Chapter Eleven

"By the time you return with the woman and the baby, I will have your cartridges ready." Mr. Grimmelman said as they walked out to the front porch to meet Klaus. "Until then. . ." He trailed, holding out his own gun to Eugene.

"Much obliged, but I never had much use for one." Eugene said, thankful for the offer. The guy was the exact same as Gaston. He really didn't want to be seen having the same as a killer.

Mr. Grimmelman nodded his head as Eugene continued speaking. "I know k can't repay you for what you've done, but. . ." He said, handing Mr. Grimmelman a pitch full of coins.

"Oh, no." Mr. Grimmelman argued, shaking is head. He couldn't accept money from Eugene. What the guy was doing was incredible. He was standing up to Gaston and that took a lot of guts.

"No, you take it." Eugene said, refusing to take the money back. These folks were kind to him. They gave him food and water and something to bring back for Rapunzel and Little Bit. He would feel terrible just leaving them without some type of repayment. Seeing Mr. Grimmelman's hesitation, Eugene smiled. "It's Gaston's."

"In that case. . ." Mr. Grimmelman quickly replied, shoving it in his back pocket. He would take Gaston's money any day.

"Are you certain you won't stay the night? You need rest." Mrs. Grimmelman fretted, softly walking to Eugene. She was concerned about his safety. There had to be people out looking for him. People who wanted him dead.

"No, ma'am." Eugene said, shaking his head. He had to get back to Rapunzel.

The group looked out in the distance, waiting for the horses, but they hadn't seen any sign of them. "Klaus should be here with the horses by now." Mr. Grimmelman said, worry in his voice.

"I'd best be getting back." Eugene softly spoke to himself. Something wasn't right. He could feel it in his guts. Something had gone wrong.

Eugene slowly started walking away, his adrenaline beginning to rise. He loaded his gun. Everything was too quiet in the little town. "Get back inside." He demanded.

"What?"

"Now!" He shouted. Immediately, a shot fired and hit a burning lamp. Mrs. Grimmelman screamed as Eugene aimed and fired, just missing the group of men hiding along side of a house.

"Get here!" A man shouted.

"No!" Klaus cried, doing what he could to try to escape and help Eugene. He swatted at the men as they aimed, screwing up their shots. He was pulled back, hands covering his mouth as Eugene fled around the backside of the house.

Shots began to echo around the little town. It was under attack.

Eugene hid along side of a Josue, waiting for one of the men to rush past him. When he did, Eugene slammed the butt of his gun to the man's face then knocked him out cold. He snatched the guy's gun then rushed off again as the town folks began to wake up.

"What the hell's going on?" A man shouted.

Eugene jumped out from the alley, landing in the eyesight of one of Gaston's men. Knowing he had no other option, he dove through the window, shattering the glass into a million pieces.

He groaned, standing up from the ground and rushed up the staircase. He was outnumbered badly. Boots echoed on the hardwood floor then the candle in front of him was shot. Eugene ducked and ran as the flames hit the rug on the stairs, lighting a huge fire.

Eugene glanced behind him, seeing he was now trapped upstairs with no means of escape.

"We got him. Watch the windows." A man shouted.

Great. He really did have nowhere to go now. Every one of Gaston's men would be outside waiting for him to jump from an open window. His options were to burn in flames, be brought to Gaston, or be shot and killed.

Any of those options meant death to Rapunzel and Little Bit.

Eugene rushed from room to room, hoping to find a way to escape, but every window was guarded by men hay aimed once he got in sight. He walked back into the hallway, the smoking beginning to choke him. The flames grew higher and higher.

That's when he spotted it.

A skylight just above the staircase.

It was a scary risk, but it was worth a shot. He pulled his bandana over his mouth and nose as he began to cough. He snatched a chair from one of the rooms and dragged it out into the hallway. He stood on top of it and smashed his gun through the skylight.

The sounds of glass shattering were almost silent compared to the talking flames below him. Once it was clear, he balanced on the railing and slipped his Jong through the skylight, resting it across the open hole.

He grunted, swinging himself upwards and through the window. Now he was on the roof. He walked to the edge, glancing down to see the poor, innocent people trying to put out the burning flames.

Below, he spotted one of Gaston's men walking around the side of the house. Knowing he could get him, Eugene rushed to the chimney and pulled off one of the metal tops. He held it in his hands and waited until the man walked past.

He dropped it, watching it sink to hit the man right on the head.

He groaned, getting knocked out instantly.

Eugene chuckled, nodding his head in approval.

Seeing his only way of escape, Eugene then leaped to the next house over. Unfortunately, it wasn't sturdy enough for his landing and he went right through. A lady inside screamed as he came crashing through her roof. "Aw, shit." He cursed.

Seeing that the place was falling apart, Gaston's men started to let their guard down. Eugene was probably being burned alive as they spoke. There was no use in endlessly searching the crowd of him.

Just as soon as they decided it was all over, they spotted him watching around with a bucket of water. "Fitzherbert!" They shouted. They quickly shot at him, thinking they had killed as their fires echoed loudly. "No one could live through that."

But they didn't know was that Eugene had snuck through a water drainage system just a few feet away from them.

As they contemplated if he was really dead, Eugene loaded his gun and aimed. "Excuse me." He said. They whipped around, firing at him. But two of the, weren't fast enough. Eugene had better aim and killed them first.

"I give up! Fitzherbert!" The third one shouted. But Eugene pressed forward. "Hey! Don't shoot!" He begged. The man started dropping his weapons. "There. See look. Nothing."

But Eugene knew better than that. "You might wanna try your luck with that belly gun." He said. "Then again, you might not."

But the guy still tried his luck. Eugene quickly shot him in the legs, sending his face down in the dirt. "That's what I figured." Eugene said.

The man quickly got to his feet and limped away, Eugene chasing after him. The man had caused a lot of damage to the poor people living here. He had to pay. And Eugene was going to teach him that lesson.

Off in the distance, Eugene heard a soft cry. "Mama. Mama!"

He looked to the side, seeing Klaus and Mr. Grimmelman gently shaking the body of Mrs. Grimmelman. Blood stained her pink nightgown and her eyes were closed. The boy began to cry, hugging his father.

Eugene walked over and gently bent down. He felt like he was at fault. If he wouldn't have shown up, this wouldn't have happened.

Mr. Grimmelman glanced at Eugene, tears pooling in the older man's eyes. "Why?" His voice trembled.

Feeling anger rush through his veins as a horse pounded near them, Eugene jumbled and tackled the rider off of the horse. He pulled the man to his feet and whipped out his knife. "Now, you take a good look." He threatened through gritted teeth.

"Even if you killed me, Gaston'll catch ya. He's coming for ya." The man stuttered.

"I ain't gonna kill ya. 'Cause you're gonna go tell Gaston I'm coming for him." Eugene demanded. "Now get!" He spat.

The rider quickly hopped on the horse and rode off. Eugene took a few deep breaths, try to calm himself. He had caused a terrible thing to happen. Lots of people had died in the little town and he was gonna make it up to them. He was going to kill Gaston himself.

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