Matt Hilton - Slash and burn

She closed her eyes, forcing back the images invading her mind. If the blood had been Joe's or Imogen's, why would Huffman have allowed her to live this long? He wouldn't; he'd have killed her or given her to Rourke or to Larry Bolan to kill for him.

Convincing herself that the blood must belong to someone else, she went towards the doors, skirting the stain in the floor. She heard a creak behind her and realised that it was someone walking along the hall. Probably Rourke on his way back to the room where she'd been imprisoned. She'd hoped that she would've been allowed a little more time to make her escape, but it looked like she was going to be found out in seconds.

She contemplated waiting for Rourke to pass the doorway and putting a bullet in his heart. That's what the sick-headed scumbag deserved. But the sound of gunfire would bring the others running. Better that she get onto the balcony where her options for escape might be higher. At least out there she would get an idea of her surroundings and might be able to find somewhere she could hide.

Grabbing the doors, she pulled one open and went on to the balcony. It spanned the entire length of the building. She hurried to the left. Placing her back against the wall she peered round the door frame back into the room she'd just vacated.

Someone passed the doorway without stopping. She was pretty sure that it was Rourke, but he'd changed his clothing since last she'd seen him. He was now in some sort of paramilitary get-up with a hat pulled down over his hair.

Kate counted the seconds.

When Rourke's shout came she made her move, fleeing along the balcony to the far end. Just round the corner of the building steps led down to the lower level, where there was a second raised porch surrounded by a low railing. She moved down the stairs, watching behind her in case Rourke came charging after her. At the bottom she dropped to a crouch, using the stairs as cover while she surveyed the land to her left. She could see outbuildings. Beyond them was a huge tin shed. She could smell something unpleasant.

In her bare feet she felt vulnerable. More than the fact that her blouse was ripped, revealing a large expanse of her chest, her bare feet made her feel exposed. It was one thing walking on a sandy beach, feeling the sand between your toes, quite another if you had to run over stony ground. But she wasn't going to let that stop her. She quickly slid over the railing, dropping the couple of feet to the floor. She paused, listening for the pursuit that was sure to come. Distantly she heard Rourke's voice raised in anger. Then the thump of feet as people began to respond.

Kate headed for the sheds, jogging gingerly to avoid lacerating her feet, but still coming down on sharp-edged rocks. By the time she reached the first outbuilding she'd already bruised her soles, but at least she wasn't bleeding. Block the pain, she told herself. It's nothing. Keep going.

A bullet struck the wall of the shed, barely missing her. Kate cringed, but turned, lifting her gun. Rourke was on the upper balcony, aiming at her again. He pulled the trigger and the gun barked. Kate jerked to one side. Her return shot made Rourke lunge backwards but otherwise did him no harm.

'She's out here!' he yelled. 'She's heading for the sheds.'

Kate ran. It was her only chance. Put distance between her and her pursuers. She charged along the side of the building, avoiding a third shot from Rourke. Then at the corner she had to throw herself bodily over a wooden fence. She landed heavily on her back, dust rising all around her. Dazed, she peered back the way she'd come. She saw a knot of men boil out of the front of the house. They were indistinct beyond the billow of dust, but she could tell they were rushing her way.

Coming to her feet, she unloaded three rounds at the group. The gun bucked in her hand, more recoil than she was used to and she knew her aim had been too high. It scattered the group, but none of them went down. Ideally she should control her breathing, hold steady, shoot the bastards as they came at her. Instinct made her turn and run again. Guns popped behind her and she felt the tug of one projectile as it skimmed the air next to her left ear. She was passing the open door of the shed. Hulking machinery clustered in the shadows within. She considered putting the machines between her and the men chasing her, but she knew that would only give her momentary respite. They'd simply storm the shed, their greater firepower overwhelming her in seconds.

'Stop running, Kate.' She recognised the voice. Even raised in command, it held a humorous edge.

'Go to hell, Huffman!'

She continued to run.

A second fence barred her way, but she vaulted this one a tad more gracefully than the first. She landed sure-footed, but something sharp jabbed into her sole and this time there was no avoiding the split in her flesh. She grimaced, but kept running.

Another shed presented itself. Beyond it were animal pens and the big tin building. Kate swung to her left, rushing along the front of the building, hidden for the time being from those following. She saw the hulk of an abandoned truck, an old Chevrolet that had been left to rot under the Texan sun. Chickens had colonised the cab at some point. No way that the vehicle was an escape route, but she ducked behind it. Watched and saw movement at the corner of the building. She fired, then glanced over her shoulder. She had to keep moving otherwise the men would split up and some would come at her from behind, bottling her in.

Again she fired at the men at the front of the building, then as they slunk back behind cover she ran and caught the ledge of a window in the shed wall. She pulled herself up and inside the shed within seconds. Instantly her senses were overwhelmed by the stench of scorched metal and aviation fuel. In the darkness she could make out what looked to be parts of an aircraft and two mangled vehicles. They looked like they'd been hidden here very recently as there was still fluid dripping from the wreckage of the helicopter.

She didn't stop to ponder what had caused this devastation, except to conclude that Joe had made an attempt at getting her away after all. The thought gave her comfort. But it was cold comfort at best. Where the hell was he now when she could do with the back-up?

The doors at the front of the shed were shut, so she followed a similar route to the one she'd used to get inside the building. She found a window at the far side. This one was closed. Security wasn't at a maximum though, just a catch that she had to flip open, then she was clambering out into a space full of mud and cow shit. Her feet plunged ankle deep into the filth. She slipped and went down on one knee. Then it was a struggle to gain her footing without giving up her gun. Determined, she pushed through the muck, angling away from the front end of the building where Huffman and the others would inevitably head to.

From within the building she skirted came metallic noises, as if machinery was in motion. A gun cracked behind her and struck the wall of the shed. She thought that the gunman had aimed deliberately high: they wanted to take her alive. That gave her an advantage over her pursuers. She turned, seeking targets, and fired. She hit a man and he went down on his back. She hoped it was Huffman but couldn't be sure because all the men were dressed alike.

Words dashed her hopes.

'This is your last chance, Kate,' Huffman shouted. 'Stop running now or I'll kill you.'

Kate merely ran, went over another fence and then spun round the corner of the big shed.

And ran pell-mell into another figure emerging from a door.

They rebounded, and Kate went down on her back.

Blinking up at the person standing over her, she braced herself for a bullet. But the shot didn't come.