I haven’t done a Six Sentence Sunday post in quite a while it seems! I looked over my previous entries and realized I hadn’t done one yet this year. So I thought I ought to remedy that. This bit is from Night Feeders, a western horror novelette now available on most eBook platforms.
Setup: Motley wandered into the wrong town, and Sheriff Ritters wants to make an example out of him. Of course, Ritters is always looking for an excuse to do that.
Ritters sought to handle legal matters his own way: criminals were tried in the open street, and the speed of his pistols served as both judge and executioner.
Above them, the giant town clock ticked the seconds by with little remorse. Once, it had been the symbol of the adventurous frontier spirit in this small, dusty town, and now the fact that it even worked at all against the dirt and wind which tore through town year by year was a tiny miracle. It hammered the seconds out like a horse being driven by a cruel master, until finally at the strike of noon it released its out-of-tune chimes.
No sooner had the first chime rung than Ritters let loose a series of gunshots. The first bullet lodged in Motley’s shooting arm—he’d barely gotten his gun out of the holster before he was struck.
The full story is now available as an eBook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. Be sure to drop by Six Sentence Sunday to see what other action-packed teasers have been posted!
Great 6! Loved all the descriptions, especially the metaphor of the clock standing in for the malaise of the town. And then the nice rapid end…
I’m glad you liked it Angela. It’s interesting because I didn’t include much detail about the clock until I was doing edits, and it seemed only natural to include it. Although it *seems* like a rapid end here, Motley’s fate is anything but quick, the poor guy.
Love your sentences. I got a real feel for the town and its inhabitants just from your description.
I’m glad that even in this short bit, the feel for the place comes across well. That was one of the fun parts of writing this horror western though, diving in and hanging on to that gritty mood. 😉
Loved the 6! I loved the descriptions as well. Very vivid.
Thanks, Cindy! Believe me when I say this was just as much fun to write as it was to read. 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Nice, on every level. Great Six!
Thanks Jean! I’m glad you enjoyed them.
Oh, I hope Ritters gets his comeuppance at some point! Great snippet!
Oh don’t worry, he certainly does. 😉 I’m glad you liked this bit!
Definitely want to read more about the characters and how they came to the shootout. Great teaser!
Thanks Nick! I’m glad it intrigued you.