Skinwalkers (13 page)

Together, they were able to push the huge door open a distance equaling the width of a man. Farnsworth decided the mission’s builders must have been the most backward of Christians, for these doors seemed bent on keeping one out rather than
opening in welcome
.
But so much the better for when they’re shut behind me!

Farnsworth started to wiggle his way inside. He felt the bounty
hunter’s
hand clasp his arm and jerk him back, slinging him in the dirt once again.

“
Egads
, man!“ Farnsworth leapt to his feet, his severed shackle jingling. “What the hell—?“

“They go in first.“ The bounty hunter ushered Maxine and Pablo through the crack between doors. “You don’t join them until I’m in. And I’m here until the rest show up—at least what’s left of them.“

“Well, god damn you, sir!“ Farnsworth fumed. “God damn you to—!“

The bounty
hunter’s
revolver flew from his holster and fired in Farnsworth’s direction. Farnsworth jumped, bringing his hands up to his face. J.T. felt a side of beef slam against his back and screamed. He looked over his shoulder and saw one of the coyote-men sinking to the earth, a massive, bleeding hole between its yellow eyes.

At that moment, Sanchez and Wilson came running out of the fog, Reverend Phillips on their heels. Robby straggled in behind them all, periodically stopping to call for Hank.

“Inside!“ The bounty hunter yelled. All obeyed but Robby.

“Hank!“ Robby screamed at the fog. Tears rolled down his grimacing face.

“Get in here!“ the bounty hunter commanded.

“Hank!“

“Now, you fool!“

“Hank—“

Robby brought up his pistol and fired three quick rounds into the fog. Yellow eyes encased in darkness leapt out of the mist and crashed into him, bringing him to the ground. The attacking coyote-thing clamped its jaws over Robby’s left hand. There was a ripping sound as the beast wrenched its head back to reveal Robby’s fingers sticking out from between its teeth.

Blood spurted from the now handless stump at the end of Robby’s left arm. He howled in pain. The beast was dropping its head to close its jaws around Robby’s shoulder when the top of its head erupted in a volcano of blood and brain. Little Joe came rushing out of the fog holding his smoking scattergun at port arms.

The bounty hunter rushed to Robby’s side and took hold of his jacket and tugged, trying to bring him to his feet. Robby raised his pistol and fired without looking just as Little Joe reached him and his seized his wrist. The bullet went astray, missing the bounty
hunter’s
head by mere inches.

Amazed to be alive, the bounty hunter peered up at Little Joe. “I owe you!“

Little Joe nodded as he and the bounty hunter lifted Robby to his feet. Howls and barking sounded from the fog, signaling the approach of still more monsters. “Come on!“ the bounty hunter shouted.

Farnsworth took advantage of the bounty
hunter’s
preoccupation with Robby and bolted inside the mission. Once on the other side, he turned and began pulling the door closed. Farnsworth heard a pistol cock and turned to see Wilson’s gun not two inches from the bridge of his nose. The writer froze where he stood.

Wilson snarled as though he were one of the beasts outside. J.T. had decided he was spending his last seconds on earth when the bounty
hunter’s
voice rang from outside.

“Cover!“

Wilson lost all interest in Farnsworth and aimed his pistol at the space between the doors. He fired out into the night and then began flipping the hammer of his gun with his free hand, emptying it. Private Sanchez rushed to Wilson’s side and fired his musket, buying Wilson time to reload.

Seconds later, the bounty hunter and Little Joe squeezed through the doors carrying Robby between them. The sobbing drunk’s arm rained buckets of blood onto the church floor. Maxine rushed toward him, tearing off a huge length of her petticoat as she advanced. She wrapped her makeshift bandage around Robby’s arm and led him away from the doors.

Farnsworth stood watching as Wilson, Sanchez, Little Joe, and the bounty hunter thrust their backs against the open door. The door moaned and creaked in protest, but slowly gave ground under the men’s weight. Just as the doors were about to shut, a furry paw reached through the remaining gap and sank its claws into the bounty
hunter’s
shoulder. He yelled in pain but continued pressing the door closed.

The door shut, severing bone and flesh as it ripped the claw free of its arm. Wilson jumped from the door and took hold of the large wooden post lying in the corner next to the doors.

Dear God!
Farnsworth thought.
What if that cross-piece had been in place when we arrived?

Wilson yelled and strained with effort, veins popping out on the sides of his neck and at his graying temples as he lifted one end of the over-sized post and dragged it over to the door. Sanchez moved to help, leaving Phillips, Little Joe, and the bounty hunter holding the door.

The bounty hunter tried to yank the severed claw from his shoulder, but it was dug into his flesh like a giant, blood-sucking tick. He gritted his teeth and yelled as he renewed his efforts. There was an eternity-sized pause as the bounty
hunter’s
irresistible force strained against the immovable object of the monster’s hand. Then, with a howl of agony, the bounty hunter yanked the paw free, each of its bloody, clawed fingers releasing in succession.

The bounty hunter flung the bleeding appendage to the church floor. The abomination of a hand flopped on the ground, slinging black blood in every direction. The claw found purchase and righted itself. It targeted Pablo like a Pointer hound and then skittered across the floor toward him.

The boy cringed and let out a low moan as the paw advanced. It scurried within a few feet of him and sprung from the floor, literally leaping at the boy
under the strength of its clawed fingers
. Pablo screamed as the bounty
hunter’s
revolver spat two quick shots swatting the claw from the air. The claw
spasmed
once, twice, and then fell still.

Wilson and Sanchez shoved the post through the iron brackets along the doors just in time to keep them bursting open under the coyote-
mens
’ onslaught. The doors shook and groaned in protest as the roaring beasts outside pounded on them.

But they held fast.

The sound of shattering glass turned Farnsworth and everyone else’s attention to the two windows along the western wall. The creatures crowded in on the windows’ other side, barking and foaming at the mouth as they tried to claw their way in. Farnsworth had a flashback to his would-be jail cell in Garrett’s office and froze with terror.

The bounty
hunter’s
revolver thundered and several of the monsters yelped in pain as they fell back from the windows.

“Get those benches over the windows!“ the bounty hunter shouted. “Pile everything that isn’t nailed down. I’ll cover!“

Sanchez, Wilson, Little Joe, and the reverend rushed forward and yanked up the wooden pews lining the mission’s interior. Farnsworth felt a familiar boot strike him in the ass and he fell forward. He looked up to see the bounty hunter
looming over him as he picked
off any beast that dared try for a window.

“Now, Professor!“

Jolted back to his senses, Farnsworth leapt from the floor. He ran over to assist the reverend
, the writer’s severed shackle clanking behind him.
Thank my lucky stars this is the only side with windows!

They’d finally managed to position a pew atop several others when a coyote-thing poked its head through the window and roared mere inches in front of Farnsworth’s face. It exploded under the impact of one of the bounty
hunter’s
bullets, showering Farnsworth with blood and bits of brain and bone.

Farnsworth become hysterical. He turned away from the pile to flee.

The bounty hunter cocked a revolver.
“I’ll plug you, too, Professor. Sure as
shittin
’!“

Farnsworth’s instinct for survival snapped him out of his shock. He rejoined the others in piling pews against the windows.

When they’d finished, a sturdy barrier of stacked pews, chairs, and benches stood between them and the church’s shattered windows. The men retreated, their weapons swinging from the pile of furniture to the doors and back until the howls outside lessened and then finally quieted all together.

“Where’s
Jimbo
and the rest?“ Little Joe asked.

Wilson shrugged. “Dead, or as good as.“

The bounty hunter looked at the reverend. “There any other way in here?“

Reverend Phillips paused as if in consideration.

“Well? Yea or nay, Preacher?“

Unable to answer, the reverend merely shook his head. The bounty hunter nodded but gave the room a final sweep with his eyes. Satisfied the room was secure, he grimaced and rubbed his shoulder, finally allowing himself to feel the pain of his wound.

“Are they gone?“ the reverend asked.

“I don’t know, Reverend,“ Farnsworth said. “Why don’t you poke your head out the door and give a look-see?“

“Shut that shit up.“ Wilson said.

“I shall take no orders from a mindless bumpkin such as yourself!“ Farnsworth said.

Wilson pointed his pistol at Farnsworth. “A what? You yellowbellied
sonofa
—!“

“Gentlemen, gentlemen,“ the reverend said. “I didn’t mean to bring disharmony amongst us.“

“You got nothing to do with this, Reverend,“ Wilson said.

“True enough,“ Farnsworth said. “This loathsome primate showcases the enormity of his own stupidity with his every spoken word!“

“Cut the shit!“ the bounty hunter said.
“That goes for all of you. The Professor’s my prisoner. Mess with him, you mess with me.“

Wilson whirled on the bounty hunter. “
That so? Well here’s what
I got to say to that: I appreciate what you been doing, but you need to remember the rest of us
ain’t
your prisoners to order around.“

“Please, gentlemen—“ the reverend said.

“It was my orders saved your ass tonight when those haunts hit the saloon.“ The bounty hunter rotated the arm beneath his wounded shoulder.

“Here! Here!“ Farnsworth said.

The bounty whirled on Farnsworth. “I said cut the
shi
—!“

All fell silent as the sound of a gunshot echoed through the sanctuary. The men turned to see Private Sanchez pointing his smoking musket at the ceiling.

“All of you shut the hell up!“ Sanchez lowered his weapon and looked each of them in the eye. “Now I don’t know what those things outside are, but they
ain’t
gone away. They chased my company for miles, killing us all
so’s
I’m the only one left. So you can damn sure believe they
ain’t
decided to pack up and go home just because they can’t get through that door for the moment!

“Anyone left on the other side of that door is already dead, and it won’t be long before we join them! They’re coming! They’re going to get in and we are all going to die like any poor bastard that happened to be in town tonight. That’s a fact.“

In the room’s far corner, Maxine cradled Pablo to her chest.

“And if you want to spend the last few minutes we got arguing about nothing, then you might as well take your asses on outside and let them have you right now, ’cause you’re stupider than shit either way.“