Either route is risky. Dennis appears to be an excellent shot and either course could put you in his sights. You are not confident that you could effectively move the car from the floorboard so you begin inching out of the car. You pocket your cigarettes and lighter before you go. Outside the car, you crawl to the rear of the car, keeping your head low.
Facing the hedgerow, you realize it is not as close as you estimated. To do this successfully, you must push yourself up from a crouched position, start the sprint and reach the row before Dennis can fire any more shots. You are out of options though, so you go for it.
The first shot cracks before you are fully upright and a searing pain swipes your right arm. You spin with it and your stagger prevents the second shot from hitting you. You balance yourself, take three large steps and leap for the hedgerow as the third shot kicks up grass and dirt underneath. You clear the entrance to the hedgerow and drop behind it before a fourth shot can be fired. Leaning against it and panting, you realize he could easily start firing into the hedges and still hit you. Running for the door of the church, it crosses your mind that it could be locked and all of this would be for naught.
It is a traditional white, one story country church. You run up the stairs and find the door handle is broken. It makes for an easy entrance, but means Dennis has already been here. You pull the door closed behind you and spin around, eyes adjusting to the darkness. There is an office and you head into it. It does not surprise you to find the phone line dead. You look around the office, hoping to find anything that can help you right now. On the desk, you see a piece of paper and you grab it, hold it up to window and with the moonlight, and make out the name, Pastor Richard Meinheit. Of course, the country pastor would live close to his church. You drop the paper and exit the office.
You walk into the chapel and toward a windows facing the Meinheit home, thinking you might be able to spot Dennis. As you reach the window, you see movement near the hedgerow and immediately drop to the floor. With your back against the exterior wall, you finally check your wounded arm. It looks like the bullet just grazed it, enough to throb, but no real damage.
You slide over to the wall space between windows and push yourself into an upright position. From an angle, you can see outside. Dennis is out there, looking up at the window you were sitting beneath. You do not see the rifle, but that does not mean he is unarmed. You look around the chapel and see an exit door on the opposite side of the church, near the pulpit. Next to it, there is a flag, upright in a floor pedestal. You realize that Dennis will enter the church soon. You can either make an escape through the back entrance, or use the flagpole to try ambushing him should he enter the church. You glance out the window again and cannot see him.
If you make a break for the back door, turn to page 54.
If you retrieve the flagpole and place yourself in an attack position should he enter the church, turn to page 58.
