by David Peters
The second hunter hit her from behind, throwing her face first into the hard ground and knocking the wind out of her. She rolled and brought the gun up again but the Hunter wasn’t where she thought it should be. She stood up uneasily and dropped into a low crouch. She spun in a full circle and didn’t see the beast anywhere. It was still here somewhere; they don’t give up like that. She heard a branch creak and looked up in time to see the Hunter jump from the nearest tree towards her. She was able to get two wild shots off before the weight of its body slammed into her a second time. She felt it dig its talons into her shoulders and she let out a painful scream. The Hunter held her tight as it stood over her and shook her like a rag doll. With every shake her head struck the hard ground and the world around her faded into a grey nothingness. She struggled to remain conscious but it was a losing battle. Her last memory was of Jonathan shakily bringing his pistol up to eye level and firing.
--9--
Dylan heard the rapid gunfire on the hill behind Paradise Falls, “That sounds like it’s coming from the radio tower.” He jumped down from the wall and began jogging towards the tower trail that led up the mountain side. Several more rapid shots caused him to pick up his pace. Dylan heard at least three more shots and broke into a sprint up the trail.
Cap-Cap ran behind him as they climbed the trail. Dylan heard five more rapid shots before the hillside went quiet. He nearly shot Williams when they met him on a blind corner running frantically back down the hillside.
“What’s going on Williams?” Dylan nearly shouted as he grabbed the man to slow him, “Where are Niccole and Jonathan?”
“We were attacked! They can’t be far behind me!” Williams tore himself loose and ran off down the hillside.
Dylan worked the action on his rifle while he continued running up the narrow trail. As he broke into the clearing he saw the decimated Hunter lying in the middle of the clearing. He and Cap-Cap fanned out quietly looking for any signs of movement. Dylan looked up the radio tower but could see no movement inside the tiny room at the top.
“Over here!” Cap-Cap called out.
Jonathan was leaning against a tree looking very raged and torn. He had a massive wound across his chest. Dylan feared the worst, “Can you hear me Jonathan?”
“Ya. I can hear you.” Jonathan groaned as he turned to meet Dylan’s eyes, “It took her Dylan. I tried to stop it but I couldn’t hit the damn thing. I couldn’t stop it. It killed her and carted her off while I sat here and watched. Williams took the rifles and the horses. He must have seen them coming. He just disappeared on us. I’m sorry Dylan. I tried. I tried so damn hard. I am so damn sorry man. I just couldn’t hit it.” Jonathan was starting to sob quietly.
Dylan stood up and began calling out to his wife, “Niccole! Where are you! Niccole!”
Cap-Cap looked at Dylan then focused on Jonathan, “Did it bite you?” He continued to roughly examine the man looking for any bite marks, “Jonathan, focus on me. Did it bit you?”
“It tried. Bit me twice on the shoulder but didn’t get through the leather jacket. No burning blood. Can’t feel my legs though and the parts of me I can feel hurt like hell. But no burning.”
Dylan dropped to his knees shaking his head, “This isn’t possible. This just isn’t possible.”
Cap-Cap felt down Jonathan’s back and found a bump where there shouldn’t have been one, “We need to get him back to camp. I think his back is broken.”
Jonathan grimaced as another wave of pain rolled over him, “You need to find Williams Dylan, he left us to die.”
Cap-Cap continued to check out Jonathan, smelling his breath and looking at the man’s fingernails. He turned to Dylan and saw the man go silent. A mask replaced the friendly face he was used to seeing.
Dylan felt something stir inside him that he had never felt before. A burning hatred was rising within him. At first he fought to push it down. This can’t be happening; this has to be another one of my nightmares. He breathed in deep and looked over at Jonathan. This wasn’t a dream and he knew it. The man that had been given too many chances was now Dylan’s worst enemy. The hatred and anger he was holding back broke forward like an angry lion. He welcomed and embraced it.
Cap-Cap talking stirred him from his thoughts, “Dylan, go to town and send back some help. I’ll stay with Jonathan. Get Williams.”
Dylan and Cap-Cap locked eyes briefly then without another word Dylan stood and began running down the hill trail. Every step took him closer to the pit of anger growing in his soul, a darkened rage screaming to be free. As he broke out of the brush into the edge of town he nearly ran over Erica and Jen standing by the base of the trail.
Erica looked concerned, “What’s going on Dad. Williams ran by saying something about Hunters. Is Mom ok? Where is she? Where is Jonathan? What happened?”
Dylan grabbed Erica by the arms, “Hit the bell and get a horse and whoever else you can up to the tower. Jonathan is hurt and Cap-Cap is alone watching him right now. He needs Doc and a stretcher. Which way did Williams go?”
Jen put her arm around the now shaking Erica, “Dylan, is Niccole ok?” She had seen that look in people’s eyes before. It never ended well.
“Where is Williams?” Dylan was already past the point of worrying about the fear the sound of his voice was creating.
“He ran toward that shed he lives in,” Erica stepped out of the way as Dylan ran towards the back side of town without looking back.
The shed that Williams called home had the front door wide open. Williams had been a recluse and rarely talked to anyone aside from the arguments he would start with people he had to work with. As Dylan approached the door he slung his rifle over his shoulder and drew his old Colt pistol, “Williams! Get your ass out here!”
Off to the west there was a distant thunder clap as a front moved over the mountains. A storm was coming.
“I’ll shoot you through the wall if I have to you pile of shit!” There was no response from inside. Dylan edged closer to the door. The shed had no windows for Dylan to look into. He stood flat against the wall next to the opening wondering what his next move should be. He knew Williams carried a small silver revolver everywhere he went hidden in his waistband. It was a worthless weapon for Corrupted but spoke volumes about who Williams thought was his true enemy.
Dylan held his breath for a brief second to try and listen to anything beyond the sound of his own heavy breathing. He could hear Williams inside breathing heavy but quietly so. The shed door opened inward leaving just one place for Williams to hide.
Taking the safety off the old pistol he took a cautious step into the darkened shed. As his foot crossed the threshold the shed door was thrown closed in his face sending him reeling into the soggy ground out front. Williams ran past Dylan and down the path that the patrols used to exit the south side of the wall. Dylan shook his head and slowly stood up. He picked his pistol up and wiped the dirt and mud off of the weapon. He holstered the gun and wiped his bloody nose with this sleeve. It just occurred to him he didn’t want to deal with Williams where there might be witnesses anyway.
--10--
Dylan ran down the trail and stopped when he met to the two wall guards talking by the exit.
“Hey Boss, what’s up with Williams? Guy looked like he’d seen a ghost. He didn’t say a word to us, just kept running right through the gate.”
“You see which way he went?” Dylan asked with little emotion.
“Took the east fork Boss,” said the second guard answered back cautiously after seeing Dylan’s face up close.
“Everything ok Boss?” The first guard asked as Dylan walked past them.
Dylan turned and met the guards’ eyes. Involuntarily both men took a step away from him. Dylan turned an opened the gate leading out of town.
He ran the direction the guard had pointed. The rains were beginning to fall now and darkness would be setting in soon. Now that the ground was getting wet he could more easily make out the fresh prin
ts on the trail. He smiled a very angry smile, “I should have kicked your worthless ass out of the town months ago,” he said under his breath.
He had gone several hundred yards down the trail from the town wall when he passed a large cedar tree. As he ran by Williams stepped out and swung a large branch striking Dylan in the back and sent him crashing face first into the ground. Williams hit him again in the back and then threw the branch away. Dylan tried to roll over and get the mud out of his eyes but Williams wasn’t going to give him the chance. Jumping onto his back he hit Dylan several times in the back of the head then pushed his face into the soft mud, holding it there.
As Dylan struggled to get a breath Williams leaned down and spoke into his ear, “I saw them Hunters comin’ up the trail. Sniffin’ ‘round the horses. Yer wife was makin’ lots a noise for them to follow. That Jonathan pussy was chattin’ it up like he was some sort of bitch getting’ his hair done. I just had to sit still in my tree ‘till they passed. Easy as that, the bitch was out of my life. Looks like you are going to be joinin’ her. Quite the bonus if I do say so myself. One less pussy I got to deal with in the world.”
For an instant Dylan felt like giving up. He had lost one of his only reasons for living tonight. But when Dylan heard Williams’ voice so close to his ear something snapped inside of him. Something woke that was filled with an unbridled hatred. He would not let this man win. The anger he had embraced earlier flowed through him like a wave. All the pain he was feeling was gone and replaced by a hollow rage.
Dylan pushed with every ounce of strength he had and launched Williams off of him. He heard the splash as the man crashed into mud behind him. Dylan pulled his pistol and fired towards the noise. His eyes were filled with mud and he couldn’t see a thing but he continued to fire until the slide locked back on an empty magazine. He could hear the sound of Williams retreating footsteps as the man scrambled wildly down the trail and further away from town.
The rain was coming down harder now but it did nothing to dampen his anger. He looked to the sky and let the rain wash the mud out of his eyes. He put a new magazine into his pistol then holstered it. He found his rifle in the brush next to the trail and picked it up. With a deep breath he began jogging down the trail following Williams’ prints in the mud. He was beginning to feel more like an animal and less like a human being with every step he took.
He could feel he was getting closer and broke into a faster run. Constantly looking up for Williams and possibly another trap then back down to find the foot prints the large man left as he fled the town.
His feet pounded into the mud as he quickened his pace even more. Every rapid step brought him closer to vengeance. He could tell he was getting near. The foot prints were getting more distinct and not yet completely filled with water. A flash of lightning lit up the night as a simultaneous crash of thunder rolled over Dylan and down the valley. There was anger in his eyes. A deep hatred had been created where nothing like it existed before. It consumed him as he continued splashing through the storm.
He followed the muddy trail until it exited the cover of the dark pine trees and entered into a vast empty field. Lightning lit the darkness before him. He could see the man he was hunting was half way across the field and in a state of near panic. Dylan broke into a sprint and started closing the distance rapidly. Again lightning flashed. The rolling thunder failed to mask the echo of Dylan’s rifle.
Williams was scrambling on his hands and knees up a muddy incline when the ground to his left exploded in mud and water from the bullet impact.
“Williams!” Dylan screamed at the fleeing man, “I won’t miss with the next one you piece of shit!”
Williams stood up tall and turned to face Dylan, “You all don’t give up do ya?” He said as he gasped for breath, “You just don’t know when to quit.”
“I know you have a pistol. Pull it out slowly. You make one wrong move and I’ll blow your head clean off your shoulders,” Dylan had his lever action Marlin centered on the bridge of Williams’ nose.
“You couldn’t hit shit in this darkness asshole!” Williams sneered.
There was no lightning before the next boom. Williams felt the heat of the passing bullet as it grazed his left ear. He winced and ducked away from the round reflexively.
Dylan started walking closer without lowering the rifle. The rain was coming down in curtains of water. Lightning again split the night and illuminated the adversaries for a fraction of a heartbeat. Williams had his first good look at Dylan’s face. He could feel the burning hatred coming from him now. Dylan’s face was covered in mud and the rain water was creating streaks on his face.
“You think I can get that close and not miss you at this range you piece of shit? Throw your weapon as far as you can. This is your last warning. I’ll leave your headless corpse out here to rot.”
Williams pulled the pistol out of his waistband and threw the weapon far into the darkness. The sound of it landing was lost to the raging downpour.
“I’m guessin’ you take me back to camp now? Face some sort of town justice or some bullshit. At least I won’t be taking orders from some bitch now,” He said with a sneer.
“That’s not what is going to happen at all. I’m going to tear your heart out with my bare hands.” Dylan dropped his rifle and charged Williams.
Lightning flashed again as the two crashed together. Williams was fighting like a man with everything to lose. Dylan was fighting like a man that just had everything taken away.
They collided like two runaway semi-trucks. Williams held him in a bear hug while Dylan tried to wrestle the heavier man into a choke hold. They battled in circles as they both tried to knock the other one off balance. Dylan hit him with a solid punch to the stomach that sent Williams back peddling to keep from falling backwards into the mud. Dylan tried to close on the off balance man but Williams was used to street fights and side stepped at the last second. As Dylan passed by him, Williams brought his knee up and into Dylan’s stomach, doubling him over as he gasped for air. Williams then landed a solid uppercut to Dylan’s chest, forcing him to the ground as he continued to try and get a full breath. He didn’t waste the opening and jumped on top of Dylan, sending his face into the heavy mud.
The two rolled and wrestled until Williams came around with Dylan in a head lock. “Looks like I’m gettin’ a second chance to end the entire Murphy line in one day. Gotta be destiny Dylan. Sometimes days just don’t end the way you think they will.” He closed his arm tighter and tighter.
Dylan felt his strength ebb as he fought for air. He had fought too many battles and lost too many friends. He would not let it end here. He paused for only a second to gather his will and collect his last remaining strength and lifted Williams off the ground as he pushed himself up and over the top of the heavy man. He learned from their last fight not to let Williams get away from him.
Dylan put all of his weight into the attack and brought his elbow back repeatedly, pounding Williams in the gut until he let off enough for him to break out of the choke hold.
Both men stood up as the storm raged around them. Dylan was covered in mud and looked like a demon standing there. He charged Williams again, this time leading with swinging fists. Dylan pummeled the man like a rag doll. He continued to hit him with repeated left and right swings, sending Williams staggering back as he attempted to duck the blows. Dylan let go with a final uppercut that lifted Williams into the air to land with a splash on the muddy ground.
Williams held his hands up to ward off Dylan. His face was cut and bloody as he took deep gasping breaths, “No more, you win. What do you want from me?”
Dylan pulled his aged pistol out of his hip holster, “I don’t want anything from you. I want you to give back what you took from me, but you can’t. No one can. You took everything from me. You were given too many chances as far as I am concerned. We should have kicked you out of town before you could have hurt anyone but I was still thinking there was a chance you would come aro
und.”
Dylan put his foot on Williams’ chest and held him in place.
“You can’t do this. This is wrong!” Williams said as he struggled in vain to squirm away.
“Wrong? You think this is wrong? You killed my wife. I am judge, jury, and executioner and I hereby sentence you to death.”
Lightning flashed again as the last gunshot rang out.
Dylan turned and walked away from the body. The anger was bleeding away in a pool behind him, only to be replaced by an emptiness that threatened to swallow him whole. He bent over and picked his rifle up out of the mud and started the long walk back to camp. There was no rush. There would be no one waiting for him to get home.
--11--
It was well past two in the morning when Dylan finally stood before the small entrance to the East wall. He had walked soundlessly through the darkness for several hours wondering where he could go from here. The guard called out and Dylan absently waved back. He heard the heavy bolt slide and walked through the open door without a word. He was still loosely holding a gun in each hand when he reached the cabin with the blue door. He felt tears coming as he stared at the dark blue door but held them back by strength of will. He remembered crossing this same threshold when his brother was killed. It was a mental line that had marked his brother’s death as final. He couldn’t bring himself to open the door and admit that Niccole was gone. He fell to his knees and hung his head low as the tears began to flow. He absently clenched his hands as he tried to come to terms with events he couldn’t change. It was too much to hold back any longer. The anger at what had happened drained away and left him with a pit of sorrow he could not contain. He struggled to find a reason, any reason, of why he should continue in this world. He could see nothing but the darkness left in her absence.
