Take a Shot: Pt. I
Dick stared out the back of the wagon as it drove over the bumpy terrain. Their wagon train had left Missouri only a couple of weeks ago, when his father had told him to pack up his belongings and load them into the wagon- they were going to California.
As the sun beat down from high above the sky onto the cloth tops of the wagons moving slowly across the open country, Dick looked out around him and looked at the people walking beside the wagons. He was lucky that his family only consisted of two people, so they didn't need as many supplies, and he could fit inside the wagon under the shade.
The wagon directly behind him had a family of three, and the parents sat at the front on the carved out wooden bench while their redheaded son walked next to the transportation machine, eyeing the two oxen pulling it as if he dared to leap onto the back of one of them and rest there for a while.
He was dressed in blue denim jeans and a plaid shirt with the sleeves unbuttoned and rolled up to his elbows. A few of the top buttons of the shirt were unbuttoned as well. He had a tan Stetson hat on his head that must've belonged to his dad since it was a little too big for him. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with his forearm and noticed Dick staring at him. He waved lethargically.
"Hey," he said, "You're right lucky to be sittin' up there in the shade."
Dick didn't reply; he merely waved back.
"Where're you from?" the redhead continued.
"Mississippi. You?"
"Tennessee."
A horse whinnied and Dick tried to peek around the side of his wagon, but he couldn't see much. All he saw was the countryside stretching far, far out. He wiped the sweat off his hands onto his jeans and looked back at the curious redheaded boy. The redhead's green eyes stared back at him.
"You okay down there? Your skin's turning the color of your hair," Dick remarked, noticing the sunburn he was suffering.
"Nah, I'll be okay. I heard the wagonmaster say we're gonna stop out yonder by the river before we cross. It's getting late. We're probably gonna stop for the night soon. Hey, what's your name?"
"Dick."
"That all?"
"You want the full version? Richard John Grayson. What's yours?"
"Wallace Rudolph West. You can call me Wally. Why're you traveling west? You going there to settle?"
Dick wasn't sure. He supposed that if they were going there for the gold, then they would probably live there, near the mines. But he knew how quickly gold dried up, and soon the towns would dry up too. They would live there for a year or so. And then they would move again.
"We're going to the mines," he finally replied, dodging the question.
Wally nodded, not seeming to have noticed, or maybe he was just ignoring it, "We're just moving out west. I reckon we'll see some Indians out here."
Dick was startled by the sudden change of topic, but he took advantage of it, "You think they'll take our horses?"
"Your horses. We only have the oxen over there and even they were fifty bucks for the both of 'em. But my dad says you can't find finer animals for this kind of thing."
The wagons started to slow down and Dick hopped off from the back of the wagon into the hot summer sun, away from the protection of the shade. He did feel a noticeable change in temperature. He looked out to see if he could spot the river. A wide stretch of blue stood out from the prairie lands around the otherwise empty space.
"I'm mighty glad we left when we did. We'll be traveling the deserts in the winter," Wally remarked, walking up to Dick, "My feet are pretty darn sore."
"Well I'm not gonna rub them for you if that's what you want," Dick said, kicking the dirt with his leather cowboy boot.
He moved around to the front of the wagon where the two horses were situated with his dad holding the reins. "Son, could you set up camp while I feed the horses?" he asked. Dick nodded and went back to the back of the wagon and pulled out the tent to set up somewhere next to the wagon.
"We got a tent too. Hey, would ya'll mind if I set up next to you?" Wally asked Dick, taking off his hat and holding it to his chest. Dick shook his head and picked up a hammer to start securing the tent to the ground. Wally smiled, "You don't talk much, do you?" Before Dick could answer, Wally scurried off to set up his family's tent.
They'd been on the trail for around a month when another family with older kids joined the trail. Three of them had hair as blonde as the golden plains of wheat that they'd passed on the trail, made even more blonde by exposure to the sun. The other kid had bright red hair, like the center of a flame to offset the family and their blonde hair. His name was Roy and he was born and raised on a farm in Kansas. His accent was heavy, his shot never missed, and he was undeniably a cowboy. He had the hat, the shoes, the jacket, the horse, and the piece of hay in his mouth to prove it. When Dick and Wally caught him having spitting contests with the other cowboys, he'd always win.
His dad, Ollie, was no different, and his mom was an All-American cowgirl. His sister had her hair in braids and rumor had it that she kept a pistol underneath her skirt. No one was going to check to see if it was myth or fact.
At first, Dick and Wally, who were now best trail buddies, merely observed the hot-headed, rambunctious cowboy, but after a while they got the guts to go up and talk to him.
His answer? "Don't think I ain't been seeing you staring at my sister the way you do. Tell ya what, I won't get in your way if ya'll come hunting with me. Get your rifles and meet me out yonder off the trail. The game is scared off by them wagons."
And so the two boys ran back to their wagons where they picked up their rifles to meet Roy for some hunting. Dick barely got a squirrel; Wally caught one rabbit. Roy finished with a bird and a deer. They decided to share with the other fourteen families on the trail, but only six of them actually accepted the meal.
"Can I join you?" Roy's blond haired sister asked as the three boys feasted in front of a raging fire. Roy nodded and she seated herself down and looked up at the night sky. The smoke traveled in a gray haze up, up, and up until it seemingly vanished into the air.
"Where are ya'll headed out to?" Wally asked, looking at Roy and his sister from across the fire.
"We're settlin' west," the girl answered.
"What's your name?"
"Artemis."
"That's a fine name," Wally complimented. She smiled and shook her head, "I ain't interested in boys who can't ride horses."
It seemed like a strange comment to Wally, but he realized she was serious and blushed. Dick nudged him, and whispered, "I'll let you practice riding on one of my horses tomorrow if you want. Just don't fall off."
The Trigger Twins. Their faces were plastered over multiple small towns around the west. They were famous. No, they weren't famous. They were infamous. They robbed, killed, plundered- all without a hint of remorse.
The wagon train went through a small town that had been settled along the route to move west, and the wagonmaster decided that it was time for a break there. That was the first time Wally had seen a wanted poster for The Trigger Twins, it wasn't the first time he'd heard of them though. Dick had told him all about the notorious outlaws from Missouri, and Roy had his own contributions to share. Apparently they had plundered a store in the town, killing the owner and taking whatever gold and supplies they'd found in there. The general store was still closed, and the travelers couldn't stock up on supplies again.
They couldn't keep moving without supplies or they wouldn't last the rest of the trip. So the wagon master spreads the word that they're staying at the town for the night to figure out what to do.
"They're missing! It was the Trigger Twins! I saw them! They came down in the night and took the wagon master and his daughter Megan!" a woman who had been traveling the trail with the group ran around screaming. It woke up most of the group, who demanded answers to their questions from the local sheriff.
"I'm mighty sorry but I didn't see anything," he tried to explain to the crowd. Still, it didn't assuage their fears. If anything, they were even more panicked that they would be taken in the night.
"So let's go after them," Roy said suddenly when he was alone in the company of Dick, Wally, and Artemis. Artemis revealed a slight smile, but the other two boys looked at each other skeptically.
"What? You too yellow-bellied to chase after some hooligans?" Roy taunted.
Dick didn't want to fall for it. He knew Roy was just trying to coerce them into going with him after the outlaws. But Wally was too egotistical to see through it and burst out, "No! I'm not yellow-bellied! I'll go!" Dick raised his palm to his forehead and shook his head. He wasn't going to let his only friends on this journey to run off to their deaths by murderous outlaws. So he reluctantly agreed to travel out there with them. In the middle of winter too.
This is for Toadflame's Wild West challenge on the YJ Challenges forum. It's also a two-shot, so look forward for answers in the next chapter!
This is also my first attempt at ever writing a western, but I guess that's why it's a challenge!
-Love, Safirel