The Reapers

Benton and Curtis joined him.

“You see where they went?” asked Benton.

Qui

“It’s empty fields beyond there,” said Benton. “Ain’t a tree for three, four hundred yards. If they try to run, we got ’em. If they stay put, we got ’em, too.”

Benton had advised Mr. Leehagen to have the barn and the silo demolished, but the slaughter of the herd (a rich man’s foolish indulgence from the start) had negated the need for any such action. The silo had been damaged by the fact that it was side-tapped for gravity unloading, causing one wall to collapse inward. A secondary outlet, created against Benton’s advice, fed directly into the barn itself, an emergency measure in case it became necessary to house and feed the cattle there in winter. Benton was grateful that they had never had to use it. It was just like old Leehagen to cut corners in this way. Now it looked as if the barn might serve a final useful purpose after all, by trapping the men that they were hunting.

He slapped Curtis hard on the back.

“Come on, boy. We’ll blood you yet!”

And, with his rifle held high, he led the three men toward the grain store.

The barn wasn’t locked. Louis figured that nobody was going to cross Leehagen by stealing from him, and even the cleverest rat hadn’t learned to open a door using the handle. He stepped inside. The barn was small, with makeshift cattle pens ru

“Take a look around,” he told Angel. “See if you can find oil, white spirits, anything that burns.”

It was a small chance. While Angel searched, Louis examined the outlet that fed grain into the barn. It was little more than a metal pipe co

After a minute or two, Angel appeared by his side.

“Nothing,” he said.

“Doesn’t matter. Go see how close they are.”

Angel covered his nose and mouth with his coat and raced through the store until he reached the main sliding door at the front of the barn. There were dusty windows at either side. He glanced carefully through the glass and saw three shapes advancing through the rain. They were about two hundred feet away, and already spreading out. One would go around the back while the others came in through the front. There would be no other way for them to search the barn safely while ensuring that their prey did not escape through the back door.

“Close,” Angel shouted back. “Minutes.” He coughed hard as some of the dust entered his lungs. Already, he could barely see Louis against the far wall.

“Let them get a look at you,” said Louis.

“What?”

“Let them see you. Open the door, then close it again.”

“Maybe I should put an apple on my head, too, or dress like a duck.”

“Just do it.”

Angel threw the bolt on the sliding door, then moved it back about five feet. Shots came. Quickly, Angel closed the door again and returned to Louis.

“Happy now?” he said, as he ran back to join Louis.

“Ecstatic. Time to go.” Louis had some old grain sacks in his hand, and the spare clip for the Glock. He tied the sack around the clip, his Zippo held between his teeth.

“You still have yours?” he said, through the mouthful of brass.

Angel took the clip from his pocket and handed it over. Louis did the same again, adding more weight to the sack.

“Okay,” he said. He gestured at the rear door. It opened to the left. They had just stepped outside when a young man appeared from around the corner to their right. He was small, and armed with a pistol. He stared at them, then raised his gun halfheartedly. It wavered in his hand.

“Don’t move,” he said, but Angel was already moving. He grabbed the gun, pushing it away to the left, and hit the man as hard as he could in the face with the crown of his head. The man collapsed, leaving Angel holding the gun. As he went down, Angel heard the sound of the double doors at the front of the barn opening.

Something flamed behind Angel. He turned to see Louis lighting the sack.

“Run,” said Louis.

And Angel ran. Seconds later, Louis was beside him, his hand on Angel’s aching back, pushing him down to the ground as Angel started to pray.

Benton and Qui

“Aw, hell,” said Benton. “Aw-”

And then hell became a reality as the world turned to fire.

Jackie Garner was tired of being wet.

“We can’t just stand here in the rain,” he said. “We need to get going.”

“We could split up,” said Paulie, “take a road each and see what happens.”

What happens if we do that is we end up dead, thought Willie. The Fulcis and their pal were clearly nuts, but at least they were armed and nuts. Five of them together had a better chance than two, or three.

“It’s still a lot of ground to cover,” said Jackie. “They could be anywhere.”

At that moment, a hill to the south was suddenly altered by a plume of smoke and wood and dirt that soared into the gray sky, and their ears rang with the sound of the explosion.

“You know,” said Jackie, “it’s just a guess…”

Louis and Angel climbed to their feet. They were surrounded by debris: wood, sacking, burning grain. Louis’s coat was on fire. He shrugged it off and tossed it to one side before he began to burn, too. Angel’s hair was singed, and there was a bright-red scorch mark upon his left cheek. They surveyed the damage. Half of the barn was gone, and the grain store had collapsed. In the midst of the wreckage, Angel could make out the body of the young man who had, briefly, held a gun on them.

“At least we have one gun,” he said.

Louis took it from him.

“I have a gun,” he corrected. “Which would you rather have: you with a gun, or me with a gun at your side?”

“Me with a gun.”

“Well, you can’t have it.”

Angel gazed beyond the remains of the barn.

“They’re all go

“I guess.”

“At least they’ll bring some more guns.”

“I’ll get you one when they do.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Bliss will come, too.”

“Yes, he will.”

“So we still going to see Leehagen?”

“We are.”

“Good.”

“That is good.”

They began to walk.

“You know, my shoes are wet,” said Angel.

“But at least you’re warm now…”