"Hurry up. She's just fainted, that's all. We didn't hit her."
Dot was conscious when they arrived at the house, and she was managing to speak.
"Are they—"
"The boys, yes Dot. Our boys. Now look, we've got to run for it. I'll carry you, and you hang on to the pack.... Mike, Terry—"
"Ready, Dad. Will there be many?"
"I don't know. Maybe none, but if there aren't, it'll only be for a very few minutes. Let's go!"
They ran, and the boys burst through the front door with their swords lunging at emptiness.
"The cellar!"
He heard them clamber down the steel stairs.