Facing my Worst Fears
I will try to tell this exactly as it occurred, as you can imagine, it is still fresh on my mind.
Yesterday evening I had just finished up working on my Ford Excursion and went inside for a minute to get a break from the heat. After about a 30 minute cool down, I went back outside and noticed that I left the Excursion running with the door open. I thought it was odd but hey, I've been scatterbrained before and the heat was ridiculous, so I just figured I hadn't been thinking clearly. As I round the tree in my front yard, which was partially hiding the door, I notice a big, tall man sliding out of the seat of my Excursion. This can't be good.
A couple of things of importance here:
1.) I live on 20 acres and there is not another home in sight
2.) My wife and kids are inside the house with the door shut
3.) All my guns are inside the house
4.) My two dogs are nowhere to be found, probably running somewhere in the woods
This gentlemen was what appeared to be 6'2" probably 230lbs-ish, very athletic built, strong, but also probably fast. At this point I don't see a weapon. Though I am a very wiry little guy (5'8, 135lbs...yes, really) with 4 years of Jiu Jitsu training, this is not a good fight and the costs of losing is not only my life, but possibly the lives of my entire family. I quickly engage in some non-threatening banter as I slowly work my way backward toward my front door. My goal is to get close enough to make a break for the front door, as I have two guns loaded in my bedroom, in easy reach. "Are you lost?" "Can I help you in any way?" I am going to be honest. I don't even remember what his responses were, but they were not "No I am not lost, I am here to kill you", they were more along the lines of trying to explain to me that he means no harm. I know that to be untrue. You don't wander through 20 acres of woods to find a house for nothing.
Somewhere in the middle of the banter, I am backing up, but he is continuing to move in lock-step with me. Our distance between each other has not increased at all, but I am a little closer to my front door. I realize that he realizes what I am trying to do. He is waiting for me to make a break for the house. Once I realize this, I waste no time, I can't afford for our distance to close so I make a break for it. He runs after me but I am able to get inside the house. I don't have time to close or lock the door behind me, I just need to get to my gun(s). I run through the kitchen and down the hallway and take a right into the master bedroom. My wife is sitting on the bed, I run past her and grab my Sig MPX that is propped up, loaded, in the corner and switch on the my EOTech. I realize at that moment, he did not follow me into the house. Thinking I have time, I also grab the S&W Shield on the dresser and quickly attach it inside my waistband which takes a lot less time than you would imagine.
I run outside, thinking perhaps he is gone, but as I hit the front door, there he is, just past the carport trying to get his AR-15 charged. I guess he had it in my Excursion. I open the glass front door and raise the MPX. As I squeeze the trigger, nothing happens. The batteries are dead. I drop my MPX and go to my S&W Shield. He finally charges his AR-15 and begins to raise it in my direction, still kneeling. I bring the Shield up and begin firing as I move closer and closer. He begins firing. In the middle of the gunfight while we are both firing, I realize he is not being hit. I also realize I am not really aiming. The last few rounds I draw a better bead. I run the mag dry. Once my mag is dry, and he is not down, I realize I had been hit...4 times. He has been hit once in the shoulder. He also is still aiming at me, and has rounds left. I probably will not make it. I can only think at this point what will happen to my wife and kids inside the house.
Right after that, I wake up. It's 4:45am. My cell phone light is blinking. The overhead fan is whirring. I have no bullet holes in me. My wife and kids are off safe on a trip. It was all a dream. A nightmare. While the dream may never explain why I had a battery powered Sig MPX, I can still learn from it. Be prepared. Carry at home. Utilize a larger capacity handgun for home defense. Practice. Stake your ground inside your home and call the police. Most of all, change your batteries.
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