Geram nodded and considered the situation.  If they called out and revealed themselves, they would be compromised.  If they did not, and Frank was in the kitchen, either he or they could be shot.  Neither scenario was desirable.  Geram looked down at Jake and shook his head no.  They had to take their chances with the kitchen.

As they swept into the room, Jake’s heart sunk. He saw Frank’s body surrounded by a crimson pool.  He dropped to one knee and placed his hand on Frank’s shoulder.  Jake knew from the head wound that Frank had died immediately.  Geram grabbed Jake by the collar and pulled him back to his feet.  He shook his head no again and pointed to the rest of the house.  They had to ensure their own safety.  It was no time for mourning, not yet.

Once they were back in the living room, they prepared to perform the same clearing maneuver into the hallway.  As they readied themselves for the motion, they heard a low growl coming from the hall.  It grew louder as the beast bounded towards them.  They could hear the echo of its claws scratching against the wood flooring.  Jake held up his fist to Geram as if to say, ‘Hold!.  He hoped it was indeed Sasha.  They slowly backed away from the threshold to give themselves some standoff room.  Jake crouched low.

As Sasha emerged from the hall, her fierce growl was replaced with a high-pitched whine.  She sprung at Jake and knocked him off balance. He landed on his back with a gentle thud.  As she licked his face and neck, Jake forgot about Frank for a brief moment and smiled with relief.

Geram walked over and dropped to one knee to rub her head.  He whispered to Jake, “If she was in that hall, I doubt there’s anyone left in this house.  We should still be careful, though.  Can you make her stay here?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, let’s finish this.”

Jake whispered a command in Czech to Sasha and she plopped down on her haunches and stared at the front door, waiting patiently for her next order.  The men stood up and once again prepared to clear the remainder of the house.  In one fluid motion they cleared the hall. They continued to each room, until they were at the final door.  They noticed Sasha had clawed deep into the bottom of the door.

Jake grasped the knob as quietly as possible and turned it slowly.  He held it in position until they were ready to rush the room.  He shouldered into the door and pushed it open.  Again, he swung right and Geram left. Immediately he saw her body.  His heart broke as his worst fears were realized. He gently laid her body out on the floor and covered it with the quilt.

Geram dropped down to one knee and whispered, “Bro, I’m so sorry for all of this; Frank and Mrs. Thames.  I can’t imagine the loss you’re feeling, but whoever did this is still alive. Look at the window.”

He pointed his pistol at the window.  The flashlight illuminated the broken glass and streaks of blood.  Jake shouted another command in Czech and Sasha bounded into the room.  He spoke again and she bolted to the window and inhaled the scent.  She turned, rushed out of the room and down the hall.  The men readied their weapons and chased after her.

As the three burst out of the house, they were met by Levi and Eli Richardson on horseback.  The twins had been nervously waiting in the heavy rain for Jake and Geram.  Levi called out to the brothers, “How bad is it?”

Jake order Sasha to stop and then responded, “They’re both gone, Levi.”

“God help us. What about the men that did this?”

“We think at least one of them is still alive, maybe more.  They went out the back window.  We’re going after them.”

“We’re right behind you, lead the way.”

Jake once again called out to Sasha, and she continued around to the back of the house.  As she reached the shattered back window, she planted her nose in the mud and blood where the intruder had fallen.  She growled menacingly and followed the trail towards the northern woods line.

Levi and Eli dismounted at the first barbed wire fence, leaving their horses to search for shelter from the storm as the men continued onward.  Sasha was nearly twenty feet ahead of the men, her pace quickening as the blood became more abundant.  At the second fence, the men found a snub-nosed revolver lying in the mud.  Eli knelt and grabbed the small handgun, before burying it in the oversized pocket of his raincoat.  Levi stepped on the middle, barbed-wire strand with his boot and pushed down hard.  He grabbed the top strand and lifted up, allowing the other men to duck through the fence.

The rain was falling at a sharp angle as the winds swirled around the men.  Lightning struck somewhere behind them and the boom of thunder followed immediately after.  They could hear the horses’ nervous whinnies somewhere in the night.  The few trees in the field, leafless and bare, looked like gnarled claws in the flashes of lightning.

The men’s boots sloshed against the saturated ground.  Their hair was matted to their foreheads and their clothing clung to their drenched bodies.  Suddenly, up ahead, Sasha stopped abruptly.  Her growl intensified as she circled a heap in the field just beyond.  Geram crouched and peered through the lens of the night-vision scope.  After a moment, he motioned the others ahead.

Jake made it to Sasha first. He rubbed her head and whispered, “Good girl.  Good girl,” before stepping past her and standing over the man’s body.

Eli was right behind Jake.  He dropped down in the mud and checked the man’s pulse. “He’s still alive,” he croaked.

“Good.”  Jake struck the man’s ribs with his boot with all of the strength he could muster.  The man groaned and coughed as he curled up to protect himself from a second blow.

“Jake!  You can’t do that!”

“Why not?  Isn’t this the least that he deserves?”  Jake struck the man as hard as he could again.

“Jake!  Enough!”  Levi wrapped his thick bicep around Jake’s throat and dragged him away from the man, “That’s not how we do it, Jake.  You know that.  We’re not like him.”

Eli rolled the man over on his back and exclaimed, “Damn, look at his face – what did that?”

Geram walked up behind the three men and offered, “Probably Sasha.  She was in the house when we got there.  Lord, she got him good.”

The man’s face was barely recognizable, but Eli leaned in close with his flashlight nonetheless.  He studied the features for a moment before whispering, “It can’t be.”

“What?  Who is it?” his brother replied.

“This is Sam Coleman, from across the creek.  He has the orchard over on Smithtown Road.  He must have known that church was tonight and thought we would all be away.  He – he looks pretty bad.  He’s lost a lot of blood.  I’m not sure he’ll make it.”

“Good,” Jake replied, “Let him die.”

***

Sam Coleman died not long after they found him.  The Richardson twins carried Sam out of the field and laid his body across the back of Eli’s horse.  They carried him to the Thames’ front porch and left him with the other bodies.  Mr. Richardson had already sent notice to the sheriff, and he had promised to be by in the next day or so.  He was on the other side of the county investigating yet another home invasion that had gone awry.

Jake and Geram shook hands and exchanged farewells with the twins before leaving for Jake’s house.  As they walked back home Jake finally broke the silence.

“I’m sorry about how I reacted back there.  It was out of my character.”

“You don’t owe me an apology.  I probably would’ve done much worse.”

“Maybe I don’t, but I still feel the need.”

“Look brother, I know this is new for you.  You’re doing a lot better than I did my first time.  I know the full weight of it hasn’t come to bear yet, but it will, and you’ll find some way to cope.  The important thing is you’ve realized your mistakes.  That man, Sam, he lost his direction.  A year ago, if you would’ve told him he’d be dead in a field because he attacked one his neighbors, he probably would’ve swung at you.”