~*~*~Chapter 11~*~*~
It was dark in the back of the truck, but there was enough light to see the outlines of the two men and Meryl. Vash held as still as he could with the barrel of a rifle jammed under his chin and the jolting movement of the truck's wheels beneath him. The man known as Carl stared at him from the other end of the rifle, his eyes never leaving Vash's face. I sincerely hope his finger is not on the trigger, prayed Vash.
Meryl was sitting next to him, staring at her hands in her lap as the third man kept steady aim on her forehead.
"You know what we're gonna do with you?" sneered Carl's voice next to him.
"Shut up Carl," complained the other man.
Carl continued, not seeming to hear the other man. "We're gonna string you up, and hang ya. Then we're gonna shoot ya. Then we're gonna burn yer stinkin' corpse 'till there's nothin' left." His every word dripped with malicious pleasure; he was clearly looking forward to it.
"Shut UP, Carl!" the other man repeated, his voice becoming higher and more nervous.
"You shut your mouth Charlie, or I'll shut it for ya!" Carl barked, turning his head to glare at Charlie.
Vash took the opportunity to discreetly reach into his coat for his gun. He groaned inwardly as his fingers found an empty holster. It was still in the house. Correction; it was in the house.
He let out a resigned breath and glanced at Meryl's outline. She was quiet and still, gazing at her empty hands in her lap. Somehow, her silence and motionlessness seemed worse than if she had been sobbing and carrying on. He leaned toward her slightly and touched her elbow with his finger. Hold on, he pleaded silently. She straightened a little and clasped her hands in her lap.
"If we burn him until there's nothing left, how are we going to collect the reward?" Charlie demanded.
Vash's mind was wrenched back to the gunmen's argument.
"Yeah, but he doesn't know that!" Carl drawled, motioning at Vash.
"He does now, you idiot!" screamed Charlie angrily.
"Hey! You two knock it off back there!" a muffled voice ordered from the front of the truck.
Carl and Charlie fell silent, and Carl turned to glare at Vash again.
Vash stared at the wall above Charlie's head.
"Are we there yet?" he whined softly.
After what could have been minutes or hours, the truck rattled to a stop. The two front doors opened and the leader and the other man got out. Carl and Charlie readied their guns and motioned threateningly to Vash and Meryl. Vash poked Meryl in the arm, and she looked up, straight into the barrel of Charlie's rifle. They were hustled out of the back of the truck.
The leader and his companion walked in front of them while Carl and Charlie guarded from behind. Meryl tried to keep up, but her limp wasn't fast enough for Carl.
"Speed it up, missy! We haven't got all day," he yelled gruffly.
"I'm going as fast as I can," Meryl grumbled under her breath.
"What's holding it up back there?" the leader barked without turning around.
"Look, she can't go fast enough to…" Charlie began, but trailed off as Vash smoothly stooped and scooped Meryl into his arms.
"No problem at all!" Vash said cheerfully to the leader, who continued on.
"Urk…" was all Meryl said.
Meryl took the time to examine her surroundings. They were walking through a large storehouse, wooden and metal boxes were stacked everywhere, some stacks reaching the ceiling, which was very high. There were some more trucks like the one they had ridden in. Most of them bore the faded lettering: OTTO'S SHIPPING CO.
The group stopped at the metal door of what appeared to be a storeroom.
"Put them in there," ordered the leader, and Charlie herded Vash into the room. Just as his feet crossed the threshold, the door closed behind him and a heavy bolt slammed into place.
Muffled voices were heard on the other side of the door, but the words were incoherent.
"PUT MEEEEE DOWN!" Meryl yelled, her fist waving in the air.
Vash set her down on a box and walked sulkily to the other side of the room.
"For the last time, I didn't-"
"Oh shut up, Vash," Meryl growled, her head in her hands. "I know you didn't do it."
Vash nodded slightly and turned to look out the one tiny window in the room.