Shepherd of the Black Sheep by Kristopher Triana

Author:Kristopher Triana
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: mystery, murder, Horror, crime, drama, murder mystery
ISBN: 9781940250311
Publisher: Blood Bound Books
Published: 2018-07-30T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

He awoke to screaming.

Tom’s first thought was that it must be Paige. His adrenaline skyrocketed, launching him out of bed in sheer panic, but as more screams filled the night, Tom realized they weren’t human. They were the wet, garbled throat-shrieks of cattle, mewling in pain, terror or both. The window to his left had an orange glow like a sunset, and he dashed to it for only a second before spinning around, the sight outside causing him to charge downstairs. He rushed into his boots so fast that he stumbled, nearly breaking his ankle before catching himself and putting a hole in the drywall. He didn’t change out of his pajamas; he just threw on his overcoat, took an extinguisher from the hall and ran out the door, running toward the frenzied inferno of the barn.

Black smoke rose into the night sky in billowy blankets, the whole ranch illuminated by the towering blaze. The main barn was a fury of fire. The flames lapped through the slats and had climbed all the way up, setting the edge of the roof ablaze. One side of the barn was concaved, the same wood-rotted spot he’d been patching up. In the pasture, a few cows were running, having somehow escaped, possibly through the hole. One of them was trotting in frantic circles, screeching, its body engulfed in flames. From inside the barn came the panicking cries of the livestock and horses, and at the wall where Essie’s stable was the planks shuddered as the horse kicked at it in an effort to escape.

The flaming bossie was charging too violently for Tom to get close enough to spray it with the extinguisher, and he had to prioritize. Getting to the barn before the roof was fully swallowed by fire was his objective, so he ran at full force, his knees grinding and popping as they were put to use in a way they hadn’t been in many years. The snow grabbed at his boots, trying to suck him into the earth, and he stumbled more than once before reaching the barn. He was cautious of a back draft so he butted the door with the end of the extinguisher and stepped aside, spraying the flames that greeted with the roar of a lion.

The inside of the barn was like a vision of hell. The smoke was stifling, crushing his lungs, nearly thick enough to blind him. A few more of the cows were on fire, still trapped in their pens, kicking and screaming as they were burned alive. Tom went to Essie’s gate first, ducking behind it as he let her out so not to be kicked to death. The horse bolted away in a full gallop. Tom went to the gates of the other cattle that were still unharmed, putting them first, and kept the gate between he and them as one by one they charged out of the barn and into the field in one long, mooing convoy. He sprayed

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.