A loft door swung open above him, and Goncharov stepped back.

He saw the curious misty shaft coming from the loft door.

The loft doors were secured only by a latch inside.

Further along that ridge there is another wooden loft door.

It put a man between himself and that loft door.

He tilted it and blasted a shot at the loft door even as the rifle spoke.

He stepped onto the floor, hearing a board creak under his foot, and turned toward the loft door.

All three on that ring were apparently needed to open the loft door.

Charlie Bowman saw the light blink over the loft door.

The man turned, quick as a thought, but only in time to keep from getting knocked out of the loft door.