Going to be a long day of digging ourselves out of the snow and clean stalls and chicken coops. Yep that white stuff sure looks pretty out there but it would be nice not having to snowblow the yard all over again. Oh well. I guess I'd get bored otherwise.
Eugene Davis had barely finished his latest taunt when things took a tumultuous turn…for all of them.
With a high-pitched scream, a mixture of bone-chilling fear and agonizing despair, Sarah Milan shot past him, using a small nightstand lamp as a projectile to break one of the back windows into a million pieces.
Rejuvenated by the realistic angst that Sawyer and Mahoney's arrival could mean that her horrific torture would continue, the Fire Captain threw herself out of the window in one powerful leap, her lean body never touching the jarred edges where sharp glass still held on to the partially broken framework.
Steve barely had enough time to watch her run toward the nearby ravine, seeking cover as far away as possible from the horrors of the desolate cabin, when Davis and Cassidy caught their bearings, realizing the devastating danger of having a prime witness escape.
The Lieutenant was the first one to charge at him, hoping to eliminate one threat before tackling the next problem.
Having expected the reaction, Steve lowered his revolver enough to aim for the other man's knee cap, firing two rounds in rapid succession that nearly severed his leg and caused Davis to tumble to the ground moaning in agony.
The defense had cost him valuable time, allowing for Cassidy to approach like a raging bull, shoving him into the door frame like a freight train taking on a passenger car.
Steve felt his shoulder blades scream in protest, before the back of his head collided with the wall, making the world around him disappear for a precious few moments.
Beneath Cassidy's heavy breathing, he could make out an assortment of expletives, accompanied by the overbearing and nauseating smell of sweat and beer.
Holding onto the .38 with a death grip, Steve used his left hand to pry off the bear paws digging into his chest, but Cassidy's fingers were wrapped around the fabric of his thin dress shirt like vice grips, his strong knuckles bruising the bones beneath his grasp.
Unable to get in a proper shot at his opponent, the young Inspector was powerless when Cassidy dragged him toward the other side of the room, never stopping even when he tripped over Davis' outstretched leg, the move causing the Lieutenant to scream in pain.
"I'm gonna lay you wide open and watch you bleed out like a stuck pig, you little punk!", Cassidy bellowed, his manic voice no longer recognizable.
With a powerful shove, he pushed Steve halfway out of the broken window, the shards of glass cutting into the young Inspector's lower back like razor blades. Screaming in pain, he tried to push against the force holding him down, only to have Cassidy laugh in glee, and force his back into the window frame even harder, causing some of the glass down below to break and crunch under his weight.
"How does that feel, mhm?!", he yelled in violence-driven ecstasy, when suddenly his eyes moved over to something outside, the sight thereof causing him to grunt in delight, "Well, would you look at that. The boys are after Milan as we speak. She'll be back here before you know it. Your…silly…attempts to free her have been in vain. You should have known better than to play with the big boys."
Using the hand on Steve's chest to keep him in place, Cassidy reached for a hunk of glass still dangling from the window frame, seemingly completely immune to pain when it cut him enough to cause a small trickle of blood to run down his palm.
Then, with a cold-hearted smile, he brought the sharp end to the right side of Steve's throat, aiming just below his jaw line, the corner effortlessly digging into his sensitive skin.
"Any last wishes?", Cassidy breathed, then flexed his muscles, preparing to cut the length of his throat.
Knowing that his final chance of survival had come, Steve raised the .38 as best as possible, unsure if the angle would even come close to Cassidy and whether or not the chamber was fully loaded to begin with. And even if it was, would the pain of being shot cause the other man to jerk the blade enough to kill him regardless?
As he felt the piece of glass starting to dig in for the lethal cut, he pushed the trigger once, hearing the revolver go off, then closed his eyes for a brief moment, coming to peace with either outcome.