more ammo—and the 30 gauge shotgun I was going to let Kyle use.
By the time we got back outside, Sandy had unhooked the RV and had it idling in the driveway. Silas was sitting astride the bear, gripping its thick hide as they headed off down the hill. Kyle shook his head. "This will be a good tale to tell later. But tell me, did we really take that long or is our dear Uncle Sandy just that fast?"
Before I could answer, the door to the RV flung open, slapping against the siding with a bang. Dottie motioned impatiently for us to move faster. "If you ladies are done screwing around, we've got a battle that needs waging."
"Yes, ma'am," Kyle called out as he took off at a run. "Sorry to keep you waiting."
Dottie didn't miss his sarcastic tone, sniffing haughtily as she stepped aside. "I should hope so. Now get your ass on board and let me get a look at that gun you're holding. You and I are gonna have us a chat on the way there. I don't want any repeats of the other day where you nearly took all three of your sweet asses out with a single bullet." Larry and I shared an amused look as we followed Kyle into the RV.
Sandy didn’t bother with a sneak attack. Hell, they would've heard the RV coming anyway. Instead, he hit the gas and sped into the parking area, slamming on the brakes so hard that we slipped sideways and turned in a half circle before the rig came to a complete stop.
I'd already had one hand on the door so it was too easy to flip the latch and kick it open before jumping out with my gun blazing. I was aware of everyone else coming out behind me, even before I heard their guns going off. This ended today. We were all sick of these Goslings and their bullshit.
Honking and flapping, the geese began asserting themselves on the ground, while a few in the air began dive bombing us. Two extra-large geese—shifters, rather than the normal birds they'd brought along with them—went flying at Larry while he had his back turned to deal with yet another one of them.
"The hell you will," I intoned as I lifted my gun and took first one, then the other, out with two clean shots. Since they died in their goose form, that's how they would remain. That made it easier if any human law enforcement came on the scene, but part of me would've liked to see the faces of Larry's would-be attackers.
Larry had already killed what he'd been targeting and was on the move. The Amazonian blonde bimbo on the porch lifted her arms and made a squawking sound that had every goose in the vicinity, ground and air, flapping their wings and coming at my team in a direct assault.
With Sandy and Dottie's help, Larry and I managed to knock out a chunk of their numbers. Kyle was doing an admirable job, even if he fell backward with every shot, but we were outnumbered and I wasn't sure we had enough ammo.