Survival Instinct

I climbed the steps to the front door to place a note onto the door handle. As I turned to leave, I heard a car approaching, and took off in a dead run, hoping to dodge out of sight before it arrived, but I was spotted. The driver was a woman. She floored it and drove directly to the barn, jumped out, and released her snarling watch dog. It raced toward me. A few seconds later, I heard a slug buzz past my head and the explosion of a gun. She had grabbed a rifle and was shooting at me. I could climb a tree to escape the dog, but what do I do when she arrives with her big gun?

I stopped and waited in front of a tree with branches low enough for me to jump and grab, but I didn't have time. The wolf like dog hit me in the chest, slamming me against the tree covering my face with drool.

"Wait just a damn minute," she said as she arrived, "I know you. You're that bastard, Victor Flint."

She thumbed the hammer to full cock and pointed the gun at my head...