Free Stitches: A Werewolf Gunslinger Tale Volume 2 by MT Murphy Page B

itself with both hands and pulled. His expression did not
change as the middle link of the hardened metal broke.
    The taste of blood and the call of the
moon were almost more than I could bear. The beast was just below
the surface, begging to be let loose, but I couldn’t let her free.
Not until I tried to get some answers.
    Ignoring my pain, I pulled both
six-shooters and aimed them at his chest.
    “ You tried to kill me,” I
said.
    “ That punch would have
killed a human, but I knew you would survive.”
    “ You did? And just how did
you know that?”
    “ Because I can see
supernatural power, and you have no small measure of
it.”
    I raised the gun in my right hand and
fired. The silver projectile hit its target, right between the dead
man’s eyes. Instead of the snap of shattering bone, the sound of
the bullet ricocheting off of metal accompanied the man’s startled
grunt. He shook his head, but stood there expressionless. A
bloodless open wound marked the spot where the bullet hit his
forehead. The unmistakable shine of polished metal reflected the
moon from the hole in his flesh.
    “ You are full of
surprises, dead man. Just who the hell are you?”
    “ Don’t you mean what the
hell are you?”
    “ A better question is, why
did you kill that little girl?”
    Fury exploded across his face. He
raised his hands and took a step towards me. I rolled to the side
at the last instant, narrowly avoiding the two massive mismatched
fists that slammed into the ground like cannonballs.
    I could feel my beast
taunting me in the back of my head. “ Let
me go ,” it whispered, “ I will kill him .”
    “ That’s the problem. I
still ain’t sure he’s the one that needs killing,” I
thought.
    The dead man ripped his hands out of
the ground and flung a bushel of dirt at my face. I scooted
backwards, rubbing the dirt out of my eyes as I went. He was faster
than he looked. A single hand clamped down on my throat and hoisted
me up into the air.
    Through my blurry vision, I saw the
fury had left his face but his grip was growing tighter on my
throat.
    I pressed the barrel of my Colt
against his eye. He didn’t blink or flinch when the cold steel
touched his eyeball.
    “ Is your brain made out of
metal, too?” I croaked out the words as best I could. He had nearly
closed off my throat with his grip.
    “ I did not kill that
girl.”
    “ Yep. The weird thing
is... I believe you.”
    His eyes grew wide and his grip
loosened. My body descended until my feet found the ground
again.
    “ I could have killed them
all, you know. The whole town. I didn’t have to let them hang
me.”
    “ I believe that, too. Do
you believe I’ll fire off a bullet to rattle around in that metal
noggin of yours?”
    The hand released my throat. “The
world would be better off if you pulled the trigger.”
    I holstered my guns.
    “ Maybe, but you never
answered my question. Who are you?”
    The dead man sat down on the ground
and I sat down across from him. After his display of strength with
the chain, I whole heartedly believed that he could have killed the
whole town. But he didn’t lift a finger at his accusers. That had
to mean something.
    “ My maker called me
Adam.”
    “ Your maker?”
    “ Yes. He was a genius and
madman who fancied himself a god. He thought he created life.
Instead, he created me.”
    He offered no further explanation and
I asked for none.
    “ I’m Lily, and I’m
a—”
    “ A werewolf. I know. I
have seen your kin before. Your eyes glow like theirs, only yours
are red.”
    “ Enough with the
introductions. If you didn’t kill the girl then what happened to
her?”
    Adam sighed and brushed back his thin,
wispy hair.
    “ I do not know. I saw the
girl yesterday morning at the general store with her mother. She
smiled and waved at me, so I smiled and waved back. Her mother took
a look at me and rushed her out of the store. That’s the reaction I
usually get.”
    He looked down at his shirt and pulled
the