The Scourge |Book #2 Turned Trilogy|

[2] Amanda

“Hey pretty girl, where you off to in a hurry?” 

Amanda picks up her pace as she leaves the prison gates. She knew she had been followed before she arrived at the Scourge, but decided to handle these guys after her visit with Lara. Feeling inside the pocket of her cargo pants, she fumbles with the palm sized knife. A cat call, whistles through the air.

Turning around, she comes face to face with her stalkers. “I’d run if I were you two.” Her warning only makes them crouch forward in laughter. Rolling her eyes, she steps closer to them, waving her knife through the air. Their eyes grow wide.

The tall, scrawny red head stiffens his shoulders and puts one boot forward. “Think your tough little girl?” He snorts and looks to toward the shorter man who chuckles in response.

Amanda scratches the end of her nose with the tip of the blade. “Actually, I’ve got this feeling you’re both unarmed, since we cleared you of any weapons two days ago. So my advice would be for you two to hurry along, or I will personally escort you to the Scourge.” She points toward the run down hotel – turned prison. 

The stout man steps forward. “Oh yeah, all by your lonesome?” 

The sound of dirt and stone beneath footsteps creep up from behind as a figure approaches.  

“I suggest ya’ll listen and run along now.” 

Amanda looks to the right of her, finding Wyatt standing stern with his rifle to his side, the barrel inserted into dusty ground. He’s wearing his signature black hat that tends to lean forward on his head, and a short sleeved button-up flannel shirt that fits snug around his muscular tan arms.

Wyatt eyes Amanda, giving her a wink. She shakes her head and looks forward at the two men.

The red headed man nods to Wyatt. “You back for more, cowboy? You didn’t get enough last time?” He points to Wyatt’s bruised right cheek.

Amanda watches Wyatt lift his rifle from the ground, clutching it with both hands. He walks with confidence as he approaches the men, they both try to remain calm, but the tremble in their legs gives them away. Wyatt lifts the rifle to the short man’s forehead, pressing it firmly against his freckled skin, beaded with sweat. Amanda holds her breath, raising her hand over her eyes to shade the sunlight from her pale blue eyes. She waits for him to pull back the trigger, and when he does, only a click echoes through the air.

The short man falls onto the ground, knees buckling on him. Crying into the dirt, the red headed man pulls up on his arm and drags him to his feet. They both scurry backwards and run off into the distance. Amanda shakes her head back and forth at Wyatt, he shrugs back nonchalantly.

“What?”

Amanda laughs softly. “You never cease to amaze me!” 

“I reckon that I feel the same about me too.” 

She snorts, “PA-LEASE!” Her fist slams into the side of his arm, bouncing off its firmness.

Wyatt walks alongside Amanda clearing his throat, “So…”

“So?”

“Well aren’t yah gonna tell me anything about Lara?”

Amanda sighs and stops walking. “She’s horrible, Wyatt.” 

He tugs at her arm. “Horrible as in not being bathed or horrible as in –”

Amanda interrupts, “Drinking her own blood. I saw her arms, they have teeth markings. When her sleeve pushed up from her wrist, I saw them, it was horrible. She even tried to hide them from me.” She watches as Wyatt exhales a large breath, his broad shoulders falling forward.