فصل 17 - بخش 11

17

Ralph sat down on a jutting lip of rock across from the sign, breathing hard. Holly went to Hoskins, knelt, and rolled him over. She had a look, then came back. ‘He was bitten more than once.’

‘Must have been a rattler, and a big one.’

‘Something else poisoned him first. Something worse than any snake. He called it Tat-Man, we call it the outsider. El Cuco. We need to finish this.’

Ralph thought of Howie and Alec, lying dead on the other side of this godforsaken chunk of rock. They had families. And Yune – still alive but wounded, suffering, probably in shock by now – also had a family.

‘I suppose you’re right. Want this pistol? I can take his rifle, if you do.’

Holly shook her head.

‘All right. Let’s do this.’