Legion of Despair: Book Three in The Borrowed World Series by Franklin Horton

could see their eyes wide with fear.
    The Mossberg had a sling and she threw it across her back, raising both arms to wave toward the approaching men that she was okay.
    Will was the first to reach her. “Are you okay?” he practically shouted. “What happened?”
    “I’m okay,” Sara said.
    Gary took in Sara’s appearance, seeing no blood and no obvious injury. “What’s wrong?” he gasped. “Why were you shooting?”
    Sara felt a change in her body chemistry when she opened her mouth to speak. A second ago she’d been completely calm, cool, and collected. Now, she felt like she was going to pass out and burst into tears all at the same time.
    “Do you need to sit down?” Gary asked, his father’s intuition going off. “It’s the nerves baby. You’ll be okay.”
    Will led Sara to the front steps and she sat down. As she did, she noticed that her legs were shaking uncontrollably.
    “Tell us what happened, Sara,” Gary said.
    “I saw three men out the kitchen window,” Sara said, fighting to keep her voice from quavering. “They were in black and wearing these creepy skull masks.”
    “Did they hurt you?” Gary asked.
    Sara shook her head. “After you all left, they came out of the woods and were watching the house. They came down into the yard and were looking like they were going to break in. I got the shotgun and surprised them.”
    “Did they have guns, baby?” Will asked, rubbing Sara’s back reassuringly.
    “Not that I saw. They were just crouched there in the backyard watching the house. When I got around back, they came a little closer. I had the shotgun on them but they took off running when you all started the mower.”
    “Did you hit any of them?” Gary asked.
    “No, I…I tried not to. I shot over their heads. I just wanted to scare them. Make them think twice about coming back.”
    “Good girl,” Gary said. “I’m going to take a look and make sure I don’t see any blood.”
    “I’ll go with you,” Will said.
    Gary shook his head. “No, you stay with Sara. She needs you right now. Dave can go with me.”
    Dave trotted up about that time, panting and heaving, the AR dangling from the single-point sling over his shoulder.
    “Dave, come with me,” Gary said.
    Too winded to speak, Dave bobbed his red face in a nod.
    “Take this, Dad,” Sara said, extending the shotgun toward him. “There should still be four or five rounds in there.”
    Gary leaned over to kiss his daughter on the head. Then he turned to Dave. “Let’s go.”
    Gary led the way back to the corner of the house where Sara had confronted the intruders. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he advanced through the scattered straw and sparse grass to the weeded perimeter of the yard. Keeping the shotgun in a ready position, he scanned the brush carefully but didn’t see anyone. What he did see, though, was what looked like a well-worn trail leading away from their property. Where the trail ended at the edge of Will and Sara’s yard, there was an area of flattened weeds where several people had obviously sat. There were beer cans and crushed cigarette butts. Some of the cigarette butts were stained from having sat there through rain. Gary knew it meant that people had been watching them for a while. It was an unsettling feeling.
    “Stay here, Dave,” Gary said. “I think I know where this trail comes out but I need to make sure.”
    “Are you sure?” Dave asked. “What if they’re waiting on you?”
    “I’ll be fine,” Gary assured him. “You just stay here in case something happens.”
    While Dave was thinking that over, Gary trotted off down the trail. His intention was not to catch up with the men who’d been lurking here but to verify where the trail came out. He walked the rough trail, finding himself concerned that there was even a trail at all. Trails required frequent travel to stay beaten down. He knew that there had once been a shortcut from the public housing development to a nearby