When I hit the floor I felt something that I hadn't felt in quite some time. I felt like I was in real trouble. He was a big mean bastard and I had already played my hole card. He flipped the table out of the way and pulled me up by my hair. "You little bitch! You tried to shoot me!" He threw me hard into the bar and I heard bottles breaking behind me. I tasted blood in my mouth. Panic started to well up inside of me but I forced it down. I knew if I was gonna get out of this I had to think clear. I started to rise up when his boot caught me right in the head. The world swam and I fell back to the floor.
Now you may think it's crazy Margo, but at that moment I swear I heard Ma's voice. "Get up girl!" she was saying."Get up Ruby! You didn't work so hard your whole life to give it to this drunken bastard! You're a fighter Ruby. You always have been! So fight! Get up off of your arse and fight!" I know. The boot to the head probably stirred a few rocks loose, but I swear I heard her. So I forced myself up to my hands and knees. The big son of a bitch was poring a bottle down his throat behind me. I looked at Gus and saw his pistol lying beside him. It was too far. I could never get to it before the bastard stopped me. My heart sank.
But then I saw it. Not 2 feet from me on the ground. It must have come from the table I fell over. I reached for it thinking my salvation was at hand. But just then he reached down and yanked my hair back hard, pulling me to my feet. He turned me around and tore what was left of my dress off. "Now then bitch," he said, pulling me into him and stabbing his rough hand between my legs. "Now you are gonna play nice, or I'm gonna half to hurt you. And trust me me whore," His fingers were hard and callused." you wont like it." He laughed and forced his tongue into my mouth. I remember he tasted like whiskey and dirt. I heard mama's voice again telling me to fight. I knew I had one chance. When he pulled his hand away and started to fumble with his own trousers I bit down hard on his lip. My mouth filled with blood as he screamed. Then he punched me in the stomach with all his force and I felt the breath fly out of my body. I fell to the ground and quickly scrambled to find what I had seen.
"You fucking cunt!!" He bellowed as I felt my hand close around what I was looking for."I am gonna cut your tits off!" He reached down for me as I turned and leapt up at him with all the force I could, my right hand shooting towards his neck. I saw the fear in his eyes as I struck. He screamed and fell back, but I fell right with him, plunging my hand again and again into his neck and chest. I remember screaming and seeing the blood fly. He stopped fighting and just laid there, but I still went on. Finally the rage subsided and I stopped. I sat still for a moment. Naked, covered in blood and sweat and piss. I opened my clenched right hand and let the weapon fall to the floor.
It was the handle of a busted beer mug. I fell off the dead man and began to cry.
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