Chapter 5 - The Ambush at Blackwood
Ethan crouched by the heavy oak door of the cabin, his heart hammering in his chest, but his mind clear and cold. This was no different than a burning building; the environment was hostile, the stakes were life or death, and panic was the enemy.
The snowmobiles roared to a halt just outside. Ethan heard the crunch of heavy boots on the frozen snow.
"Check the perimeter," a harsh, muffled voice ordered from outside. "If the girl is here, retrieve her alive. The woman and the fireman are expendable."
Ethan’s jaw clenched. Expendable.
He waited until he saw a shadow cross the frosted glass of the side window.
CRASH.
Ethan drove his shoulder into the heavy oak door, throwing it open with explosive force. The door slammed into the first operative, sending him flying off the porch and into the deep snowbank.
Before the second man could react, Ethan leveled his shotgun and fired. The blast caught the second operative in the shoulder, the force of the buckshot knocking him off his feet. He rolled into the snow, groaning and clutching his bleeding arm.
The first operative was already scrambling up, reaching for a tactical pistol holstered at his hip.
Ethan didn't hesitate. He swung the butt of the shotgun, catching the man squarely across the jaw. The operative’s helmet cracked, and he went limp, collapsing onto the porch steps.
Ethan quickly disarmed both men, tossing their weapons into the deep snow. He stripped the functional snowmobile of its keys and pocketed them.
"Grace! Lily!" Ethan yelled, running back inside the cabin.
Grace emerged from the pantry, her face pale but determined. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. But we have to move. They’ve got our location, which means more of them are on the way."
Ethan gathered their meager supplies, wrapping Lily in a heavy parka. They bypassed his truck—it was too slow and too easy to track on the snowy roads. Instead, Ethan loaded Grace and Lily onto one of the captured snowmobiles.
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"Hold on tight," Ethan told Grace as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Lily was squeezed safely between them.
He fired up the engine, the loud roar echoing through the pines, and slammed the throttle. They shot forward, leaving the cabin and the bleeding operatives behind, disappearing into the white wilderness of the Blackwood Pines.
