Gold, Guns and Death in the West - A Wild West Story

CHAPTER 10 - The Conclusion

All the five bodies of Eugene's gang were all piled up on a wagon and burned for ten whole minutes, the townspeople were all able to be freed and given necessary food and water, the mines were made the property of the town and Haymond's mining company had at long last been stopped dead in it's tracks. While the weapons cache that the Edwards Gang were keeping were used to arm Little Valley's militia in order to keep it protected from further threats.

The bribed townsfolk who had assisted the gang in keeping the town down and working were either run out by the mob or strung up as high as the heavens by the angry populace. The scene was gruesome and a lot of people chose to leave after being freed while others took the chance to rebuilt and rekindle Little Valley to it's better days. Nevertheless, after five years of oppression by Renee Haymond and the Edwards Gang, the town of Little Valley was free once more.

As the sun began to set, two figures near the old rotting home could be seen silhouetted against the orange light. Both were working hard to fill in the proper burial holes for people who did not deserve what they got. Bodies left to rot by rotten people were given the treatment and foreclosure they needed.

Four recent graves were in front of them, the girl wiped the sweat off of her forehead as she patted the last of the dirt with her shovel. The last one belonging to Mr. Franklin, the elderly bartender.

"Finished?" The boy asked. Whom was also holding a shovel and standing beside a completed grave, which was the one holding the old bartender who had kept the girl safe and out of the Edwards gang's filthy hands.

"Now I am." She responded. Sticking the shove; into the ground. "Thanks to you, I can finally have some closure. My family can be laid to rest, all of my family."

"Nothing to it." He said, taking off his hat to present himself more humbly. "I'm sorry about your parents.."

"What's done is done." She said, resting on her shovel's handle. Staring at the four tombstones with a sigh. "We got the people who did this, which begs the question... why did you want to help my town? You could've joined Eugene, taken all the gems for yourself even."

The girl turned to him for an answer, he took out a cigar he had taken from Eugene's stash and lit it with a match.

"To keep it short and simple, I myself had a... let's just say troublesome run-in with Eugene years before. After that it's exactly like what I told you, I had to become a bounty hunter to sustain myself. My father taught me to shoot, like yours." He sat on a nearby rock, placing his hat on his lap.

"Oh, you too?" She asked. Walking over to him and sitting on the rock right beside him. Also taking her hat off.

"I always tried to forget about what happened, but the reality of my life always led me back to it. I felt tormented by it day by day, trying not to show it. Until, as luck would have it... two of Eugene's gang members came to me in Sweetwater with a job offer." He told.

"We all got our pasts we wouldn't like to share." She said. "...But what of the future?"

"Future?" The boy curiously asked as he turned to her. The second half of what she had said had caught him off guard, but he was interested to what she had meant.

"Yes." She said as she nodded a little, with that look in her eye. "I-..."

She seemingly struggled to find the right wording for what she wanted to say to him.

In the end she just scoffed before she leaned forward, planting a little kiss on his cheek. This sudden show of affection surprised the boy, who just looked at his partner and simply smiled a little. Which was actually one of the rare times she saw his face decorated with a genuine smile throughout their journey from and back to the town.

"Well, I don't really think I-" He began, before being cut off.

"It's the least I can do for you, after all I ain't got no more money at all. Besides, without you I'd have been stuck playing the part of a barmaid forever." she smiled warmly. "You're a kind and remarkable feller. Deep underneath the tough bounty hunter."

"Well, thanks for the compliment." He chuckled.

A few seconds of serene, silence followed as she broke the silence once more.

"Have you ever thought of settling down sometimes, living an honest life where there ain't no killing?" Questioned the girl, who had a curious look about her. The boy gave it a bit of thought before he responded.

"Perhaps once or twice throughout my time as one, but I guess I'm just used to it now." He replied. "I've forgotten all about farming, I only know the killing. Quite the conundrum ain't it?"

"One thing's for sure, I'm never pouring out a drink ever again. 'Cept maybe when it's for myself." She added on.

"Not one for me? You little snake." He jokingly said. She pushed him in the shoulder a little, not enough to knock him completely off the rock but enough to let him know she was just playing with him.

"You know what I meant, ya dummy. And of course I'll pour drinks for you." She proclaimed patting him on the shoulder with assurance.

"Thank the Lord above." He said with a smile. Allowing a moment of happiness to shine through. Before the girl brought forward a suggestion.

"Perhaps I could help you with some bounties?" She asked. "There's nothing left for me in this town, it'll only bring bad memories back."

"You'd still like to ride with me?" He asked, with a hint of bewilderment. "After all that? You were close to getting shot a lot of times back there."

"Of course, all those fire fights and gun battles were mighty gripping. I think we'd make great partners. Wouldn't we, partner?" She suggested with a little wink.

"Well I ain't forcing you, but I think you'd make a damn good bounty hunter." He complimented. "You ain't as rusty as you say you are, that's for sure... but for now let's just rest a while. There's a long ways away to the next state over."

"I'd love that." She replied with a smile. "Maybe when that sun's gone down we could watch the stars together, again."

Allowing her to lean on his shoulder for some well deserved rest. The both of them just sat down as they watched the setting sun cast the day's dying light together.

~ The End ~