“It burns, Todd,” she says, her voice low.
I set her down and drop the bag and slip my shirt off my back, crumpling it up and holding it against the bullet hole. “You hold that tight, you hear me?” I say, my anger rising like lava. “This won’t take a second.”
I look up at Davy Prentiss.
“Get up,” he says, his horse still jumpy and edgy from the heat coming off me. “I ain’t telling you twice, Todd.”
I stand.
I step forward.
“I said put yer hands up,” Davy says, his horse whinnying and bluffing and clopping from foot to foot.
I march towards him.
Faster.
Till I’m running.
“I’ll shoot you!” Davy shouts, waving the gun, trying to control his horse which is sending Charge! Charge! all over the place in its Noise.
“No, you won’t!” I yell, running right up to the horse’s head and sending a crash of Noise right at it.
SNAKE!
The horse rears up on its back legs.
“Goddammit, Todd!” Davy yells, wheeling and whirling, trying to control his horse with the one hand that’s not holding the pistol.
I jump in, slap the horse’s front quarters and jump back. The horse whinnies and rears up again.
“Yer a dead man!” Davy shouts, going in a full circle with the horse jumping and rearing.
“Yer half right,” I say.
And I’m seeing my chance–
The horse neighs loudly and shakes its head back and forth–
I wait–
Davy pulls on the reins–
I dodge–
I wait–
“Effing horse!” Davy shouts–
He tries to jerk the reins again–
The horse is twisting round one more time–
I wait–
The horse brings Davy round to me, careening him low in the saddle–
And there’s my chance–
My fist is back and waiting–
BOOM!
I catch him cross the face like a hammer falling–
I swear I feel his nose break under my fist–
He calls out in pain and falls from the saddle–
Dropping the pistol in the dust–
I jump back–
Davy’s foot catches in the stirrup–
The horse rears round again–
I smack its hindquarters as hard as I can–
And the horse has had enough.
It charges back up the hill, back up the road, Davy’s foot still caught, making him bounce hard against rocks and dirt as he’s dragged, fast, up the incline–
The pistol’s in the dust–
I move for it–
“Todd?” I hear.
And there’s no time.
There’s no time at all.
Without hardly thinking, I leave the pistol and I run back down to Viola at the edge of the scrub.
“I think I’m dying, Todd,” she says.
“Yer not dying,” I say, getting an arm under her shoulders and another under her knees.
“I’m cold.”
“Yer not effing dying!” I say. “Not today!”
And I stand, with her in my arms, and I’m at the top of the zigzag that goes down into Haven.
And that’s not going to be fast enough.
I plunge straight down. Straight down thru the scrub.
“Come on!” I say out loud as my Noise forgets itself and all there is in the universe is my legs moving.
Come on!
I run.
Thru scrub–
And across road–
Thru more scrub–
Across road again as it doubles back–
Down and down–
Kicking up clods of earth and jumping over bushes–
Stumbling over roots–
Come on.
“Hang on,” I say to Viola. “You hang on, you hear me?”
Viola grunts every time we land hard–
But that means she’s still breathing.
Down–
And down–
Come on.
Please.
I skid on some bracken–
But I do not fall–
Road and scrub–
My legs aching at the steepness–
Scrub and road–
Down–
Please–
“Todd?”
“Hang on!”
I reach the bottom of the hill and I hit it running.
She’s so light in my arms.
So light.
I run to where the road rejoins the river, the road into Haven, trees springing up again all around us, the river rushing on.
“Hang on!” I say again, running down the road, fast as my feet will carry me.
Come on.
Please.
Round curves and corners–
Under trees and by the riverbank–
Up ahead I see the battlement I spotted with the binos from the hill above, huge wooden Xs piled up in a long row out to either side with an opening across the road.
“HELP!” I’m shouting as we come to it. “HELP US!”
I run.
Come on.
“I don’t think I can–” Viola says, her voice breathless.
“Yes you CAN!” I shout. “Don’t you DARE give up!”
I run.
The battlement’s coming–
But there’s no one.
There’s no one there.
I run thru the opening on the road and to the other side.
I stop long enough to take a turn round.
There’s no one.
“Todd?”
“We’re almost there,” I say.
“I’m losing it, Todd–”
And her head rolls back.
“No, yer NOT!” I shout at her face. “You WAKE UP, Viola Eade! You keep yer ruddy eyes open.”
And she tries. I see her try.
And her eyes open, only a little, but open.
And I run again as fast as I can.
And I’m shouting “HELP!” as I go.
“HELP!”
Please.
“HELP!”
And her breath is starting to gasp.
“HELP US!”
Please no.
And I’m not seeing NO ONE.
The houses I pass are shut up and empty. The road turns from dirt to paved and still no one out and about.
“HELP!”
My feet slam against the pavement–
The road is leading to the big church up ahead, a clearing of the trees, the steeple shining down onto a town square in front of it.
And no one’s there neither.
No.
“HELP!”
I race on to the square, crossing it, looking all around, listening out–
No.
No.
It’s empty.
Viola’s breathing heavy in my arms.
And Haven is empty.
I reach the middle of the square.
I don’t see nor hear a soul.
I spin around again.
“HELP!” I cry.
But there’s no one.
Haven is completely empty.
There ain’t no hope here at all.
Viola slips a little from my grasp and I have to kneel to catch her. My shirt has dropped from her wound and I use one hand to hold it in place.
There ain’t nothing left. The bag, the binos, my ma’s book, I’m realizing it’s all left up on the hillside.
Me and Viola are all we got, everything we have in the world.
And she’s bleeding so much–
“Todd?” she says, her voice low and slurring.
“Please,” I say, my eyes welling, my voice cracking. “Please.”
Please please please please please–
“Well, since you asked so nicely,” comes a voice across the square, hardly even raising itself to a shout.
I look up.
Coming round the side of the church is a single horse.
With a single rider.
“No,” I whisper.
No.
No.