From Home to High Plains

The Gunman

Matthew did his best to stay upright and alert, the weight of at least three sleepless nights and the trauma of being shot weighing him down with exhaustion. He blinked heavily, focusing ahead, trying to remember where he was. 

"Matthew!" he heard a shout as his head fell forward and vision went dark.

~

"Matthew!" A women's voice called out, drawing his attention. "Joseph! Supper!" 

Matthew looked back to the house where his ma stood, her hand over her eyes to block out the setting sun. She waved at him before heading back inside. 

Matthew looked to his pa, who he was helping to plow their new field. It was nearly too late to be plowing, the seeds should already be in the ground. But they had settled in later than most, deciding on a whim to move to Kansas due to the Homesteader's Act. They were nearly done plowing, though, so pa decided to finish up before heading back to the house. 

Matthew wiped the sweat off his brow. At nearly 12 years old, he was almost as tall as his pa. "Nearly a man," his pa would say. Being the oldest son by almost 5 years, he spent most of his time helping his pa while his younger siblings helped his ma with household chores. 

"Alright, son, let's get inside. Hope the youngins left some food for us," his pa joked after they had finished putting the oxen back in the barn. 

Matthew smiled. He wasn't too worried about his youngest brothers or sisters eating all the food, but his closest brother, Thomas, could eat a whole horse in one sitting, if he ever got the notion to. 

Matthew walked back to their house with his pa, the sun now tucked behind the grassy land. Soon the moon and stars would appear. One of his favorites things to do, stargazing with the family. His pa had always loved the night sky, more so in the open country of Kansas.

After quickly washing up, they made their way inside the small, one room house they had built. It was much more cramped than their old house was back in Virginia. But Matthew liked it just fine. It felt like home now. 

His two younger sisters, Mary and Louisa, were already asleep along with his baby brother, Henry. Thomas was helping Ma clean up when they walked in. She smiled at them, and motioned to the table where two plates sat, both filled with salt pork, bread, and beans. 

He and his pa both sat at the tiny table and began to eat. Pa smiled as he took a bite, looking over to Matthew. "I'll give you the best piece of advice my pa gave me," He said, "Marry a woman that can cook. That's the reason I married your ma."

Ma smiled and came to stand next to him, setting down two cups of water. Pa turned to Matthew,  a mischievous glimmer in his eyes, "That and her family's money," he half-whispered.

Ma blushed, "Joseph!"

He laughed a large, hearty laugh. "I'm just kidding you, Hattie." He put his arm around Ma, pulling her close. "She married me for mine." He laughed again, causing Thomas and Matthew to giggle.

Ma put her hands on her hips, "Shh! You'll wake the children." She said in mock-anger, another smile hiding behind her strict appearance.

Pa continued to joke while they finished eating, although he tried to do so quietly now. Once finished, they all helped Ma clean up before getting ready for bed.

Matthew had just laid down in bed next to his siblings when a loud noise form outside startled him. Pa stood up quickly from his bed and opened the door a crack. 

"Matthew, come on, the animals got out of the barn somehow." Matthew jumped up, heading for the door when his father stopped him, a confused look on his face. "Wait here." He ordered, before heading outside, taking one of his rifles with him. 

Matthew peeked outside, his ma now standing behind him, also watching. 

There was a man outside. The same man from a few weeks earlier, the one who had told them to leave. He said they needed to pack up, that the land they were on didn't belong to them, that it belonged to some cattle rancher to use for grazing. But Pa had explained that they owned the land now, and the man had left.

But he was back again, talking to Pa.

"I thought I told ya to get off the land," the man warned. "It ain't yours."

"It's ours. We settled here, and we aren't leaving. Get off our land." Pa retorted, lifting his rifle.

"I gave ya a chance before, but I gotta do what I'm paid to do." The man responded. 

BANG

A gun went off. And Pa stumbled, falling to the grass. 

Ma screamed. 

Matthew grabbed the other rifle and ran outside, lifting it as he ran. The man turned to him.

"What're you gonna do, boy?" he taunted.

Matthew pointed the rifle at him and-

-and froze. 

He couldn't shoot. He could hardly breathe. He could hear his pa taking his final breaths, but he couldn't even look at him. He could hear his Ma's desperate cries as she fell into the grass next to his pa, trying to keep him alive.

All Matthew could do was stare. Stare into the face of the man who had shot his pa. 

Finally, the man smirked, looking him dead in the eyes. "Better be off this land by next week." The man walked away, mounted his horse, and took off. Leaving Matthew standing, holding the rifle still aimed at where the man had stood, frozen. 

~

When Matthew woke, he was shivering. He could feel tears in his eyes, and registered that he was still on his horse. His hands were around Eleanor's, and his head was resting on her shoulder. It was still night, and he wasn't sure how long he had slept or why he was sleeping. He moved to sit up.

His arm burned with pain. He fell back against Eleanor's shoulder, then remembering what had happened. 

Eleanor must've felt him moving, as she slowed down the horse, "Matthew, are you okay?" It sounded like she had been crying, too. "I have no idea where we are, and I don't know what to do. You're not dying, right? Can you understand me?" She sounded desperate, too. Eleanor let out a string of whispered curses that caused him to chuckle. 

"Oh thank God, I didn't know how you were doing. I tried talking to you but you were mumbling about your family and cattle and rifles and Kansas and I thought you were dying and we'd die out here cause I can't find the town and I think they're still following us and I don't know where we are." She paused to catch her breath. "Do you know where we are?"

Matthew used his good hand to pull the reins, stopping his horse. "Can you.... help me.... down?"

Eleanor moved quickly. Matthew sucked in a breath, causing Eleanor to move slower. "I'm sorry, I didn't think. I haven't really been thinking since.." She reached up her arm to help him down. "I'm not really sure what to do, I don't want to hurt you, or drop you, I don't have very good upper body strength."

On any normal day, these constant ramblings would annoy him, but they were effective at distracting him from pain right now, so he didn't interrupt her chatter.

He swung his leg over the saddle and half-stepped half-fell into Eleanor, cringing when his shoulder moved.

She helped him to sit down, continuing to mumble about random things, mostly likely still in shock.

Using his good hand again, he went to peal back his shirt and noticed a makeshift bandage wrapped around his arm, most likely from some part of Eleanor's dress. He opened it to check how bad his arm was as she rambled to explain it. 

The wound wasn't terrible, heavier than a graze and a strait-through shot. 

"Can you tear off more of your skirt?" He cut into Eleanor's conversation with herself. She nodded, tearing a long piece off and handing it to him. "You'll have to help wrap it." She nodded again, and listened while he instructed her on what to do. 

Once done, he let out the breath he had been holding and looked around to get an idea of where they might be. After deciding that he also didn't know where they were, he determined that it would be best if they stayed put until daylight, hoping that they weren't being followed but being ready in case they were.