Across the Plains
Howdy
Disclaimer: Don't own Tales of Symphonia, but one day I shall bring all the hotties to life and love them forever! MWAHAHAHA!
Warnings: None at the moment...
The wind continuously kicked up the sand and blew it through the small town of Iselia, where many people were running around trying to get home before a sandstorm blew up. Iselia did not have a very large population, considering the fact that the town had no plants whatsoever causing many sandstorms. Only a few small families and a couple individuals had the guts to live in such a town. The town faced many other problems other than the sandstorms. A gang by the name of the Desians rode through the town on their black horses. They demanded supplies for low prices and if anyone even got in their way they would shot them with their black revolvers. They always came when the Sheriff was out of town or too busy to help. He was always blamed for the deaths of children and elderly people. His son had been chased out of town many times, but one day he did not return. Now the entire town took their rage out on the Sheriff.
The flames from the burning house reflected in the Sheriff's scarlet eyes. His only remaining friend stood next to him, watching as the remnants of the house toppled to the ground and were ignited by the flames. Most of the town's population were watching through their windows or doors. Some were snickering, but most of the females gasped at the site. This was another reason as to why he was hated so much. He was, by far, the best looking man in the town. He refused to court with anyone, though. Years ago his wife had been killed by the Desians, and seeing another woman was an impossible task for him.
A man that had been watching the house burn for awhile, took a rock and threw it at the Sheriff. "That's what you get Kratos! You should have protected this town! Instead, you run off doing other things. We trusted you when we named you Sheriff when this town was created fourteen years ago. Now it's ruined!"
Kratos did not seem phased by what the man was saying to him. He stood still, not even looking to see what the rock had done to his leg. His friend spun around and glared at the man that had thrown the rock. His tied back blue hair whipped around with him and landed on his shoulder. Oddly enough, he wore a black cape. He was the only one for miles who even had a cape. He slowly reached toward his hip to grab his silver revolver. Kratos' hand shot out and grasped his arm, clenching it tightly.
"Do not make a fatal mistake, Yuan. It is me that they desire to be rid of, do not get involved." Kratos said to him sternly. Yuan looked at him with concern, and with every desire to blow the man away. Kratos shook his head at Yuan. Yuan finally nodded at Kratos, and Kratos let go of his arm.
"Kratos, you know what this means, don't you?" Yuan asked.
"I do." Kratos replied without hesitation. Yuan looked away from him disbelievingly.
Kratos knelt in the sand with his hand tied behind his back as the sun rose. In front of him on a wooden stand, a man was tightening a knot in a rope, making a loop at the very end of it. He then attached the other end of the rope to a piece of wood that hung out over the ground with a stool underneath it. In an hours time, Kratos would be hung for the supposed betrayel of his people. It was a common custom in Iselia, and he accepted his fate. Yuan had rode out of town just before dawn not wanting to see his friend be killed.
The man jumped down from the stand and landed in front of Kratos. He smiled at him, revealing his rotting teeth and smelly breath. He was shortly joined by a few other men. One of them of which who had been named the new Sheriff a few hours before. He walked up to Kratos, and knelt coming face to face with him.
"Since this has been finished early, we've decided to hang you now. What do you think of that?" He asked, smiling at Kratos.
"That I will see you in Hell." Kratos replied coldly.
The Sheriff punched Kratos in the face, and knocked him to the ground.
"Hang him!" The Sheriff demanded.
The man from earlier, tightened the rope around Kratos' neck. Kratos' hands remained tied behind his back, as he stood on the stool. Many people gathered around to watched as their previous Sheriff would be killed. Finally, filled up with excitement, the Sheriff gave the order to hang Kratos. The man that had thrown the rock, kicked the stool out from under Kratos.
Kratos dropped, hanging inches above from the ground, struggling to catch his breath. The people standing around him started to chant and cheer. His vision blurred and he slowly grew cold. Just as his eyes started to close, he saw a figure standing at the entrance of the town. A gunshot rang out through the town. The rope above Kratos snapped and he fell to the ground, gasping for breath. Everyone turned to look at the figure who had saved the imposter.
He had short, spiky brown hair, and chocolate brown eyes. He brought the gun up to his mouth and blew the smoke from the end of it. He twirled it around, spinning it on his finger, and then thrust it into his holster on his side. He then looked at everyone and smiled.
"Howdy! I'm Lloyd Irving, remember me?"
Author's Note: I seriously have no idea why I wrote this, but I'm going to continue because it's fun to write! I don't even remember how I came up with this idea. I think I was watching Apollo 13. I still don't know where the idea came from. Oh well, it's going to be more humorous later on.
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