Happy Cow Ranch

Gunpowder and Lead

My limbs quake, my body heaving as I try to catch my breath. I spit on the ground, scowling as I try to stay steady on all fours. The man sends another jolt of electricity through the chains and I collapse, grimacing at my weakness.

"Finally!" The man exclaims, getting up and sauntering toward me. "I thought I'd have to up it to 55 milliamps!"

The fire in my chest is stronger than the knee-buckling electricity that he has been coursing through my body, along with the brutal beatings if the shocks didn't make me scream. I raise myself up, trembling, grunting, nearly breaking. The man hooks my ribs with a sharp kick, knocking me on my back. He plants a foot on my sternum, smiling when I wheeze under the added pressure from him resting his arms on his knee.

"What, no witty comeback? No sarcastic remarks? Did I finally, after four hours, break you?" He arches an eyebrow, mad glee in his eyes and rosy cheeks.

"Do I look like a stand-up comedian to you? Like I'm here to make you and your fucked up henchmen laugh? Just fucking kill me already, you weak-ass coward," I spit, choking a little as I suck in air. He applies more force as he leans the toe of his boot forward, and I swear I can hear a small crunch.

"Sweetie, that's exactly what you're here for. My entertainment. If you weren't here, how could I test all my new toys?" He gestures to the tools of my pain. I grimace and look back up at him.

"I hate you," I glower, my words shaking with the raw, unrestrained anger I had tucked away, along with all the memories he resurfaced. He just laughs, using his thumb to wipe a little spit from the corner of my mouth.

"Aww, that's cute. Say it again, I wanna hear it again," He bubbles, his tone almost sing-songy.

"I hate you... Malcolm Beck," I snarl, then grin and laugh when his features go from amused to stupefied. "You shouldn't have boasted about your escapades with me, you dumbass."

A shot rings out, and Beck's eyes grow even wider than before. He looks down to see his antiquated pistol missing from its holster, instead resting in my hand. Unfortunately, the bullet just grazes the leg that's resting on my chest, but the proximity sends cloth and blood flying every which way. He screams immediately, clutching his leg and turning his head to the sky, giving me a perfect view of his throat.

"And you shouldn't have gotten comfortable," I raise my hand to shoot again, but he hits my wrist, sending the shot into Chris instead. It nails his arm, and he falls back. Malcolm looks over his shoulder, giving me the perfect opportunity to knee him in the crotch, then raise my foot up to knock him off of me.

With this freedom, I shoot the bindings, barely dodging the the ricochet, but getting grazed and stuck by shrapnel. I manage to get the other side before Antonio grabs me around the waist, lifting me over his shoulder as I kick, and hit, and scream.

"Calm down, calm... down!" Antonio yanks the gun from me, shoving his fist in my mouth. I let out an undignified 'mmph!' but am unable to inflict any pain. He removes his fist and sets me down outside of the empty barn they were holding me in, and I really get a sense for where I am; the middle of fuckin' nowhere.

"What are you-" I start, but he quickly shoves the gun back into my hands, and indicates over my shoulder.

"Go, run, now!" He commands, but I'm frozen.

"Why are you helping me? He'll-"

"Because he said we wouldn't hurt you! We'd just scare you with that shit! This isn't what I signed up for, now go before one of those psychopaths gets over the shock of seeing a lady use a gun," Antonio cries, and I roll my eyes.

"I think the shock of being shot might do a little more damage, but whatever you gotta tell yourself..." I look around with a frown. There's nothing that I can see that will carry me away from this hellhole. "How did you guys even get here?"

"It doesn't matter. Look, over there-" Antonio indicates over my shoulder again, and when I turn to see what he's pointing at I freeze up.

"No. No, you can't mean..." I turn back to him, shaking my head. My curls, damp from sweat and matted with blood cling to my neck. Antonio just nods, pulling out a modern pistol and turning off the safety.

"Go." He commands, and I run for the stables he showed me, stumbling over my numb legs and sprained ankle. Shots ring out behind me, but are clearly far from hitting me. I dive into the stables, finding that there are exactly four horses in the stables, one a paint horse, though mainly doused in black. He's already saddled up, so I cock my head at him, then bring him out.

"You're no Thunder, but you'll do just fine, won't you, bub?" I pat his neck, keeping it steady as he whinnies and swivels. With a huff and a grimace I manage to pull myself onto the steed's back, barreling out of the stables like a hell-hot bullet out of a gun. A bullet whizzes past my cheek, leaving a graze that burns like a child's first taste of liquor. I wince, and whip around, seeing that Antonio isn't the only one outside the barn now, and Beck stumbles forward, firing off shot after shot.

Keeping my head low, I manage to evade them, directing the horse in a jagged line away from the makeshift prison. The yelling and commands become distant, and even the gunfire sounds as though it's coming from a television in a different room. I whip my head around and see, to my horror and his, Antonio pursuing me on one of the other horses in the stables. He mouths 'sorry' to me, but I just shake my head, groaning when I see Chris following close behind; their boss, however, is nowhere to be found, gone without a trace.