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The punishing sun beams down on Boyd and even the little bit of breeze created by the buggy’s speed does nothing to help the nausea and dizziness he feels. He consumed the last of the food and water the night before and he knows if he doesn’t find his brother and the girl today, he will likely be dead by tomorrow.
He squints his eyes behind his goggles for any sight of them in the distance but doesn’t see anything except a large rock formation beside the tracks he’s following. He grits his teeth in frustration as the rocks go by and a flap of his scarf blows up into his face. He tosses his head to the side to move the scarf and it’s that movement that lets him see a bit of the cart tucked around the side of the rocks he’s passing.
He slams on the brakes and reverses quickly so that the buggy is hidden back behind the rocks and then takes a deep breath. This is it. This is the moment when he will finally get everything he deserves. He gets out of the buggy and quietly closes the door, then checks the load in his gun. There are exactly three bullets left after the shootout at the bridge but that’s all he’ll need to take care of his coward of a brother and the two girls.
He edges around the rocks and leans out to look over the cart he’s been chasing for three days but pulls back quickly when he catches a glimpse of all three of his prey. The two girls are climbing onto the cart but he doesn’t see what his brother’s doing so he just waits for a few minutes and then peeks around the rocks again. The cart, the girls, and his brother are nowhere in sight so he edges around into the open and stares in confusion at the space where they were a few minutes ago. He walks along the tracks up to what looks like a blank wall of rock and reaches out. Just as his hand is about to touch the rock he hears a faint voice.
“Give me a hand unloading this stuff. I want to get the sled loaded up so we’re ready to go.”
The girl’s voice is coming from the other side of the wall so he pushes his hand against it and grins when it gives. Clever, not rock but a tarp that looks like its rock. He edges to the side and finds the end of it so he can peek past it and see what’s on the other side. He sees some kind of dim cavern but he can make out the cart and the three of them loading up supplies on a platform that is resting on the ground. He decides to let them finish loading it before he makes his move. They must be going to wherever the gold is so he’ll need those supplies. He gives them five more minutes to get the work done and then pulls the tarp violently to the side and rushes through into the cavern with his gun up. His eyes zero in on Beck with hate and he forgets his vow not to kill his only family.
“Hello, brother!”
He grins with satisfaction when he sees Beck’s eyes widen in fear a split second before he pulls the trigger. The bullet hits the mark and Beck spins around with the force of it then crashes down to the ground where his head smashes against the steel track and he goes deathly still.
He turns to see the girls have dropped to the ground and he smirks in amusement when he sees that Claudia had thrown herself on top of the little one. He can use that protectiveness to get what he wants.
“Shut up! Stop that screaming right now!” He bellows at them when the echoes of the noise they’re making cause his head to throb.
He strides over and grabs Claudia’s arm and hauls her away from the small girl under her.
“Get up!” He yells at her and then snaps his fingers in front of her eyes to get her to focus on him instead of the still form of his brother. “I’m going to put a bullet in your sister’s head if you don’t do exactly what I say.”
That does the trick as her terrified eyes lock in on his face so he nods and pushes her away and then hauls the small girl up by her scrawny arm. He wraps his arm around her from behind and pulls her against him so he can position the barrel of his gun against her temple.
“Here’s the deal, you do what I say, you give me what I want and I will let the kid live. You give me a hard time or try anything then I start putting holes in her. You’d be surprised how long a person can live with a few holes in them so watch yourself!”
Claudia’s eyes had lost some of the terror as she looked frantically between her now sobbing sister and the pool of blood that’s forming around Beck so Boyd barks at her, “Never mind him. He’s dead. He can’t help you now! If you don’t want your sister to join him then you better give me what I want!”
She nods her head slowly and asks, “What is it? What do you want from us?”
A grin spreads across his face. “First off, water. I want lots of water and something to eat. After that, you can hand over the gold!”