Boom!

There was a rattling in my body. A piercing bang tingled my ears.

An explosion?

I slid past Ames and drew my barking irons.

Ron, where are you?

Holding my gun tight, I lowered myself and dashed outside. Richard and Mark whipped their horses, kicking dust, following a man on horseback.

What was going on?

People shuddered as they rushed indoors.

"Bull Prosecutors!"

"They're coming for revenge!"

"We have to fight them back!"

I stood by the porch, barking iron in hand, scanning my surroundings.

I have to get Ames to safety and figure out where Ron is.

Reentering back into the bar, I headed back to the room. Ames wasn't there.

"Ames," I called. "Ames!"

Where was he? He had never left the room before.

"Tanner!"

Horses' hooves rumbling by the side door caught my attention. I pushed through the door to see three men riding on horses, and with them was Ames seated in front of the bar dog, his hands bound.

"Stop!" I shouted.

"Should we shoot her, boss?"

"No, don't fire a single shot. It will draw attention. Just follow," the bar dog said.

I drew my barking iron.

"Wait, don't shoot them!" Tanner shouted behind me.

I lowered my barking iron and ran towards the front. One man turned to fire at me, and I sought cover by the column. The bullets hammered the wood.

"I told you don't shoot!" the bar dog shouted.

I jumped over the porch and mounted Sally.

"You can't leave the town, Karen!"

I bit my lip. "I have to Tanner."

"Wait Karen, don't go. You know what will happen. I can go instead!"

I rode on Sally in pursuit, and as they exited the town, so did I.

Why did he kidnap Ames? Where was Ron? My mind raced as the men fired shots at me. I drifted Sally back and ran at an angle, using any hedge bush or tree to dodge them on the plains.

I drew my barking iron and waited until I got in range. I fired, and it sent the first man tumbling to the ground. His horse was still pulling him along by the saddle.

"What are you doing!? Where are you going with the boy!?" I shouted over the gunfire.

They moved from the dirt track road towards tall, opening trees. We exchanged fire as I entered.

Headshot!

The next man slumped on his horse, coming to a stop. My arm seared in pain, and blood trickled; this wound was silver. They were Bull Prosecutors. In the distance, gunfire poured. Birds scurried to the sky, and the distinct voices of Richard and Mark airin' their lungs their attackers.

The bar dog rode through a thicket on the outskirts of the gunfire. I was a hare's length away from him.

He shouted unintelligible words, and men hiding behind the trees came into view. They fired at me.

I held the reins with one hand. "Whoa, Sally."

She buckled, wobbled, and neighed, crashing down to a side into the shrubbery. My barking iron discharged as it fell. I hit my head on the long strips of bark on the ground. My lips were dry with a metallic taste, and my head faced the canopy blocking the sun.

Sitting up, I spat and pulled my exposed leg behind her.

"Sally," I called, tugging her. "Sally, we have to move."

She wheezed, and the men fired. I lowered myself to the ground. Wood cracked under roaring fire as bullets ricocheted, and Sally's blood splattered. She lay motionless. I rested my hand on her head.

I had to move.

I pushed on her, getting my squeezed leg out. My arm pulsed in pain, causing me to hold it. The four men halted their fire. The trees creaked. On the forest floor, my barking iron was nowhere to be found.

I have to find Ames. I have to get Ron. I have to survive.

I am not. My clothes ripped. I am not. My claws grew. My eyes enlarged — a monster.

Leaves crackled.

"Werewolf!" one man shouted.

I snarled and raised my paw, slashing at him.

The next, I knocked him to the ground and ripped his throat. The other fumbled with his lead pusher before I pounced on him. Despair was the last sound he made.

The last dropped his lead pusher and ran.

"Monster, Monster!" a man shouted.

Ames.

His scent lingered in the air. He was getting further and further away. I howled, picked up the barking iron into my mouth, and followed.

The gunshots continued. Richard and Mark would be fine. I had to find Ames and Ron.

I ran through the open forest, narrowing down on the scent. At the edge of the open forest was a small hut. A horse was hitched outside. The trail told me that Ames was in there with him.

I panted. Around the hut, the ground was filled with bear traps. If I took my time, Ames might be killed. This was a bag of nails. I transformed back, and now I stood naked and cold. My vision was fading, and my body staggered. No doubt my wound wanted tending.

Artemis gazes.

I took a step forward, getting as close as possible without giving away my position. My foot rubbed something on the ground, and it rattled.

"You out there Karen!?"

"Shit!"

"I know you're there. Show yourself or I will kill the boy."

My heart thumped.

"You got five seconds."

I peered down, noticing the hidden string on my foot.

"One."

I checked the ammo in the lead pusher. Three bullets.

"Two!"

I took a deep breath.

"Three!"

"Alright, I am coming out!"

My ginger hair ran down my face. I stepped out of the forest and walked at an angle to protect myself from the window. My gaze shifted from the hut to the ground. One misstep and I could be dead. I had my hair in the butter again.

I took my time walking through the field, avoiding all the traps. My lead pusher was behind my back. I was just shy of the door.

"Don't worry, I won't shoot you. The door is open."

I took a step up and opened the door. On the left, the bar dog was seated with Ames in his lap. Anansi's barking iron was held in his hand. The room was empty except for the rattling of chains from below.

Ames was untied, but there was deep worry on his face.

"Drop your lead pusher."

"No."

"I have got the boy." The bar dog cocked his lead pusher.

"If you hurt that boy. I promise you a fate worse than death."

"A fate worse than death." The bar dog chuckled. "I have seen such a fate before from you and your kind!"

"Where is Ron?"

"Probably dead by one of your own kind. I thank them for giving me the pleasure of being able to finish this job."

I drew my lead pusher and aimed at his head.

"Careful now. You don't want to hit the child. Three is a party. All we need now is an undertaker."

He was bluffing. He had to be. Ron couldn't be dead.

"From the moment I saw you, I knew you looked like him. The bastard who killed my family. Why would you deserve happiness? How the hell would that be justice?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"In this very hut, my woman and my daughter died. I had worked my first time at Black Water and I came home to find a werewolf feasting on my family. I shot it once, twice, but it escaped. It's because of that, that I and you're here. Because that creature, that demon spawn, was your brother."

"Lies. My brother would never do such a thing."

"There are no lies. They are records dating far back about you things. You hellspawn feasting on human flesh. You're nothing more than an imitation of man. But I have set all things right. The world will see you for what you are and the savior is here."

Ames.

"Once I sacrifice this child, it will be our salvation. Our freedom from another oppressor."

I placed my right leg forward. "That's crazy."

His body matched mine, drawing Ames in front as a shield. "Only to a heretic, but maybe I can give you salvation."

We both fired.

The bar dog's head was knocked back and sunk.

A surging pain struck my eye as I screamed, curling on the floor. It stung, and my body instinctively changed on its own. I howled. My claws scratched the very floor.

"Karen!" Ames shouted.

Ames' hand held my body. His tears passed through my fur. I jerked a few more moments on the ground, holding my eye. Ames hugged me.

In his embrace, I partially transformed back and struggled to my feet.

We had to leave. More might be coming. I had to keep Ames safe and find Ron.

With each step I took, my body struggled to maintain itself. My leg was stiff, and my right arm no longer lifted. I was leaning on Ames for support, and it pained me to walk.

I opened the door and took my first step outside. Finding Ron, Tanner, my father, and the others coming out of the forest.

Ron was alive. I am sorry, Ron.

With my next step, my body collapsed, and darkness took me.