A Moment of Peace

Even though Nathan can actually see what was happening to the others, he can't help at all! The birds are pretty big, but not big enough for a sure shot for Nathan. There were many times that he wanted to help the others, but he refrained to do so because he might also hit them!

The sheer lack of training and experience in holding and firing a gun greatly irritated Nathan. Only when a bird is close enough that he can confidently fire his gun. The only thing he can do now is to do his best in protecting the remaining non-combatants of their group.

But this task proved to be too difficult for him. The last thing that he wanted was to confront the pesky birds head-on, but the birds proved to be more determined on attacking them than he thought!

Just as he thought that the bird pecking on the roof flew away in fear, the bird instead dived, instantly breaking through the roof. Just now, he noticed that when the birds dived to their targets the white spot on their forehead glowed brightly then they would gain a massive boost in their momentum instantly!

Nathan was still greatly shocked. When the bird dived, he was watching the three fight the other birds so he was caught off guard! The sudden collapse of the roof caused him to shield himself with his arms by reflex. The bird landed on the bed. Unfortunately, the bird knew that the elderly were hidden underneath the blankets! Its huge talons quickly clamped on the elderly and flew away.

"Shit! NO!"

Nathan didn't think that the birds could actually fly while carrying a grown human! It also seemed so easy for them to lift off like they didn't even carry anything with them.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Nathan tried his best to hit the flying bird, but not a single shot hit the bird. He gritted his teeth in anger as he saw the bird disappear from his vision. If only he also told the elderly to hide under the bed then he might still be alive.

The thought of that alternate action flew in his mind, but no matter how much he thought of that, nothing will change as it is already done. Well, at least the little girl is still safe and alive. Nathan laid on the floor to check on the girl.

"Are you alright? any part of your body hurt?"

Nathan asked with a genuine look of concern on his face. The little girl just shook her head, obviously meant that she's alright. Her emotionless face still didn't change, though.

"Alright just stay still, okay? Don't come out unless I say so"

Nathan got up and looked up at the sky. It was still dark. He surmised that only an hour passed by since they fought the zombie and the birds. The time seemed to go so slow during these kinds of events. Nathan took a deep breath and pointed his gun at the sky.

"I won't let you take anyone anymore!"

Nathan yelled as he waits for the bird to come back.

Meanwhile, the three didn't stay closer to each other the whole time. Their tactics seemed to work as the birds didn't dare to dive on them because three birds had already died when they foolishly dived on their prey!

The three just sat on the floor while still being alert at any incoming attack. They all looked exhausted to the point that they can even sleep now during this crisis! But they kept themselves awake by talking to each other.

"How are you, kids? any wounds? ammos?"

"I'm still fine, sir. How about you? Can your old body still hold up?"

Rick chuckled as he checks the wound on his leg. Fortunately, the wound already stopped bleeding.

"Ha! I may be old, but my body is made of steel! What about you, Michael. How are you holding up?"

"I'm still alive, sir. Still lots of energy. I definitely don't want to sleep right now"

The three of them chuckled like they were friends for a long time already.

Now, the birds just circled on them as they can clearly see the pesky birds from the collapsed and destroyed roof! This goes on for a while that seemed like forever.

Then, one of the three birds remaining flew in a different direction. Normally, they won't care if the birds separated for some reason, hell they will even celebrate. But, this time is not the time to celebrate when they realized where the bird was going.

The bird flew in the direction of the front yard and landed on top of the gate! They didn't even have to think about what the bird was up to! The old man quickly got up and aimed his gun at the bird that was attempting to open the gate.

"Oh no! that's not good"

Michael exclaimed as he also noticed what the bird was trying to do. He and Rick also got up to aim their guns at the bird. But they can't possibly fire now as they will definitely miss and they only have a couple of shots left!

The other two birds covered for their fellow. They dived in unison towards the three who were too preoccupied with the other bird. Nathan saw this and quickly alerted them.

"Hey, you three! behind you!"

Rick and the old man was quick to roll when they heard Nathan, but Michael was a bit slow. Michael got grazed by the bird's talon on his chest. Luckily, It wasn't too deep, but the graze was long enough to seriously affect his movement.

The graze went from his chest down to his stomach. It was pretty messy as the blood started pouring out of the wound and soaked his blue shirt with his blood.

Since Nathan noticed that there are only three birds left, he left the room and ran straight towards the three. He fired his gun at the two birds that were still harassing Michael and successfully scaring the birds off. When he reached Michael, he dragged him back to the old man's room.

"Michael! Are you okay? Just hide underneath the bed for now, okay? I'll replace you for a moment"

Michael nodded with a pained grunt and clear pained face. He crawled towards underneath the bed where he saw the little girl hiding.

"Oh...Hi"

Nathan reached the two. Rick was pointing his gun to the birds above, while the old man was still trying to get a clear shot at the bird in front of the gate. The zombies block the old man's view, so trying to get a clear shot is very challenging.

A few minutes went by and the bird has finally destroyed the gate! Clawing the gate with its talon and pecking it with its beak took some time for the gate to be destroyed. The three gritted their teeth at the realization that their situation has just become a lot harder.

"Shit!"

The old man cursed under his breath.

"What do we do, mister?"

Nathan asked with a slight agitation on his voice.

With the giant birds looming above their heads, zombies that have already surrounded the house, and the widely opened gate that made it a lot easier for the goblins outside to enter the front yard has really made their situation a lot worse!

The old man turned to Nathan and said

"We can't do much at this moment. The only thing we can do right now is to strengthen the walls, windows, and doors, and wait for the rescuers to arrive"

The old man looked around. Torn pieces of metal sheets that once was his roof and broken furniture littered the floor. Although it looked like garbage, these 'garbage' can possibly help them last long enough until the rescuers arrive.

The birds had already stopped attacking them and went back to sit on top of the wall as if they are waiting for their prey to get overrun by the goblins. Though, the goblins are still outside the gate and looked afraid at the birds.

"Look! The goblins are not moving at all. We have to do what we have to do now!"

Rick exclaimed. His face lit up a bit at the thought of not fighting for their lives, at least for a moment.

"Okay. Let's do this!"

Nathan was fired up. Even though they are all exhausted now, the fact that they had a chance to take a breath again boosted their morale. The old man didn't waste any more time and started to give instructions to the two.

First, they lifted the torn couch and used it to block the door. Next, they picked up some of the bigger pieces of roof sheeting and placed it against the walls and windows, they used desk, drawers, or anything that is big and heavy enough to keep the roof sheeting in place.

Next, they moved the refrigerator and used it to block the backdoor, and finally, they stacked the chairs and the double-decker bed from the other room to form some kind of barrier in the middle of the house in case the goblin broke through their first line of defense.

Nothing happened during their preparation which made their preparation fast and without a hassle. It was almost 6 in the morning when they finally finished everything. The pounding outside the house stopped for some reason.

"That's a relief! The zombies finally stopped. The noises they make has started to get on my nerves!"

Rick said while yawning. They didn't have much spare time to nap even for a moment. Still, he's confident about what they have done to strengthen the house despite them all being so tired the whole time. Although, they don't have a roof anymore.

"Can we still make it? There are too many goblins and there are the birds as well. Plus, we don't have many bullets left."

Nathan asked. He has a grim look on his face and was now losing hope. His question turned the atmosphere rather gloomy.

"I know, kid. That's why we fortified the house again. If it comes to it, don't use your gun as much as possible. We have to save our bullets for the more serious enemies like the giant birds out there. You have your machete and your ax on you right?"

The old man said in a serious tone.

"We can also make makeshift weapons like a...spear or something. I saw a mop there. I can just stick a knife on the other end of the mop and that's it"

Rick said while contemplating what they can still do during this moment of peace. His ideas were then put into motion.

They hastily gathered sticks that are long and thick enough to be used as the shaft of the spear, they then strapped a knife on the other end of the stick. Unfortunately, they were only able to make two makeshift spears, but it's still better than nothing.

Rick and Michael wielded the two makeshift spears, while Nathan and the old man still have their machete.

While still waiting for the inevitable goblin attack, Nathan has come up with a good but a bit dangerous idea.

"Hey, guys. I have an idea, but it's a bit dangerous. Plus, we will have to move this barricade a bit farther"