Chapter Four
May 23rd, 9:50 PM
Erin awoke to the sound of jingling spurs and a low, harsh drawl whispering in her ear.
"Cock a doodle doo," the voice rasped. "That's the rooster crowin', Blue Lynx. Time to wake up."
She blinked her eyes, let them adjust in the dark, and saw a short, mustached man standing in front of her. Tex: the leader of the Rattlesnakes. His thumbs were tucked into the belt loops of of jeans, and he stared at her with a sick, toothy grin. He was short and squat but clearly not to be messed with.
"Lemme see if I can get your durn friend up," Tex muttered, stepping to Erin's left.
"Hey," he said. "Golden boy. Get up. Wake up, dammit."
Erin felt a rustle, and then realized that she was sitting against someone. She looked down, and saw that she had been tied: loops of rough rope stretched across her torso, binding her arms to her sides. The rope wrapped around her and continued around the person resting against her back: the Spaniel.
"Shit," she thought. Her immediate reaction was to kick her legs out, but she couldn't. She looked to her boots and saw why: they too had been wrapped in rope. Several yards worth covered her ankles, tied up into a series of large, tricky-looking knots.
She heard a second voice now. "Tex. You bastard."
It was the Spaniel's voice, and it made Erin feel a surge of emotion. On one hand, she was happy to at least have an ally in this obviously difficult predicament. On the other, it was the Spaniel's arrogance and ingratitude that led to this situation in the first place. The Rattlesnakes wouldn't have been able to catch her if she hadn't been distracted by her "friend's" whining.
She sighed. This night was set to be a major victory for the Blue Lynx. And now, here she was yet again: waking up and finding herself bound and in the clutches of a strange, evil man.
She looked around. They were still on the rooftop. Her body ached from the cattle prods-- she could see red welts forming on her legs, and she felt slightly dizzy. The night was dark; she could hear the sounds of traffic rushing through the streets so many hundreds of yards below. The smoke had cleared, and she could see six other men standing behind and around Tex. How did he get so many men to follow him? He had a small army willing to wear his stupid hats and boots.
"You shoulda put we away when you had the chance, friend," Tex said, to the Spaniel. "Yer not getting a second chance. Not with ol' Tex."
"We'll see about that," the Spaniel replied. He had the superhero cockiness down, that was for sure. Erin decided to let him talk.
Tex chuckled. "Nah, I'm afraid this is the end of the line for you and the lil' miss."
He took a pistol out of his belt and flicked open the chamber. "But how that end's comin... well... that's up to y'all."
He loaded a bullet into the gun. "You know I'm a gamblin' man," he said. "Havin' seen me at the casino."
Erin could hear stirring from the men behind Tex. They were looking forward to this, whatever it was. Erin cringed.
"Games o' chance," Tex continued. "It's what we Rattlesnakes are all about."
"Get to your point," the Spaniel said.
Tex smiled. "Alright, son. Hold on. Lemme explain the game. I'm puttin' four rounds in my six shooter here. And I got each one marked a little different."
Erin shook her head. God, they all had to do this... All of these villains. So into their games. Didn't they know it only bought the Blue Lynx time? She pushed against the ropes holding her arms to her sides. She could already feel them budge, slightly. The Spaniel must have been working at his side, too.
"Now, I'm gonna spin the chamber and fire one of these rounds into that there target," Tex said. He gestured over to where the rooftop door was, and Erin saw a small circular board set up, heavily marked with bullet holes, presumably from previous "games."
"And that there bullet's gonna tell me and my boys what to do next," Tex said.
"And just what exactly will the bullets tell you?" the Spaniel said.
"First one's got a little blue mark on it," Tex replied. His eyes now locked with Erin's, and she could see his mustache twitching with glee. "If it's that one, we unmask the Blue Lynx here."
Erin shuddered. Of course that was one of the options.
"Okay," the Spaniel said. "What else?"
"The one with a little yeller mark's for you," Tex said. "We shoot that one, we take off yer mask."
"Figures," the Spaniel said. He didn't seem worried. Maybe he had less to hide than Erin?
Erin gulped. Just about everyone had less to hide than her.
"Third one's got a little pink mark," Tex said. "It's the boys' idea. I shoot that one, and the boys get a bit of time alone with the Blue Lynx, if ya know what I'm sayin'..."
Erin glared at Tex. She did know what he was saying. And it was disgusting.
"Ugh," she said. "Your boys would have no idea what to do."
"She speaks!" Tex announced. "Hear that, boys? The little miss thinks y'all might be, err, confused when yer alone with her."
The men laughed and whistled.
"Enough," the Spaniel said. "What's the fourth bullet?"
Tex frowned. "Well, that's the sad bullet," he said, solemnly. "It's got an 'x' on it. Because that's the one I put through you and your little girlfriend's brain."
Erin involuntarily tensed up. She twisted what she could of her arms and legs, feeling the ropes turn, but nothing break. Her options in Tex's game were being unmasked, being raped, and being killed. She wasn't thrilled by any of these prospects.
"And what happens if nothing comes out?" the Spaniel asked.
"Welp," Tex said, his face returning to its former smiling self. "If I shoot a blank, I gotta let one of y'all go." He gestured to the Blue Lynx. "And I'm thinkin' I gotta have her stay, since she's so dern easy on the eyes."
"I'd let him go, too," Erin said. "He's less of a threat."
She felt the Spaniel knock against her back. "I was doing fine until you showed up," he muttered.
"Shut up," Erin whispered.
Tex broke out into laughter. "Are y'all havin' a bit of row? Doesn't that just beat all."
"Go ahead and shoot," the Spaniel said, to Tex. "Do it."
Erin tried to slam her elbow into his arm. "You fool," she whispered. "What are you doing? We need time. We've got to get out of these ropes."
"You might need time," he replied, sternly. "I don't."
Erin rolled her eyes. All men were idiots, apparently. They were either perverted evil criminals like Tex or bitchy narcissistic "heroes" like the Spaniel. And she was caught right in the middle of them.
"Alright," Tex said. "I've give 'er one more spin, to show y'all I'm fair." He flicked the chamber around, and then popped it back into the gun. "And we'll get goin."
Erin flexed her muscles as powerfully as she could. There was even more give to the ropes, this time. But still not enough to make a break for it, especially with so many other Rattlesnakes standing around, watching, waiting. She would have to at least endure one bullet-- one chance at being dealt a blow that would make the previous cattle prod assault seem like a pinch.
She took a deep breath.
Tex smiled and lifted his gun in the air. He held his arm straight in front of him, glanced at the target, leveled his aim, and fired. The shot rang out in the night and plunged with a small sound into the circular board on the other side of the rooftop.
Erin's heart sank. It wasn't 'nothing' that had been fried: she heard and saw the bullet. Her chance of escape was nonexistent, this round.
"Alright," Tex said, again. "Now will one of y'all kindly tell me just what mark is on that there bullet?"
Erin watched one of the Rattlesnakes scamper over to the target. He stood in front of the board for nearly half a minute before finding the fresh hole. He extracted the bullet, held in his hand, and started to giggle.
He began to speak, and Erin shut her eyes.
On to Chapter Five
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