"Ehh, sheriff!?"
"Keep up Buzz!"
Buzz looked down to the horse bouncing between his legs and winced as the ache in his groin got worse, with a deep sigh, he then squeezed his knees in close to the horses' side, and clipped it with the stirrups he'd had attached to his boots, making the horse double it's speed in an instant.
They were racing across the plains just outside of the town, in hot pursuit of the so called, 'Bazooka Jane' who was going from a small spot on the horizon, to a clear defined figure ahead of them, as they finally began to close in on her.
Buzz was having a little trouble matching the sheriffs speed, not being an adept rider of horses, but he was doing well enough to keep him both within sight and within earshot,
"We need to guide her towards Molly's pass, it's about half a mile from here!" Woody shouted, looking back over his shoulder for a second, "It's a dead end, if we get her down there, we can finally catch her. I'm going to ride wide, off to the left. Keep close behind her Buzz!"
And with that, his horse began to skew off to the left as he had said, kicking up even more dust as it went, and whinnying loudly,
Buzz lifted one hand to shield his eyes, both from the bright, hot sun and the grit flying towards him through the whipping air, and with a grumble, he tightened his grip on the reign, before kicking back his heals once more, making his own horse shriek and gamble forwards at a wild speed.
As uncomfortable as he was when riding, he wasn't going to let Jane get away because he couldn't keep up, and soon enough, he was only fifteen feet behind her.
For a second, Buzz was sure he saw the woman turn her head, and glance behind her.
He saw green eyes looking out above a black bandana that covered the rest of her face, and two long red plaits trailing from under a wide rimmed black hat. And then they were gone, as the hooves of her horse thundered beneath her, and she rode faster still,
Ahead a pass stood open, the hazy horizon visible through it, and Jane seemed to be heading straight for that horizon.
Buzz gritted his teeth and clipped his heals just more than he dared, making his horse squeal in protest, but draw closer to the dust cloud Jane's own stallion was kicking up.
It seemed hopeless though, she was still heading straight ahead, drawing in closer to the open pass by the second,
Even worse, the deputy could feel his own horse beginning to falter, it's body shaking beneath him and slowing down, ever so slightly.
Suddenly, a shot rang out, and Jane veered wildly to the right as Woody came in from the left, quickly taking up the position she had been riding in. His gun was drawn, and held pointing upwards,
"That was a warning shot Jane!" he called out, just audible above the cacophony of hooves on the dry, hard plainland, he then turned and nodded to Buzz, pursuing Jane in her new course towards Molly's pass.
As if by design, the three then followed each other into the bottleneck opening of the pass, Jane at the front and Buzz taking up the rear,
But the canyon was clustered with rocks, and the longer they rode through it, the larger the gap between Woody and Jane became, and the thicker the billowing grit in her wake grew.
The sand scorched Buzz's eyes and he found it all the harder to ride, hardly being able to see ahead of him,
He could hear Woody though, not shouting to Jane, but calling out to him, to keep going, until-
"STOP!"
Bullseye and Buzz's own horse came to a grand halt, skidding on the rocky ground.
"What is it Sheriff?" Buzz asked, turning his head away to shield it from the dust and coughing violently as he tried to heave it from his lungs,
"She's- she's gone" Woody replied, dumbfounded.
The deputy's head shot up, and once the screen of grit dispersed, he was able to see the empty dead end of the canyon.
It was clear that the pass had once been open, hence the name, but now a wall of avalanched rock over thirty feet high left it blocked, completely impassable.
And yet, Woody, Buzz and their horses were the only ones there, Jane having completely vanished.
"Where did she go?" Buzz asked, gaping as he looked about the canyon walls,
"No. No!" Woody yelled, slipping down from Bullseye and rushing to the stacked blockade of rocks, "How could she- how did she-?" he asked frantically, starting to pull at boulders at random.
"Sheriff!" his deputy sighed, dismounting his own horse and approaching him,
By now he was acting more than ridiculously, tugging at rocks his size and more, but none of them budged.
"She can't do this again Buzz! She always gets away! Every single time!" he growled, his actions becoming feeble now.
"Come on Sheriff, we can't fall apart, we'll get her next time"
Woody slumped against a boulder and came to sit on the floor, his head resting on his hands, "No we won't Buzz" he said with a sigh,
"Now what kind of attitude is that?" Buzz asked, stooping to talk to him more closely, "You just need a plan, and more backup, you're a sheriff. You can deputize anyone in town in a time of crisis. And this Jane, she sounds like a crisis" he rested his hand on the other man's shoulder, wearing a smile he thought was encouraging.
Woody slowly looked up, first to his deputy's hand, and then to his face,
He sighed and gave a begrudging smile, placing his own hand atop Buzz's, "I don't need to deputize anyone Buzz" he said, setting to stand up again, "I've got you now. We can figure it out, no worries. You're right, we just need a plan",
"That's the spirit" Buzz smiled, and with that, he offered his hand to Woody, hoisting him to his feet.
0o0o0
By the time they made it back to town, a small crowd had gathered outside of the office, wanting to see what the conclusion of the thrilling chase across the plains had been, and hoping to even catch a sight of Bazooka Jane if they could.
They were left sorely disappointed though, and they dispersed rather quickly, most of them going back to the saloon.
This seemed to make Woody completely forget the hope Buzz had given him in the canyon, and he became downcast once more.
They herded Bullseye and Buzz's horse back to the stables, Woody lagging behind as they went.
It was made worse when they couldn't find Jessie and as such had to guide the horses back to their boxes themselves.
To top it off, Slink was waiting for them back in the office, and Rex had joined him.
After being told that Jane had gotten away, they solemnly listed off just how many of the cattle had gotten away and bolted across the field before they could herd them back up.
It was at this point that Buzz started to understand just how Woody felt, and could feel his own bleakness rising.
0o0o0
Buzz frowned up at the sky, his eyes squint against the sun, and beads of sweat streaking down his cheeks from the close, dry heat. He didn't want to be hanging around the office right now, Sheriff Woody was still sore about the events of the morning, namely the failed capture of Bazooka Jane, and as such, their shared work space was more uncomfortable than the outside. Or so Buzz thought.
After only a few minutes out 'patrolling', the baking sun was proving too hot to bear, and the deputy had quickly circled back to the station.
The shadow cast room beyond the small swinging doors looked inviting, mostly because shade meant cool temperatures, but the prospect of dealing with Woody's poor mood put Buzz right off that idea. He instead decided to try the next best thing, the stables.
It was sure to smell and be full of flies, but at least it had a roof.
Buzz trod over the coarse dirt ground, heading for the open, large square stables.
Inside there were four individual boxes for horses, all of which were full, and at the back was an open space filled with piled hay.
There was movement from the back, and immediately finding respite under the shady tin roof, Buzz slowly trudged towards it, choosing to investigate,
He wasn't much surprised by what he found however.
"There you are"
Jessie's shoulders tensed as she suppressed the shock jumping through her body, "Oh-" she replied, turning to look at him, "-Buzz. I didn't know you were here",
"Apparently" he nodded, "Sorry for spooking you",
"You didn't" Jessie said quickly, going back to the hay pile she was tending and turning some more straw over with the large pitchfork she held.
"We couldn't find you earlier, had to sort the horses out ourselves" Buzz said, watching as she worked,
"I know, your knots were all wrong, had to retie them when I got back" she sighed,
He winced, "Sorry, still not much of the rider, I could maybe do with a few lessons",
"I'd certainly say so" she nodded.
Buzz couldn't say he knew all that much about turning hay, but he couldn't help but think Jessie was pilling it up rather high in this one position she'd been working on since he'd found her,
"Well-" he frowned and faltered, shaking his head, "Where were you anyway?",
"I-" Jessie sighed and stopped working the straw, planting her pitchfork in the ground and leaning on it, "I was taking my horse out for some air, hasn't ridden in a while",
Buzz looked behind him to the horse boxes.
Jessie's horse was eating lethargically from a pail of oats that had been hooked up to the outside of its stall,
"Looks tired, did you go for a ride?" he asked, turning back to her,
"What is this? An interrogation" Jessie snapped, going back to poking at the hay.
"What?" Buzz replied, raising an eyebrow, "No! No, I was just wondering" he said, holding up his hands defensively, "I know you're a good rider, and good with horses is all",
"I am" she nodded, "And if you really want to know, I was out riding my horse west of the town, Slink will tell you as much",
"I don't doubt it" he said quickly.
Jessie sighed, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap" she said shaking her head, "It's just I know how Woody gets, he'll be angry for days about missing Jane",
"So you heard?" Buzz nodded, perching on the slat of wood outcropping from the closest horse box behind him,
"Of course, everyone knows, gossip travels fast. One second everyone's concerned about the new deputy coming into town, and then before you're even settled, they're talking about another failed arrest of one of the town's most wanted" Jessie shrugged, "It's always the same, and they always blame Woody",
"It happens a lot then?"
"Sure" she nodded, "I mean, he gets the small-time criminals, when he's not too lilywhite to bring them in. But he hasn't once gotten close to Jane, Betty and Bart or the Doctor" she concluded, finally hanging the pitchfork up on the waiting hook on the wall. She put her hands on her hips and turned now to regard Buzz, "You think you can make a difference?",
He blinked at her, and frowned once more, "Well- I- Err-",
"Very convincing" she nodded,
"I'll try! I'll do everything I can. I'm used to catching bank robbers, but not used to chasing them down on horses is all",
"Well we'll see what we can do about that… when I have time" Jessie said, folding her arms,
Buzz perked up at that, and stood, smiling broadly at her, "Thank you",
"Don't mention it" she sighed, shaking her head, "Now I'll be back later, I'm sure you can survive another couple hours without me"
And with that, she shoved her hands deep into her dress pockets, and sauntered out of the stables, the sun hitting her woven hair and her green eyes shining as she covered them from the harsh light.
0o0o0
As the sun started to drop from the sky, Buzz decided to make his way to the saloon, as the streets were all but empty, save for people who had the same idea as him.
He made a beeline for last stool at the bar, and managed to get Barbie's attention quite quickly, earning a lukewarm glass of beer along with her trademark, bright smile.
Head down, Buzz spent a long time nursing his drink, avoiding eye contact with everyone that passed and thinking very hard about everything… and nothing.
It was an odd town, full of odd people and odd situations, none of which quite seemed right. The only person who seemed entirely on the level, without secrets or vice, was Woody. But at the same time, he didn't appear to notice the strangeness around him,
To Buzz, that made him an odd choice for a sheriff.
The deputy sighed and lifted his drink to his lips, the cool glass raising a dull pain on his chapped lips,
He'd just have to spend a sleepless night trying to figure it all out, the answers weren't coming now.
Despite not wanting to be involved with anything happening around him, Buzz was still vaguely aware of a rise in volume, as many patrons spoke a welcome as someone of note joined them in the saloon.
It was just who the deputy had been thinking of.
Woody sat down at the bar beside him, a half empty drink already in hand, "I've been thinking" he declared after a very long wait of silence,
"Yes Sheriff?" Buzz replied, quirking an eyebrow,
"Andy's town isn't like other towns, is it?" he asked, his eyes focusing far off to something in the distance, something that wasn't there.
Buzz was surprised, impressed even, he'd never been proven to be wrong so quickly,
Woody did notice the place's strangeness after all?
"I- I would say not, no Sheriff" he frowned, lowering his tone, "It's a nice place, and like you said, the people are-" he faltered, "-lovely. But, I've never known a place like it, and the crime is-"
"Unacceptable" Woody said quickly, "I know it is, it's unacceptable and I've been sat on the side line, letting it happen for too long" he shook his head and brought his beer to his lips, swallowing down the rest of it in two large gulps,
Buzz's frown deepened, "How much have you had to drink Sheriff?",
"But today, you opened my eyes Buzz, you really did" Woody continued, either having not heard him, or choosing to ignore what he had asked. "No more feeling sorry for myself, and no more sitting on the side lines" finally he turned to look at Buzz, and now the expression on his face could only be described as sheer determination, "We'll find them Buzz, every single one of them, Bart, Betty, Jane, even the Doctor"
Buzz blinked, "Well- I'm glad to hear Sheriff" he then lifted his glass,
Woody smiled and rose his own empty drink to clash with it, "The investigation starts tomorrow, bright and early".