THE BEGUILEMENT OF KID CURRY - Chapter Fourteen
Kid maneuvered himself in front of Heyes, who still held Amy's body tightly in his arms. He held his gun clutched in his right hand, pointed towards the opening of the hole. His focus unwavering as he looked for any movement as he blinked back the rain, frequently wiping a quick hand across his eyes. There had been no time to think when he had jumped into the hole to save Heyes, but now they faced a serious dilemma. With the rain, the walls of the hole were too slick to climb out. It was also too dangerous. He had no idea where Martha was. Kid looked quickly behind him at Heyes who was still coughing trying to clear the dirt from his airways. He met Kid's eyes briefly as he pressed Amy's body closer to his. Kid saw the grief still etched in his face before he dropped his head away from the falling rain, raising a hand to gently turn Amy's head away from the rain and pressing her face into his chest as if to protect her.
"Dammit! Do something!" Kid silently cursed. He needed to know where Martha was.
It was starting to rain harder, when Kid saw the black barrel of a shotgun poke over the edge and a deafening explosion sounded. Chucks of wet mud rained down on them as Kid threw himself backwards towards Heyes and fired blindly.
Kid watched the barrel quickly disappear, as his heart pounded in his chest. He had a belt full of bullets but Martha had the upper hand. She could wait them out...force him to use all his bullets or maybe hit one of them with a lucky shot.
Dammit Kid cursed again. Dammit.
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The girls heard the sound of a shotgun and froze momentarily, before quickly looking at each other and hurrying towards the sound.
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It continued to rain harder for several minutes, until it suddenly stopped. Kid wiped the rain one final time from his face, and waited with his gun in a steady hand. He slowed his breathing and focused with the hope that Martha would make a mistake and allow him the one shot that would end this. He strained his ears trying to hear the slightest movement.
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Kid thought he heard the snap of a twig, as his finger tightened on the trigger. There was no mistaking the sound of the barn door being thrown open and all the girls screaming in unison.
"STOP! STOP!"
Martha ran a quick hand across her face, pushing her wet hair away. What was left of the white bandage hung by one end stuck in her unkempt hair. None of the girls missed Miss Martha's expression of rage and madness that filled her eyes.
"GET OUT OF HERE!" She screamed. "GET OUT OF HERE!" She screamed again, furious that the girls were making no move to obey her.
Her face contorted with rage as she pulled the barrel of the shotgun towards the girls. As she steadied it, Martha suddenly screamed out in pain as a rock struck her on the cheek followed by others that struck her on her forehead, arms, and chest. A large rock hit her across her hand causing her to drop the shotgun. The girls continued to advance, throwing rocks until Martha lay bloody and withering in pain on the ground, screaming primal screams. All the girls understood what they needed to do, as tears rolled down their faces. When all the rocks had been thrown and Miss Martha lay still, Emily and Alicia, the youngest, raised their sticks and hit her across the head before dropping their sticks and backing away from Martha's body.
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"Thaddeus?" Marie called out and carefully peered over the edge. "Are you okay? Joshua? Am...Amy? She threw a hand across her mouth when she saw Joshua holding Amy's limp body. His eyes held such deep sadness that she knew she was gone.
"AMY!" Marie screamed out with a gut wrenching sob. "NOOO!"
The other girls rushed to the lip of the hole and began sobbing and hugging each other.
"Marie," Kid said softly but firmly. "We need help getting out. Go to my horse and get the lariat. Marie?" She quickly nodded and returned shortly after and eased the rope into the hole after securing it to the saddle horn.
Heyes held on tightly to Amy's body before he allowed Kid to pick her up and set her gently aside. He helped Heyes to his feet and to the rope. Once Heyes was safely out, Kid gathered Amy's body up and placed her over his shoulder.
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Kid carried Amy's body back into the house with the other girls sobbing in a grim procession. Heyes slowly trailed behind.
They had Kid lay Amy on her bed. There the girls would clean her and dress her in fresh clothes. Once that was completed, each selected a special item to place with her before they sewed the blanket together. They decided to bury Amy in her favorite spot, close to the pond where she searched for turtles and played in her free time as a young child.
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Heyes struggled to pull the muddy rain soaked bed shirt over his head. Kid reached out a helping hand but recoiled when he saw the deep bruising that had been caused by the weight of the compacted dirt. Kid knew his partner had been seconds away from death. His eyes briefly met Heyes' before he quickly looked away.
"Don't go there, Kid. Don't you dare go there." Heyes warned him softly. "It weren't your fault."
Kid drew in a long breath before he found Heyes' eyes again, "How can you say that? If I had destroyed that damn letter like I was suppose to...If I hadn't left you alone...Amy would be alive and you…" Grief stopped him from continuing. Kid shook his head sadly before sitting down heavily, as he dropped his head in his hands.
Heyes laid a hand on his distraught partner's shoulder.
"If you want to blame someone...blame me. I pushed you to finish the job. I didn't see what you saw and I didn't listen. Kid...I didn't listen. To my own partner. To someone I trust with my life."
"Well I damn near got you killed." Kid raised his head and said bitterly. "Some partner... Ya might want to rethink that arrangement." He said as he stood up and headed towards the door. "Got things to take care of."
"Kid...Wait. Kid." But he was already gone.
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Kid had already moved Martha's body into the hole and had begun filling it in, when still crying, the girls grabbed the remaining shovels and headed towards the pond.
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Author's Notes: A nod to Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery."
