𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐮𝐧𝐭 ~ 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐢𝐝

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞

Billy and Laurie stood by the well with the unnamed man that had just saved their asses from being beaten to death over a pocket full of coins. Laurie wiped her mouth with a rag, taking the blood off of her face as she sighed, looking over at the man.

"What's your name?," the teenager asked, setting the rag to the side as she stuck close with Billy.

"Melquiades Segura," the man replied as he looked over at the unlikely duo that stood behind him. "You two?"

"William Bonney, the kid here is Laurie," Billy replied, eating some of the food they had been given and leaning on the well.

"I think this is your first time in Chihuahua, William and Laurie, no?," Melquiades questioned half-rhetorically. Laurie didn't say anything as she looked around the town around her before she glanced at her dirty and dust covered hands.

"It's my first time in Mexico," Billy admitted, looking over at Laurie. "As far as I know, Laurie grew up here in Mexico but she's never been to Chihuahua."

"I can tell," Melquiades chuckled, his gaze not moving from the strange duo in front of him. "And so could those bandits."

"They weren't just trying to rob us, were they?," Laurie asked, looking up as she swallowed. Her face still hurt from being punched and she was sure there was a little bit of blood that had stained her teeth as well. "They were trying to kill us. Maybe rape me before they finished the job."

Melquiades sighed. "You must understand." He paused for a moment. "A lot of people here... They don't like gringo's. There's been a lot of trouble lately with Americans trying to grab land. This has always been our land. Now it is being stolen." There was another pause as Melquiades looked around. "There have been a lot of shootings and murders, and... people are angry. My own father was killed that way."

Laurie listened carefully, feeling a sharp pain in her heart when the death of his father was mentioned. Laurie knew all too well what it was like to lose a parent, although she hadn't lost her father in that way. She could still relate to the pain, grief and guilt that came with losing your dad.

Melquiades shook his head and changed the subject. "Why are you two here?"

"Running away from something," Billy said after a moment, leaning his back onto the well's pillar while Laurie stayed in her spot, awkwardly fidgeting as she looked around again.

"I want a better life, maybe also find my Ma," Laurie said, clearing her throat as she ran a hand through her hair. That was true, but at the same time she felt like there was more to running off with Billy than just that. But she didn't know what it was.

"What do you do for a living, William?," Melquiades inquired.

Billy looked at Laurie and then back at their newfound rescuer. "Whatever I can." He replied honestly. "What about you?"

"Me? I'm a gambler?," Melquiades responded as he put his hat on. "Do you play poker?"

Laurie wasn't sure what to do as of this moment. So she just took a seat next to Billy, doodling in the loose sand that she sat in. Her blue eyes were blank but soft as she drew in the sand with the rock she had just picked up, her longer red hair fell into her face a little bit as she did so.

"Sure I do," Billy answered, taking a quick glance at Laurie again to check in and see if the quiet girl was okay. Before he looked back up when their new friend asked if Billy still had any money left on him. This also caused Laurie to look up as she glanced between the two men.

"A little bit," Billy said.

"The first thing you're gonna need in this town is a gun," Melqiaudes began, quickly looking around as Laurie stood up. She had lost the gun she stole from Jesse during the time she and Billy were getting mugged.

Melquiades took the duo to a nearby gun store, while Billy was handling the guns like it was the easiest thing on earth, poor Laurie was holding the same pistol she had been given to look at when they first got there as she stood there, holding the weapon in her hands and looking like a lost puppy. Once Billy had found his new weapon he looked at Laurie and felt like kicking himself when he saw the look on the girl's face. Of course the kid wouldn't know how to use a gun.

"Here," Billy said softly, kneeling next to Laurie as he adjusted the weapon in her hands, making sure that it was in the right position and that she was holding it correctly. "Pull that thing back." Billy gestured to the hammer of the gun and Laurie hesitantly complied, this was her first time learning how to use a weapon like this. "Once you've taken your aim at your target, squeeze the trigger. Don't pull it. Squeeze it."

Laurie looked at the man who was now mentoring her in the ways of gun usage. Her face was painted with self-doubt. Billy gave her a nod of reassurance, he knew that the guns weren't loaded yet, so there shouldn't be any problem with squeezing the trigger. Laurie indeed deeply, closing her eyes and squeezing the trigger, making a click sound. Her blue eyes opened and a small smile spread across her face as she looked at Billy, who had the proud older brother look on his face as he nodded in approval.

"I think I'll get this one," Laurie finally said after a moment of silence, still smiling as she ran her fingers over the shiny pistol before she looked at Billy. Who shrugged, still smiling, not really seeming to mind her choice.

ⅠⅠⅠⅠ

Later that afternoon, Billy and Melquiades were shooting rounds on a ranch while Laurie sat under a nearby tree near the horse pastures, drawing once again. She looked up from her book every so often to get a look at the horses she was drawing, it was a mare and her filly, the foal couldn't have been older than a month old. The dam was an absolutely stunning gray Arabian, the foal was still a dark black color. And from Laurie's horse knowledge, she knew that the foal would most likely lose her black color when she gets older and would become a gray like her mama.

"Maybe you're not as good as you think you are, then," Billy replied as he walked over to where Laurie sat with Melquiades following. The conversation caught the young girl's attention and she looked up, closing her sketchbook as she stood up. She wondered if it was time to head back to the inn or if there was some other kind of plan involved.

"No, no, no! He cheats," Melquiades defended as Billy stopped walking, turning to face him as Laurie walked over, trying to make sense of what was going on. "Okay, I'm not sure how he cheats but I'm pretty sure he does it. I wanna win my money back... and in the process, break Don Ortiz."

Laurie could not be more confused and she quickly jumped in. "What is this about?"

"Poker," Billy replied shortly as he looked at the confused girl, "I'll explain later." He then looked back at Melquiades. "So you wanna double team him?"

"Ortiz is a dangerous man, but from what I have seen earlier, so are you," Melquiades told Billy, not really paying Laurie any mind. "It's your choice."

Billy and Laurie watched him walk away in the direction of his house, besides the fact Laurie was still a bit confused. She could put a few pieces together. Poker. A cheater called Don Ortiz and double teaming. From what she could put together, Billy and Melquiades were going to double-cross a man named Don in a game of poker tonight.

Which meant they would be going to a saloon.

Which meant Laurie couldn't come with because she was only 13.

Which meant they would have to exclude Laurie from this little trip.

Which meant that Laurie would be left alone.