Hell Bent for Leather by Joshua Unruh

Author:Joshua Unruh
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: historical fiction, strange fiction, weird western, fantasy fiction books, Devil, Ghost, Cowboy
Publisher: Pulp Diction Press
Published: 2015-04-07T00:00:00+00:00

11 - Things Get Devilishly Difficult

Maybe the Riders saw the motion of the lasso, or maybe Chet just took one risk too many. Whatever the reason, the Demon Riders noticed him right then. A screech tore through the air from behind and above the riding cowboy, a voice as perfectly dreadful as it had been perfectly melancholy moments before. Chet chanced a glance over his shoulder and saw the source of the horrible shriek pointing him out to its compatriots. Thing is, it didn’t exactly sound like an alarm, and none of them made a move to stop the lone rider. Chet almost got the feeling they were amused, like it was a joke to them. They were cats laughing themselves silly at a mouse stealing cheese right from between their paws.

Their disdain bruised the cowboy’s pride, and that anger brought a desire to make the Riders regret it that warred with relief that they would leave him to more important work for a bit longer. Truth be told, though, the anger was winning, catching fire in his belly and spreading through his limbs with a renewed strength. He spurred Strawberry on to an extra surge of speed and his lariat became a blur above his head as he fixed his eyes on Dan and swore he wouldn’t blink until he’d hogtied his friend.

Chet took control of his Sight and forced it to focus, to stop Seeing the part of the beast that remained Dan so he could zero in on the steer’s thick neck. He blocked out the demonic snickering, the brain-bruising drum of the herd’s hoof beats, and his own fear. Chet had enough problems roping a steer from below and he hadn’t a clue how strong Dan would be—or how much his friend would resist. But this old hand had roped steers a hundred thousand times, and he knew he could hook and tie Dan.

He had to. There wasn’t anything else to it.

Chet narrowed his Sight to a pinpoint. The lariat spun above his head in a blur and whirred like a swarm of angry hornets. The cowboy waited for that sweet, perfect moment when his body and Strawberry’s moved as though they were one organism, when the lasso found the rhythm of a running calf or steer. The rest of the world melted away when the instant came and he let loose the lariat.

The hoop of rope shot straight toward Dan like a bullet. Chet exulted, until an ill-timed shake of his friend’s flat, long-horned head caused the loop to catch a horn tip instead of smoothly falling around his neck. Even as the cowhand’s heart sank, instinct took over, quick fingers bypassed his brain to cause a sharp tug in just the right direction at just the right moment. The rope snapped sideways, dodging the horn and letting the loop around Dan’s neck. Chet yanked the loop tight and stood up in the stirrups, signaling to Strawberry the wrestling match had started.

Strawberry sat down from

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