Chapter 10 - The Snipers on the Ridge
“Get down!” Jax roared.
He lunged across the console, shoving Sarah and Emma hard down onto the floorboards of the truck just as a deafening volley of high-caliber rifle fire shredded the passenger-side door. Glass exploded inward, raining jagged shards over the seats.
The metallic ping of rounds striking the engine block echoed like a barrage of heavy hammers. The truck’s tires hissed as they were instantly blown out by incoming fire.
“They found us!” Sarah screamed over the deafening noise, shielding Emma’s head with her own body on the dusty floor mat.
“Suppressive fire from the ridge,” Jax barked, his face set in a hard, dangerous line. He didn't panic. He grabbed the assembled sniper rifle from the floor, kicked open the driver’s side door, and rolled out onto the rocky ground, using the heavy steel chassis of the truck as cover.
More bullets chewed into the dirt around the vehicle, kicking up choking clouds of dust and stone.
“Stay down, do not move!” Jax ordered Sarah before peering over the hood.
He raised the rifle, adjusting the scope with lightning speed. Up on the jagged granite ridge three hundred yards above them, the muzzle flash of an enemy sniper flickered twice against the grey morning sky.
Crack-crack.
Jax squeezed the trigger twice with rhythmic precision. A heartbeat later, one of the silhouettes on the ridgeline dropped his weapon and tumbled backward out of sight behind the rocks.
“That’s one!” Jax shouted over the wind. “There’s at least two more flanking from the east ridge!”
Inside the cab, Sarah held Emma tight. The little girl was crying softly now, terrified by the violence exploding around them.
“Mommy, what’s happening? I want to go home!” Emma sobbed, burying her face in Sarah’s denim overalls.
“I know, baby, I know. Just keep your eyes closed and hold onto me,” Sarah whispered, her own tears mixing with the dust on her cheeks. She looked up through the shattered window frame. She knew they couldn't stay here. If the snipers pinned them down, the main convoy would arrive and wipe them out without firing another shot.
“Jax!” Sarah yelled out the door. “We can't stay in the truck! The fuel tank is leaking!”
A strong smell of gasoline filled the air, mixing with the acrid scent of cordite.
Jax fired another round up toward the east ridge, suppressing the second shooter. He backed up toward the passenger door, reaching inside to grab Sarah’s arm.
“Grab the child! We’re running for the ravine!” Jax commanded.
Sarah grabbed Emma, hoisted her up into her arms, and vaulted out of the shattered door of the truck just as a tracer round struck the gas tank.
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An orange fireball erupted behind them, engulfing the Ford pickup in a blinding wall of heat and smoke as Jax dove into the rocky ravine with Sarah and Emma right behind him.
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