The more he did it, the more it became second nature to him, but he still hated it. It was brutal and ugly and it never ended well. Flint was big, scary, and full of fury. But he didn’t know how to fight. Matt guessed he’d never been in a fight, a real fight, other than some playground scuffle when he was a child. So even though Flint had the ax and was pumped full of adrenaline and evil, it wasn’t really a fair contest. Because over the past couple of years Matt had learned how to take care of himself. When Flint came running at him, ax lifted above his head to strike, Matt went low and charged him, hitting him in the gut with his shoulder. Flint toppled over Matt, and the ax went crashing into John Huston’s crypt. “What’s going on?” Eva cried. Matt scrambled up and dashed to the ax before Flint could get his bearings. He seized the ax by the handle and swung it at Flint, just as he lunged for Matt, crying out, “You’re his new favorite, damn it!” The ax struck Flint just below the temple.
