Into the Shadows Read Online Free PDF Page A

snuck a glance at the intruders on my side;
they were moving up faster, I assume because of the gunfire. Still
using the tree for cover, I turned and aimed for the guy in the
middle. I figured targeting him would bring at least two others to
focus on me and not the mansion. I didn't have any moral qualms
about initiating combat on my end; they were the aggressors with
bad intent, and I was outnumbered. I aimed for the legs of the
middle guy and let off two quick rounds. He stumbled and dropped.
Go me.
    Automatic fire ripped up the tree I was using
for cover, spraying shards of wood and bark everywhere. I spun back
into full cover. I thought they just had pistols; where did the
machineguns come from? I guessed small sub-machineguns or machine
pistols, which meant that those guys were well-funded. I started
drawing gunfire from two sources. I glanced out and saw one
intruder firing small bursts from tree cover. After another glance,
I discovered that the guy I shot was firing in my general direction
from his prone position. Only two of the five were moving to the
back of the house.
    I didn't see the one who was nearest to me
when they were advancing; I checked my flank but didn't see
anything. I waited for a lull in gunfire and spun out to my left
again. The guy with tree cover had just reloaded and stepped out to
resume pinning me down. I had him in my sights before he could
fully raise his gun to a firing position. Pop, pop, pop - gut,
chest, head; he dropped in his tracks.
    While the risk was low, I then fired twice at
the prone guy. He grunted as one or both shots hit him, and he
stopped shooting. Almost too late, I sensed something behind me. I
swung back hard and fast, elbow locked with my gun extended. The
back of my hand hit the wrist of the guy who snuck up on me. The
impact knocked my gun out of my grip, and loosened the grip he had
on his Mac-11. I gave a knuckle strike to his forearm, hard enough
to make him fumble his gun and lose it in a snow drift against the
tree. Good, we were both unarmed. Although he looked pretty bulky,
I thought I would have the upper hand. Not quite.
    The guy looked surprised that I made him drop
his weapon. I took advantage of his hesitation and delivered a jab
to his jaw and a hook to his nose. I was about to press the attack
when he punched me in the chest with a big fist. I went sprawling
backward and landed on my back in the snow. Holy shit, he hit like
a truck. I didn't know how my nose punch didn't make him see stars,
like it would for anyone else. I scrambled to my feet as he came at
me. He probably didn't want to turn his back on me to find one of
our guns. Steroid boy could've crushed my skull with his hands
anyway.
    From a crouch, I launched into his
midsection, hoping to knock the wind out of him. It was a good
spear, and I drove him back a couple steps, but he took it like a
champ. I hadn't fully stood up yet when he stepped in and landed a
shot to my cheek. It turned out that I was the one seeing stars. I
was on my back again, about ten feet from him. I tasted copper;
blood, either from my mouth or nose, or both. I couldn't worry
about that; I had to bring the fucker down.
    His slow approach allowed me to get to my
feet again. I backed up to make sure my head was clear, and then I
went after him. I circled and threw debilitating shots that weren't
so debilitating on him. Kidney punch, jab to the eye, palm strike
to the ear, kick to the solar plexus - they only momentarily
stunned him. He swung a backhand that caught my shoulder and sent
me stumbling.
    When he came at me again, I sidestepped his
swing and kicked with all my might into the side of his knee. It
crunched and gave out. The bastard only went down for a second
before rolling away with a grunt of pain and got back to his feet,
albeit hobbled. I moved back in and made a series of quick strikes
before he could lock his hands on me. I drove my boot into his
groin, threw two hooks into his hard stomach, and then grabbed