CHEYENNE'S spurs clinked against the uneven hardwood floors as she travelled through the Hookers' ranch house. She sharply knocked the door of the bedroom that Doc laid in. All that she received was a miserable groan on the other side of the wall. Opening the door with a squeak, she stepped into the somber room.
The John Henry Holliday- infamous gambler, drinker, and gunslinger, lay motionless in his bed. He was weak beyond recognition. His green eyes were dull, staring mindlessly up at the ceiling.
"Hey Doc." Cheyenne spoke softly, staring down at the man.
Hearing her voice, he returned from his disassociation.
"Darlin'." he mumbled, noticing her stormy blue eyes watching his every movement.
"I'd ask you how you're doin', but that just seems awfully insensitive." she chuckled dryly, struggling to find even a drop of humor in her voice.
"I'm dyin'. That's how I'm doing." Doc stared at the wall, avoiding her torturous eye contact.
"I know." Cheyenne said simply, kneeling by the bed. She carefully placed her hand over his, caressing the top of his hand with her thumb. It was a gesture she wasn't used to distributing, as she wasn't usually one for physical touch. But she felt that it was necessary in this moment. "I'm sorry, Doc."
"Why should you be sorry?" Doc asked, her touch giving him a new hint of life and fight.
"I gave up on you. I didn't want to put you through any more pain." Cheyenne spoke, swallowing back a painful lump in her throat.
"Losing you forever would be worse than any physical pain I could ever endure."
~
"What the hell is that?" Wyatt squinted his crystal blue eyes over the horizon.
Cheyenne spotted a horse riding over the hill, dragging something behind one of them. A bag of some sort.
As the rider comes closer, Cheyenne's heart drops in realization.
It's a human corpse.
McMasters.
"Why couldn't they have just killed him?" Vermillion mumbled, shaking his head sadly.
The cowboy pulling the body dropped the rope, yelling to Wyatt.
"Ringo wanted to be sure he got your attention, Marshal. He wants a straight-up fight, just you and him, settle this thing once and for all. You win, we quit the territory; Ringo wins, your deputies get safe conduct to the Colorado line. Sundown today in the oak grove at the mouth of Sulphur Springs Canyon. We'll meet you."
Cheyenne shot a look at Wyatt, silently urging him to decline the offer. He would be insane to fight Ringo. Wyatt looked straight ahead, not even acknowledging Cheyenne's outrage.
"You tell Ringo..." he trailed off, calming himself. "Just tell him I'll be there."
The cowboy rode off, leaving Cheyenne, Wyatt, Vermillion and Creek standing together.
"Wyatt, are you crazy?" Cheyenne was horrified. Her brother had taken the offer so quickly, so immaturely. As if he had nothing on the line to lose.
"Listen, you can't beat him. You're good and God knows you got the courage, but you ain't in Ringo's class. Hell, he's the best there's ever been. 'Cept maybe for Wild Bill." Vermillion said.
"He's right, Wyatt. Ringo could put five into you before you could even get one into him. I've seen it." agreed Cheyenne.
"But I'd do it, I'd get that one into him. So help me God, I would." Wyatt argued desperately.
"All right Wyatt, maybe you can. But you gotta die to do it. Understand? You gotta die!" Creek expressed.
Wyatt stared at the corpse in front of them, letting the words sink in.
At Creek's words, Cheyenne walked away, refusing to hear any more talk about another man she loved dying.
~
As the afternoon Arizona sun sizzled over Hooker's ranch, Cheyenne and Wyatt sat on the floor of Doc's room in quiet.
"What makes a man like Ringo, Doc? What makes him do the things he does?" Wyatt asked, breaking the silence.
"A man like Ringo's got a great empty hole right through the middle of him, and no matter what he does he can't ever fill it. He can't kill enough or steal enough or inflict enough pain to ever fill it. And it drives him mad." Doc spoke, clearly and thoughtfully. It made Cheyenne feel at least a little relieved that Doc felt decent enough to speak like his normal self.
"So what does he want?" Wyatt asked.
"What does he want?" Doc coughed. "Revenge."
"Revenge for what?" Cheyenne asked, suddenly curious.
Doc paused for a moment.
"Being born."
Cheyenne and Wyatt both looked down for a moment, unsure of what to say. Wyatt exhaled forcefully.
"Remember how I said it all happened so fast with Curly Bill I didn't have time to think about it? Well I've had plenty of time to think about this. I spent most of my life since I was born not knowin' what I want out of life, just chasin' my tail. But now, for the first time I know exactly what I want. And who. And that's the damn misery of it." he paused, looking at Doc. "I can't beat him, can I?"
Doc shook his head, watching Wyatt nod and stand up.
"No wait, I'll go with you..." Doc groaned, struggling to get out of bed. He trembled, using all of his remaining strength to try to push himself up. Cheyenne rested a hand on his shoulder, urging him to lean back.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Wyatt. God, I'm so sorry..."
"That's all right, Doc. Don't worry." Wyatt reassured his friend sadly.
"Never got to wear one of those." Doc pointed to Wyatt's marshal star pinned to his shirt.
Wyatt took off his badge and pressed it into Doc's cold hand.
"You can have it."
Doc took it, running his fingers along the smooth silver.
His eyes slowly fluttering shut, he quickly passed out into a sleeping state again, giving Cheyenne a window of time. She quietly creeped out of the room, chasing after her brother.
"Let me come along, Wyatt."
He immediately shook his head.
"No, Chey. I can't risk your life again."
"Hey." she grabbed Wyatt's collar, forcing him to listen. "Who saved you guys's asses at the O.K Corral? That's what I thought. Listen, I know Ringo better than you. I'll just be an escort, along with Vermillion and Creek. If you need backup, I'll shoot him from behind. It's dishonorable, sure. But after what they did to Morgan, Virgil, and Jack, it's not so disgraceful anymore."
Wyatt took in the information, struggling to come to a decision.
"Fine. But I don't want you interfering right off the bat. You could be killed instantly."
Cheyenne nodded. "I'll take my chances."
ringo better watch his grimy ass, the earps are comin 🫣🫣
and someone else too ofccc
OH ALSO!!
I've started a Ringo fic, bc idc anymore that man is fineeee
he will be slightly less douchebag-ish in that book 🫣
YOU ARE READING
🂱 • 𝚍𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚢 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘 • 🂱 ~ 𝒹ℴ𝒸 𝒽ℴ𝓁𝓁𝒾𝒹𝒶𝓎
Fanfiction𝙲𝚑𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚗𝚗𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚒𝚜𝚢 𝙴𝚊𝚛𝚙 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙴𝚊𝚛𝚙 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢. 𝙰𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚠 𝚞𝚙 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚕𝚊𝚠𝚖𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚞𝚒𝚕𝚍 𝚏𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚜...
