Monday, August 13, 2012

"The Hanging Man"

I woke up with a noose around my neck.

I grabbed it with both hands to stop it cinching anymore and looked around. Couldn't see Blair, only the remains of the campsite.

Noose felt tight, I was losing air, had to get out. Mauser was at my feet, but I couldn't reach it.

The rope was taut - whoever was holding it had to be pretty close to keep it like that. I began seeing black spots and I knew if I didn't do anything soon, I wouldn't do anything again.

So I pushed my body down and flipped my legs upward and I felt my boot connect with something. The rope loosened and I pulled the noose off quickly, then scrambled to get my rifle.

I pulled it up just as the rope pulled back. There was a man holding the rope. He wore a loose brown duster and a Stetson. He coiled the rope around his arm and started swinging it, a grin on his face.

"Where's the kid?" I asked.

"You're faster than thought," he said. "Old man like you, thought it would be quick and easy."

"Where are they?" I asked. "What'd you do with them?"

"I think I prefer this however," the man said. "Face to face. Makes it all more...interesting."

"Yeah, well, I have a gun and you have a rope," I said, "so start talking or I start shooting."

He moved faster than I had ever seen a man move. He flung the rope and the nose caught the Mauser and before I knew it, it was out of my hands and on the ground.

The man smiled. "Back where I came from," he said, "they called me the Hanging Man. Well, they did before the Empress found me and after that...they didn't call me much of anything. They didn't say much of anything 'sides screams."

I had nothing. Without the Mauser, I was an old man with asthma and too many war wounds. I was nothing.

And then I saw the kid. Blair. They were walking back to the campsite - they must have gone to the bathroom or something. And now they were walking into a warzone.

The Hanging Man saw him, too, and his grin grew wider. He began to coil his rope again and I knew what he was going to do. He was going to kill Blair in front of me.

The kid saw us and me and the Hanging Man both sprang into action. He threw his rope and the noose went over Blair's neck. And I rushed forward, while he wasn't looking, grabbed my Mauser and fired.

The rope snapped.

The Hanging Man looked at me. "You are an interestin' fella," he said. "Good shot, too. I need to make a new noose now."

"No," I said. "Now I shoot you." My Mauser was still in my hands, my sweat-drenched hands, and I could feel my anger rising like steam.

"You sure?" he asked. "You sure you have enough bullets in that thing? How many did you fire yesterday? Or the day before? Perhaps, before I wrapped my noose around your neck, I emptied all the other shells. I just forgot the one already in there."

I pulled the trigger and nothing happened.

The Hanging Man smiled and tipped his hat. "See you later," he said and then ran off.

I checked on Blair and made sure they were alright, then checked the rest of my bullets. Nothing. He'd emptied the whole thing.

I was lucky. If that one bullet hadn't been there, if I had been a second slower...I don't even wish to imagine that. I have seen too many dead.

Too many.

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