Scorpion Rising

Herbert Hatherthwaite and Sid Sundown sat on the rickety old stools at the far end of the bar in the saloon. Violet Dolnoon played heavily on the honkytonk piano, desperate to alleviate the tense feelings of fear that permeated the whole room. Nutmeg Dolnoon leant against the bar watching the outlaw Angus Blade as he brought his arm up ready to use his bullwhip to flick a scorpion, which had decided to make the far end of the bar its home for the night, across the room and out of the double swinging doors that were being held open by Maverick Mannering and Jake ‘Cesspit’ Jones. Torrential rain outside brought a refreshing breeze into the saloon, as well as the scorpion which obviously wanted shelter.

Angus brought back his arm and with a flick of his wrist snaked the thong through the air, under the scorpion, and up again off the bar.

Everyone gathered heard the loud gunshot sounding crackle as the whip splintered the ceiling above Nutmeg’s head. They watched everything unfold in slow motion.

The scorpion pirouetted several times as it curved through the air and unceremoniously exited the saloon through the exact centre of the doors. Slowly, all eyes turned towards Nutmeg, then up to the ceiling as a slight trickle of raindrops became a sudden torrent, soaking the barmaid below.

Nutmeg merely laughed off the incident. ‘Well, that’s one way of cooling things down…’ she chuckled as she grabbed a nearby towel to mop her face.