Paco Valdez

You watch as Annie crosses the tracks and dismounts, tying her horse to a semi-distant scrawny little tree before returning to her position behind one of the wild bushes. You and Gus remain horsed, hidden from the tracks by a large rock and some shrubbery.

In the distance you hear the thunder of the train making its way down the tracks. The ground begins to shake as it comes nearer. You watch as the black hunk of steel grows larger and comes ever closer.

You feel your senses heighten, adrenaline rushing through your veins. It won't be long before you must act.

As the thundering mass rumbles near, you glance across the tracks at Annie. Her eyes widen and she points behind you with one hand while pulling her rifle from her back. A moment of shock hits you when you turn to see a half-score riders creeping up behind you, undetected over the noise of the approaching train. There are marks on their hands. You don't need to be able to see it to know what the mark is.

You motion to Gus as you draw your gun. He pulls his rifle from his back while the train starts to rumble past behind you.

Gus catches one of them in his sight and pulls the trigger, his dead shot dropping one of the ten from the back of the horse.

They return fire immediately, mostly missing save for one shot tearing through Gus's leg and another grazing your shoulder.

Gus goes down on one knee and fires off another round, the bullet knocking another man from his horse, this one with a gaping hole in his chest.

Guns fire again from their side, and your companion falls dead to the ground with three bullets exploding through his chest.

You dive into a tumbling roll to evade the bullets, rolling back to your feet and firing back as quickly as you can draw back the hammers on your colts.

You run as quickly as you can towards an old abandoned wagon, one from when this path used to be a road for the trailblazers. It's ancient, but you can't be picky with your life on the line. You need to get cover.

Your wild shots soon end when you run out of ammunition. They return fire, but are too late, as you dive behind the relative protection of the wagon.

Splinters burst all around you as bullets tear through the brittle wood. You waste no time reloading. When you sense a break in the gunfire, you roll out and fire back, felling one more of them before they start firing again.

You take a quick headcount before returning to the meager protection of the wagon and calculate your odds of survival. By your count seven remain, two on horseback, five on foot.

Once the gunfire slows you pop out from the far side of the wagon and fire off three shots, two bullets burying themselves in a horse, and the third knocking the rider from its back. The bullets tear through the wood as you duck back behind the cart. That leaves six, you think.

One of the bullets blasts through the wood and tears through your side, opening a gash in your side. Clutching at your wound, you stand briefly and fire again, this time hitting no one. While you stand, however, one of them manages to graze your shoulder with a bullet.

You duck back down to your relative safety while they fire upon you deteriorating shelter and move towards your position. It's only a matter of time before they kill you.

Through the bullet holes, you watch as they advance upon you. Behind them, far in the distance, you see a form drop from the side of the train. The figure moves with haste towards the violence, unnoticed by your enemies.

You fire upon them until your chambers empty, felling one more, leaving one on horseback and four on foot. As quickly as you can manage, you slide the bullets into the chambers of your six-shooters while a barrage of gunfire explodes around you.

Through the bullet holes in the wagon, you see that the figure has made up plenty of ground. You can now make her out. It is Annie. She takes aim and drops a man from his horse, quickly reloading and firing again, taking another one down.

The three remaining Vigilantes turn in her direction, confused and ready to fire upon her. With their backs to you, you are able to take your time and make your shots count. All three of them fall on their faces with bullets in their backs.

You look down on your guns, curls of smoke drift upward from the barrels.

You are reminded of the pain in your side and your shoulder.

Annie bends down at the side of one of the dead men, and you are reminded of Gus. You rush over to her side and drop to your knees.

No time for final sentiments for Gus, he is already dead. His blood pool stilll slowly expands beneath his body. His head rests in Annies lap as she stares down at him, her eyes moist though she is too tough to cry.

"Oh Gus," you say sadly. "I'm so sorry."

Annie looks up at you and her face shifts into a visage of hatred. "This is yer damn fault!" Her voice reveals more pain than she intends. "I oughtta kill you right now."

"They ambushed us, Annie," you say.

"They never would'a been after us if it weren't for what you done," she shakes an accusing finger at you as she speaks, her voice raw and husky.

"I'm sorry," you say.

"You just shut the hell up," she says, reaching for the rifle which sits on the ground at her side. "Shut the hell up and get out of here. I don' never wanta see your dumb face again."

"Annie-"

"NEVER! Get the hell out of here!! And don't you never come back."

Her hand grips the handle of the rifle, but she doesn't lift it. "Go," she says, her sorrow filled eyes almost begging you to leave.

Regretfully, you nod. "Goodbye Annie," you say.

"Goodbye," she responds. "Be careful out there."

You turn around and walk over to your terrified horse, mounting up on her back and giving Gus and Annie one last look.

With a bit of force from your knees and a kick with your heals, you turn your horse around and gallop off into the setting sun.
End Of Story