Snippet #2632317

The crunch of boots against the dirt was all to easy to hear in the empty night. Anna tensed, gripping the small knife in her hand. She waited a half second, drawing in a slow breath emptying her mind of any distraction. There was nothing but her and the man who needed to die. The two figures rounded the corner and Horatio lept first. While they grappled across the ground she lunged for the second man, jabbing her fist out at the man's throat. The sinner coughed and gasped, but nothing louder than a wheezing breath came out.

But he recovered his wits quickly enough, and his hand reached for the revolver holstered on his belt. Anna jabbed her knife down, cutting into the man's wrist before he could reach the gun. He let out a wheezing cry, stumbling back and grasping at the bleeding gash, then lashed out wildly with his other arm. Anna ducked under the blow and thrust her arm out, her knife digging deep into the man's throat. She drew the blade out just as quickly, leaving him gurgling amidst the blood steadily oozing from his neck as he stumbled back onto the ground.

Anna didn't bat an eye as the corpse twitched faintly before finally falling still. One less sinner in the world, and certainly one far worse than any petty bandit she had killed before. She wiped her blade clean on the sleeve of her coat before looking over to Horatio. Blood spattered as his stood, he perhaps had not killed his opponent with quite as much finesse, but Anna could not fault his effectiveness.

She peered out into the darkness as she made her way to the hole in the wall, then whispered over to Horatio. "We need to open the gates, then quickly set fire to wherever they're stabling their horses. That will provide both the signal to the posse and chaos they need to deal with these sinners. All we need do then is find the children and protect them until the posse arrives. And ensure we have one of these wretches left alive to question."