Panic seized Cole. There were no mutilated cows or horses in sight, nothing to alert the couple that they were in danger. He dropped gears and pressed the gas harder. He slammed the horn but heard only a dull click. He flashed the truck’s headlights repeatedly. Sticking his head out the window, he called out to the couple, but the howling wind muffled his warnings.

Someone else emerged from the house. A young girl, no older than five or six. She wore a pink raincoat and rubber boots. Blond curls spilled from under a matching bucket hat. She splashed whimsically through the puddles in a playful dash from the house. She ran past her parents unheeded, and continued on, heading straight for the Jackrabbits.

The truck pitched hard and slammed into another rut. Cole pumped the accelerator. The tires hummed without traction. He was stuck, still some seventy-five yards away. He toppled out of
the truck. “Grab the girl!” he screamed. “Get her back in the house now!”

A lone figure stepped forward from the cluster of players, his helmet clutched at his side. It was Philip Meekin.

The linebacker’s thick arms came up as he moved to meet the approaching child. The rest of the players circled in behind him.

“Goddamnit!” Cole reached back into the truck and grabbed the Winchester. He planted the rifle’s barrel in the fork of the open door and sited his target.

A scream rang out. The girl was close enough now to clearly see the monsters before her. She tried to move back but lost her footing and fell to the ground. Philip dove for her and took hold of her ankle.

Cole fired at Philip’s head.

The shot missed, his aim altered by the wind.

Fuck! Cole ejected the shell and took aim again, but the rest of the Jackrabbits, who were now moving in pursuit of the parents, obstructed his view.

Cole stumbled six feet to his right until his view was clear again.

Still screaming, the young girl kicked her legs furiously, somehow landing a square blow to Philip’s nose. Even brain-dead, Philip had clearly been stunned. He brought a hand to his face, releasing his hold on the girl. She made it to her feet, but in her panic, she ran in the opposite direction from her parents. The entire team now separated the family.

Philip came to his feet and ran after the girl.

Cole knelt, shouldered the rifle, and took aim at his teammate once again, knowing that another miss would certainly mean the girl’s end.

Philip closed in quickly. Moving at a level trajectory across the horizon, Philip was right on the girl’s heels, his hands clawing the air just behind her blond ringlets.

Cole’s aiming eye narrowed as the gun barrel followed Philip’s head.

Philip lunged.

Cole fired.