Wild Fire (Book II)

One Against Evil

     "Leave the horse's here." Arthur called out to the others. The four of them slid down their mounts crouching among the bushes, rounding on John's cabin. Dutch just behind Arthur, John following and Charles catching rear.

     Arthur turned to them, halting, placing a thick finger to his lips and they knelt motionless peeking behind the covering leaves, as they watched the exchange between Lilah and the man holding Emma on the ground. Dutch pushed up beside Arthur, squinting his dark eyes at the man's face. "Oh my." he uttered quietly. John too had caught the familiar curve of the man's jaw, the menacing slant of his one grey eye. "Dutch...is that?...." "Amos Bell." Dutch finished, sorrow and rage thickening his tongue.

     John turned from Dutch's acknowledging eyes, white hot fury burning under his ticking pupils. "Fuck that!" He began to rise, but Charles stilled a calming hand on his shoulder shaking his head silently. They all turned back to the scene in front of them, each man watching with measured rage boiling at the edge of explosion.

     It was Arthur's turn to hold down Dutch, when they followed them through the window and Emma's trembling body was shoved and tied to a chair. Dutch narrowed his eyes on her. Was that blood on her throat? His teeth ground together, captured shoulder under Arthur's hand pushing upwards ready to spring. But as they watched and John caught sight of Lilah pressed into Amos's chest, his overpowering mouth claiming hers, claiming what was HIS, all rational thought left the cowboy. "GODDAMN SONOFABITCHHHH!" John bellowed, standing and firing into the house. The bullet soared, crashing through the side window, and grazing the back of the bent man's neck.

     Amos roared, grabbing the back of his neck with his knifed hand and throwing Lilah to the ground. He fell to the floor crouching and cursing and glaring out the broken window at the dark-haired outlaw that stood sentinel among the bushes still holding the smoking gun.

     Lilah flipped around on all fours scrambling away from him, but he reached with one swift movement grabbing her ankle and yanking her backwards. His arm snaked around her shoulders pulling her back flush against his chest and he ran with her to the wall by the window pressing them together against the shielding wood.

     Outside, Dutch had snagged John by the shirt tail dragging him down, but the four of them now had peacemakers drawn all aimed at the window for any sign of Amos. "Come out Amos! This thing is over! Let the girls go!" Dutch called in an unwavering voice. His natural ability to control a bad situation filtering through his cool composure.

     Inside the cabin, Amos smiled behind his crazed eye. Now THIS is what he had expected. A rain of bullets and blood. The woman and hell, now the men, responsible for his brother's death falling like shredded leaves under the onslaught of his vengeance. "Your smooth talk won't work on me Mr. Van der linde! I know your kind, and I am not impressed on how well you can talk! You fellas back up let me leave this place with the ladies and we will call it even. I'm owed what's due." his voice snaked out the window in slithery defiance.

     John was a hurricane of wrath. "YOU LET THE GIRLS GO AND BRING YOUR COWARDLY ASS OUT HERE, RIGHT THE FUCK NOW BELL! THIS AIN'T GOT NUTHIN TO DO WITH THEM." Amos posed himself with Lilah in front of him like a shield standing full height within the broken window. "This has EVERYTHING to do with these girls! Back the hell up or this one dies first!"

     The four of them stood, letting their guns hang limply off their thumbs. "Alright, alright, just don't hurt em." Arthur had called out now, looking at both the men to his right. The four pairs of eyes that stared back at him were riddled with anger and underlined sadness.

     Inside, Amos walked Lilah over to the chair cutting Emma loose and dragging her up with his free hand. He pushed the pair of them forward and pulled his own pistol now, aiming it at them as they stumbled and looked back. It was not the plan he had intended but no matter. He would take the two of them with him back to Annesburg. There he would keep them both, do as he liked, when he liked, HOW he liked until the both of them were left lifeless at his feet or begging for death it made no difference.