It was bitter, hard and cold. That's what the outlaw had concluded as she sat up against the wall, eyes closed, hands tied with rope that scratched her sensitive skin and the cloth that held her tongue. All this, all this feeling of the hard wood floor and the degrading walls were numb. It had hurt to feel the men drag her across town, to hear the taunts and shouts made her way by people she didn't recognize, blaming her for everything. But what left her for dead was the hesitant help from Tori; and when she did, she was immediately knocked down by a former friend. However, something still beat in her heart once she heard the shot; the shot that echoed the fury of her lover; the shot that bellowed the end to the blue birds' ways; the shot that called to save the mockingbird.
So Jade sat, waiting with a grazed, heavy heart with her eyes dry. She couldn't let tears even form, not when she had let them go already in front of them. Pale emerald eyes snapped open, her head turning to the side with her gaze down, ears straining towards the door. Steps lingered at the entranced for a moment before they landed in front of Jade, a cocky finger tapping against the bars as dark brown eyes pierced at stark emerald ones. "Looky here," Ryder grinned, "Look who finally got caught-"
"Back away!" a snarl erupted from the shadows, Beck's blind eye scorching the back of Ryder's neck as he woke from his light slumber. The outlaw's gaze dipped back down to the floor as she saw the white pearl disappear from the moon's rays as the man blinked, stepping out of the shadows enough to define his grim features. "Now who might you be?"
"Could say the same to you," the ranger raised his eyebrow passively.
A deep chuckle rattled out from the former mayor's lips as he cocked his head to the side, "Wait a minute... You're the ranger- Ryder."
"The one an' only, now who are you?" Daniels stood up, eyelevel to Beck's slouching figure.
"Beck Oliver," he hissed in a bored tone.
"Actually I have heard of you... The Black Rein? You're the leader ain't you?" Ryder's brows furrowed as he smirked. "Like your style..."
"Why thank you," Oliver muttered grimly, "Though she has been my catch from the start so get away from her..."
"Now what has she done? Can't say two counts of murder because, frankly, you're alive..."
"Indeed, but she has to pay for getting in my way."
"How so? Her deeds I mean..."
"Of mine I would say destroying my business. Set out a few herds of mine set for slaughter- Didn't you?" he hammered against the bars, the metal ringing in Jade's ears as she cringed.
"Herds of what? Cattle?"
"Steeds."
"Sorry, don't get what you mean. Do you mean to say horses?"
"Naw Ryder," Beck grinned, canines flashing against the moonlight, "Steeds. Grazing horses don' make as good meat then steeds."
"You mean to say you kill innocent companions for meat?" Ryder snapped, "I'm sorry... I don't like what your means are Oliver."
"It pays good money- the best, better than gamblin'," Beck snapped, "And whose talkin'. Heard you beat someone with a whip to death."
"Of course I did. My philosophy, however played in that."
"And what would that be?"
"The innocent will lay untouched while the guilty who sinned lay in the mercy of the ranger; it just so happens I am not merciful," the ranger concluded with a sly smirk. "I have my ways, though even my mother say I'm a devil's child."
"Then what of the sheriff?" Beck spat.
"What of the sheriff? Hasn't done nothin' 'cept restrict my ways..."
"You hold a respect for the sheriff?"
"Sure do, though I won't admit it again Oliver," Ryder warned.
"Even when she slept with her?" a white eye glared towards Jade.
"That does change things," the ranger murmured.
"So? Will you help with our little sheriff then?"
"Only because she has sinned, on two accounts. But I will not obey you, nor will I ever work with you, you sick bastard," Ryder snapped. Backing away, his eyes piercing at Beck, he crept out of the jail house and into the night as drunken hollers bellowed the end of the chase. The end of the worry that Jade West would be among them.
"Hear that?" he purred as his peacemaker played with his fingers, "It's the bullet with your name on it."
~BxR~
The scorching liquid runs down her throat as she stumbles in the alleyway. With the bottle almost gone, she just shrugs and sends the rest down with the burning pit in her stomach. Her back slams against the wall as she slides down, eyes closed. Her breathe reeks or alcohol, although she couldn't care less, not with the throb still right under her breast. She lets out an angry growl before chucking the bottle on the other side, easily shattering it.
"Sheriff Vega?"
Tori's glare turns over to Mr. Harris who looks back curiously, concern in his eyes, "Shouldn't you be celebrating with the rest?"
"Celebrating what?"
"The outlaw's capture," he muttered, in front of the sheriff.
"No," she hissed sternly.
"What? Wh-"
"She's innocent." Andre looked at Tori, wearing a small frown.
"How do you know?"
"She told me; she showed me..."
"What? Sheriff Vega, what do you mean?" he gasped.
"I've done some things..." she whispered, a knot in her throat. "Harris, I fell for her..."
"But-but that doesn't mean-"
"I made love to her," she glowered, "Twice now... And I want more." The man nodded carefully as he digested to what he was understanding to.
"So what are you going to do?" he asked, finding himself oddly calm. Tori closed her eyes for a few moments before she shifted quietly in her spot, unbuttoning the vest. Mr. Harris grew shocked by this; never has he seen the sheriff with her badge out before although now he looked and the gleaming gold was in her palm, dancing around stark naked.
She studied it with careful eyes, weighing the metal in her right hand. "Leave with her," she murmured quietly, "I'll break her out and just leave... That's it."
"Oh, o-okay then, well it's been good having you as a sheriff then," the man tipped his hat, shaking his hand with her before she stood up and headed off, looking back confidently. Andre remained where he was, taking the bottle to his lips before chuckling something, as if he finally understood. "Well that's somethin' right there."
~BxR~
It sat before her eyes as it had did for the past six years as her pledge. It gleamed mournfully, especially once the badge was left on the frame. She smiled a bit, still feeling the alcohol in her system and yet-and yet it didn't control her. Such a strange feeling that was, she thought to herself, Can still feel the buzz but I can move in a straight line just fine...
Her memories began chanting in her head as she revisited them, over and over again. The plaque shimmered almost as it bade Victoria its last 'Good bye'. So Tori stepped back, feeling the burning weight off her chest as she buttoned her vest and put on her hat. Striding out the door, she turned back, gazing around the room in the early morning hours. A small smile hung on her face, her eyes minding the room's existence while her thoughts watched as her father spoke his last words to her over and over again.
They seemed clearer now, however, than the ever did before... They had that sharp edge that she has been unknowingly searching for.
With one last quick look, the youngest West strode out the door and found herself standing next to Cheers and Pistol, who had been found standing by the stallion as she couldn't find Jade. As she pet her steed, however, Tori's attention flickered to the end of the street, by the train station and jail house. By the chanting mob feasting on their food; entertainment.
Slipping on the saddle, the woman frowned as she listened to the bark in the distance. "Now look around you," Beck growled as Jade collapsed to the ground once more, her ears ringing from all the drunken chants, "Nobody will miss your pretty face- nobody." He grinned as he puled out his peacemaker and waved it around carelessly, "There really should be a round for you but, to be frankly honest, it would be a waste of ammunition at the same time."
And so Jade stared helplessly at the barrel of the gun with bruises along her wrists, feeling as the faithful blades hidden on her side would be of no use, there were too many. "Please," she pleaded, "Don't do this..."
The red stallion cut through the rim of the crowd as the words reeled in her thoughts, pounding harder against everything. "Your saying goodbye..." she had murmured through tears.
"Yessum, and I have to do it. Victoria, listen, listen from a tired man..."
She felt her hand crawl back to her left side as she watched as Jade's hand waver, Beck's crooked smile curling.
"You may feel angry at me, I know you may hate me once the truth sinks in but..."
'No dad, I never really hated you,' her thoughts swarm as the small piece of leather was pushed away from the peacemaker, the barrel becoming free.
"I love you, understand that this is my journey and not yours. You aren't me but a better version..."
'But of what? Of being the sheriff or of throwing away the badge?'
The peacemaker was free from the holster in Tori's right hand, pointing at the scene. Some of the men surrounding her put their hands over their mouths for the warning shot.
"Dawn, do you know why that's you middle name? It's to symbolize the power over people you hold; protect the ones you love Dawn. Even if it means throwing something away while at it..."
His voice echoed in her mind as she pointed the barrel just to the right of her target, who was still basking in the sight of Jade pleading for her life.
"Even if that means finally understanding my actions..." Tori's father spoke before he faded away.
"I understand now dad, I understand," she barely whispered, feeling as her index finger flexed, a loud crack erupting through the crowd, a whirling bullet head straight and met it's target; dead shot.
It was eerily silent as the crowd watched him collapse to the ground, his eyes rolling as hooves slowly crunched through the rest of the people. Jade stared at him, motionless, as she played back the blink; one blink and he was there, the end of her life and the next, he was gone, red bleeding through right over his heart.
Her gaze turned to her side, finding a stretched arm. She grasped the hand, giving Tori a small thank you before she was then jumping onto Pistol's back. Robbie, who had herd the shot, sprinted out from the side and glared at the fallen. "SHOOT THEM BOTH GOD DAMN IT!" his bellow ceased the silence, sending both steeds bolting down the dirt road.
Ryder stood for a moment, his fingers fiddling with his horse's lead before deciding on one word: guilty. He jumped onto his horse and bellowed for his comrades, who had already started chasing after the two girls. "GET THEM BOTH!" Ryder snarled as his Appaloosa galloped with them.
Tori, who had been listening keenly to the steps behind, pulled out her peacemaker and aimed at the ground just before the other horse's feet. The sun felt nice on her skin, cool from the night's air as she fired multiple shots, Pistol and Cheers increasing their speeds with their ears pinned back while the line of horses halted, tossed their heads before bucking. Ryder, who had been the first to fall off, barked at the top of his voice, "BOTH OF YOUR HATS'LL BE MINE BY THE TIME I'M THROUGH WITH YOU!"
As he climbed back on his horse, however, he squinted off to the distance, barely able to make out the difference between the two runaways and cacti. "Do we still go after them?" one of his men asked hesitantly.
"We could try but I know that we'll fail anyways; are horse's ain't fast enough for that stallion, or the mare," he muttered pointedly.
An hour later, Jade gazed up at the sky, her first thought ringing true in her ears. 'We're both free...' The two had made their way to the tree by the ravines, eager to get back to their hideout before the middle of the day. The horses, who grunted all throughout the way, needed to graze.
Tori stumbled off of Cheers, feeling the dirt under her knees and hands which shook terribly. "I-I just shot a man dead," she whispered, hoping that the truth would sit better if she said it aloud. It didn't, and she knew it would be a burden that would haunt her for the rest of her life. A burden, however, that would be overshadowed by the one who leaned against the tree, tears rimming her eyes as she watched Tori's disbelief.
The former sheriff stood, feeling as the numbing buzz still in her system make her legs grow weak, however it didn't stop her from stepping towards Jade. "I-I- Thank you Victoria," she murmured quietly.
"No... No, Victoria was the sheriff, the sheriff who let them take you; Tori is the one who loves you, the one that takes you away," she smiled gently, "I love you Jade, and I'll never let that happen again."
"I love you too Tori," she smiled, feeling as tears ran down her cheeks. Warm lips melted on her own, arms wrapping around her waist as she tan her hands through Tori's long hair, promptly knocking off the hat. The two chuckled before going back for more, even the knew full well that there would be more to come.
And that's just what happened. Throughout the rest of their lives they ran from Skull Canyon's clutches, escaping to several spots where their undying love would flourish in the nights spent. When traveling, they would manage to stop any other outlaws right in their tracks, using their bullets creatively though would never shoot one to end one. But that what they were; some people learned to adore them and some learned to hate them, there was no middle ground with the exception of few.
They were not criminals, no, but rather antiheros branded with a name that is debated whether or not they deserved it. Although, whenever things become hard to define, just give it a name. And that is exactly what the counties did.
Here is the story of the Bullet Rangers.
Well look at that, another story done. Huh, wow... I really did enjoy this one, and I think I did this justice, perhaps. Tell me what you think, or not... It's up to you. Kind of impossible for me to reach in the screen and shake you until you type a review... Both from my morals and physics.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it and now I'm going to be deciding on the next one to write. Debating between three so far, maybe four. Hey, how about this, would you help me with my decision? So the three options, and I'm not going to be very clear with the plot mind you, are either dealing with risks, their past or their relationship. Made it a bit hard didn't I? Oh well...
:)
Damn it, now I can't get me shaking people though the screen out of my head.
