Good Night, Vegas Lights

Chapter 2

Vincent shot up from his rest. The cool air coaxed his nerves just a bit. The fire was now out and the moon was still high. He had only been asleep for a few hours. Gunshots rang off in the distance. No doubt the Fiends causing a ruckus for some unlucky traveler again. There was a time when drug abuse brought Vincent to the Fiends, but those days were exactly what he wanted to forget. He pulled the thin faded paper from his chest pocket. On it were a charming young woman with an infant boy in her arms, standing side by side with a young girl. He calmly stared at the woman's face wanting to remember the pleasing things. Her voice, her scent, her smile... Though the harder he thought, the more bloodstained the memories became. The day he came home to an unlocked door and a silent house. The crimson liquid that decorated the walls. Vincent shuddered from the thoughts and immediately tried to push them to the back of his mind once again while placing the photo back in its place. Thankfully the sound of a stick breaking caught his attention. As far as he could tell, the sound had no hostile origin. Just to be sure, he stepped in the doorway of the barn to have a look around. Nothing seemed amuck, so he stepped out of the barn just a ways more. A sudden surge of pain paired with a metallic clank immediately brought Vincent to the ground. Afraid to look, he felt with his hand. His fingers met with the familiar teeth of a bear trap. He'd armed one dozens of times in the past, but he was never on the receiving end. The pain was almost unbearable as he attempted to move in a way so he could disarm the trap. Eventually he was able to get his hands on the jaws of the snare, but no amount of strength he had could pry them apart. His previously injured leg was now a mangled mess. As he struggled he heard a pair of footsteps hurriedly run up behind him. The sound of a gun being cocked froze Vincent in place.