Page 134 of Saddles

Rage engulfs me.

I don’t want to shoot this piece of shit, I want to break him in half.

Raising the gun, I bring it down swiftly in a bash towards his cheek.

But he ducks just enough it glances off his hat and hits his shoulder.

“The fuck?” he grunts, then stiff arms me backwards.

There’s a perilous moment when I teeter with my toes barely staying on the grate.

When I gain my footing, I aim for his knees, knocking him on his ass.

Our treacherous perch is so steep, he’s still nearly standing, and raises his leg to kick me away.

Using that to my advantage, I grab his boot and swing it out, leveraging him over the short railing.

His scream doesn’t last as long as I hope before it cuts off with a heavy thud from below.

I hope that killed the asshole.

Now I gotta hustle. That cry likely alerted whoever is above.

I’m nearly to the top when I hear a voice from above. “Dougy? You okay?”

Swinging around the last curve, I spot him kneeling on the tiny platform next to the access hatch for the grain bin.

When he looks up, I know it’shim.

The slime. The monster from April’s nightmares.

One of the evil eight who brought about Sarah’s death.

There’s no way I’m taking a chance that he’s escaping.

My first shot hits him in the guts.

Another bullet strikes further down near his hip.

“What the fuck?” he grunts. He presses his hand against the wound and stares at the blood that smears across his fingers.

“The first one was for April. The second for Sarah.” Whipping the barrel down, I land a solid blow against his forehead. A red gash splits from his brow to his lip.

With a howl, he falls back against the metal door.

“That was from me.” My arm falls again and again, each time hitting his head or shoulders with the butt of my pistol.

He claws at the handle of the steel entry and he manages to pry it open.

Half in and half out, I continue beating him.

Breathless, I pause when he goes still.

But a shadowy figure crashes into me, propelling me forward into the black hole of the silo.

I’m splayed out on top of hundreds of tons of grain, and only my foot is caught on the lip of the door.

Oh shit.

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