Hard Ride to Wichita by Ralph Compton, Marcus Galloway

bind here. It’s got to be set straight. You want to do it or should I?”
    Shaking his head, Kyle said, “You’re mistaken. Nothing needs to be set straight.”
    Luke’s pulse sped up and he suddenly regained control of his legs. When he tried to get his mother moving with a gentle tug on her arm, he found she was now the one frozen in fear. He tugged a bit harder, which was enough to snap her out of the spell that had come over her.
    â€œThis ain’t the first time you’ve put us all at risk,” Scott said. “But I can tell you it’ll be the last.”
    â€œDon’t do this!” Kyle yelled.
    â€œToo late,” the stranger said. “It’s already done.”
    When Scott drew a pistol from his holster, it was in a motion so fast that Luke barely saw it. The thunder that followed would follow him for the rest of his life.

Chapter 5
    Luke thought his stepfather was dead after the first pair of shots blasted through the house. But Kyle had jumped to one side, grunting as he hit the floor. The moment all four limbs were beneath him, Kyle crawled toward the wall where his hunting rifle was set upon two pegs above the kitchen door.
    â€œYou’ve got to get out of here!” Virginia said to her son.
    All Luke could do was nod and hurry with her toward the front door.
    Without a word of warning, Scott turned and fired a round at them. Even compared to the gunshot itself, the thump of lead drilling into flesh was deafening to Luke’s ears. He felt his mother’s entire body jerk as her steps became a falling stagger toward salvation. She reached toward the door leading outside, only to push Luke toward it in front of her.
    â€œGo on,” she gasped. “Get the sheriff.”
    Another shot caught her in the back. Her eyes glazed over and she fell into Luke’s waiting arms.
    Luke stared down at her as she grew heavy and limp. From the corner of his eye, he could see Scott coming toward him. He knew the other man had more bullets to fire, but he simply didn’t care. The only thing that surprised him was the bellowing sound of Kyle’s voice before another torrent of gunfire was unleashed.
    Pivoting smoothly, Scott fired the gun in his right hand while drawing the second pistol with his left. All the while, the familiar bark of the hunting rifle exploded within the house. Glass shattered. Furniture was overturned. Lanterns were knocked from the wall and tabletops. The room that was so familiar to Luke, unchanged throughout most of his life, was destroyed in seconds. A storm raged around him and a large part of him didn’t care to get out of its way. If he was to be stricken down by the chaos, then so be it.
    What the boy felt wasn’t bravery.
    It wasn’t even anger.
    What Luke felt was a vast, clawing cold stretching out from his stomach to claim every inch of his body.
    His eyes absorbed the unfolding horror without focusing on one thing for more than a fraction of a second. He saw blind rage written across Kyle’s face as he fired the hunting rifle and levered in another round. He saw smoke bellow into the air between the two men. He saw Scott toss an empty gun from his right hand to calmly replace it with the second one he’d drawn a few moments ago. After moving to one side, Scott dropped to one knee before firing the round that put an end to Kyle’s fight.
    Falling backward, Kyle was swallowed up by the gritty smoke that had filled the air. Although Luke’s ears were ringing too badly to hear the body hit the floor, he felt the impact through the boards. He felt the sudden need to get away from his mother’s body, so Luke backed toward the door.
    Scott walked toward the spot where Kyle had fallen and fired another round into him. He then scooped up the valise and turned toward the front portion of the house. “What are you fixing to do with that, boy?” he asked.
    It wasn’t until that moment that