Standing atop the rock now , he could see over his field and spied the rustling . It was just at the edge of the stalks , a dozen or so yards away , closer than it had seemed from the window . Ern could even hear the leaves rustling against each other , the sound of the ears being ripped free .
Ern felt his tongue twitching in his dry mouth . What should he do now ? He hadn ' t really thought about that part . He thought about shouting something , something that would scare off a couple of dumb kids , but his throat seemed to tighten at the idea , words unable to move from his mind to his mouth . He swallowed , and looked at his feet , the gun in his hands coming into view as he did so . An idea came to him , and Ern realized he didn ' t have to say anything .
Ern leveled the gun , holding the stock tightly under his armpit , and tipped the barrel down towards the ground close to the field . He wasn ' t going to hurt nobody , but a warning shot was well within his capabilities . Still , he couldn ' t help but close his eyes as he put every measure of force that he had into his trigger finger .
There was a loud bang , a sinking feeling in Ern ' s stomach , and a sudden blunt pain on the back of his skull . When he opened his eyes , the moon stared back at him from the black sky . There was a ringing noise in his ears , but as it faded another sound emerged : the rustling of leaves , moving through the fields .
His clothes stained with dirt and mud , Ern heaved his damaged body back on top of the boulder . He stood , and nearly fell off again when he saw what he did . The spot in his field was still there , visible through
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