Pitchfork Annie

15

Something struck him behind his knees and Henry fell to the ground. He felt the whisper of the axe passing by as he fell and stared, open-mouthed, as the axe head buried itself into the cabin wall, severing a transfixed leg in half. Breaths came thick and fast as he scrambled to reach the pistol but, as his fingers scraped the revolver to him, he saw Annie standing over him, shotgun in hand.

The blast from the weapon caused a ringing in his ears, forcing him to duck his head closer to the blood-drenched soil, but the fearsome woman did not allow him any time to recover. With a hand gripped into the collar of his jacket, she dragged him to his feet, pulling him backward, the shotgun pointing toward the forest, where Henry could see no sign of their attacker.

"That was a might close for anyone's liking." She tucked a finger into a new tear in the shoulder of his jacket, pressing into his flesh. "Lucky son-of-a-gun."

Henry's hand rose to his shoulder, checking himself but found no blood. He felt no pain and realised the head of the axe had missed his actual shoulder by a mere fraction of an inch. Had he not fallen, the axe would as like have buried itself into his chest, any story he had to tell becoming as dead as him. He wanted to thank God for His infinite mercy, but considered he had Annie to thank even more.

She dipped, picking up her pitchfork and slipping the sling over her shoulder. With eyes staring toward the forest, she cracked the shotgun, replacing the spent cartridge with a fresh one before flicking her hand, snapping the breach closed. A steady hand roved the barrel from one side of their line of sight to the other, but Hennessy had disappeared.

"Did you hit him?" His entire body shook, the barrel of his pistol bouncing so much, he doubted he could hit the cabin if he tried. "Is it over?"

"It ain't over." She began to move to the edge of the hunter's cabin, glancing around the corner. "Even if'n I hit him, it ain't gonna slow him down none. Take more'n one shot to relieve this one of his life."

"Even before his change?" Henry watched behind them as Annie slid around the corner. "That is interesting to know. It brings terror to my soul, but good to know, nonetheless. I suspect you have a plan?"

When no answer came, Henry whipped his head around to find that Annie had gone. Disappeared as Hennessy had. Without the woman to protect him, he felt more alone than he had ever felt in his life and his thoughts returned to the words of Sheriff Earp. He had warned Henry that she would abandon him. Earp had made that more than clear as he had related the tale of Doc Holliday's demise. She had said as much herself.

Now, both of them were proven correct. The eerie silence that surrounded the cabin did nothing to salve his fears. Before, out in the forest, he had heard many a natural sound. Birds and critters in the undergrowth. Even when Elisabeth had started to change, it had caused a sensation with the wildlife, but they still made noise. Here, he heard nothing. Saw no birds overhead. Even the wind seemed to avoid this place where blood and soil had become one.

Now his bladder threatened to fail him and he did not relish the derision he would face from Annie, should he wet his pants in fear. That is, if he managed to survive at all. He didn't consider that Annie would survive. Somehow that felt like a given. An inevitability. Whether she survived by ending the life of Hennessy, or turning on her heels and running, Henry could not figure. He wondered if she had already run back to the horses, but he doubted that. Annie had as stout a heart as any he had met and she thirsted for revenge as Hennessy thirsted for blood.

He had almost circumnavigated the cabin, finding nothing but more viscera, and body parts nailed to the log walls, clay and dirt stuffed between the untreated wood. He moved with his back to the cabin, though still felt greatly aware of the gruesome decoration. He could smell it. The decay. The rotting flesh. The innards cascading their contents upon soiled ground. He didn't have to look as he sidestepped his way around, catching no sight of Annie, nor of Hennessy.