Mark raced down the hill side clutching
Jessie’s hand as the pair made their way to the docks. They had a boat waiting
for them to take them to their new lives. Their families were very much against
the two even speaking to each other. The Wilson and Taylor families had been
feuding for the last 30 years. All of
this because of a stupid cat. Mark thought to himself as shots rang out
behind him; impacting the trees as he and Jessie weaved in-between them. Just
after the civil war a cat was accidently trampled by a horse. Nobody
even remembers who’s cat it was! Or who even killed it! Mark screamed in
his mind, adrenaline pumping.
References
“I can’t believe your brothers are
stupid enough to shoot at me with you right next to me!” Mark said, panting.
“Joseph and Jeremiah never were the
brightest.” Jessie replied, nearly giggling if not for how out of breath she
was.
“There’s and old barn up ahead. We can
maybe lose them there.” Mark suggested.
“Okay. I need to catch my breath
anyways.” Jessie responded.
Jessie and Mark ducked into the barn and
hid on a platform overlooking the main entrance.
“Please don’t kill them if you don’t
have to.” Jessie pleaded.
“I’ll try honey, but they ain't showing me
the same kindness.” Mark responded, doing his best to hide both his annoyance
at the question and the panic he was feeling at the thought that this might end
in a shoot-out.
Colt Peacemaker
Mark readied his revolver. It was his
father’s Colt Peacemaker. He stole it the day before in case he would need it.
At the moment, it seemed to him that the investment might just pay off. God made them all, Colt made them equal.
Mark remembered the famous slogan for the gun he had in his hand. I just hope that Colt is as good at
performing miracles.
Joseph and Jeremiah walked into the
barn, revolvers in hand. “Come on out Mark! We know you’re in here!” Joseph
called out.
“We’re only gonna kill ya!” Jeremiah
snickered.
"Jessie, come home with us. We ain't mad at ya. Ma and Pa ain't mad at ya. We just don't want ya to marry one of them scumbag Taylors. Blood is thicker than water, sis!" Joseph pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears.
"Jessie, come home with us. We ain't mad at ya. Ma and Pa ain't mad at ya. We just don't want ya to marry one of them scumbag Taylors. Blood is thicker than water, sis!" Joseph pleaded, but it fell on deaf ears.
“We should just start shooting and check
to see if he is behind any of these hay bales.” Joseph suggested.
“Good idea, Joe!” Jeremiah responded.
The two began to fire into the hay bales
on the first floor. One, two, three…
Mark counted their shots. Twelve.
Their last shot, they
would have to reload before firing again. Mark knew this was his opening. He
stepped out from behind his cover and lined up his shot on the two below him.
He fired two shots and hit their revolvers from their hands. The two men looked
up, wide-eyed.
“You’re gonna
let us go, okay?” Mark said staring the two down. “I don’t want to kill you
two, but I will if you come after us. Now leave.” Mark motioned to the door
with his revolver.
Joseph and
Jeremiah dishearteningly walked out the door. Mark made his way down the ladder and went and
grabbed the two revolvers laying on the floor. He emptied them of their spent
casing and placed the two guns into his bag. He walked over to Jessie and gave
her a firm hug. Smiling, he said, “Looks like we’re home free now.”
“Looks like
it.” Jessie said, smiling back at him.
The two made
their way out of the barn and to the docks. There they set off down the river,
excited for their new lives.
Authors's Note
In the original story Krishna takes Rukmani and runs away with her on her wedding night. Krisha was not allowed to marry her because her brother was against it. Rukmani's brother chased her and Krishna after they ran away. Eventually they caught up to the two and Krishna fought Rukmani's brother. Rukmani requested that Krishna not kill him, so Krishna disarmed Rukmani's brother and tied her up. I decided to rewrite this story to be in a similar setting to the Hatfield McCoy family rivalry.
In the original story Krishna takes Rukmani and runs away with her on her wedding night. Krisha was not allowed to marry her because her brother was against it. Rukmani's brother chased her and Krishna after they ran away. Eventually they caught up to the two and Krishna fought Rukmani's brother. Rukmani requested that Krishna not kill him, so Krishna disarmed Rukmani's brother and tied her up. I decided to rewrite this story to be in a similar setting to the Hatfield McCoy family rivalry.
Hey Chris!
ReplyDeleteI got a kick out of reading your story, it was very exciting and I had to keep reading to figure out what was going to happen to Jessie and Mark. I'm glad that they were able to get out of the situation without killing Jessie's brothers, because I'm sure that would've been hard on her. I liked your title too, it was a nice twist from the classic saying. Great job!
Chris, the title is a nice change on a familiar saying, and definitely drew me in to reading the story. The Hatfield/McCoy angle definitely comes through in the narrative, so good job on achieving that goal. Your dialect helps create this setting, along with the visual descriptions. A great story, as always, which is why I come back week after week.
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