Chapter 629 Countdown
“Do you know how to use it, kid?” asked Cook.
“Of course. I have a teacher of great distinction. He is a superb marksman and can defeat ten heavily armed men all by himself. If he happens to be here tonight, I bet you and your lackeys will die even before you step into my house,” Wendy said.
“Wow… that’s a real shame. Pity he isn’t here tonight. Otherwise, I’m curious as to what this man looks like. It sounds like he has three heads and six arms,” Cook said casually.
“It’s okay. You don’t need to feel any sort of regret. I, his protege, am more than enough to deal with you. Although I am nowhere as good as my teacher, I’m still a sharpshooter myself,” Wendy puffed out her chest.
“I can land an accurate shot on a running hare from fifty yards, let alone shoot at such a close distance. When I pull the trigger, a hole will appear in your chest the next second, and the bullet will tear through your flesh and heart. In your final moment, you will fall to the ground and wail. But rest assured, it will be quick since you will soon go to hell, you damn old hunchback bastard!”
Wendy spat on the ground.
“Heh,” Cook raised his eyebrows. He was stunned and did not speak for half a minute. Blinking, he continued, “I have to admit that… you gave a pretty passionate speech there, my child. Especially the last few expletives. I can say that you are way more straightforward than your benevolent, moral-centered father. I gave him plenty of chances while we were on the way here.
I deliberately turned my back to him when I slept. If he were cruel enough, he would have snatched my gun, threatening me and winning the fight. But in the end, he let me down. All he could think of during that time was to run away from me. Sadly, he didn’t know that there was nowhere in this world he could escape to. It’s because no one can escape fate.”
“I don’t know about your bullshit about creeks and salmons, but I only know that people can’t outrun bullets,” Wendy snapped coldly. “Well, at this point, I can’t agree more,” Cook paused. “It seems that we are in a deadlock. You have a gun, and I have a gun. Let me tell you what will happen next, kid. I’ll shoot and kill your parents. Then, you’ll shoot me, and if you’re as good of a marksman as you claim to be, the gunshots will attract the three men outside your house.
They will rush in, and when they see my body on the ground, they will shoot at you without hesitation. And yes, you will fight back. If you are lucky, you may be able to get someone as a human shield. Nonetheless, a bullet will hit you eventually. Believe me, it hurts a lot. Especially if this is your first time getting shot. “If you get hit… Well, the process is similar to what you described. If you are unlucky, you won’t die for some time after getting shot. That would be the worst part.
You will be lying on the cold hard ground, bleeding out while waiting for death to claim your soul. You will feel the utmost desperation and loneliness. Your mother’s corpse will be lying on your left, and your father’s to your right. In a sense, you will be reunited with your family. And then you will have the old bastard of a hunchback lying in the middle. Oh, things are about to get real annoying for you.”
“Are you done?”
Wendy asked in nonchalance. Although she was trying to restrain the panic in her heart, she had to admit that Cook had indeed dug into her weakness. What she feared most was her parents dying in front of her. When the gruesome scene crossed her mind, her hand trembled slightly, and her body became stiff.
But that was not the worst part. What was worse was that she knew that she could not even sacrifice herself for her family.
Not to mention that she exaggerated her marksmanship and applied the words the sheriff used to describe Joseph on him. After all, at such close proximity, Wendy was confident that she could land her shot on Cook accurately.
Unfortunately, her gun was empty. Although Wendy stole both the gun and the bullets, she did not have time to reload it. Initially, she wanted to ride her Lightning into town after returning the keys, then find a bright spot to slowly reload the shotgun. However, she did not expect Cook to come knocking right on her door.
When Cook sat down in the living room, she had to look darn hard for the slimmest opportunity to get the shotgun, let alone reload it. In other words, thus far, she had been lying. “Are you feeling nervous, child?” Cook’s devilish eyes seemed to see right through her heart.
Wendy was sweating bullets from her forehead to the tip of her nose. “I’m not nervous. I don’t mind sacrificing my life to kill you. At least I can watch you die in front of me. I’ll consider it revenge for my parents. I bet it will feel good,” she insisted with resolute obstinance. “Very good. See, Matthew, this is what I’ve been trying to emphasize all along. Even your daughter knows that you must look straight into the eye of fate and fight that bitch. What a pity…” Cook looked at Wendy with a look of regret, “You are a girl, and I don’t have that long to train you. I would have brought you with me, but since I am in a good mood now, I’m deciding to do you a small favor.”
“What kind of favor?” Wendy gulped. “I know you are suffering, and you don’t know what you should do. It doesn’t matter, kid. Just leave it all to me. Dealing with this kind of deadlock has always been my forte,” Cook harrumphed. “I will count to ten. If you don’t put down the gun, I will pull the trigger and kill your parents. Of course, you can try your luck and kill me first. This should be fun.”
Wendy kept telling herself that Cook was pulling psychological tricks on her, trying to crush her will with every word uttered. However, she could tell from the latter’s icy stare that he wasn’t lying.
“Ten,” Cook added casually.
Wendy had never felt so helpless before, having practically no idea what she should do next. Should she surrender, or hold out to the end and watch Cook kill her parents? She had done everything she could. Preventing the tragedy that was bound to happen now seemed impossible. Although she kept telling herself to be strong and to keep the enemy from peering into her weaknesses, tears couldn’t help but ooze out from the corner of her eyes.
“It’s okay. It’s okay, Wendy. You’ve done well. Your mother and I are proud of you,” Matthew said softly, then looked at Cook as if his mind had been made up. “Let them go, and I will go with you.”
“No, you have to follow my plan. I don’t believe in your verbal promise, Matthew. I will kill your wife and take your daughter away. This will be an unchanging fact. Of course, if your daughter insists on holding on to the gun, I can only kill you together with them. You know me well, Matthew. I always do what I say. I have always regarded you as a son. Now, I have lost a daughter, and you have no idea the torment I’ll have to endure if I lose my son. My heart will be filled with grief. Nine.”
Tears blurred Wendy’s eyes. She felt that the shotgun was getting heavier and heavier to the point that she could not lift it anymore, as if it would fall from her hand at any moment. Just when her strength about to be exhausted, she heard a gunshot from outside the house, with two more following that. The sound of the firing gun, however, was mixed with the sound of screams. Then, bodies began to drop dead on the ground.
After that, everything returned to silence, as if nothing had happened.
The sound of the gentle night breeze blowing past the pastures was the only audible thing “What the hell was that?” Cook frowned. No longer in the mood to play games with Wendy, he shot her in her hand while she was distracted, forcing her to drop the shotgun. Then Cook turned his gun and pointed at the door.