The Retirement

Two of the gunmen moved about fifteen feet down the path while the last moved next to the man with his pistol out. Abby refused to be intimidated by these thugs, even though she didn’t expect to survive more than a minute. All four men looked at her, and she met their gaze defiantly. The intensity of the rain began to increase again, blending the greens and grays of the forest into a blur. She looked at the two men down the path just as the forest seemed to reach out and grab the one farthest away. There were some muffled noises, and the man dropped to the ground. A greenish-gray shadow moved quickly to the next man, and within seconds, he too dropped to the ground. Abby couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her eyes must have given away her surprise, because both of the gunmen next to her turned, raising their weapons to meet the threat.

Flame erupted from the mysterious shadow, followed by a series of gunshots. Both gunmen collapsed near Abby’s feet and didn’t move. The closest man looked back at her with lifeless eyes and a bullet hole in the center of his forehead.

The figure down the path took his time checking each of the fallen gunmen before approaching Abby and James. Abby took a deep breath and controlled the fear. She couldn’t defend herself, but she wouldn’t leave her fallen comrade. She checked the sheriff quickly. He was still unconscious, so at least death would be painless when it came. Her mind was racing, thinking of all the people she wanted to have the chance to say goodbye to before her time came, when she suddenly realized she was looking at a pair of boots.