by Chad Cull
“That’s just too bad,” Jenna said. “I guess we’ll just have to kill him.” She turned to Jace. “I’m sorry, Jace. We could have had a good life together.”
“You’re sick, Jenna,” Jace said sorrowfully.
Jenna’s eyes blazed with anger, “I said, kill him Drago or I will.”
“Sure, sure, Jenna,” Drago said. He smiled devilishly. “But first I want to have a little fun with him. I want him him to know the pain I felt when he shot me.” He moved closer to Carlin, reached behind him and with his left hand, he plucked Riley’s pistol from its holster.
“I want you boys to hold his arm out straight. I’m gonna put a bullet through his hand, just like he did me.”
Jace’s eyes bulged with fear and he struggled within the confines of the two men holding him. Riley was pulling at his arm and Carlin fought desperately to hold it close to his body. But it was too no avail. The pressure against his elbow sent shards of pain up and down his arm. Slowly he gave in and as Riley pulled his arm almost straight out, Al Drago put the muzzle of the weapon against Carlin’s open palm and squeezed the trigger. The pistol roared within the confines of the house and burnt powder billowed up in a cloud of smoke. The bullet ripped through the tissues of Jace’s palm and broke the small bones in the back of his hand as the projectile passed through and buried itself in the wall next to the door.
At first Carlin felt no pain, then it settled in. Burning excruciating pain. His insides twisted with nausea and waves of shock flashed in his brain. His knees bent and his captors let him fall to the floor. He writhed violently back and forth, groaning and screaming in pain until he rolled against the leg of the dining room table.
Al Drago stepped forward, smiling and laughing. A loud, gleeful, evil laugh. He pointed the gun directly at Carlin’s face and eared back the the hammer.
Through clouded eyes, Jace watched Drago come closer. The corner of the dining room table’s table cloth hung just above Carlin’s head. Just as Drago pulled the trigger, Carlin reached up with his left hand, clutching the corner of the table cloth and whipping it off. The kerosene lamp flew off the table and struck Drago in the chest. The globe broke, fuel spilled out and caught fire in Drago’s shirt as he fell backward, letting his pistol fall to the floor.
Carlin rolled forward, scooping up the sixgun with his remaining good hand, and swinging it toward Red Llacy, who had reacted to the the suddeness, with pistol drawn and brought to bear on Carlin. Carlin fired first and caught Lacy square in the chest. He fell backward against the wall and slid to the floor dead.
Riley who had relinquished his gun to Drago, had turned and had run for the door. Jace swung his pistol and fired. Riley fell face forward out the door he had already opened.
Jenna was screaming wildly as she ran to grasp Drago who was rolling and screaming on the floor with flames engulfing him. Her arms were around him and her robe had caught fire.
The kerosene had spread across the floor by now and and a wall of flame shot up between where Jace lay and where Jenna and Drago struggled. He pushed himself to his feet and tried to make his way through the flames, but they drove him back. The flames were everywhere now and there was no way to get through.
The screams on the other side subsided and became lost in the sound of the beating flames.
*****
Chapter Ten