It was the sound of the horses screaming that had awoken Jed.

Sweat poured down his face as he reached for his twelve gauge sitting over the mantle, yanked on his overalls to cover his ratty and torn boxers, and dodged out his worn screen door, his feet bare on the hard, warm summer soil beneath him as the first rays of the sun peeped over the horizon.

“Damn kids” he muttered, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow as he walked by the fence line towards the barn, movement attracting his eyes as he peered around the corner of the fence, one eye shut as he lifted his gun.

A girl sat in his barnyard, her body leaning over the forlorn shape of a sheep soaked in blood, her head shaking as she buried it in its hide.

Stepping closer, Jed took the safety off of his gun and put his finger on the trigger, one hand on the gate as he pushed it open.

She looked up, shreds of flesh dangling, and screamed, her mouth a pool of rotten black as she reached for him, her eyes glassy and unblinking. He fired.