Dust Bowl Dance

[Icystorm]

@Icy's Slave

Sand crunched under the feet of a sixteen year old boy. He was making his way into a town he had not been in for eight years. The last time he was here, the town was only just starting to grow. It had been small and humble, and he enjoyed visiting the few stores and going to church. Back then, he loved being at home, but he had been a young boy with a lot of energy and a need to get out and about and meet people. Walking into it now, it was not as he remembered.

The town was big compared to others he had been in; there were more buildings than he remembered, and the dusty road was well traveled with more people and horses walking through it. He missed the way it used to be. He missed everything from back then: his family, his home, his hope for a decent future. All that was taken away in one night.

Adjusting the bandana that covered his mouth, his eyes darted around to study each person he passed. His plan was to come here and kill the man who took everything from him. Other than pointing his gun at the man's temple and firing, he didn't have more of a plan. Details never crossed his mind until now. The man was here, that much he knew, but he had no clue where. He had also been walking all day and pain was leaving him exhausted. With no idea what else to do, he found a shaded spot next to a building and sat down, resting his head against the wood and placing his hand against the part of his neck that was hurting the most. Like the lower half of his face, his neck was also covered by a bandana.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, but he was fighting hard to keep his eyes open by the time someone caught his attention. Recognition struck as a man walked by. It was a face he would recognize anywhere, and one he wanted to be blown to smithereens. One he wanted to blow to smithereens.

His fingers twitched, but he forced himself to stay sitting, watching as the man walked into a saloon. His nostrils flared with the built up rage he felt, hate and the need for revenge filling his brown eyes. As much as he wanted to act right away, he held himself still for a few minutes more. The wait was the most agonizing of his life.

Unable to wait any longer, he jumped up and walked quickly towards the saloon, pushing past the swinging doors. The second he was inside, he looked for the man. He saw him sitting at a table with two other individuals. The man was facing him while the other two sat in other places around the table.

Hand going to his holster, the gun was out and raised as soon as he took two steps inside the building. His finger moved to the trigger, but before he could fire off a shot, the gun was smacked out of his hand. He let out a cry of rage as his arms were grabbed and he was held tightly against a larger body. Fighting like a wild and letting out anger filled cries, no amount of struggling could loosen the hold on him. All his movements did was caused the bandana around his face to slip, revealing a hint of the scars that lay underneath.

 

[Icy's Slave]

Everyone in the saloon stopped and turned but immediately turned back when they saw the men who were handling the situation. No one was willing to get involved with their business. The Baron as everyone referred to him simply continued to eat as one man got up from the table. He opened his coat and laid a hand on his pistol. None of the three said a word they just moved to follow as they began to drag the young man out back. In the corner was one of the few men willing to step in. He stood up and picked the kids gun up off of the floor and moved to intercept the three. He spoke softly, Just enough to be heard by them as a piano began playing again in the corner, "Are you going to shoot the kid for a misunderstanding?" The one with a hand on his gun turned to him. "Last I checked, you only pull a gun out to shoot someone." The man nodded but continued on. "He looks like some farm kid. Probably slow. Likely didn't know that you don't pull a gun out in public." This time the other man nodded his head. "Why do you care?" He said quietly with a little suspicion in his eyes. "I don't see the point in getting blood on your hands over some slow kid who made a mistake. If it'll put your mind at ease, Maybe I'll walk him over to the jail and let the sheriff sort him out." It was the only thing he could think of to see the kid getting out of this alive. The man just nodded and walked all five of them to the door before turning away to sit back down with his boss. The two let go as this new stranger grabbed the kid by the back of his jacket and walked him down the street.

Normally, the Baron only had his cool headed hired guns follow him into town to conduct business but today he had made a different choice. The young man who had grabbed the kid from the left was itching for a fight and had no idea why the bosses right hand had chose to let the kid go without a fight and decided that no one would say anything if he gunned them, trouble maker and the man who had saved him, down. With a quick draw and not even bothering to aim, he fired off two shots that missed. However, most men in the town know the strangers reputation and would not have done such a thing. The second hired hand went to draw his gun hoping to save his own left as the stranger drew and fired. The hot headed young man didn't even manage to draw another breath as the heavy .45 LC buried into his heart. The man on the right dropped as well. The bosses right hand ran to the door with his gun drawn and had barely aimed at the stranger before a third shot rang out and 3 men laid dead. The baron looked up in shock and anger and took a look out the window. "Form a posse. Hunt them down." Was all he said as the stranger dragged the kid over to his horse and forced him to run alongside him as they headed out of town. As they finally reached the trees, the stranger stopped and hopped off his horse. He looked around before he continued on foot walking just in front of his horse to help hide his steps. He also took a moment to reload his pistol and kept his eyes on the path behind.

 

[Icystorm]

The boy, Reuben, kept his eyes locked onto the baron even as he struggled. He had come to terms with death, figured no matter what outcome his attempt at revenge came to, it would end in his death. As he was dragged towards the back, his only regret was that he failed in his goal. Well, that and the baron would not even look at him. That pissed his off more than anything, and his head turned so he could continue watching the man as he was led away. Look at me you yellow-bellied son of a bitch. He wanted to man to see him for who he was, to see the broken mess of a human being his past actions created, but the baron continued eating as if nothing was happening.

Breathing heavy and no longer struggling, he got lost in his anger, letting his thoughts consume him. It was only when he was being led the opposite direction did his eyes snap towards the newcomer, having missed all that was said. He managed to spot his gun with the stranger before he looked forward. He felt like death was no longer a heavy shadow hanging over his head, but he was still in a dangerous situation. The intentions of the stranger were unknown. All he knew was that he needed to get his gun back so he could try again at a sooner-rather-than-later date.

The sudden sound of gunshots caused his eyes to widen, and he watched the guy who fired first fall the ground, followed by another two of the baron's men. Now he knew that if he was to get another chance at revenge, he needed to run. The stranger who had a hold on understood the same thing, and he ran alongside the horse when the stranger got on. He would rather have went a different direction, but he still needed his gun back, so he had no choice but to follow. The last thought he had before racing out of town was that he felt relieved that it was the baron's men and not the baron himself that had been shot by the stranger. The baron was his.

By the time they reached the trees, the stress of failure and memories of his past were getting to him, something that was going to hit him even harder soon. Stress was never good for his capacity to do much of anything. He would need to get his gun, go to where he stashed his bag, then find a dark place to hide before the headaches hit.

Reuben adjusted the bandana to make sure it covered the burns and scars then quickened his pace so he was in front to the stranger. Stopping directly in the other man's path, he turned around so he faced him. His eyes were no longer taken over by hate, but there was not much for friendliness in their depths since he was rarely ever given friendliness in return. "My gun." He held out his hand.

 

[Icy's Slave]

The stranger pulled the revolver out from behind his back. "You'll probably need this now. However, I'd be careful pulling that hog leg out in public again." His eyes locked with the kids. He could see it in his eyes though, all the kid wanted was cold revenge. "If I were you, I'd think long and hard about what your planning to do. I'd say you are more likely to get killed than see the baron dead." He finally stopped looking at the kid and stepped around him to continue walking deeper into the woods.

The stranger walked with a slow gate. His saddle and bags were faded black leather with occasional stains. His heavy duster was a dull brown with his button up shirt being a darker blue as well as his faded jeans. He wore old black boots but no spurs. His hat however was fairly new black cowboy hat with band made of black string and red beads.

 

[Icystorm]

Reuben took the revolver, letting the weight of the gun rest in his hand. He spent most of his life, as young as it was, thinking long and hard on what he was planning to do. What should have been done minutes ago. As for him ending up dead instead of the baron, well, at least then he would not have to worry about the pain anymore. There were times he thought about ending it all himself, but those dark thoughts always went away as soon as the pain ebbed.

Holstering the gun, he caught up to the stranger, taking the next moments to look the guy over. "What do you care what happens to me?" What stranger gave a damn about some skinny, dirty, scarred up kid? There were more pressing matters for other people to worry about than him. Money was always at the top of that list, along with taking care of ones family. The latter caused a stabbing pain in his chest. Best to not think about what he no longer had, at least not right now.

 

[Icy's Slave]

"I just hate to see a man waste his life." He said after a small pause. The woods were now deep on all sides. Decided that this would be a good enough place to settle down for the night. It was a small clearing with just enough of an opening to see that the sun was slowing setting. He tied his horse to a tree on the edge of the clearing. He walked to the side and slowly went about unsaddling the horse and even went so far as to brush. He hummed to himself and spoke softly as if he was reciting something. "A good horse requires good care." He carried on. Finally he spoke up "Tomorrow, I'll have to head back to town and see if I can't find that baron and explain my side of the story." He left the thought to hang in the air as he moved on from his horse to starting a fire.

 

[Icystorm]

A snort of contempt was all Reuben gave as a response. Looking away from the man, he focused on more important matters, such as where they were. By what he saw of their surroundings, he knew they were close to where he stashed his bag. There were little signs he put up to give that away, but they would only be noticeable to him: a strip of bark worn off a tree, a rock with the flat side facing a certain direction. Soon, he would get it. As soon as they stopped and he had a moment to take a quick rest -something he would need since he never made it easy getting to his bag.

When they stopped, he sat on a rock and watched the stranger work. Even though he could not hear all of what the stranger was saying, he found the voice annoying, preferring peace and quiet. It was when the stranger was done brushing that he decided he hadhad enough and stood up, but before he could walk away, the stranger said something that caused him to narrow his eyes and whip around.

"Talk to him if you wish, but he is mine." After growling out the words, Reuben turned and walked away, following more signs until he reached a large rock. Pressing a shoulder to it, he grunted as he pushed. Eventually, the rock moved far enough to reveal a hole with his bag inside. He grabbed his bag and made his way back to the stranger, feeling the start of a headache coming on.

 

[Icy's Slave]

It was getting late as the stranger came back. "Whats your name?" He asked with a nod to show the kid he had seen him coming. The fire snapped and crackled as the sun continued to fade and the moon crawled through the sky. His eyes kept on the kid as he waited for his answer