Special Thanks
To:
Jeri for being an amazing beta reader and motivation for me to publish anything. Hopefully one day you'll find out how much of a amazing writer she is like I have.
.
I can't forget the rest of amazing folks at
The Writer's Dungeon discord
In Blistering heat a large, sturdy, horse-drawn wagon laid crippled by the lack of both, large front wheels and its white canvas that should have stretched over wooden hoops barely hung on.
Two people hid under the wagon. Flat cap, Cotton shirt,trousers held up by suspenders, simple waistcoat with all by one button missing, leather boots. Blue eyes and clean shaven.
Another was a girl with blonde hair, fair skin and blue eyes also. A simple, usually white cotton dress with a brown pioneer apron on top of it with heavy, worn leather boots.
They were surrounded by three men all in vicarious sleeping positions with their revolvers laid next to them in various sizes puddles of blood.
An Outlaw on a grand stallion circled like a vulture. In contrast to most outlaws he donned himself in red. He was accompanied by his trusted double barrel shotgun with a blood stained comb.
“Come on Rhodes. We are good friends. I ain't gonna hurt ya.” The Crimson Rider gently broke open the barrels by tilting them downward.
“so where Ace,Clay and West” Rhodes cocked the hammer to half-cock position
“Those boys came at me with guns blazing. I had to protect myself” He pulled out any empty shells by hand
“Your the devil's man” Rhodes opened the loading gate
“Devil's man you say?” The Crimson Rider Insert a new shell into each chamber
“You have betrayed your fellow man and Your god” Rotate the cylinder and push out each spent casing one by one.
“I have betrayed no such thing. I merely rejected his teaching. He made me so in his image” firmly but smoothly raise the barrels back into position until they locked.
Rhodes started to load a round into a empty chamber,rotated the cylinder twice before he loaded another.
Somewhere nearby a figure was crouched over a small pool of water canteen hard at storage work.
White furred, upright ears,yellow eyes, sharp teeth, pointed muzzle wearing a long-sleeved, often plaid shirt, a leather vest, canvas trousers, a wide-brimmed cowboy hat, a leather belt with a holster for their pistol, and tall leather boots with spurs.
In contrast his prized mare was black as coal. The Mare nudged his shoulder. The Furred gunslinger growled under its breath as they stood up and moved out the way. The beastman clenched his own first before wetting his fur with uncaught water. He sniffed the air. A mixture of rotting meat and slightly sweet scent invaded his snout.
Rhodes closed the loading gate and kissed the young girl on the forehead “be brave now, My little hunter”
“Okay Rhodes. Let's finish this” Rhodes crawled from under the what was left of the wagon, revolver held tight in his left hand
“Any last words” The Rider said in a snide remark
“As is Written. Ephesians 6:10-12: "Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes". He said as he closed his eyes, clocking the hammer slowly towards himself.
The Crimson rider swung his leg over and slipped off his stallion. Holding his rifle to his chest.
Both Cowboys did the Iconic squint of the old west.
The Crimson one swung his shotgun from his chest and aimed straight forward. His more contemporary dueling partner lifted his revolver upwards. A loud, booming sound came from The Crimson one side and a Crack sound from Rhodes side.
The Canine threw himself off his black mare,tackling the Crimson rider to the ground. The Canine nostrils were hit with burnt wood, grain, and a strong alcohol aroma. The Canine flashed its canines. The Crimson Rider gripped the stock and muzzle as he pushed the barrels into the beastman’s mouth.
The Crimson Rider pushed the barrels further causing the Canine jaw to lock. He stirred the furred gunslinger slightly to the right before overcompensating to the left as they both rolled over each other then landed side by side.
The Canine dropped the metal boomstick from his mouth as he threw a right hand.
He grabbed his own Revolver.
A terrified scream filled the air. The Canine ears turn in the direction of the scream as he diverted his attention away from The Crimson Rider. The girl was scurrying backwards from something. The Canine hunting instincts kicked in as . He noticed a serpent in the sand. If it wasn't a Western Diamondback, it was a close relative.
The Crimson Rider took full advantage of the snake presence as he jabbed the upright wolf in the back of the temple with the butt of the shotgun. Scrambled to his feet. The Wolf left kneeling part way between The Crimson Rider and the girl. He held his Revolver pointed at the Rider.
As Crimson Rider saddled his horse he gave a mocking laugh while holding his shoulder “Apex Predator or Saviour what will the heathen choose” The Crimson Rider kicked the side of horse and rode off.
Another terrified scream invaded pointed ears as the snake slithered at the speed of black friday sale rush towards the girl. The Canine looked at The Crimson Rider as he hooked his finger on the trigger, letting out a frustrated growl he lowered the gun.
The Canine dashed towards the girl. He grabbed a rock.He stood on the back of the snake. The Snake curved and showed off its fangs. A loud hissed followed. The Snake striked. He dodged the fangs and hit the snake over the head. The snake face hit the sand. The Bipedal wolf lifted his boot.
The Wolf stood holding the rock. The Snake coiled itself while flicking its tongue. The Wolf threw the rock up once and caught it. The serpent sprung. The Wolf rolled, sideways and jumped to his feet. The snake slithered before pouncing. It was struck at the side of head a long, thin line of blood squirted.
The Snake hit the ground and bounced, rolled on its side before sliding on the ground. The Wolf drove the heel of its boot into the belly of the cold blooded animal.
A mark turned into a slit. A slit turned into a cut. A cut turned slash. A slash turned to a dint. A dent turned into a curve. A curve into a bowl. A bowl into mush.
The Canine bashed a rock over the snake head one last time before it went limp. His predatory gaze switched focus towards the girl.
He walked over towards the girl's father's dead body and patted him down. He noticed the corner of a paper peeking out the inner pocket of the waistcoat.
“Hey you can't just take things” She protested as she grabbed his arm and pulled. The Canine pushed her away
The Canine jumped through the slit to scavenge. He found a few useful items. A fire starting kit,pan,blanket, a knife and a small barrel. He took the knife. He gripped the serpent just below the head the swung the knife just beside his other hand. He discarded the shorter piece and left the longer side dangling as he stood up.
“What are you doing, with that poor old snake?” She asked.
“Food.” He uttered in a direct tone.
At Sunset
Four holes in the ground. A Man laid to the left of each. The Canine threw away the shovel and began rolling them in. As he got to the father he heard a sound.
Click.
He slowly turned his head. He examined the girl. Two thumbs on the hammer,both index fingers on the trigger and intense stare. He remained calm for three simple facts. One her hands were shaking. A Tangy smell came from her drenched face. Three her eyes darted for longer than a split second.
He jumped out of the fourth grave. The Girl still had the revolver pointed at him. He began a gentle walk in her direction.
She closed her eyes and pulled the trigger.
Click.
The Canine grabbed the revolver by the muzzle and yanked out her hands followed by a short growl as he left her old man unburied. The Girl gently pushed her father into the grave and started shovelling dirt on the corpse.
When the girl finished burying her father she got on her knees “Loving God, as our loved one approaches their final moments, grant them comfort and peace. Surround them with Your love and let them feel Your presence. Amen.”
She got up, dusted herself off and walked over to The Canine and his mare. He lifted upon the horse then himself behind her. He grabbed the reins of the horse directing towards the four graves, tipping his hat before continuing the journey
He sniffed the air. A faint metallic smell entered his snout. He looked forward,closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.
He pulled the reins on his horse and looked around, noticing a slight slope. He could hear the gentle running of water.
“Why are we stopping? She looked back at him
The Canine raised a bow as he leaned forward simultaneously lowering his head. Her eyes widened as she shooed away the approaching snout.
“Help me down” The Girl demanded
The Canine swung his leg around and dropped to the ground. The Girl swung her leg and jumped at him. Misjudging her distance, the stepped in front of her and caught by the waist and spun around so she landed on her feet.
She grabbed her flannel from the makeshift wagon and wandered off.
She let the flannel floated in stream for a few seconds as she pulled up her dress slowly dipping her toe into the water. She pulled back fairly quickly while shivering
She grabbed her flannel and wrung it out
Clip Clop, Clip Clop, Clip Clop followed by a loud Neigh.
Five men approached. One had a wide brimmed cowboy hat with slits sliced on the brim with a cloudy left eye.
“My My what a lucky day for you to turn into a fine young lady” he jumped off his horse with a smile
“You Know Ms. It can be dangerous out here” He grabbed her by the waist
The Girl slapped him. The Man took a step back. He rubbed his chin then backhanded her
The Canine slid down the slope and popped a warning shot at cloudy eyed cowboy. The Cowboy took a step back so did the rest of the posse.
“Boys looks like a feral mutt. Boys let's down some hunting then” He paused looking back at the girl “then the fun begins”
The Canine slammed him up against, holding with a forearm. Lifted up his index finger and ring finger dug his claws deep into his eyes. He pulled his fingers down causing a blood-curdling scream to be released from his lungs.
The white wolf slashed across the neck. The Outlaw held his throat as he fell to his knees then to the ground. A pool of blood began to form.
The Wolf performed a bring it taunt.
Another ran at the wolf and the wolf hip tossed him to the floor. A third pulled a Knife. The Posse member lunged with the knife to left shoulder. The Canine weaved to the right. The Posse member lunged with the knife to the right shoulder. The Canine weaved to the left. The Posse member lunged with the knife to the stomach. The Canine jumped back.
“Stay still will ya” One of them grunted
The Furred gunslinger grabbed him by wrist while repeatedly elbowing just in front the elbow joint. The knife dropped then bounced along the ground. Its owner went to chase after it but was caught with a standing leg sweep. Quickly drew his revolver and shot the knife welder in the back of the head. The body went limp.
He turned his attention towards cloudy eyed outlaw.
The Cloudy eyed Outlaw dropped the girl onto the ground. He went to pull the revolver from his holster. The Canine drew quicker.
Bang.
The Cloudy eyed outlaw held his chest, spun once and fell stomach firsted to the ground.
The Canine grabbed his revolver, opened the loading gate on the right side of the gun, tipped the gun towards him and caught the bullets before throwing it to the ground. He pulled out a Catholic marked revolver from his right holster and did the same. He slotted the five bullets individually into thier new resting place,closed the loading gate.
He walked over to the girl,offered a hand and pulled her up. He gave her a few seconds to dust herself off before he handed her the marked revolver.
She unfastened the cloudy eyed outlaws' holster. She paused for a moment as she looked at the rips in her dress.
“Sorry Daddy, if you're watching up there forgive me” she began undressing the outlaw.
She walked back up the slope. The Gunslinger turned his head. His eyes widened slightly as he lifted up his hat.
Time slowed.
Blond luscious and long hair, baby blue eyes.
Elegant neck,proportionality, slim arms and shoulders. Hips larger than her D Cup bust are also wider than her shoulders. Rear and thighs are full and round.
“What's wrong Wolfie?” She smiled with one hand on hip
He looked away while pulling his hat down.
He lifted her up onto the horse but her leg slipped causing her butt to fall into his hands. She chuckled as she looked over her shoulder but his face remained stoic. He gave extra force behind the next push as she swung her leg over the horse. He pulled himself up and slipped his arms underneath hers to grab the reins. He gently tapped the side of the mare.
The ground slowly started to evolve from sand to more of a gravel pit. The Girl didn't notice it but
He took a few moments to admire the small bounces in her rear. The rustling of paper broke his focus.
“It says here, we need to be heading to place called The Lonely Shacks” She said as tapped the paper
“Since you saved my life twice. I think it's only fair you know my name. My Name's Katherine but you call me Kitty” She looked back at him with a smile.
“So uptight and tense” Katherine grabbed his lower jaw scrunched up her face “Grrrrr I'm so sad and complicated,clearly not a canine that likes to play”
He pulled away. Katherine smiled. He taps the side of the mare twice.
Many days and Nights they rode alone.
One of those days he taught her how to shoot properly.
Got her to stand sideways with her non-dominant foot forward.Extended her shooting arm fully for maximum accuracy.Maintain a firm but controlled grip on the revolver. Made sure her non-shooting hand rested on her hip. Taught her to apply steady, gradual pressure on the trigger.
Katherine had gentle sway to her hips as she walked through the batwing doors. Her hat slightly slouched she looked around the room. She noticed a man sat alone at bar. She threw some coins on the counter as sat.
“Whiskey” she tapped two fingers twice on the counter
The Man predictly leaned back and looked at his rear. Katherine watched him out her pivotal vision. She coughed and this caused the man to sit up right
“Save your coins, Maid” as he threw double the coins on the counter.
Katherine placed her hand on the counter and scooped up her coins.
“Maid I bet you can ride a stallion pretty good” He smirked as he lifted up his hat showing his crooked and yellow teeth
Katherine took a sip of her whiskey. She kept looking straight forward letting the word linger.
“Would need to be used to sitting on one to ride it” She replied as she took a another sip as she noticed a red banana tucked in his trouser pocket.
“All it takes it few pokes of a rifle” He remarked as he pressed his finger on her spine
“May I stroke it” She asked turning ever so slightly away
The man smiled and grabbed his rifle. He placed on the counter.
“It was long and sturdy. Not sure I could handle load as a first timer”
“What good is a long rifle?” She leaned close to his ear and whispered “When you fire blanks.” She slowly pulled away as she bit on the tip of the finger.
The Man grabbed her by the shoulders and leaned in for a smooch. Breath smell of Whiskey and tobacco. She noticed a small pocket knife, pulled it out and stabbed him just below the ribcage.
“You Whore”
Katherine quickly grabbed the back of his neck and drove the blade through just below the apple's apple.
Katherine looked over her shoulder and noticed three men eagerly jumped to their feet, drew their pistols and began firing. Katherine pulled herself over the bar counter and slipped onto the floor. Katherine sat back against the counter and opened the loading gate of her revolver. She twisted every single cylinder to see if you loaded then closed it again
“Three” She mumbled as she poked her over the counter
She grabbed a liquor bottle and looked over at the bartender “May I?”
The Bartender nodded. Katherine stood up and threw at The Outlaw who stood on a round table. He dropped his gun and caught the bottle. He lifted it up to his eye line. As he Inspected the stained glass.
Katherine pulled the trigger. The bullet flew across the room, penetrating through the storage contraption.
The glass bottle shattered sending shards. Slashing cheeks, pierced the ears, marking the forehead and wedged into the eyes. He slipped back onto the table
Another turned the muzzle of his gun. He shot and hit Katherine just under her left breast. Katherine shot back. The Bullet caught him directly between the eyes
One man grabbed her just below the shoulders. Another ran his hands down her sides and hips. Katherine spatted in his face. He replied in kind with a haymaker to the lip.
The Canine He soothed his mare with a back hand stroked on the side of the face when he noticed a little red in the side of eye.
The Crimson Rider trotted below the sign followed by a posse of about seven including the red cowboy himself. The Crimson
The Crimson Rider whistled and pointed behind the wolf.
Two men pulled Katherine out bleeding from just below one of her breasts and busted lip. The Crimson Rider lifted up his shotgun to lock it into place.
“My My so the white one does have a weakness” pressed up the barrel underneath his chin “One pull of the trigger” he pulled the barrel away “But that does nothing for my reputation”
“High noon tomorrow mutt. Come boys”
Both men threw Katherine down next to The Canine and spatted in their faces
The Canine wrapped his arms around her back and behind her knees. Then, lifted with his legs and hold her close to his chest.
The Canine looked down at Katherine who smiled and stroked his cheek with the back of her hand as she struggled to keep her eyes open. The blood increasingly colonised her white yoke. The lump on her lip incrementally became more noticeable.
The Furred gunslinger slowly made his way to another wooden building. One story high detached slope roof with extended wooden () poking out that had a sign that read Shieff. The front had three pillars running down from the edge of the roof with a single door.
He looked at the Jail door. The Shieff quickly stood up from behind his desk, opened a drawer and pulled out a key. He came from behind his desk,unlocking the jail to which Katherine was gently laid on the hung slab of wood.
He walked over to his and Katherine's makeshift wagon and put his arm through the tear and pulled out a small Stagecoach strongbox. He lifted it onto his shoulder then trekked to the saloon
A glass bottle rolled underneath batwing doors and stopped at his feet. He bent down to grab the bottle then stood back up. He walked through the doors all the way to the bar counter, dropping the box. A clinking could be heard.
He grabbed and lifted and flicked the empty glass bottle before pointing to himself. Secondly he grabbed a full one then presented the box while pointing at the occupations. Everyone either tipped their hats or nodded, including the bartender.
The Gunslinger on his way back, was passed several emptied glass bottles while also being met with smiles.
The Canine placed five glass bottles on top of the wooden fence. He walked twenty paces before he turned around. He closed his eyes, dangling his hand over his revolver. He pulled out his revolver.
Bang.Bang.Bang.Bang.Bang.
Glass shattered everywhere.
The Crimson Rider and his posse was sat around a campfire
“Boss. Shouldn't you be practicing your draw.?” A boy asked
The Crimson rider drew his revolver and shot the top off a glass bottle before he slotted back in his holster. The boy butt shuffled a little away from him.
The Crimson Rider rode into town. His dueling partner is already waiting for him. He got off his horse twenty paces away.
They stood across from each other as the wind whistled.
The Furred gunslinger stood sideways
The Crimson Rider wiggled his fingers above his revolver,Feet shoulder-width apart for stability, with the dominant foot slightly back. Knees slightly bent
“How's your girl mutt?” He remarked as he drew his revolver.
The so-called mutt drew his as well.
Katherine finally awoke. She tried sitting up. A excruciating groan escaped her body
The Shieff stood up from his desk “You should be resting”
“Where is the wolf?” She grabbed his collar
“He outside having a good old show down with that red outlaw with the weird looking cloth covering his mouth”
A bang could be heard followed by a split second delayed second one.
Katherine dragged herself out of the Shieff building
Both gunslingers were laid out back first on the ground with pistols beside them.
She went down to both knees beside the Furred gunslinger. The body was placed on their stomach and rolled from side to side to encourage breathing.
To no prevail.
She rolled him onto his back, resting her head on his chest. Suddenly she felt a hand run down her side, over her hip and to her rear. Her eyes widened as she sat up on her knees and smacked him on the cheek.
He opened his eyes and got to his feet but groaned as he held his shoulder
“You dirty dog” Katherine tried to sound angry but found herself smiling
The Canine tipped his hat with his uninjured arm and made his way to his mare. He unwrapped his the reins from the post and began walking out of the small town
The End
