Sutter had Daniel by the collar, and I could not get off my knees. I planted my good hand on the apron and hauled myself upright against the doorframe. Mercer was coming behind me. I lurched into his path, making him check his stride, then stumbled down the shallow step. The yard shifted under my feet. At the fence Daniel turned his face away from the wire. I called Sutter's name. He looked over, annoyed rather than surprised.
'Let him go, Wade.' My voice had no strength in it. Sutter tightened his hold and began dragging Daniel toward the annex. I met them beside the van. For years Wade and I had lifted freight together, each knowing when the other would take the weight. I put my good hand on his wrist as if asking for that old cooperation. Then I pulled him toward me and drove my knee against his leg. His grip loosened. Daniel ducked free.
Sutter struck me across the mouth with his open hand. I tasted blood and caught his coat before he could turn back toward Daniel. We collided with the van. My damaged shoulder hit the side panel, and something inside it gave way beneath a tearing pain. My fingers opened without my willing them. I tried to lift the arm again. It would not answer. Sutter shoved me down, and I landed in rainwater beneath the van's sliding door.
Daniel had three clear yards between himself and us. Beyond him lay the fence gate, hanging crooked but open enough for a man. I pointed with the hand that worked. 'Go!' He looked at the opening, then at me. Sutter bent to seize my coat. Daniel came back and hit him from the side. Not neatly, not like somebody who knew how to fight. His whole weight carried them against the van, and Sutter's elbow struck the mirror with a sharp crack.
I got up beneath Sutter's reaching arm and pushed him away from Daniel. My nephew caught me around the waist when my legs buckled. We staggered together toward the gate. 'You should've gone,' I said. 'Walk,' Daniel told me. He was almost carrying my left side. Behind us Mercer called to Sutter. I did not turn to see what either man intended. The fence opening seemed farther away with every step, and Daniel's breath came in rough, angry bursts.
Headlights swung across the yard. Daniel stopped so suddenly I nearly fell. A dark sedan bumped over the broken entrance pavement and braked near the gate. Ruth leaned out of its rear window. 'Here!' Leon was at the wheel. He looked beyond us and sounded the horn, one long blast that filled the narrow yard. Sutter halted beside the van. Mercer came out from the annex shadow, lifting an arm against the glare. I could not see his face.
The sedan's rear door opened. Ruth climbed out before Leon could tell her to stay inside. She caught Daniel's sleeve and pulled him toward the seat. He would not release me. For several clumsy seconds we blocked one another beside the door, my useless arm trapped between our bodies. 'Get in first,' I said. Daniel shook his head. Ruth reached across him, took my wrist gently, and guided the bad arm clear. That small care hurt worse than the struggle.
Leon turned in his seat. 'Now, Ellis.' Mercer had reached the front of the van. There was no room left for argument. I shoved Daniel down onto the rear seat, then bent over him and pushed myself in with my legs. Ruth climbed into the front. The open rear door struck a fence post as Leon began moving. I caught its inside grip with my good hand and hauled until the latch caught. Daniel braced my shoulder with his folded coat.
We passed through the gate with metal scraping along the sedan's side. Leon swore but did not stop. The headlights caught weeds, a puddle, the pale edge of the road. Then we were turning, tires sliding before they found pavement. I looked back through the rear glass. Mercer stood beside another vehicle near the annex. Sutter was moving toward him. The yard light shrank behind us. Daniel's hand stayed pressed to my coat, though I had stopped trying to sit upright.
'Both of you here?' Leon asked. Ruth said yes. Daniel said nothing. I counted their breathing because I needed something certain: Ruth in front, Daniel beside me, neither behind a locked door. Then a pair of lights appeared at the annex entrance. They swung onto the road and straightened behind us. I recognized the broad pale hood beneath them when they crossed a roadside lamp. 'He's coming,' I said. Leon looked into his mirror, and Mercer's vehicle followed us out.