DECEMBER EXCERPT MONDAY: Vengeance in Bloom
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“Links to other Excerpt Monday writersN ote: I have not personally screened these excerpts. Please heed the ratings and be aware that the links may contain material that is not typical of my site.“How ya know she’s in here?” one of them said.
“B’cause I know.” The other replied. “Go check down there. See if there’s another way outta here.”
The one on the right walked off as told and the other, with the rifle, stayed in front of her stall. His feet shifted slightly then he took a step inside.
“Ain’t nothin’ back here, Will!” the other man hollered from the rear of the barn.
“Yeah, well, I know she’s in here somewhere.” he yelled back. He took two more steps inside the stall.
The other man walked into the stall and stood beside Will. “Why you standin’ in here?”
“Look here, Cody, we got two piles of hay. Which one do you think she’s in?”
Lily’s heart sank. She held her breath and prayed for the men to leave. She prayed for something to happen, anything to happen to draw their attention away.
“Oh, I see. How ‘bout the one on the right?” Cody answered. Amusement laced his voice.
“Let’s take a look-see.” Will agreed.
Lily could see him raise the barrel of his rifle and fire. She summoned everything inside of herself not to jump.
“Don’t look like she’s in there, huh?” Will said. “Guess she’s in the other one.” He cocked his rifle.
Lily sprang up from the pile of hay with her hands raised. “Okay, oksy, please, don’t shoot!” she pleaded. Her ankle throbbed as she limped towards them.
Will stared with his rifled aimed at her from the hip and Cody grabbed her by the shirt collar. “Get over here!” he yanked her towards him. She almost fell into his chest, but he held her up by her shirt. “Look at me!” he snapped. She winced at the pain in her ankle and looked up at him. He stared into her eyes for a second then glanced back at Will. “You ever seen a redskin with eyes like these?”
The color of her eyes was the only way in which she resembled her mother, and it was the one feature, despite the foreign nature of all her others, that her mother grew to despise most. When Will approached, she turned away, but he grabbed her by the chin, yanked her head up towards him, and peered down into her eyes. He held her gaze for a moment and his grip was like a vice. She thought he would crush her jaw before he was through.
As she got older, the men who frequented her mother’s bed began to pay more and more attention to her strange little Indian daughter with light eyes. They called her words like exotic, and she became an enticing morsel for their secret appetites. Even though her mother got paid, regardless of which one of them the men took to bed, Lily was punished for her “attention mongering” everyday; But not in ways that would show on her flesh, her mother was very clever, and she had a mean streak in her that Lily figured could rival the devil himself.
“What color are they, gray?” Cody asked.
Will broke his gaze with her and nodded. “Yeah, somethin’ like that. Can’t tell too much in this light. It don’t matter much no way, her eyes’ll be closed when she’s hangin.” He finally released her with a shove, and she would have fallen back if Cody did not have such a tight grip on her shirt. “Let’s take her back to town.” Will turned and headed out of the stall.
“Hangin’?” Lily shook her head. “But…but I didn’t do anythin’” she pleaded. “It wasn’t me; it was them, the others!”
“That don’t matter now!” Cody yanked on her shirt again. “Should’a watched who you rode with.”
“Besides,” Will stopped just outside the stall. “I don’t think we need much any reason to hang a redskin.” he smirked back at her, then walked off.
“Come on, now, get a move on!” Cody pushed her forward. A streak of pain shot from her ankle up to her kneecap and she crumbled to the dirt floor on her hands and knees. “Come on, come on, get up!” he pulled up on the back of her shirt. Once she was on her feet, he shoved her again and pushed her out of the stable.
She steadied herself before she fell this time and limped toward the entrance of the barn where Will waited by the horses. She had to get away, but she could not run on her ankle.
“Should we go meet up with the others?” Cody followed close behind her.
“Nah, they can handle the rest.” Will shook his head. “We’ll take her straight back to town.”
When Lily stepped out of the barn, she could still see the smoke and fire from the burning house. The orange blaze radiated against the black of night, and gunfire raged in the distance. Some of the others were still alive. She stood next to Will and watched him strap his rifle to his saddle. She had to take one of their horses. It was her only chance.
Cody grabbed a fist full of her shirt collar. “She goin’ on mine or yours?”
Her eyes darted to the open grass fields.
Will shrugged, “Don’t make no difference to me—“
Lily lashed out and rammed her left elbow up into Cody’s jaw with all her might. He stumbled back and fell with a grunt. The horses stirred. Will turned towards her. She kicked him in the groin, and he dropped to his knees. She climbed his horse and “Yahh!” kicked her heals into the horse’s sides. It took off at a full gallop through the field of grass. She leaned forward, and her raven hair was like a black streak as it whipped in the wind behind her. Only the horse’s thunderous gallop rivaled her pounding heart.
A shot rang out and she jerked as it whizzed pass her head. She leaned in low beside the horse’s neck. She could not see where she was going, but it did not matter. Another shot chased her down and bit into her left shoulder. The force of it knocked her out of the saddle and she crashed to the ground. Her head thudded to the dirt and she laid there breathless for a moment. The horse thundered away into the night and left her to fend for herself.
She sat up in the dirt and rubbed the back of her throbbing skull. The way things were going, she would be surprised if she made it through the night. A rumble of boot steps sped towards her. She looked up. Will and Cody barreled down on her with fire in their eyes. She curled into a ball and let their kicks and stomps rain down on her arms and legs. Their blows were like hammers to her body. She tried to get to her feet and run, but one of them grabbed her by the hair, wrenched her head back from her shielding arms, and punched her in the face. There was a flash of white light and she hit the dirt again.
She flailed in the muddy waters of unconsciousness and fought hard to stay afloat. Something welled up inside her, dark and angry. She felt it before, as child, and it frightened her. It hated everything. It hated everyone. It wanted to be free, but she was afraid to let it go. She was afraid of what it would make her do.
She swam back to consciousness, back to the world, back to the beating Will and Cody rained on her. With every strike of their fists, the darkness within her wanted out. It surged up from her gut. A ball of raw emotion welled up in her throat and almost choked her. She had to release it; she had to let it out.
She became a torrent of fury and lashed out blindly with a wail of madness. She kicked, punched, clawed, and bit her attackers. She cursed them as her fists and feet pounded into their bodies. She bit down on someone’s hand. She tried to bite out a chunk and could taste blood in her mouth. Her victim hollered and snatched their hand free of her teeth. They forced her down on her back, straddled her, and held her arms down. All the screaming, hitting, and grabbing reminded her of the first time her mother let one of those men rape her while she sat and watched.
Lily opened her eyes and Will was on top of her with clenched teeth. He struggled to hold her arms down as she fought against him, then Cody’s boot smashed into her face. In a flash of light, her vision blurred. The cursing and yelling faded to silence and everything went black.
The muddy waters of unconsciousness consumed her.
Posted by J. W. Hankins at 12/14/2009 8:00 AM 
Categories: Excerpt Monday,Writing,z.My Works
Tags: Native American Vengeance in Bloom Action Fantasy Western Discarded Garden
Categories: Excerpt Monday,Writing,z.My Works
Tags: Native American Vengeance in Bloom Action Fantasy Western Discarded Garden
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