A dark and menacing doorway greeted him; the darkness from within stopped him from entering the room. He tried to see into the gloom, ‘crack’, a flash of red flame shone from inside, a lead ball slammed into the trunk of a tree that was directly beside him. The shot startled him, nervously he stepped back a pace from the doorway. ‘Crack’, another shot echoed around his ears, followed by the sound of splintering wood from within the dismal room. It was then he realized that the second shot was fired from his own gun. The shot had been low, the ball shattered one of the legs of the chair Ben Stickles was sitting on; he fell backward onto the floor.
Vale took advantage of this lucky break and sprang forward, taking the double-barrelled pistol away from the man. “Now, you sit there against th
