Brand stood in place with his hands up, struggling to wrap his head around what was going on. Bilk stood with the three outlaws, the fire burning behind them as he kept his gun trained on the old-timer. The other three slowly began to draw their arms, the cocking of their hammers snapping Brand out of his spiralling thoughts.
“Bilk…” Brand dared to step forward.
Bilk held up his gun, aiming it between Brand’s eyes as the old sheriff stopped in his tracks.
“W-What is this…what’re you doin’?”
“C’mon, Brand. Don’chu know an ambush when you see one?” Bilk berated the old sheriff mockingly. “Must be going’ senile in your old age, huh?”
Gap-Tooth, Pot-Belly and Lazy-Eye laughed at the deputy’s jab at the old-timer, while Brand felt the pain in his chest twist a little at his trusted friend’s words.
The laughter lasted for a moment before Bilk decided to speak again.“Well, seein’ as how you came all this way for lil’ ol’ me, I reckon I owe you an explanation.”
“Y’see, Brand, bein’ the lawman of a dried-up dustbowl like Virgil City may be all well ’n’ good enough for you…but not for me.” The deputy walked around the sheriff, relishing in the position of power he had over him. “It can get old, real fast. You should know, considerin’…” Bilk gestured at the old man’s age with a wave of his gun, a mocking smile still on his face.
A twitch of ire joined the pain in the lawman’s chest.
Bilk stopped when he was at Brand’s back. “An’ the last thing I wanna do, is spend the best years of my life, wasting’ away in the middle of horse-spit nowhere, FOR THE LIKES OF YOU!”
Bilk booted the lawman in his back, sending Brand tumbling to the ground. The old sheriff landed on his hands and knees, groaning from the sudden kick in his keister as Bilk made his way back around his hapless state.
“Then why didn’chu say so…” Brand lifted himself slowly, yet remained on his knees as he glared daggers at his former deputy. “Why didn’t you tell me?! You coulda just left town, and I woulda understood!”
“Because I wouldn’a had a penny to my name if I did!” Bilk spat back. “Gettin’ paid a measly ten dollars a month for upholdin’ the law ain’t my idea of makin’ a livin’! But, I couldn’t take what I’m owed with you always lookin’ over my shoulders! So, I decided to make some new friends!” The double-crosser spread his arms out to emphasise the three outlaws, letting Brand figure out the rest.
The realisation hit Brand like a locomotive, his eyes widening in appall. “You hired them…to do me in.”
Bilk’s sneer grew, a sign showing that the lawman was right on the money.
“If that’s true, then…why’d you save me from windin’ up dead like you did?”
“Couldn’t risk the folks around town gettin’ wise about where I was.” Bilk shrugged. “I mean, as wise as a bunch of cotton-pickers and sod-busters can be, I reckon.”
This earned the former deputy another round of laughter from his newfound gang, the fire behind them seeming to burn brighter at their cruel elation.
The lawman was now beyond furious. His had screwed up into a vicious snarl, his hands balled into tight fists that he wanted nothing more than to pound into the face of the man he once believed he could trust with his life, that he treated like a son, only for him. to turn around and throw it all back in his face!
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“You double-crossin’, back-stabbin' snake! After all I did for you!”
Bilk’s laughter stopped at the lawman’s words.
The gang’s roaring laughter slowly died down to nervous chuckles, when they saw the disturbing blank look on their boss’s face.
The crackle of the campfire was the only thing that could be heard, when bilk slowly began to raise his gun…
“You’re right. You’ve done a lot for me over the years, Brand.”
The old man’s scowl turned to a look of growing dread.
“So, I’ll go ahead and give the rest that you deserve…” Bilk claimed as he pulled the hammer back on his revolver.
Gap-Tooth, Pot-Belly and Lazy-Eye followed their boss by cocking their guns.
“And don’t worry about the folks in town, sheriff…” The double-crossing deputy continued, a malicious grin crossing his face once more. “I’ll take good care of ‘em, long after you’re gone.”
Brand felt his heart race. A bead of nervous sweat ran down his brow, as all he could do was stare in shock at the four shining barrels aimed directly at him. “Bilk…please don’t-!”
BANG-BA-BANG-BANG-BA-BANG-BANG-BANG
The light of the campfire cast across the summit of Wyatt Rock was brightened by the flashing of gunfire. The shots rang out for miles across the dark desert plains where not a soul could hear…
Along with the deathly cry of Sheriff Rufus Brand.
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Becky peered through the eyepiece of her makeshift telescope, set up a short distance behind the Bevel’s household. The base of the scope squeaked and scraped against its deformed joints every time Becky moved the lens in another direction, all while she had a bright, delighted smile on her face.
“Becky?” Beeeekyyyyy?” Bob Bevel’s voice boomed gently in the night air, the blacksmith coming around the house and spotting her daughter with her latest creation. “There you are! I’ve been lookin’ all over for you!”
“I’ve been right here, Pa!” Becky laughed, turning along with her creation while keeping her eyes on the stars above. “Is somethin’ wrong?”
“Naw! Jus’ wonderin’ where you were is all.” Bob waved off with a gloved hand, deciding not to tell her about the deputy’s disappearance. “How’s that telescope of yers?”
“Well, the joints are a little stiff. Guess that’s what I get for using a horseshoe as a base joint…” The young inventor mused to herself. “But, the magnification works perfectly.” She turned away from her creation for the first time that night to look back at her father. “Here, come take a look!”
“Well, don’t mind if I do!” Bob stepped up and lowered his head down towards the eyepiece.
The first thing he saw was a corral of stars, shining brighter than he had ever seen before. “Well, I’ll be…that is amazing…” The blacksmith turned away from the scope to look at his daughter, his beard lifted by the proud smile on his face. “Your Ma would be so proud.”
A warm smile graced Becky’s face at her father’s words before her face suddenly lit with realisation. “Oh! Lemme show you the North Star! It’s so beautiful when you see it up close.”
Bob watched his daughter focus on her latest contraption. His smile waned a little at the thought of Brand heading out on his own to bring Bilk back.
While the commotion about the deputy’s disappearance hadn’t reached Becky’s ears yet, he knew that he would have to tell her sooner or later. While his little girl was indeed a bright one, she wasn’t too good at handling situations such as that.
It was the same reason why he kept the morning shootout a secret from her. The best thing Bob could do for now, was to keep his daughter’s attention on the stars, protecting her from the truth hanging over the whole town.
“AH!”
The sudden gasp of his daughter caused the large blacksmith to jump. “What?! What is it?! What’s the matter?!”
“A shootin’ star!” Becky declared with elation, almost dancing in place as she kept her eye on the telescope. “Pa, I jus’ saw a shootin’ star!”
“You did?” Bob looked up to see for himself, only to see the only stars in the sky were the ones staying in place.
“Aw, shucks!” Bob looked back down with mild disappointment. “Musta missed it…”
“There’s another one!”
“Huh?!” Bob snapped his head back upwards at his daughter’s excitement, this time witnessing a single star sailing across the endless night sky, with a tail of light following behind.
“Holy cow…!” The blacksmith stared in awe at the unbelievable sight. “That’s amazin’! I think that’s the first one I’ve ever seen.”
As Becky peered through her eyepiece at the phenomenon, another star soon flew across the black sky, along with another, and another. Soon enough, the entire sky was lit up with a stream of rushing bight lights.
“Holy cow! There’s more of ‘em, Pa!” Becky declared as she tried to focus on the rushing lights above them. “It’s a meteor shower!”
“A mete…what?” Bob asked his daughter as he kept his eyes on the phenomenon happening before him.
“A meteor shower!” The young inventor explained with excitement. “It’s like a herd of stars all sailing across the sky togeth…”
Becky’s voice caught in her throat when she noticed something strange about the shoer in her lens. She twisted and turned the knobs of her telescope to try and get a good look at what she was seeing, a nervous pit opening up in her stomach.
Bob seemed to notice something odd about the stars flying overhead as well. “Uh, hon. Is it jus’ me, or do those seem like their gettin’…bigger?”
“I don’ think their gettin’ bigger, Pa…” Becky found the right focus on her scope to see the shower closer, looking at one of the burning blue rocks flying through the air, which almost appeared to be descending from the rest.
“I think…their gettin’ closer…!”