The Fire Inside

Chapter 1

You stared across the snow covered landscape, shivering.. Looking at the smouldering remains of what was your home. A new start, now just a pile of ashes.

The men had gone, the ones that had burnt your house to the ground. You'd seen them ride away, with that woman. Sadie Adler. Your fathers new wife.

When the first lot of men had shown up, he'd told you to run, when Sadie had tried to shoot one, and missed. He'd known that it was going to end in trouble.

You'd watched the house from a distance, seen them toss your fathers dead body in the cart, like some worthless piece of trash. Seen the other men turn up, seen the shoot out, then the house ablaze.

Watched as Sadie had gone with them, one meal ticket gone up in smoke, time to find another. She was always good with the crocodile tears.

After they left, you'd spent the night in the barn. The bastards had even stolen your horse.

You walked across to the burnt out remains, hoping to find something, anything. You hadn't eaten for three days. The clothes you were wearing, certainly weren't doing anything to keep out the cold. You still had the pistol your father had shoved into your hand, when he told you to run. Shame there was nowhere to run to, on this god forsaken mountain.

You were rummaging through the ashes when you heard a voice yell. You quickly looked up to see two men.

Bastards you thought, they've come back.

You ducked behind one of the timber uprights, that was still standing.

"Get away from here, you murdering bastards!" You pointed your pistol towards them, and fired of a shot.

The shot missed by a mile, your hand was shaking so much. You'd never shot a gun before, let alone at a person.

It maybe had the desired effect though, they'd hidden behind an old shed.

"Listen miss, we don't wanna hurt ya."

Like you believed that, you fired off another shot, splintering the wood on the old shed. At least your aim was improving, and your hand was shaking a little bit less.

"Get off my land, or I swear I'll kill ya!" You yelled.

You were so focussed on the man, behind the shed, you didn't notice that the second man had crept behind the house. Not until you heard the crunch of his foot behind you. By the time you had snapped your head around, he had grabbed you. His arms pinning your arms to your side. The gun dropping from your hand.

"Get off me you fucking murdering red-neck," you yelled, trying to wriggle out of his grip. When that didn't work, you kicked back with one of your legs. You foot made contact with his boot, but not enough to cause any damage, or to make him release his grip any.

He dragged you out of the cabin, and the other man emerged from behind the old shed.

"You might wanna grab the gun, she dropped," the man that was holding you said to the other one.

You carried on trying to squirm out of his grip.

The man looked at you, and smirked. "She's a feisty one Charles!" He tilted your chin up gently.

"Get your filthy hands off me," you hissed.

"Pretty too!" he added.

You stared at the man in front of you, his blue eyes boring into you. You could see dirty blonde hair, poking out from under his hat, his beard the same colour, covering scars on his chin. In another situation, you might have found him handsome, but right now hatred burned within you. Blocking out everything else.