Fuzzy Navel

12:09 A.M.
JACK

I WAKE UP WITH MY HEAD in Phin’s lap. He appears concerned, an emotion I’ve never seen from him before. It softens his features, making him look like a different person.

“What happened?” I ask. The lawn is cool beneath my legs, and my various aches and pains are a little less acute.

“You passed out. After you jumped off the roof to save me.”

“I landed on an azalea bush. And I landed funny.”

“Are you hurt?”

“Not that kind of funny. I think the plant got to third base.”

“Frisky, those azaleas. Did it buy you dinner first?”

“No. Not even a glass of wine. Where’s Alex?”

“She ran into the woods.”

I try to sit up. Phin helps. I’m groggy, but I can function.

“She might head back to the house,” I say. “We have to get there.”

“She’s unarmed.”

“That doesn’t mean she isn’t dangerous.”

Phin nods. “Good point. I think we can handle her, though. Let me show you.”

He hands me the shotgun, then sticks his head in the passenger door of the truck and presses something on the dashboard. Then he walks around to the rear door and opens it up. Inside are two sniper rifles, half a dozen handguns, and box after box of ammo.

“I couldn’t bring it back to the house all by myself, but if we both load up, we can manage. Unless Alex is driving a tank, she won’t be able to get to us.”

“Let’s hurry.”

There’s a metal suitcase lined with foam, with cut-out impressions for the two Desert Eagles. I tear out the foam and fill the suitcase with bullets. Phin finds a duffel bag, and we pile in the guns and more bullets. We barely cram everything in.

I reload the Desert Eagle, Phin adds a few shells to the shotgun, and then I help him strap on the duffel bag, which weighs a ton. The suitcase and both rifles are mine to carry.

Satisfied we haven’t left a scrap of ammo behind, we head back toward the house.

My load is cumbersome, unwieldy, and after a few steps I have to rest. Phin urges me on. You never realize how big your lawn is until you’re hauling a hundred pounds of ordnance across it. I really hope Mom doesn’t change her mind about moving back to the city.

“I still have to find the cell phone jammer,” I tell Phin between labored breaths. “If you cover the front, and Harry covers the back-”

My words are cut off by the sound of gunfire, coming from the house.