The Sandman

180

Saga tugs at the chest of drawers and manages to pull it a few centimetres away from the wall. Her head is aching and she still feels horribly dizzy. She spits out some blood, then bends over and takes hold of the bottom of the chest with both hands and overturns it with a roar. It topples forward, crashes to the floor and rolls over.

She quickly snatches up her pistol and smashes the window pane with the butt. Glass rains down onto the floor and tinkles off the window ledge outside.

She blinks and sees the bright light shimmering across the snow. It looks like a white jellyfish deep in the ocean. Jurek is heading towards the man with the flare. The man backs away and tries to hit him with the burning flare, but Jurek is too quick, grabs the man’s arm and breaks it.

Saga knocks the last pieces of glass from the bottom of the window.

Jurek is standing over his prey like a lion, moving quickly and efficiently, hitting the man in the neck and kidneys.

Saga holds out her pistol and blinks the blood away from her eyes so she can see.

The man is lying on his back in the snow, his body jerking. The flare beside him is still casting a bright glow.

Jurek slips out of the way just as Saga fires her pistol. He moves away from the light and into the shadows.

The glow from the flare is illuminating a circle of white snow. The man stops moving and is now lying completely still. The red stable is only visible in brief bursts. Otherwise there is nothing but darkness.