Chapter III Newspapers and Peyote

Special thanks to my beta/co-author, Naomi! You rock! Also, Sue thanks for your comments and suggestions!

We were hiding out in Lincoln, for a moment, behind Father's store. Doc was reading us the paper, about Henry Hill being killed, and the other people that were either mortally wounded or also killed. I smirked when Doc read that 'A Kid' nineteen or twenty is the Captain of the Deputized gang. Billy…Captain? I'm sure Dick loved that! The paper also mentioned my name, aged sixteen that rode with the Kid's gang. What the hell? I didn't even have my gun out! Who saw me? So, it looked like I was now involved in the Henry Hill killing. That's just great! Murphy's men were going to be after me for sure now.

"We need to talk." Dick told me, holding my arm as we walked away form the others. Dick all of a sudden grabbed my shoulders, and shook me in anger. "Why did you follow us? You were supposed to go with Alex and Susan! What the hell is wrong with you? You could have been killed, Jessica!"

I was speechless for a moment. I have never had seen Dick so upset. His fingers painfully gripped my shoulders, as his brown eyes flashed with anger. I could see the other Regulators stopped what they were doing to watch us from afar. I saw Doc's worried face, as they all walked slowly up to us.

"You're hurting me!" I said, roughly pushing him away. "I can't stay with Alex or Susan now! They'll kill me, if I stay," I explained. You know I'm right, Dick."

"You don't know that." He argued. By now, the other Regulators were surrounding us. "There's a hell of a lot that you don't know."

"Yes, Dick. There are some things I indeed do know." I spat at him. "I am to inherit everything! They want me dead, too, don't you see? I was supposed to be in the buckboard with Father when they killed him! Why else would they say I was involved in Henry Hill's killing? I didn't even pull out my gun!"

"Jessica's right, Richard," Doc said. "We have to protect her. They'll go after her, if she stayed here. She has to stay with us."

Dick looked at Doc, then back at me. "I'm not so sure, Doc. Things have changed. It's too dangerous for her to stay with us."

"It's too dangerous to let her go back." Billy pointed out.

Dick gave Billy a hard look. "I know you had something to do with this." He hissed, pointing his finger at Billy's face. "I can't prove it, but I know, Billy."

"Billy's right, Richard," Doc pointed out. "She has to ride with us." Doc then touched my shoulder. "Jessica knows irons, Richard. She can take care of herself."

That much was true. Growing up, I learned how to handle various firearms from Dick and Doc, who have been employed with Father for several years. Chavez has taught me how to handle knives also.

After a moment of thinking, Dick nodded at Doc. "It seems so." He calmly decided. "Jessica, I never wanted you to be involved in this."

"I got involved when my Father was murdered, Dick."

Doc looked out on the street and suddenly threw the paper down. "I have to go. I'll be back in a second." He told Dick.

Where is he going? I looked out, and saw Doc talking to Yen, Murphy's China Doll. I grinned. So! Doc liked Yen!

"So, Dick!' Billy piped up, checking his guns. "Who's next?"

Dick shot Billy another dirty look. "You."

As we traveled, we knew that some of Murphy's men were on our trail. We decided to hide, and waited for them to come straight into our trap.

Crouching from my hiding spot in the bushes, I could see it was William Morton and Frank Baker. Murphy's men. I grabbed my gun, and pulled the hammer back, chambering the round, preparing to fire. I glanced over at Billy who was next to me. He also took out his pistol.

Morton was talking to Baker, holding a piece of horse poop. He stated that our horses have been grazing wild. "Pretty good, huh Baker?"

I smiled, seeing Chavez quietly move behind Morton, twirling his knife, and then held it at Morton's throat. "Not that good." He commented.

I then jumped up, aiming my gun at them. Dick rode his horse up beside me, also armed, as Doc jumped up with his shotgun out. The rest of the Regulators jumped or rode up, surprising Baker and Morton.

"Buenos Dias, shitheads." Dick greeted them.

"By killing Henry Hill, you all started a war, Dick." Baker said, with his arms up.

"By killing Mr. Tunstall, you all started the damn war, Baker!" Dick shot back.

Morton looked over at Dick and I. He shot me a look of surprise, and then smirked. "It's fifty to sixty men against you what-seven or eight?" He pointed out.

I watched Billy walk behind Morton. "We're going to bury you and you can believe that." He whispered, waving his gun, startling Morton.

"Quiet, Bonney." Dick said. "We're taking you to jail. No killin'."

"Objection, your honor," Billy yelled out. "These boys are going to the grave, in the name of John Tunstall."

I watched as Dick glared at Billy. "I said, quiet, Bonney! I don't need that kind of talk. Law don't talk like that."

"Yeah, well, law don't kill innocent merchants either." Steve pointed out.

"Shut up, dirt face." That was from Doc.

Billy smiled over at me. "We'll take the sons of bitches up to Capitan Mountain and blow their brains out, what do you say, Jessie?"

I laughed loudly, similar to Billy's, as I walked up to Morton and holstered my gun. Morton looked relieved for a moment, but I then pulled the shotgun out from behind my back, and aimed it inches away from his face. Morton looked down at both barrels and suddenly turned pale, much to my delight. "That sounds real good to me, Billy."

"Jessica!" Dick shouted.

McCloskey walked up to Billy. "Billy, Jessie, take it easy." He told us. McCloskey then began to talk to Billy, Dick and I, saying instead of going south, we should just ride straight into Lincoln.

My eyes narrowed as McCloskey talked. I had told Father I did not trust him, from day one. He was once part of Murphy's men, and I now wonder if he still is. McCloskey was still talking, and I suddenly felt a slight chill, as the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I have a strong feeling that he is still was part of Murphy's men! He had to be! I glanced over at Billy, who was now looking at me with a raised eyebrow. Billy then slowly nodded at me, and gave me a small grin. He knew what I was thinking.

"Hey!" Billy said.

"What?" McCloskey answered.

"I saw that!"

"What'd you see? What'd you see?" Charlie anxiously asked Billy.

"He knows what I saw! Where's the ambush, McCloskey, in Lincoln?" He demanded, pointing his gun in his face. McCloskey began his defense, started walking backwards, right into Doc. I knew he was lying. Dick tried to reason with Billy, but to no avail.

"He's a spy!" Billy shouted angrily.

Dick did not believe this. "He made a pact with us; he's a Regulator, right McCloskey?"

"No! He's one of Murphy's men!" I proclaim, aiming my shotgun now at McCloskey. I notice Dick then gave me a dirty look. I gradually lowered my gun back down, giving McCloskey a hard look. He knew I knew!

"Jesus, Jessie, that's not true!" McCloskey told me, then turned back to face Billy. "Jesus, Billy, c'mon!" McCloskey said, offering his hand to Billy in friendship.

Billy kept his gun on McCloskey for a moment, and then put his gun back in the holster. What was he doing? Kill him! Kill him now! "Shit, sorry, McCloskey." He shook his hand.

"It's all right, Billy. We're all upset about John."

"I'm sorry I didn't sniff you out sooner," Billy said, pulling his gun out again. "You goddamn traitor!" Billy yelled, as he shot McCloskey in the head.

"Billy, No!" I heard Dick yell. My eyes widened in surprise, as McCloskey's brains were sprayed all over Doc's face.

Chaos reigned, as Morton and Baker both began to run and ride away. Without hesitation, I quickly aimed my shotgun at Baker, and shot him in the back. He went down, in the bushes, dead.

"No!" Dick was shouting, as they all were shouting and shooting. I saw Chavez throw his knife at Morton, who was trying to ride away. Morton slowed down a little, but was still riding away. I quickly threw my shotgun on the ground, and pulled out my pistol. Running now, I aimed my gun. "Don't let him get away!" I heard Doc shout, as I shot Morton in the head. He fell off his horse, and lay dead.

Suddenly, it was all over. Three Murphy men were now dead. "Court adjourned!" Billy announced, as I walked back. Reaching down, Billy took McCloskey's badge from him. "Good job, Jessie! You deserve this." He said proudly, tossing the badge to me. "Didn't feel right, him having one."

"Moron!" Dick yelled at Billy, as I pinned the badge above my heart. "You're out of line, you son of a bitch!"

"Richard," Doc told him, "He was right! Jessica was right! McCloskey was acting kind of strange."

"That means we killed three more of Murphy's men." Dick sighed. "Okay, everybody, we're going to skin up the river!" He shot a disgusted look over at Billy, and raised his gun in Billy's face. "You better stop believing newspapers! You ain't no Captain, and you sure in hell ain't no Robin Hood!" Dick then put his gun away and then looked at me, pointing his finger. "And you ain't no Maid Marion!" He yelled.

I glared straight back at him, but didn't say anything.

"Whatever you say, Dick." Billy calmly told him, as he mounted his horse.

We now were in the middle of God knows where, and Doc was reading the paper once again. The paper idolized Billy, as he is now called, Billy the Kid, and the many adventures with 'his' Regulators. "It's said that pretty Jessie Tunstall, is Billy the Kid's sweetheart," Doc began to read, looking over at me and smiling. What? Where'd they get that from? I'm no one's sweetheart! "Jessie is as deadly with a gun, maybe even more so than Billy the Kid himself." Oh, God! I could feel my face turn red, as Steve and Charlie laughed so loud, I almost punched them! "They named you too, Jessica." Doc said. He paused for a moment, I supposed for dramatic effect, and then said, "The Sweetheart Shooter!" Now all of them save for Dick, were laughing loudly.Dick just rolled his eyes in disgust. I shyly looked over at Billy, only to find him smiling at me. I quickly looked away, my face flushing again, as he chuckled. Doc read on. "It's says here this is Billy the Kid. Only it's not Billy."

He then showed us the paper. It was a drawing of Dick!

"It's bullshit!" Dick groaned. "Papers can't do anything right."

The paper also stated that John Kinney was after us, and that he is a bounty hunter.

"What's that mean?" Steve wondered.

"It means that he can whoop some ass!" Charlie told him.

Dick called Doc over to him, as Billy, Charlie, Steve and I continued to read the paper. I glanced over at Dick and Doc and wondered what they were talking about. They probably were talking about how we were stuck, and could not go north, south, east or west. I wondered what we were going to do. I glanced down at my ring, wondering what Father would do in this situation.

"Sweetheart Shooter!" Steve joked, spitting tobacco at the same time. "Christ, that's funny!" He laughed. Charlie was also laughing. Steve grabbed a lock of my hair and sniffed it. "C'mere, Jessie, give us a kiss!" He laughed.

I quickly pulled out my gun. "Where do you want that kiss, Steve?" I asked, pointing it at his face. That made Billy, Charlie and Steve scream in laughter. "Shut the hell up, all of you!" I yelled. This was so embarrassing! Billy couldn't stop grinning at me. God! Is that all he does, is smile? What the hell could Billy so happy about? Disgusted, I holstered my gun and slowly walked away from them.

I glanced over to see Chavez picking at some roots from the snow, and collecting the samples in his hat. What's he doing?

"What the hell is he doing?" Dick wondered out loud, as we all started to unpack.

It was nighttime, very late, and the stars were still twinkling above us. The sun would be up soon, I thought, as we all were sitting around the campfire. I was sitting in between Billy and Dick. Chavez was holding a cup, and his face was painted black and white, like a skull.

"We've come to a place where we are lost, no? When an Indian is lost, he must reach into the Spirit World, to find a way. He'll be shown a sign. This is the way to the Spirit Road. We're lost right now, but I'll find us the way." Chavez then started to drink from the cup.

Steve snorted, "Oh, Christ, Chavez. That's all we need, some more of your red ass Navajo mambo-jahambo…we're running out of time, Chavez."

Chavez hissed at Steve, passing the cup.

"Is that any good?" Charlie asked Chavez. Billy drank from the cup and started coughing. He then handed it to me. I glanced over at Dick. He shook his head no, as to deter me from drinking from the cup. I quickly lifted the cup to my lips and drank, before Dick could do anything. When I was done, I stuck my tongue out at Dick, and suddenly began coughing, as Billy had done.

"Chavez, what is that stuff?" Charlie asked.

"Peyote." He answered.

"Oh, shit!" I muttered under my breath. I remember Chavez telling me about the sacred ritual involving peyote, and the hallucinogenic effect it has. I wonder if anyone else knew what it was.

After everyone drank from the cup, we all continued to sit around the fire. I wondered how soon the peyote would take effect.

What seemed a short time later, the confusion started. I watched the Regulators, as everything looked so abnormal. Dick kept on aiming his shotgun, as if to shoot, and then lowered it, not shooting. He looked confused, as if what he was going to shoot at was suddenly gone. I looked, but didn't see anything. Doc was sitting in the weeds, and talking about butterflies, flowers and Yen, Murphy's China doll.

Chavez was standing on a cliff, arms outstretched, not saying anything. I also saw Charlie standing near Chavez, muttering, "This is great!" He repeated this over and over again.

Getting up was difficult. I walked towards the grassy field, and heard Steve shout, "Did you see the size of that chicken!" He then shot the shotgun in the nearby cave. I looked, but did not see any chickens!

Reaching the field, I leaned against one of the trees, marveling in the beauty of nature. Everything looked so beautiful. I closed my eyes and smiled, wanting to stay here forever. Maybe I should pick some flowers!

I merrily skipped over to the field, and started gathering flowers. "Oh, it's so beautiful here, I don't wanna leave!"

"Why would you leave?" I heard Billy's voice behind me. Startled, I spun around, and almost fell over. Billy fell to the ground, laughing.

I started to giggle, and fell to the ground next to him, feeling dizzy. I couldn't stop laughing. "I don't think I could ever stop laughing." I said, as I looked over at Billy.

Suddenly, Billy stopped laughing. He looked over at me with a serious expression. "Your hair," He whispered, touching it. "It looks like…like… the mud at the bottom of the Pecos River."

The laughter died in my throat. I was wrong! I did stop laughing. "What?" I hissed.

"No, no! Not in a bad way. When the light hits the river, with all the different colors, it's alive. It's pretty. It's just so pretty."

I found myself smiling again, at Billy's complement. I then remembered that I still had the flowers in my hand. I sat up and kneeled over Billy, and started to place them in the brim of his hat. He was quiet, and let me do it, smiling up at me. His blue eyes twinkled in the sunlight, and I couldn't help myself but to look into his eyes. They are so blue, it takes my breath away.

As I placed the last flower on the brim of his hat, Billy unexpectedly leans forward and gives me a quick kiss on the lips. He then jumps up, and runs off, hooting and laughing.

Did that just happen? I touched my lips and smiled. Is Billy not only the fastest gun in the west, but the fastest kisser in the west? I began to laugh again, as I fell to the ground.

"REGULATORS!" I heard Chavez shout. "Mount up!"

Steve started to yell, as we all mounted our horses. I uncontrollably giggled again, as I witness Billy mount his horse, and he was sitting backwards in the saddle!

"Hey, Doc," Steve whispered. "Did you see the size of that chicken?" He then shot his shotgun once again.

"Godless heathens." I heard Dick mutter.

We rode through the reservation, Chavez leading us through. I didn't say anything as we rode through. Charlie was singing softly, as the Indians watched us ride by, rifles and other various weapons in their hands.

"Hey, Chavez, how come they ain't killing us?" Charlie wondered.

"Because we're in the Spirit world, asshole, they can't see us!" Steve laughed. I laughed quietly as we followed Chavez to safety, through and out of the Reservation, and into Blazer's Mill.