Page 93 of New Storm Rising
Hell no!
Growling, he forced himself up from the ground. Without bothering about the aching pain in his bones, he trudged off into the darkness on the search for his next trap. Roughly half an hour and a single measly little rabbit later, he came limping out of the forest, making his way towards his house. Or rather, the tent that had served as his house-replacement ever since some idiot had driven a blasted herd of cattle through town, trampling anything in its way! He had just reached the west side of town and could spot his home in the distance, when—
“No! Don’t!”
“Oh, come on. Just five minutes. I just wanna chat a little.”
“Please leave! I don’t want to let you in! My husband isn’t at home!”
“That’s kinda the point, darlin’. Come on. I’ll make sure to ‘entertain’ you…”
Jack saw red. And not because he was squeezing the rabbit in his hand so tightly that blood dripped from its wounds.
“Son of a—!”
A growl ripping from his throat, Jack dashed towards the tent. There was a man at the entrance, trying to pull apart the tarpaulin. Before the intruder even had the chance to turn around, a dirty rabbit butt hit him in the back of the head.
“What the stinkin’ hell?! Who—”
Wham!
This time, it was a fist that made contact. The thug was hurled against a horse trough and teetered on his heels for a moment, his arms swinging through the air, before—
Splash!
“Hey! What’s going on out there?”
“Who the hell is making all that noise? I’m trying to slee—holy shit! Everyone, get out here now! It’s Jack!”
People came rushing from the tents and hovels that were scattered all around just as Jack pulled the sputtering thug from the horse trough. Snarling, Jack raised his fist once again. A fist that, by now, was clutching a hunting knife.
“No! Jack, don’t!” A woman came dashing out of the tent and grabbed his arm, holding him back. “Don’t do it! If those others hear about it…”
Jack’s face twitched.
The thug smirked. “That’s right,amigo. You can’t touch me. So, why don’t you just let me touch your little wife instead?”
Wham!
Jack’s fist slammed into the man’s gut.
The knife, however, did not. Clattering to the ground, it lay in the dust, forgotten. A moment later, the thug was hurled through the air, away from the gathered crowd, and crashed into the ground.
“Fine!” Jack growled. “Save your hide! Run like a dog! That’s all the likes of you are good for!”
He gave the man a last kick and sent him scurrying off into the darkness. Just before he vanished into the shadows, the thug threw a vicious glance over his shoulder.
“You…you shouldn’t have done that, Jack,” said one of the townspeople.
Jack whirled to face him. “And why the hell not? Do you have any idea what that bastard was doing when I arrived? What would you do if you came home to find some lowlife trying to grab your wife and—”
“Shh.” The woman beside him placed a gentle hand on Jack’s arm. “Calm, Jack. Calm. It’s all right. I’m all right.”
“I know you are.” Jack’s fists clenched. Unfortunately, that included the one that was still clutching the dead rabbit. Everybody tried to ignore thesquelchsound as they watched him reach up to gently touch his wife’s cheek. Fortunately, with the bunny-free hand. “I know, darling. I can see you standing here in front of me. But what happens when he comes again? What if he brings a dozen others?”
“Jack’s right!” A stocky redhead from the crowd shouted. “We can’t just let them walk all over us!”
“Or their cows!” Added someone else.
