Little Sharpshooter Chap 14

A horrid, stuffy, dank smell filled Randy’s nose. She struggled to open her eyes, but once they were open, she couldn’t tell. When she wanted to rub her eyes she couldn’t. Her hands were tied above her head. A metal bed frame rattled when she tugged again. Struggling to sit up quietly to huddle near the metal frame that her hands were tied to, she couldn’t tell if anyone else was in the room with her. She held her breath and listened. Nothing. A tiny bit of relief flooded through her. But she knew it wouldn’t last long. She couldn’t remember what happened that would account for her tied up hands in the smelly, dark room.

Sweat dripped down Randy’s face as she wiggled the rope around her wrists, trying to find slack or a way to create some. She hated being tied by rope. It was painful but it was the easiest to escape from. Metal cuffs were the worst. The more frantic she worked, the sweatier she got, the easier the rope slid around her wrists. A tiny sliver of moonlight found its way into the room and stretched across the bed. She crawled as close to the light as she could. It was just a hint of light but she could see how the rope was wound around her wrists.

Randy had no idea how long it took. The moonlight was almost off the bed when she finished. All that was left to do was sit there and ignore the rope burns on her wrists and hands until whoever it was showed their face. The room started to lighten with the sunrise. She was on a worn out mattress in a very small room. Debris was strewn across the floor. Shabby drapes covered the only window. At one time the drapes would have been very elegant but were completely out of place in rough wood walled bedroom.

Randy could finally see the entire rope that had bound her hands and she made sure she was ready when her captor came for her. Her heart raced when she heard shuffling in the other room. She clenched the rope in her fists to appear tied up and huddled closer to the metal bed frame. Randy remembered the smell that made her weak. She also remembered a face. That face peered into the room.

“I thought I heard somethin’ in here. I wanted to make sure you was awake when I had my fun with ya.” A greasy haired and disheveled man rubbed his chest as he circled the bed.

Randy cowered. Mostly she was hiding the rope and the condition of her hands. She knew his voice. She would never forget it either. He told her his name. It was Ernie

“I knew it was you from your dress. I picked it up off the floor that day. That day when I killed your pa.” He kneeled on the bed beside her and pulled on her shirt to show her neck.

“How do you know he’s dead?” Randy spat scrunching her shoulders to her ears.

“How could he survive? And it was you that did this to my hand.” He held up his arm and unwound the bandage around his hand. “It will never be the same.” In the center it was red but nearly healed. When he tried to make a tight fist he winced with the effort. “But I noticed somethin’ watchin’ ya last night. I wondered afterwards about the noise in the attic.” He reached down with his good hand to grab her bare foot. Ernie yanked it towards him. He slid his wounded hand up her calf to raise her bloomer over her knee. Putting his knee on her ankle to hold it down on the bed, he squeezed her calf around the deep indentation. Randy screamed.

“I see we did get ya.” He laughed, kneeling on her ankle even more, and pressed on her leg again.

It brought tears to her eyes as she screamed again. His hand slid up her thigh. He leaned closer to her face.

“That James did have himself one pretty little daughter. Too bad he ain’t around to save ya.” Ernie’s face lingered near hers. He kissed her cheek.

She knew what she needed to do but she couldn’t stop trembling. His hand slid up her to her waist. He leaned in to kiss her mouth.

She bit down hard on his lip.

Ernie yelped. When he pulled away she slammed her head into his nose. He fell back and swore.

“You little … ” Ernie recovered faster than Randy anticipated and he sprung forward just as she slid one hand out of the loosened rope. He backhanded her hard across the face. She rolled off the bed with the rope attached to one hand.

The taste of iron tainted the inside of Randy’s mouth but it was nothing compared to Ernie’s gushing nose and lip.

Ernie jumped off the bed and forced Randy onto her back, reaching for the rope. Randy punched his face where she already hit him once. He pulled her up off the ground and smashed her back into the floor.

She gasped for air but couldn’t inhale. He had a hold of her shirt and ripped it open. Randy held the rope between both hands and went for his throat. But he caught the rope and wound it around her free hand. Ernie held both hands down above her head with his good hand. His other hand slid over her chest as he leaned in to kiss her with his mouth covered in blood.

She smashed her head into his again. When he raised his body up from hers to hold his nose, Randy was able to ram her knee into his groin. It wasn’t a good hit but it was effective. He backed away off her some more. She drew her knee all the way up to her nose to plant her foot square in his chest. Her foot shoved him off her. Luckily there wasn’t much to Ernie. He flew back into the wall.

Randy untwisted the rope off her wrists and had both hands free. She launched onto Ernie, pressed her knee into his thigh, and grabbed his crotch squeezing him hard. He writhed and cried out like a little girl begging her to stop.  She didn’t let go until the fight was gone in him and he whimpered pathetically on the ground.

She let him go and sat back. Using the loose flap of her shirt, she wiped his blood off her face. Lightly she touched her cheek where he hit her. It was already swelling and she could see the skin under her eye.

Ernie whimpered pitifully as she tied his hands together. She waited a little longer before she made him stand. He struggled to walk upright as she pulled him through the house until she found his gun and placed it in her skirt’s waistband.

“You know that I’m good with one of these don’t ya?” She glared at him. He just nodded. “Good. You’re lucky I’m not decidin’ to kill ya here and now.”

She put on her boots and waited for Ernie to put on his. She yanked Ernie’s rope as he trailed behind her out the door to find his horse so she could head back to town.

#

At first light Trevor was dressed and in the stable saddling up Al. He frowned as guilt washed over him when he looked at his own horse. Al was more likely to lead him to Randy. What was odd was how Al eagerly let Trevor put the bridle on for the second time. Trevor turned his head to look at the horse. Al seemed to know way too much for a horse.

Trevor worked hard to hold back Al as they went down Main Street. Hardly anyone was out yet. Bronson said they would gather at first light. Trevor was the only one ready. He had to keep circling Al. The horse wanted to bolt out of town.

Finally the sheriff unlocked the door to his office.

“I thought we were gonna go at first light?” Trevor asked.

“Gonna go where, boy?”

“To get Randy from the man that took her outta town last night.”

“Oh, that. Bronson figured she would show up in the mornin’.”

“He doesn’t know that. Bronson doesn’t even know the man that took her.”

“He sounded pretty sure of himself last night.”

Trevor frowned. That Bronson was something else. “She’s not here, is she?”

“Well then. Let’s gather the men.” The deputy went into the office for a few minutes. When he came back out, he mounted his horse and they were off to find men for the posse.

They gathered at the end of town where Randy left. The sheriff was having a very heated conversation with Bronson.

Bronson did his best to calm the sheriff down.

Trevor had his hands full with the delay. Al wouldn’t stand still. He stomped and pawed at the ground.

The sheriff addressed the crowd of men when Al put up a fight over being held back. He reared and whinnied a high pitch squeal. Trevor turned Al in a tight circle when he tried to take off. He had no idea what possessed the horse until after the second turn around he saw something off in the distance. With great difficulty he brought Al back to the group to point out at the desert just before Al tried to take off again.

Someone on a horse had a rope tied to a staggering man behind them.

Trevor laughed with relief. He’d had no faith in Bronson. But Bronson was right.

Trevor let Al take off and once he got close enough to Randy, he could see she had quite a time. Randy’s face was bloody and swollen. She held the top of her shirt closed as she rode staring at nothing in particular in front of her in some sort of daze. He couldn’t allow himself to speak at first since he was strangled from the lump in his throat. Trevor rode silently beside her while Al tossed his head and vocalized all the way back to town.

The entire posse burst out in laughter once they realized it was Randy leading her captor into town.