There was no easy way to do it, so Deadshot pushed open the door and stepped inside. The house was a mess. Furniture was overturned and scattered around. Some of the windows had been broken, and glass littered the floor. Those things could be fixed or replaced, but there was nothing that could be done about the dead bodies.
“I’m gonna need you to tell me who they are,” Deadshot said. “We have to make sure that everybody is accounted for.”
“Okay,” the kid agreed, his voice trembling as they walked over to the first body.
The kid held the light out, revealing a man with a blood-soaked shirt. “He was one of our ranch hands.”
Deadshot nodded and started making his way over to the next man. This one was lying face down, so he lowered himself and rolled the man over. A small cry escaped the kid’s lips, letting Deadshot know who it was before the kid even spoke.
“My p-pa,” he stuttered.
A shiver ran down Deadshot’s spine as he leaned forward and gently closed the man’s eyes. He knew how it felt to see your father’s lifeless body. It happened to most people eventually, but there was a huge difference between somebody dying from old age or sickness and somebody being brutally murdered.
“I’m sorry, kid,” Deadshot said as he stood up. “Do you need a moment?”
The kid wiped his eyes and took a step back. “Later,” he replied. “I need to find my mother and sister.”
It wasn’t going to get any easier, but Deadshot understood why the kid needed to find them, so they continued looking. They found another man, this one much younger, who also worked on the ranch, and a middle-aged woman. Her dress was torn off her blood-stained body, making it obvious how she had died.
Together, they searched the entire house, but the kid’s mother and sister were nowhere to be found. It was strange but not unheard of for bandits to abduct women.
“Do you think they got away?” the kid asked.
Deadshot doubted it, but he couldn’t say no. “I don’t know, but I don’t think so,” he answered honestly.
The kid’s face fell. The little hope he had left was disappearing. Deadshot felt horrible, but there was no point in lying to him.
Chapter 7
Rider had never felt so hopeless before. Seeing his father’s dead body was almost more than he could handle, but he couldn’t allow himself to break down, at least not until they had found his mother and sister. The problem was that they weren’t there.
“Maybe they are hiding somewhere,” he said, knowing full well how foolish he sounded. He might only be fourteen, but he wasn’t dumb. He had heard many stories of ranch attacks, and they seldom ended well. The people rarely lived to tell the tale.
Rider knew that he had been gone too long, but he also knew that returning sooner probably wouldn’t have changed anything, except that he might have been killed too. The fact that he couldn’t find his mother and sister was pure torture. He had to know if they were okay.
Deadshot said he doubted that they survived, but until Rider saw their bodies, he had to hold on to hope.
“I’m going to search the house again,” Rider announced.
Deadshot shook his head but didn’t argue. Instead, he followed Rider. Once again, they came up empty-handed.
“Now what?” Rider asked, feeling defeated.
Deadshot looked around the living room, his eyes scanning the area as if searching for the right answer. “We go to the local sheriff and tell him what happened and that your mother and sister are missing.”
“I know Sheriff Stewart,” Rider replied. “He’ll help us.”
“Great, let’s go then.”
Together, they headed back outside to their horses. Deadshot kept his pistol in hand and led the way. It was obvious that the man was worried there might still be bandits around. Rider was scared too, but he felt safe with Deadshot. The man had helped him and protected him. Rider had never seen anybody shoot like him. He was so fast and didn’t miss. It was incredible. Rider just wished that he had gotten to see it under different circumstances.
Once they were on their horses, Deadshot turned to look at him. “You lead the way.”
“Okay,” Rider agreed. “We’ll go to his office in town. He’s usually there before sunrise.”
Rider led the way, encouraging his horse to go as fast as it could. He didn’t know the horse well at all, but he did know that the animal was fast and strong. He might have belonged to one of the bandits, but animals weren’t evil. Rider decided that he would keep him.
At the pace they were going, it didn’t take long for them to reach Sheriff Stewart’s office. It was situated in the middle of town, close to the town square. In the distance, Rider could see the first rays of the sun poke out over the mountains. He was glad that the darkness was fading, but with every minute that passed, he felt more anxious.
