"Where's your boss?"
A gang member shakily pointed in a direction.
"I saw him run south."
"South?"
Ecstasy muttered for a moment.
"I'll go after the boss and finish him. You two take the townspeople and make sure these guys don't slip away."
Tears: "You're going alone? Better not be finished by the boss, or we'll have to clean up after you."
Ecstasy drew out an oversized revolver from his waist, spun it around, and pulled a cigar from a gangster's chest to light it and put it in his mouth.
"What a joke. I've learned new skills from Dante. A small-time gang leader is a piece of cake."
————
The noon sun burned the entire desert, its scorching heat seemed to dry every drop of water in the human body. Even the remaining shrubs were curled up by the sunlight.
As Martin fled, he didn't even have the time to commandeer a car, relying only on his legs to sprint across Sunset Mountain, kicking up dust all the way, hoping to find a hiding spot in the valley to escape this calamity.
