They settled in to wait. A few hours later they still hadn’t seen any sign of possible pursuers, when Leah, who was keeping watch for the hunters, shouted down to Ryan. “Guy’s, I think you need to see this!” Ryan, with the help of Anna and Roland, made his way to the lookout situated on the flat roof of the fortress. It cost quite a bit of pain and swearing, but Leah’s tone had clearly indicated that she was worried. When they finally reached the roof he immediately stopped in his tracks. And then shouted down to everyone else. “Get up to the roof now!”
A large troops of baboons was cresting the ridge above the fortress, they were moving down the slope with some speed, loping down the mountainside and jumping from rock to rock. Ryan immediately dropped prone and asked Leah to hand him her rifle. Setting up the bipod took scarce seconds and everyone else just now started fumbling with their weapons, the rest of the group still rushing up the stairs. Ryan racked a round, sighted and shot, emptying the magazine in seconds, taking down a baboon with each round. He slapped the empty magazine towards Leah, asking her to reload. People were urgently firing next to him and Anna just handed him the AKM she had grabbed earlier.
Ryan put it aside as the baboons were still out of range and tried to coordinate everyone, shouting: “Make sure of your shots, conserve ammo.” before he accepted the newly reloaded magazine from Leah, immediately resuming fire. The light 25-06 allowed him to keep on target, the recoil negligent so he saw the moment the charge broke clearly. Once he had taken down a big bull baboon the rest scrambled to a halt, reversing direction and fleeing up the slope again. Their fire didn’t relent, and they accounted for a few more of the troop, but Ryan feared it wasn’t enough. They hadn’t taken out even a third of the troop, and if the troop had continued the charge they would have definitely reached the compound, quickly dipping out of their possible line of fire.
Jaco’s group had actually taken down the most, accounting for ten or more of the beasts, Roland and Carina had bagged two and Anna and Leah had not fired a shot, Leah being now unarmed and Anna holding onto the AKM with a death-grip.
A few heads were popping up on the ridge intermittently, disappearing again shortly. The troop was keeping them under observation and the clear sign of intelligence had Ryan worried deeply. After recounting his observations and thought to the group he sent Leah and Anna downstairs to gather the remainder of the weapons and more ammunition and close and lock all doors. The roof would prove the most defensible position and Ryan expected that their resolve would be put to the test again. The sun was getting lower and Ryan was aware that it would soon shine directly into their scopes if they had to sight up the mountain, a fact that he desperately hoped the clearly more intelligent beast would fail to understand, he assumed that they were waiting for nightfall before resuming the attack, at which time the hunters should have returned.
Before he could worry any further a fusillade of shots roused him, the rush of the baboons over the crest following a scant few seconds later. He immediately reopened fire, once again making each shot count. This time, the baboons didn’t stop, charging recklessly down the slope at full speed. Ryan heaved himself upright, grabbed the AKM and staggered forward a step. By now the baboons were in range of the assault rifle, their numbers diminished but still a threat. He switched the selector to full automatic and fingered the trigger in short bursts, struggling to control the weapon and pan across the front of the charge.
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He managed to mow down several more of the troop before the magazine clicked empty. Ryan carelessly dropped the AKM, futilely fumbling for his Glock in the attempt to get a few shots off before the troop reached the house he could only watch as the diminished charge reached the compound. The baboons easily cleared the low fence surrounding the property and split up, two groups rushing around on the left and right of the fortress, disappearing from his line of sight. He took a look around, everyone was either frantically reloading or gazing around in a stupor. The din of loud thuds and shattering glass from the other side of the roof told a story all of its own. Ryan hobbled towards the far side, his progress achingly slow. The snarling muzzle of a baboon rising over the parapet greeted him before he even reached the halfway mark, it disappeared a moment later as his shot took of the top of its skull.
He heard the scrabble of claws on the concrete rooftop and a guttural snarl as Kira charged towards his left so he awkwardly pivoted in that direction. He had forgotten that the dog was even here and she was fighting with another baboon, a smaller specimen, but she was clearly losing the fight. Ryan couldn’t find a shot, the mad tumble of the two animals too chaotic. The sharp crack and thunderous boom of a large calibre rifle deafened him before the weight of a large animal hit his weakened leg. Ryan was bowled over, dimly registering that the animal was dead, the gaping hole where the spine met its shoulders clear indication that someone had just saved his life. Ignoring his ringing ears he flipped over onto his back in desperation, raising the Glock towards the far side of the roof, where another baboon was cresting the parapet. He squeezed of a shot but missed, his shaking hands foiling his usually impeccable aim. A second later the baboon tumbled down, the source of the shot that took this one’s life a mystery to Ryan.
More baboons where reaching the roof each second, most taken down by desperate fire from the reorganised defenders. Ryan had put himself in an unenviable position, he was between the baboons and the group, hampering their ability to fire even if he remained prone. He desperately scrambled backwards towards safety, pushing off the roof repeatedly with his good leg, sliding along the rough floor. Terror had gripped him but his iron will kept down the rising panic, remaining aware enough to remember that he could only remain prone to avoid taking friendly fire from behind. Something grabbed him and he nearly lashed out against the helping hand that dragged him backwards. Panting, Ryan raised himself into a sitting position, raising the Glock he had the presence of mind to keep hold off and opened fire once again.
A scant few seconds later the fight was over, Ryan hadn’t even managed to empty the magazine of the Glock before the last baboon was cleared from the roof and no more were rising over the parapet. As the defenders took stock they could hear shouting from the ridge, William was warning them that the hunters would be moving down towards the fortress and warned them to hold their fire. Jaco and Celeste approached the parapet, their stances tense, before their bodies sagged, a sob escaping the duo.
Ryan realised only then that their desperate fight hadn’t been without cost, looking around he could see that their number was less than it should have been and with his thoughts still in a muddle he realised that Roland and the cute new girl were missing. Kira was whimpering on the floor and Leah was next to the dog, sobbing. Slowly the reality of the missing faces dawned on him, the two were most likely dead if they weren’t present. He approached Jaco and Celeste, peering over the parapet.
The sight of two bodies shattered on the terrace lying amongst a multitude of dead baboons was all the confirmation he needed that this new reality was far crueller than their previous one.