It
doesn't look as if the fight is going well for the brothers.
"Down
on the ground," Squires motioned with the gun. "On your
knees, hands behind your head."
Luke
did as he was told. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a flicker
of movement behind Squires. The moon was hidden. In the dark, he
could barely make out Squires and his brother. They were more of a
shadow in the night. However, it was apparent that Will was the
sheriff's prisoner. Just enough light hit the barrel of the pistol to
let him know how bad it was.
"Rachel
Henry, I got your boys out here! You got two minutes to come out and
give me what I want, or I kill your oldest boy!"
"Ma,
you stay put!" Will bellowed.
Lucius
was sure that he saw movement behind Squires now. He couldn't tell
who it was, but the figure was small and slender. Closing his eyes
for a second, he prayed it wasn't Dollie. He knew, deep in his heart,
it was.
"I
said come out, Miss Rachel! I got your boys!" He cocked the gun.
"Time's a ticking! Ten"
Unable
to control herself, Patty screamed. She dropped her rifle, nearly on
Wilt's toes, and flew around the front of the cabin. Screeching like
like a hoot owl, she ran full tilt toward the sheriff. Squires took
the gun from Will's throat and aimed at Patty. He fired as Wilt
knocked her down. The bullet passed her, but hit Uncle Wilt. With a
groan, he fell, nearly on top of the young woman.
Roaring
with anger, Will elbowed Squires in the ribs. The sheriff doubled
over and Will hit him on the back of the head with his clenched
fists. Lucius leaped forward, tackling the older man as he fell,
landing awkwardly. Something snapped with a dull, wet sound.
"Patty!"
Will ran to her side. "Uncle Wilt!" His tone changed as he
dropped to his knees.
"I'm
fine," Patty assured him. "Wilt's hit."
"Luke,
help me!" Will yelled.
Lucius
staggered to his feet. His left arm refused to move and he realized
the snap was his shoulder dislocating. He picked up Squires' gun and
retrieved the Colts from the fat man's belt. He stumbled over to his
brother.
The
truck's door slammed open, hitting him in his sore shoulder, making
him scream. The third henchman was awake and full of fighting spirit
after his nap. He swung at Luke, hitting him in the bad shoulder with
his fist. He swung again, but Luke was ready for him. Taking a step
to the side, Luke swept at his attacker's legs, sending him
sprawling. A well placed fist cracked across the man's already
injured head. Laid open to the bone, he fell unconscious once more.
Luke collapsed, right hand throbbing.
Torn
between his uncle and his brother, Will stood. A bullet buried itself
in the ground near his foot. Yelling loudly, he dropped once more.
Hoop
and Turner ran down the hill, firing wildly at anything that moved.
Squires roused, trying to sit up. One of his own men fired at him,
missing by inches. Squires bellowed, rolling behind the truck. The
next shot came closer.
"Goddammit,
you idiot! That's me!"
Luke
struggled to sit up. In the shadow of the truck, he was hidden from
Hoop and Turner. He fired, but he shot with his right hand, the one
with the stitches. It hurt like fury when he squeezed the trigger and
his bullet went wild, lodging in the truck tire instead of the
sheriff.
Squires
rose to his hands and knees, moving a quickly as he could toward
Luke. His men were still shooting wildly. Another bullet hit the dirt
between him and Luke. Squires fell on his ass, eyes wide. Luke
couldn't risk missing again. He dropped the gun, scooting away from
Squires. His hand closed around a fist sized rock. He picked it up
with a handful of dirt and chucked it at the sheriff with all his
strength.
Sheriff
Squires yelped when the rock hit him in the forehead. He dropped
heavily to the ground, blood pouring from his wound. Hoop ran around
the side of the truck, leveling his gun at Lucius. With no more rocks
to throw and his gun out of reach, Luke held up his hands.
"You
caused me nothing but trouble, kid," Hoop said, pulling back the
hammer with his thumb.
Lucius
stared defiantly at Hoop, eyes focused on the barrel of the gun,
weighing his chances of survival. If he dropped left, onto his
injured shoulder, he might live. Jaw working, Hoop's hand shook as he
stared down the barrel. Luke spit blood, glaring at the man, daring
him to fire.
BOOM!
Hoop
collapsed, clutching his arm, screeching loudly. Dollie rushed up,
shotgun leveled at him, hands shaking, face pale.
"Make
a move, I'll end you," she bellowed at the downed man.
Lucius
started to chuckle, shaking his head. "Dollie, you're gonna be
all night trying to kill a man with rock salt. That's Mama's shotgun
she uses to keep critters outta her vegetables."
Hoop
whimpered as Dollie advanced, trying to crawl away from the angry
young woman. She raised the shotgun once more, but instead of firing,
she clubbed him with the stock. Hoop collapsed, face buried in the
dust.
©
2019 Dellani Oakes
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