Chapter X Impending Doom
Promises and Dreams
By tk421beth
I, again have updated the dates in Jessie's journal.
A/N: Did you know that the McSween shoot out was the conclusion of the Lincoln County war? It lasted FIVE days! Just a little bit of trivia for you History freaks out there!
Special thanks for all my faithful reviewers! Thanks for all the great reviews! You all inspire me to write more and better chapters! Amber, JoJo, Tiffster…I LOVE YA!
MANY thanks to Sue and Tom…thanks again for the help and encouragement! You keep me rockin' and rollin'!
Chapter Summary: While in Juarez, old Mexico, Billy and Jessie hear the news that Murphy and his men are planning to kill Alex and Susan McSween in their home. The Regulators are now heading back to Lincoln to save them…
Arriving in Lincoln, I'm surprised to see that the town is so quiet at this time of day. The street is lifeless, making me feel uneasy. I can't help but feel the aura of impending doom. I try to ignore the hairs standing on the back of my neck, as I sense the nervousness in my mare. The feeling of dread suddenly sweeps over me. This is a bad omen. Something terrible is going to happen. I don't say a word as we ride through, on the way to the McSween house.
Chavez rides up to me. Giving me a worried look, I knew he would understand what I'm thinking. "Chavez, something horrible is going to take place…I can feel it." I say in a low voice.
He looks directly into my eyes. "I believe you, Bonita. I feel the corral gate of the Spirit Horse has been open. Even as we speak, he gallops towards us."
I gulp, full well knowing what Chavez meant.
Riding behind us, Steve swears loudly. "Goddamn your Spirit Horse to hell, Chavez! We're already spooked enough!"
Chavez looks back at him. "Better hope the Spirit Horse is not galloping towards you."
No one speaks the rest of the way to the McSween home. Finally arriving, I quickly dismount, and grab my belongings. Not even bothering to knock on the door, I burst inside, throwing my saddlebags on the floor, and grabbing my shotgun from my back. "Alex! Susan!" I holler, running through the house, finding Alex at his desk, working on some paperwork.
"What in the name of-!" Alex looks shocked to see me, with my weapon at hand. His eyebrows shoot up over his eyeglasses. "Jessica… what are you doing here?"
"No time to explain, Alex. We've got to get you and Susan out of here!" I plead, as the rest of the Regulators run inside.
"Alex," Billy comes running up behind me, his guns drawn. "Let's go. They're gonna kill you…the word's out."
Alex gives Billy a harsh glare. "I told you not to come here. I'm not leaving my house."
As the rest of the Regulators spread out, Susan comes downstairs, with a concerned look on her face. She sees me, and rushes over, hugging me tight.
I hug her back. "Susan, we've got to get out of here! We have to leave NOW!" I tell her. I see a worried look spread over her features, as she grasps the conviction of my emotions.
"What exactly is going on-?" She whispers to me.
"If you stay, Alex," Billy calmly tells him, "They're gonna kill you. Then I'm gonna have to go and kill all the people that killed you. That's a lot of killin'."
I study Alex, and see that he is not well. His asthma is noticeably worse, and it looks like he hasn't slept in days. He looks plain terrible.
"Alex," Susan tells him. "Maybe…"
"You heard me! I'm not leaving!"
"Well, we can't just stay here and hope the good Lord saves us from an all out-"
"I'm sick, Susan. I can't go to goddamned old Mexico!"
"Don't worry," Doc tells him, looking out the window. "The trip's been cancelled."
I rush over behind Doc, and peer out the window. Sheriff Peppin and about ten of his men are hitching their horses, throwing their saddle bags, and diving into position. "Oh my God!" My eyes widen. "It's a trap. A goddamned trap! I'm going to kill Garrett! That damned son of a-"
"How's the east side, Chavez?" Billy interrupts me, his hand on my shoulder, looking out to see Peppin and his posse.
"Murphy men."
"How 'bout you, Charlie? Can we make a break?"
I hear Charlie gasp in terror. What the hell is he looking at? I turn around and look at him, my eyebrow raised. "It's John Kinney!" He declares.
My eyes narrow, as my jaw tightens. How could we be so stupid? A trap! We're trapped! How in the hell were we going to get out of this? I look back at Billy, who has that shit-eating grin on his face. Uh oh! What's he up to now?
"It's John Kinney!" Charlie yells as he runs over to us.
"Maybe they just want us." Billy says.
"No," Alex utters, placing his glasses on the desk. "I don't think so. They can end this war in one fell swoop right here, and that's what they're about to do."
"It's John Kinney!" Charlie shouts again, his face suddenly pale.
"Okay, Charlie!" Doc yells at him, still looking out the window, taking aim with his rifle. "Thank you very much!"
"We're gonna hang for sure now!" He shouts, holding his rifle so tight, that his knuckles turn as white as his face.
"Bonney!" Peppin's voice calls from outside. "We got ya up there, Kid…you and the Sweetheart Shooter! You both take a real good look at the firepower down here! Now, all you come out real slow!"
I drop to my knees, shotgun still in hand. Whoever bestowed that name on me, I will get my revenge later. I look over at Billy who is smiling.
"You there, Bonney?" Peppin calls out again. "Tunstall?"
Billy is flat against the wall beside the window, not daring to look out. I glace up at him, wondering what he was going to do. I sure in hell wasn't going to respond to Peppin.
"Yeah, we hear ya Peppin-!" His words barely come out of his mouth, as they open fire, blasting all the windows in. I drop my shotgun, and lay flat on the floor, hands over my head, as shards of glass fall all around me. I close my eyes, hoping this attack would end soon.
The firing suddenly stops. I open my eyes, to see the windows at Doc and Chavez's side of the house were also blown out. Billy starts to chuckle, then laughs loudly. I look up at him, thinking that he's gone mad. He takes my hand in his. "I'll get us out of here, Jessie…I promise you that. I always keep my promises."
I look into his eyes and notice his features were dead serious as he stared back. "You better!" I replied with a small smile.
Billy chuckles, and gives me a quick kiss on the cheek. I sit up and gingerly brush off the remaining glass that is sticking to me. Billy now is sitting against the wall again, guns in each hand. I know Billy will get me out of here alive. He promised that he would take care of me. I know we'll get out of this alive…
"What the hell are we gonna do now?" Doc wonders.
"We gotta show them that they met their match." Billy answers with a grin. "Hey! Peppin!"
"I'm hearin' ya, Bonney!" He yells back.
"I see that you have Charlie Crawford down there!"
"Yeah, we got him, Kid. We got a whole lot of-" Peppin doesn't get a chance to finish. Billy all of a sudden springs up into the window, and fires a single shot. He then takes his place back against the wall. Biting my lip, I slowly get up, glancing out of the window, to see that Billy shot Crawford right between the eyes. I watch him fall to the ground, dead. Gasping, I quickly duck down under the window again. "Good shot!" I tell him.
Billy winks at me. "Hey! Peppin! Charlie Crawford ain't with you no more!" He shouts with glee, glancing out of the window.
"Bastard!" I hear Peppin's voice. "FIRE!"
They open up again, just as Billy dives out of view, and lands right next to me. Bullets chip away at the adobe structure. I lay on the ground, my shotgun underneath me, trying to figure out how in the hell we were going to get out of this alive. I see Alex holding Susan close, as bullets fly through the house. Dishes break, splinters of wood fly from various pieces of furniture that have been shot. I cling to Billy, my face pressed against his chest, my eyes tightly shut. Billy will get me out of here…he promised me. Billy will get me out of here…he promised me. I run that mantra through my mind over and over.Those two thoughts seem to calm me down, as Billy holds me close.
"These boys just won't give up!" Billy chuckles, as the attack stops again. He slowly stands up, smiling as if nothing was happening.
"You okay ma'am?" Steve asks Susan, who is hanging onto Alex. "You okay?" She just looks at him with a blank look on her face. Susan is obviously in shock.
"Charlie, take your rifles and go upstairs." Billy orders, totally in control. "Doc…go with him and load heavy."
I glance over at Charlie, who is as white as a sheet, his eyes closed, and his hands shaking like a leaf. He gulped loudly, and then did what Billy told him to do, with Doc following close behind. Steve slowly ambles upstairs after them.
"Alex," Billy turns to him, holding out one of his guns. "This may be your last chance to handle John's case."
"Active participation in a gun battle negates my life insurance policy. I can't do that." He retorts, with a wild look on his face.
Baffled, Billy stares at Alex. Cocking his Winchester, he turns to me. "Ready, Sweetheart?"
I nod, following Alex and Susan up the stairs. Billy and Chavez are standing at the front door when the shooting starts again. I yelp and turn, looking down the stairwell to see Chavez kick the half-blasted door closed with the heel of his boot. Bullets flying from the outside, they both run up the stairs right behind me.
I sit in between Billy and Doc as the sun sets over Lincoln. The silence was eerie. As we sat close together, it seemed we were worlds apart. It was so quiet; I could hear the men breathing out on the street. Staring out the tattered window frame reminded me of a cheap dime store novel, as I watched Murphy, Dolan and Peppin's men; crouching as they moved into different positions. It all seemed like a dream…so foreign…so far away…but yet, we were here. This is real.
I kept waiting for my Father to come into my room and wake me from this nightmare. I continued to stare out the window, not moving, not talking. We all fell into a silent repose, as the sun sets over Lincoln's rolling hills.
Memories of my recent childhood come flooding back to me. It seems hard to believe that over a year ago, I considered myself a child, and witnessed the same sunset over a million times. In a strange way, the sunset brought me renewed hope, that all would be well with the promise of the coming of a new day.
So…what do you think? Short chapter for me, huh? Please review! Thanks!