Gunman

Gunman, that's all we know him by. He is the Harbinger of Death to some and the Angel of Vengeance others. No one knows where he came from or what made him the way he is. I've made up my mind to follow him and record his life if I can.

It all began when my family's home was under attack in the El Paso Desert. A band of Raiders came out of nowhere like a plague of locusts. They fired their weapons in the air to frighten my family and I and brandished their steel. I told Ma and Betty to hide in the Raider Hole while Pa and I ran outside to defend our home from the invaders. Pa tossed me my rifle and grabbed his shotgun and we burst onto the front porch. We kicked over the table and hid behind it as the battle began. It was only a handful of Raiders, around four or five. One is easy to take care of, but that many, Pa and I were in for a fight.

I looked to Pa and nodded before I peered down the sights of my rifle and began firing. I hit one in the shoulder, but she must've been riding on Med-X as she just kept on running towards the farmhouse. Pa hit one in the chest and they fell to the ground hard. We kept firing bullet after bullet, hitting mostly the dirt, but I got one right in the head with a lucky shot. Right as he hit the ground, three shots were fired and the other Raiders dropped to the ground with head wounds nearly ten feet away from us. I looked around to see where the shots were fired from. 

That's when I saw him. The Angel of Vengeance standing on the nearby hill with his black coat waving in the gentle wind that caressed the ground. I aimed my rifle at him, but Pa put his hand on the end of the barrel to lower it. I looked at Pa with a surprised face. Who was this stranger and why was Pa protecting him. Pa looked in his direction and put his hand to his mouth.

"Your debt has been paid, Gunman." Pa yelled.

This stranger nodded and turned away to venture forth to Lord knows where. I looked at Pa with a questioning gaze.

"Who was that, Pa?" I asked.

"Just a traveler who owed me a debt. Don't worry about it, William." Pa said.

We turned and walked into the house to let Ma and Betty know that it was all clear. We walked over to the Raider Hole and opened it.

"Ma, Betty, it's over. You can come on up now." I said as I reached out to help them up.

As soon as I had leaned forward, I had a quick dull pain in the back of my head and my vision went black. I woke up surrounded in darkness not knowing how long I was out. As I grabbed my throbbing head, I thought about Ma, Pa, and Betty. I stood up and hit my head on the Raider Hole door. I pushed up on the door as I rubbed my head from the pain.

"Ma! Pa! Betty! Where are you?" I shouted.

"Over here William." Pa coughed.

I ran over to Pa, who was seated on the ground holding back a tidal wave of blood from his gut.

"What happened Pa?" I asked with tears in my eyes.

"Forget about me, this has been a long time coming. Find the Gunman. Tell him Goat sent you and here take this." Pa choked.

Pa handed me an old photo of himself in a military like uniform with four other men. Three of the men had a "D" above their heads. The last one other than Pa had his face covered with a bandana and two pistols on his hips. The photo looked quite old and worn, as if Pa had carried it with him for a very long time and looked at it often.

"Who is he, Pa?" I asked.

"Listen to me son, I was not always a good person. I made mistakes and bad choices that I thought were the right ones. I'm sorry you have to go through with this. Go. Find the Gunman. He will help you if you show him that picture." Pa said.

Pa wiped some blood away from his mouth and wrote a small "D" above his head in the picture. As soon as he finished marking the picture, his hand went limp and he let out his last breath. Stifling my rage and tears, I picked Pa's lifeless body of the floor and carried him to the backyard. I respectfully placed his body on the ground and began to build a pyre for Pa. After finishing the pyre, I laid his body on the pyre and lit it ablaze.

I stood there as the flames consumed Pa and prayed to the heavens for vengeance. As the pyre began to smolder, I walked inside the house and grabbed my rifle off the floor. I walked over to the gun cabinet and grabbed all the ammo I could carry for my rifle and packed everything I needed to find the Gunman.