A Man With One Winchester, and Two Bullets

Chapter 10

I placed my gun back in the holster, and walked over to the unconscious man. I kicked him a few times, and he slowly became conscious. "Aye, who is Charlie you yelled to?" I asked.

"No one you need to know about."

"That's a foolish thing to say, for we both know I need as much knowledge of people in this situation as I can get." He glared angrily at my reply.

"I won't tell you."

"Okay," I said with a grin, "but you shall br tied to a tree and left there. Your crying screams won't be heard, and your growling stomach shall mean nothing to the hungry wolves."

"I shall die for a cause worth living!"

"The cause of trapping a man and sending men to kill him? That's the cause worth living? Fool."

I stomped my foot on his throat, tied him to a tree, and headed the opposite direction of Charlie. I would run that direction for five minutes, then sneak around the clearing, concealing my tracks.

As I ran, and ran, I heard something, and stopped. A few deer were gathered around a small area eating. One had stomped its hooves on a rock, making a slight smack noise.

I had my bow still, and a few arrows, so I placed an arrow on my bow, and let it fly. It landed right into the target, and the other deer began running off.

I walked up to it. Skinned it, cleaned it, and took the good strips of meat. I wrapped the skin up and put it im my new pack I got from scavenging through the camp.

I started jogging again, and then seeing a perfect tree to climb in, I flew up it. I began jumping from tree to tree, making a circle. I looked down, seeking the tracks of Charlie, after thirty minutes of climbing through the trees, I found tracks.

I swooped down, and hearing that slight smack noise, grinned.

I followed the tracks. I ran and ran, but the tracks went on. They went on and on. And after four hours of following the tracks, they ended. Had I slept that long? Had he been able to go this far? Maybe I stumbled on another's tracks, but I didn't think so.

I looked around, seeking more tracks, but found something else. The smell of ash lingered in the air, and I looked up and saw smoke.

I followed it, and stumbled upon a small camp. A man was was by a small fire, roasting some meat. My pack rested beside him, and my blanket bundled on the opposite side of the fire.

I walked up, remaining silent as could be, but he heard me and shot a glance. He jumped up, and he tried picking up a pistol at his feet, but my gun stared at him. "I wish not shoot, but if I must, you shall die."

"You fool! You'll never win! You shall die in the depths of this forest labyrinth, and never see any other soul again!"

He ran towards my bag, and began throwing it into the fire, I shot him in the leg, but he still got it in the fire. He howled in pain, and began limping to my blanket. He grabbed it, and was about to throw it but I said "If you throw my beautiful blanket in the flames you shall burn worse then it!"

He stopped. But then, after a moment, he grinned and said "If you could even burn me, coward!" He was about to throw it but I rushed forward and kicked him the face.

"I don't lie," I said, then added, "you shall surely burn tonight as your fellow soldiers did!"

I tied him up, and made the flames huge. The fire was bigger then any I've seen. I untied him, then said "Now, you shall die!" I threw him in the fire and he screamed. Howling in horrible pain. I watched, cozy in my beautiful deer blanket.

"A fool has died tonight. A fool who wished to be burned! The ghost of these forest shall scream on nights of huge flames, and remember the agony of the flames they died in. This forest shall be Flame Forest, for many fires have killed the men in it." I said to myself.

I got up, and headed out. Going in one direction. This route I would travel the rest of my journey, until I reached the edge of this forest, the edge of Flame Forest.

I ran a light jog, and after an hour of running, I stopped. The sun had fell long ago, perhaps three-four hours, and the night was dark and cold. This was cold I had not encountered yet, this was bitterly cold. I wrapped myself in my blanket, and rested by the flames of my fire. I had found a small cave, the entrance so small I could barely fit, but I was in it. I had cooked my deer meat and ate with joy.

I was now by a small fire, wrapped in a blanket, and cozy. But I was cold. It was bitterly cold tonight.

Bitterly.