West

"What did he say, Miss Josie?" Nell asked, inching closer. She brought the shotgun up to her shoulder. "Don't you move."

I had almost reached the door and stopped cold. "Why are you doing this, Nell?" I whispered, fear doing frantic cartwheels in my mind and tightening my chest.

"You made John happy. He's gone now, and you need to be with him to keep him happy."

"So your plan is to shoot me and tell Taylor what?"

"I won't be here when he's back. Both of us will be with John again."

This keeps getting worse. I needed more time to figure out what to do. "I don't want to be shot. I'd rather join the others at the bottom of the well."

Nell appeared to be considering my words.

"Please," I added.

"Very well, Miss Josie." She strode forward and took my arm. "Open the door."

I obeyed. A gust of wind swept by us, and I closed my eyes to the pelting rain. We plunged from the warmth and light of the barn into the cold, dark night. Nell tugged me towards the back of the barn. Her grip was tighter than I expected from someone who looked ready to collapse earlier today.

There was a smaller barn beside us. Behind the horse barn were the sheep pens and half a dozen piles of straw and hay covered with tarps. My best bet was to run once we reached the back and hide behind the tarps, to see if I could make my way around the other side of the barn and back around to grab a horse before she could follow.

We reached the back corner, and I prepared to shove her and run.

Someone was in front of the well.

We both froze, unable to make out who it was in the dark.

"Their spirits," Nell said hoarsely. "They've come back for me!"

It wasn't a spirit. That much I was able to tell, but we weren't close enough for me to see the face.

"Talks to Spirits," called Fighting Badger.

Oh, no. I held out hope of this ending in some way that didn't involve Nell killing anyone else or dying herself.

"Indian?" Nell raised her shotgun. "You're trespassing on John's lands!"

I shoved her hard enough for her to fall to the ground and darted towards Fighting Badger. "We need to leave!" I cried, grabbing his arm. "Now!"

The first blast of the shotgun went off like a mini-explosion. I braced myself but didn't feel it hit.

Fighting Badger dropped, nearly taking me with him. I released him with a quick look towards Nell. He struggled up. A flash of lightning revealed the hole in his abdomen, and I froze, horrified.