Just a Movie

Not Through the Mines?

I'm riding a horse with Chris.  I am riding...with Chris.  I must've been staring at him for a while, because he glances at me, then smiles. 

"What are you looking at?" he asks. 

Holy crap he smiled at me.  Fortunately no one will think I'm blushing.  I bet the sun already took care of that.  I really hope he can't hear my heart from here. 

"Are you real?" I inquire. 

He grins, looking away then back at me. 

"Can't get much more real than this, can it?  Riding in the desert, the sun shining, hawks flying."

This is so unreal.  But it is real.  I'm really in a movie, I know that now.  The question is for how long, and will I be able to go back home?  In answer to how long, I should be here for as long as the movie runs, meaning when credits are up, it's over.  And as for getting back home, I'm not sure how I'm gonna do that.  Do I just go to sleep? 

"The only thing that's not real is I'm riding with a pretty girl and how quiet Roy is over there," Chris chuckles. 

Oh.  My.  God.  Did Chris just call me pretty??  

"I'm not quiet," Roy replies, keeping his eyes ahead where he's going.  "I'm enjoying this amazing scenery."

"Really," he says knowingly. 

"Of course!," Roy smiles.  "Who wouldn't love to see this beautiful dirt, the empty sky, and that lonely cactus over there?"

"You."

"Yeah," he nods.  "Ya got me."

As we continue our way, Chris hands me his canteen, telling me to drink, and I gladly do.  I tilt my head back, feeling the water rush down my throat into my chest.  Water spills down my chin, but I don't care.  I set the canteen down, catching my breath.  God I was so thirsty.  I probably would've have been able to speak within the next hour.  Fortunately for me, there was water.  How come I didn't have any with me when I woke up in this place?  I mean, these clothes magically appeared on me, along with a lasso and a pistol.  Why not something necessary to survive the desert? 

"So," Roy says, riding closer to us, "how'd you get caught by Tenner?"

"Huh?" I reply, a bit confused by his question. 

"You said you're a bounty hunter, so how'd Tenner manage to kidnap you and tie you to a chair? Usually it's the other way around."

It is true bounty hunters are smart and fast with the gun.  But Tenner's faster, thinks ahead, and lets no one get the best of him.  If he wants something, he'll do anything, and I mean anything, to get it, no matter what stands in his way.  You don't want to cross him.  I think of something clever I could say in response to Roy.  I am in a movie, so I might as well have fun with it. 

"I was on his tail," I huff, putting on a serious face, "Following the trails, the works.  I was so sure I had him, when one night while I was sleeping, he got me.  Next thing I knew I was in that old barn."

Not bad, not bad.  Quick note to self: next time add more gore.  It's necessary to help the story sound more interesting and real.  

Roy nods, thinking to himself. 

"Not a bad story," he says. 

"It's not a story."

He smiles at me. 

"Sure thing Betty."

Before I can protest, he gallops away, getting farther ahead of us. 

"Don't let him get to ya," Chris encourages.  "Once you get to know him, he's not that bad."