Page 46 of Twisted Hearts

I reached around the fat trunk of the tree and fired. One, two, three shots didn’t take him down. I was unable to get off a good enough shot to hit him where it would hurt.

He roared towards me, ducking and zigzagging as the silenced pistol in my hand made a snapping noise, indicating it had run out of ammo as my thumb snagged at the trigger on reflex.

I dropped the useless gun and flung my blade with as much force as I could muster, catching him in the face or neck. The man’s anguished squeal livened up the woods, quieting the animals and insects. He was close enough that I could tell that his haunting howl escaped through an opening other than his mouth.

The horror riding his voice was laced with a hair-raising shriek that I’d only heard from the dying. I remained behind the cover of the tree in case his last thoughts were to take me to hell with him.

His cries finally turned into a moan that crept through the darkness and made you pause to listen. I’d heard the distressed moan many times before. It meant that death was standing at the man’s shoulders and so was I a few seconds later.

After relieving him of his gun that he’d let slip from his trembling hand, I kneeled over him, bearing witness to death dragging that bastard’s soul straight to hell.

He’d tried to kill me, had followed me into these woods to take Megan’s life and mine. Therefore, I had no remorse, not a hint of sorrow for his suffering. I yanked my knife from his twitching neck and the drip drops of blood hitting the ground registered before the rusted scent snuck up my nostrils.

My eyes focused on the part of his face I could see in the darkness before I placed my hand over his mouth and nose. The air that I’d blocked from passing through his nose and quivering lips hissed out of the hole my knife had left in his neck. With the strength he had left, he clawed at my hand and scratched at my arm, but he was too weak to do anything but lie there and allow me to assist death in getting him to hell faster.

Megan and I were the hunted now. Other than the one I was sure she had killed, there were at least two more of these assholes out here. The eerie silence let me know that they were hiding, biding their time until Megan and I revealed ourselves. But, there was one thing they either hadn’t counted on or simply didn’t know. I knew these woods. I’d hunted in these woods. I’d buried bodies in these woods. The hole I’d hidden Megan in was supposed to be a grave for a man I’d decided to let live because he was going to suffer more alive.

It took precious time, but patience had landed me on the trail of one of me and Megan’s enemies. Although I held a certain level of confidence that she could take care of herself, I also felt guilty for what I’d dragged her into.

This was the second time the dangerous life that I led had put her life in serious jeopardy. No wonder the woman wanted to move away from Florida so badly. Maybe I was reading too much into her actions by thinking she was running from something. Maybe I just needed an excuse to keep her instead of letting her go. Maybe she was just a woman haunted by her past, who, by unconventional means, had tried to fix herself.

Maybe. My thoughts were cut short by the sliver of movement that caught my eye. Death was in my corner this night with a spit bucket and a towel as he cheered me on. A smile glided across my lips and disappeared when another blast from a gun sounded, that could have only been Megan firing off another shot.

My anxiety shot through the roof. I couldn’t just get up and run towards her because of the asshole limping into my direction with his weapon raised. With most of his friend’s dead, he was liable to fire at anything that moved.

With my weapon drawn up to my chest, I prepared to step out and shoot. The element of surprise should give me at least a second or two of reaction time. “Fuck,” I mouthed silently as the light steps the man attempted to take stopped. My eyes widened behind the lens of the goggles as I peeked over my shoulder, around the tree and drew my head back as quickly when hot lead flew in my direction.

The tough bark of the tree dug into my back as the far side of the tree protected me from the onslaught of oncoming gunfire. This asshole was determined to kill me, but his ammunition was not going to last forever.

A three second pause was long enough for me to believe that the shooter was dropping and reloading a magazine. I spun away from the cover of the tree, blasting his ass. Bullet after bullet struck him, sending his body back violently.

One of the bullets made such a hard impact, his pistol went flying south, clanking to the ground. Since his body armor had stopped my bullets from damaging his body, I rushed at him with my knife, sending it plunging into the side of his face when he turned at the last minute. The blade collided with the side of his teeth, causing the man to release an ear-splitting howl of pain, but also stopping the level of damage I intended to inflict.

Retracting my blade quickly, blood gushed from his jaw. Despite his injury, he still attempted to slap a new magazine into his weapon, but his attempt was useless as I spun, giving the knife maximum force as it plunged into his neck to the hilt. His legs gave as the man’s body jerked and convulsed, trying to fight off his impending death. His mouth remained open as desperate gasps escaped his throat. After retracting, I jammed the blade in once more, twisting and forcing it upward as the wet sound of ripping flesh floated thought the air.

I left the man twitching on the ground as I ran towards Megan, praying and hoping that she’d defended herself as honorably as I knew she could.

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