Turning to Officer Jones, he claps the man on the shoulder. “Load her into the back of one of the jail carts and take her to the edge of Interstate Thirty-Five,” he says, casting me a glance. That was the highway I’d warned him to watch closely. “When you get there, restrain her and leave her in the middle of the road.”
I stare at the police chief with rising horror. “You are mad.”
Chief Davenport’s eyes harden. “You might gag her too,” he adds. “She’s causing enough panic as it is.”
The officers do as they’re ordered. I’m left in the middle of the highway on the edge of Austin, my wrists and ankles cuffed. A length of rope runs from my neck to a defunct streetlamp fifteen feet away. I’m chained like a dog.
The officers in charge have moved away from me, probably because now that their boss is out of sight, they’re realizing this is highly, highly unethical, even for the Wild West.
Or maybe, trussed up as I am, they simply don’t need to be any closer.
I struggle against my bonds until my wrists are rubbed raw and a few frustrated tears have slipped out.
This is such a stupid situation brought on by a few idiots who think that simple problems must have simple solutions, and now, not only are they fucked, I’m fucked too.
I work my jaw. The cloth they’ve gagged me with is hurting the edges of my mouth.
I glance over my shoulder at where the three officers loiter near their police carriage. They look bored and somewhat annoyed at being out in the cold, but they’re chatting away. I catch bits and pieces of work gossip.
Nothing much happens for a long time. Some people enter the city, some people leave it—a few of them even stop to question the situation I’m in before Officer Jones or one of the other two men scares them off.
Eventually, Chief Davenport joins them.
“Your horseman hasn’t shown up yet?” the chief of police calls out to me.
My hands are bound, but I still manage to lift them high enough to flip him the bird.
“Hey!” one of the officers barks sharply.
“Forget about it,” Davenport says. Quieter, I hear him add, “If nothing happens by nightfall, we’ll have you guys switch out with Joe and Tompkins and Elijah.”
“What’s going on?” one of the men asks, his voice low. I hear the chief of police fill them all in.
“Think it’s true?” One of them asks.
“Well, we’ll see, won’t we?” Davenport says a little louder, and I can practically feel his gaze boring into my back. “If not, I can tell you all one thing for damn sure: that woman will regret coming to Austin.”
An hour more goes by before I hear the piercing cries of countless animals off in the distance.
It’s beginning.
My heart ratchets up as I hobble to my feet, then shuffle as best I can over to the leaning streetlamp I’m tied to. That dark line of creatures grows closer and closer, obscuring the sunset. The police cart rattles, then takes off as the horses harnessed to it gallop away.
“Fucking hell!” One of the men exclaims.
I press my back against the metal pole just as the animals rush past, braying and howling and screeching.
“Holy shit!” another officer exclaims.
The rest of their words are lost to the noise of the stampede. The group of them dash towards a defunct fast food restaurant, the paint worn away with time, and the logo nothing more than an outline. They have to slog through the horde of animals to get there, but eventually, they manage to hide behind the derelict building.
I should get some grim satisfaction at their situation, but instead my stomach churns because I know what’s coming.
Death.
As the stampede tapers off, I feel that lethal silence.
Oh God.
I fight my restraints anew, though it’s useless.
I remember the horseman’s promise that he would come for me, and I shiver.
I close my eyes, trying to figure out just how I’m going to get myself out of this mess. I could stay right here, slouched against this pole with my back to the road. I bet if Death didn’t see my face, he’d walk right by and miss me altogether.
But then Austin would perish, and if everyone’s gone, I’ll be stuck forever bound to this post. That nightmarish possibility churns my stomach.
If I cannot hide from the horseman … then I’m going to have to get back on that road and offer myself up to Death like some sort of sick sacrifice.
Just like Chief Davenport intended.
I grimace, even as I shuffle back over to the middle of the road, my chains clanking. I’ve just gotten there when, from the silence, I hear the officers’ voices.