Tuesday Teaser March 1, 2022

3/1/2022

By the time they reached New Colorado City, dark was just skimming across the horizon. Nick had become restless, tossing and moaning with every turn of the wagon.

After bypassing his apartment building, Todd continued a few miles more to the home of a doctor, who’d treated him and other sentries in the past. Todd stopped the wagon in front of the doctor’s house and grabbed the larger branding iron. He was through the gate and bounding up the steps in less than a minute.

“Be home, be home,” he chanted as he pounded against the door. Next to it hung a sign reading “Warren Oberon, MD.”

The sound of footsteps and the face of Oberon in the door nearly made Todd collapse with relief. “Ruger, what—” The man jerked away when Todd shoved his foot against the door and shook the iron in his face.

“They used this. They branded him with this! They held him down and forced a kid that had nothing but water to drink his entire life to drink half a bottle of their moonshine, and then they tied him down and used this on him!” Todd shook the branding iron again.