[b][center][h3]Hiram Oxton[/h3][/center][/b]
[center][h3][b]______________________________[/b][/h3][/center]

Speeding through the forest, low hanging branches whipped against Hiram, leaving thin scratches across his face as he ran towards where the fire had seemed to originate. Gritting his teeth, he pushed the minor nuisance out of his mind, focusing on placing one foot in front of the other; he rarely had a chance to run flat out, and the thought of slipping and giving himself a concussion, or worse, a broken leg, did not sit well with him, despite whatever danger may have found whoever's shelter had been set ablaze.

Up ahead, the burning shelter began to grow larger, letting him know he was getting close. Suddenly, the relative quiet of the forest was dispelled by the loud [i]crack[/i] of gunfire. Slowing down to a jog, he tried to pace himself, clearly someone was in a fight, and he would rather not be mistaken for the enemy by the wrong side, if there even was a "wrong" side, it could just be a quarrel between two separate raider bands. He could feel the sabre at his hip slapping against his thigh with every other stride, the loud smack of leather as the scabbard collided with his leg seemed to ring out throughout the trees, despite his loud crashing through the brush and he prayed that he was merely imagining things, that the adrenaline he could feel pumping through his veins was merely heightening his senses.

[b]"...Cowardly if you ask me, assholes."[/b] A voice drifted to Hiram, punctuated by gunfire.

Rushing forward, Hiram crashed against a tree trunk with a soft grunt, blood pounding in his ears as he readied the rifle still clasped in his hands. Peaking around the trunk, his eyes widened as he spotted a massive dog loping through the forest, fresh blood dripping from its canines. Holding his breath, he watched as the monster disappeared back into the bushes. He let out a soft sigh of relief; humans he could deal with... animals had a nasty habit of refusing to die - or even to acknowledge that by all rights, they should be dead. Unbidden, a memory of his father lecturing him about the ancient bond between man and dog sprang to his mind, [i]"Man's best friend: more than one dog has given it's life without a second thought to protect its human. Never underestimate any Canine. If the pack is threatened, they will happily throw themselves, with abandon, into the fray. It's why humanity has always loved dogs above all other animals. Like a parent, a dog's love is unconditional" Hiram's father smiled sadly, softly stroking the fur of the sickly pup laying in his lap, before with a sudden brutality, he grabbed the dog around the head, and twisted the dog's neck sharply to the left, silencing the whimpers of the pup.[/i] 

[i]"Ignore it."[/i] He berated himself, as he pushed himself off of the tree, dropping into a low crouch now as he crept forward, making his way toward the clearing and sliding into a bush. He cursed silently to himself as his limbs got tangled by the dense foliage, [i]"Idiot! Move!"[/i] Untangling himself, he rolled back out of the bushes into a kneeling position just in time to hear more gunshots sound off, and the dull thump as the bullets collided with the ground where he had been laying a moment before, [i]"Well, you know which way you're shooting now at least, if not who you're shooting at..."[/i] He mused to himself, bringing the bolt action to his shoulder, and firing off two quick shots in the direction the last gunshots had came from before breaking off to the left, careful to keep moving.

As he kept moving he crashed through another bush, only for a horse to materialize in front of him, a savage woman sat comfortably atop the likewise barbaric horse, the same demon-dog he had seen previously panting happily beside the two. Running purely on instinct and fear, Hiram raised his rifle to his shoulder again, not bothering with precise aim, merely leveling the barrel at the horse's midsection. [i]"Hopefully the horse will buck the girl, and stun her long enough to take care of the dog."[/i] The sabre hung heavily on his belt, he'd never fought a dog with a sword and it was far too close for him to fire another shot off. His finger pulled back on the trigger as he braced himself for the expected buck of the rifle. 

[i]Click[/i]

Hiram stood motionless, stunned as the pitiful sound echoed throughout the trees, mocking him. How could he have forgotten to chamber a new round?

"Fuck me."