Land of the Unknown

The Traitor

Two days passed, and the Regulators were at the cemetery. Tunstall's body was in a coffin, ready to be put to rest. Emiliano was among the others in the cemetery. However, he kept his distance as he felt the tension in the air. Emiliano stood as he listened to Richard's speech, but he was losing interest and worried about what would happen. He snuck away from the cemetery and walked toward the ranch.

The walk was quiet as he looked at the cloudy skies; it felt as if heaven wept for Tunstall. Eventually, he arrived at the ranch and went to the cowboy house to rest and think of his plans. He was about to enter the room but stopped when he saw William McCloskey packing things in his backpack. The money on his bed caught Emiliano's eye; the cowboys weren't paid much. Then, he remembered what Richard had said about a possible traitor; he had been right all along. William was the traitor.

Emiliano knew he couldn't let Willliam leave since he had probably given Dolan and Murphey information about Tunstall. The young man took out his gun as he slowly and quietly walked inside the room. "So you were a traitor all this time?"

William stilled as he put the last stash of money in his bag. He glanced slowly at Emiliano, who stood behind him with a gun. "Put yer little gun away, kid. With John gone, there will be no more work. War is commin' and I don't want any part of this."

"You think I'm stupid, William. Not one of us gets paid much. After John's murder, you decide to leave all of a sudden. I'm guessing that you were paid for spying on us." Emiliano clicked on his gun, ready to shoot if necessary. "Put your hands up, and I won't have to kill you."

Suddenly, William motioned out his gun, shooting toward Emiliano. The bullet almost hit his ear, and Emiliano ran outside the room for cover. William fired two more shots as he got his backpack and ran toward one of the windows. Emiliano took a peek and saw William climbing out the window; he motioned his gun and fired twice, but they both missed their target. "Damn it!" The young man ran outside the house to catch up to William. Once outside, William was seen running toward the horse stables; he was pursued. "I can't let him escape! I can't." William exited the stables and commanded the horse to ride from the ranch. Emiliano knew he couldn't catch up with him or get to the stables on time. The cowboy had to rely on a single shot. He got his gun ready and remembered his lessons and practice with Luke. "Keep both eyes open and lessen the body." Emiliano fired his gun, hitting William on his waist, making him fall off the horse. "Got him!" He ran toward William and noticed The Regulators returning from the cemetery. 

The Regulators had their good friend buried and returned to the ranch, and on the way, they heard a gunshot. They rode on to see what was happening; they were surprised to find William shot down while Emiliano ran toward him. Everyone got to the ranch and got off their horses. "Emiliano, what's going on!?" asked Richard.

The young man stopped running as he tried to catch his breath. "Y-You were right, Richard. William was spying for Dolan and Murphey all this time." He got the backpack and motioned it upside down; money flowed to the ground. "He was trying to escape, but I stopped him." Emiliano kept his mouth shut as he saw Billy and Richard walk forward; everyone else was silent. Bill walked ahead of Richard and then began kicking William across the face. He then stomped on William's bullet injury. 

"Ack! S-Stop!" pleaded William. 

The kicking and stomping continued until Richard motioned Billy to stop. His eyes never left William. "We all came together because we believed John could change this county for the greater good. When Dolan and Murphey's sent their cowardly men to kill him, they declared war on us. Well, war is what they're going to get."

The men nodded and mumbled in agreeance with determined looks in their eyes. 

"I will give you all the choice to either stay or leave. No harm will come to any of you who decide to leave. Once you choose to stay, there's no going back." Everyone cheered as they declared to stay; Emiliano stood apart, saying nothing. "Yet, today, we will do our first step to revenge, ain't that right, William?"

William flinched as everyone glared at him. "Richard, it ain't what it looks like!"

"Get him up!" A couple of men grabbed William, forcing him to stand. Richard noticed a long rope, grabbed it, and made a noose. "Frank, go put this on the tree. It's time we execute the traitor."

Frank grabbed the noose as he went and climbed up on the nearest tree of the ranch. Emiliano knew what was going to happen; it made his stomach quench. He watched as William was forcibly taken toward the tree. William's begging and cries echoed throughout the ranch. Once by the tree, he was held upward as Frank put the noose around his neck. "Please! Please! I-I ain't the traitor! I-" William could not finish his sentence as he was let go; the noose clung to his throat. He was left to hang for dear life. The Regulators watched as he kicked his feet, making the rope cling to his throat even more. He turned blue; his movements lessened. It felt like an eternity until William twitched and made no more movement; he was dead.

The Regulators cheered as William was declared dead. On the other hand, Emiliano stood apart from the group as he witnessed everything unfold. He knew that William's hanging was The Regulator's way of accepting to go to war. Emiliano watched as William's body dangled from the tree; it made him realize that he was now between life and death.