Paco Valdez
CZ
You cast him a brief glance before taking another deep swallow of the cool, refreshing liquid. You let out a satisfied sigh and look over at him again. He is eyeing you with a mixture of disparity and vehemence. His eyes bounce from between yours and the water skin in your hands.
"Please." He says in a hoarse voice. "Water."
It's pitiful the way he's beggin like that, eyes wide and imploring while his throat swallows dryly. Fucking Vigilante. He would have killed you if he could, but you got the better of him. The roles are reversed now and somehow he expects mercy and benevolence.
You screw the cap back onto your water skin and strap it back onto your horse, mere inches from your prisoners reach. Perhaps this is a cruel tactic, but it's not as though you care.
Not much later you see two riders approaching coyote rock from the direction of town. You shield your eyes from the sun and squint to make out the forms of the riders; one is a squat older man, and the other appears to be female. Gus and Annie you presume.
"Help!" Your prisoner called out foolishly, not realizing that the riders are in fact your friends. You almost laugh. The two pull up their reigns as they reach you, Annie looking down at you coldly while Gus tries to contain his fury.
"You have a prisoner?" Annie asks.
"You brought a damn prisoner?!" Gus fuses and spit flies from his mouth; his face is a deep red that would be otherwise comical, while he releases his rage upon you. "What in the hell were you thinking?! You really are one stupid son of a bitch, you know that?"
It don't matter what you do, Gus would never be pleased. Then again, you do seem to keep making stupid decisions. Sleeping with the woman of the leader of the Vigilante gang was not a good decision. Taking a prisoner, in retrospect was another poor choice. But that's not what is important. The important thing is that you have a prisoner.
The prisoner croaks out a single word; "Water."
Annie looks at you coldly. "You're not even giving the man water?! What the hell is wrong with you?" She gets off of her horse and brings her canteen over to the man who drinks greedily at the trickle of water which Annie pours out for him.
"You don't even know how to take care of a damn prisoner." Gus says to you. "Why the hell did you go an' get yourself a prisoner? Did you really think we needed one?"
You're about to explain when Annie throws a hand up to silence you.
"It doesn't matter why he has a fucking prisoner. Fact of the matter is that there is a prisoner," Annie says to the two of you, "The question is what do we do with him?"
The three of you look over at the Vigilante slung across the back of your horse.
"I say we kill the bastard." Gus says.
Annie looks at him scornfully. "You're not serious." She says, denying his words.
But he's not joking, of that you and Annie soon discover by his imploring gaze. Annie looks between the two of you before settling on you. "We don't need a corpse on our hands," She says.
Gus just shrugs his shoulders. "We can bury him."
Annie looks at you, her eyes screwed up in disbelief. "You can't let him do this."
You meet Gus's eyes behind her while she tries to maintain your gaze. The old man speaks to you. "It's your decision, cowboy. He's your prisoner."
You cast him a brief glance before taking another deep swallow of the cool, refreshing liquid. You let out a satisfied sigh and look over at him again. He is eyeing you with a mixture of disparity and vehemence. His eyes bounce from between yours and the water skin in your hands.
"Please." He says in a hoarse voice. "Water."
It's pitiful the way he's beggin like that, eyes wide and imploring while his throat swallows dryly. Fucking Vigilante. He would have killed you if he could, but you got the better of him. The roles are reversed now and somehow he expects mercy and benevolence.
You screw the cap back onto your water skin and strap it back onto your horse, mere inches from your prisoners reach. Perhaps this is a cruel tactic, but it's not as though you care.
Not much later you see two riders approaching coyote rock from the direction of town. You shield your eyes from the sun and squint to make out the forms of the riders; one is a squat older man, and the other appears to be female. Gus and Annie you presume.
"Help!" Your prisoner called out foolishly, not realizing that the riders are in fact your friends. You almost laugh. The two pull up their reigns as they reach you, Annie looking down at you coldly while Gus tries to contain his fury.
"You have a prisoner?" Annie asks.
"You brought a damn prisoner?!" Gus fuses and spit flies from his mouth; his face is a deep red that would be otherwise comical, while he releases his rage upon you. "What in the hell were you thinking?! You really are one stupid son of a bitch, you know that?"
It don't matter what you do, Gus would never be pleased. Then again, you do seem to keep making stupid decisions. Sleeping with the woman of the leader of the Vigilante gang was not a good decision. Taking a prisoner, in retrospect was another poor choice. But that's not what is important. The important thing is that you have a prisoner.
The prisoner croaks out a single word; "Water."
Annie looks at you coldly. "You're not even giving the man water?! What the hell is wrong with you?" She gets off of her horse and brings her canteen over to the man who drinks greedily at the trickle of water which Annie pours out for him.
"You don't even know how to take care of a damn prisoner." Gus says to you. "Why the hell did you go an' get yourself a prisoner? Did you really think we needed one?"
You're about to explain when Annie throws a hand up to silence you.
"It doesn't matter why he has a fucking prisoner. Fact of the matter is that there is a prisoner," Annie says to the two of you, "The question is what do we do with him?"
The three of you look over at the Vigilante slung across the back of your horse.
"I say we kill the bastard." Gus says.
Annie looks at him scornfully. "You're not serious." She says, denying his words.
But he's not joking, of that you and Annie soon discover by his imploring gaze. Annie looks between the two of you before settling on you. "We don't need a corpse on our hands," She says.
Gus just shrugs his shoulders. "We can bury him."
Annie looks at you, her eyes screwed up in disbelief. "You can't let him do this."
You meet Gus's eyes behind her while she tries to maintain your gaze. The old man speaks to you. "It's your decision, cowboy. He's your prisoner."