Night came. Kinski was wide awake in his cell. A small lantern glowed in the jail so I was able to see him. I carefully snuck up to the barred window. I hesitated. If I set him free, he may attack me again, I thought in my head. I looked down at the ground for a moment, then sighed in frustration. It's the only way to convince the gang that I'm on their side… the only way to save everyone in the town. I looked back up and stared through the bars to Kinski again.
The light gave him a sinister appearance. The dark shadows fell across his eyes as he sat there, hunched over. He stared down in his hands. I looked down and noticed something in them. A small red ball and ten metal jacks. They clinked against together.
I stared down at them for a minute. It was strange seeing a grown psychotic rabbit with a bunch of jacks in his hands. I averted my eyes from the jacks and gazed up at Kinski' shadowed face. He seemed scared... almost like a scared child. I cocked my head as I stared at him.
Suddenly, his head turned to me. I jumped. He noticed me at the barred window and sneered. I blushed, but quickly collected myself before he noticed. He glared at me. A low growl was heard from him, like a wild creature, warning the other to back off.
I narrowed my eyes and didn't say anything as I took a step back. As I did, I thought back when the posse asked me to scream at the boulder. The scream was so powerful, it made a huge crater in the earth. Could it work again? Could I scream at a wall and take it down? Only one way to find out.
Kinski raised an eyebrow at me. He placed his game into his pocket and stood up. I took a deep breath and screamed at the wall and barred window. Chunks of wall and rods of iron exploded. Kinski jolted backwards but regained his balance. Bits of cement wall smacked up against him but he ignored it. After the dust settled, he looked up and stared at me in disbelief.
Suddenly, all the lights in the town came on. The citizens looked out their windows. Kinski snapped out of his state of shock. He quickly bolted down the street and out of town. I followed after him. Gasps and shouts were heard behind me as the townspeople saw the damage in the jail. I didn't look back as I kept running. When Kinski and I finally made it out of the town, Kinski noticed me following him and slowed to a walk.
"Who Ze hell are you?" he asked in his German accent as I caught up with him. I narrowed my eyes. "Who the hell do you think I am?" I asked back angrily. I started to regret saying that, I didn't want him to hate me. Kinski growled. His left hand reached down near his side. He gasped and looked down, realizing that he forgot to grab his gun, which was still back at the jail. He cursed up a storm and kicked a rock. I stayed a good distance away from him.
Finally, Kinski lowered his arms and sighed angrily. He gave me a disgusted look and continued walking. I followed after him. He turned his head, noticing I was still following him. He walked faster. I walked faster. He spat the ground angrily. I After a couple minutes, he finally slowed down. I walked next to him, but was cautious. His jacks clinked in his pocket. He didn't seem upset that I was following him after that. I'm sure he was grateful for getting him out, but didn't want to admit it.
We kept walking till we found the abandoned mines. It was down in a small canyon. We walked around it to the other side. The land sloped down till it went to a dip and went back up. Kinski stopped at the bottom of the steep dip. A mine entrance stuck out from a huge dirt mound. He stopped and turned to me. He thought of saying something, but decided to not as he motioned his hand from me to the entrance. "Come on," he said, sighing in frustration. I ducked my head and walked in.
I shivered as the icy cold wind sliced through me through the small tunnel. The tunnel opened up into a huge room. It wasn't the room that Priscilla described, it was the room the gunslingers hung out in and lived in. There was a couple of stolen goods in boxes, old sofas, worn clothes and scattered wanted posters. It was like a tornado went through it. Bill, Stump, and Chorizo were sitting at a table, playing cards.
When they heard us come in, they jerked their heads up. "Kinski? What are you-?" asked Stump in surprise. Kinski escaped out of the town's jail. All three gunslingers' eyes widened when they noticed me. Kinski pointed to me. "She got me out," he said. The gang's mouths dropped. They stared at me from their chairs.
"The bat?" asked Chorizo. Kinski nodded, just as his eyes flickered to a discarded gun resting on the arm of a couch. He retrieved it and lifted it up to his left droopy ear. He gave the cylinder a spin. A series of clicks was heard. Kinski's mouth curled up into a creepy grin as he placed the gun into his empty holster.
I looked away from Kinski and back to the other gang members. Their eyes were still glued to me. Bill's eyes were the only ones that were narrowed. I fumbled with my bandaged wings nervously as Bill got up from his chair and approached me.
Stump and Chorizo got up from their chairs and stood next to Kinski. They started whispering something to him, but I couldnt hear. I stood frozen to the spot as Bill's eyes went up and down my body. He stopped and bared his teeth. "Did she say why she saved you?" Bill asked Kinski. Kinski looked at Bill. "No," he said.
Bill snarled, still glaring at me.
"You don't look like the outlaw type," Bill muttered. I kept myself from trembling. Bill doesn't trust me. I had to think of something fast. I bared my sharp teeth. My fangs jutted out. "There's more to then what meets the eye," I said through my clenched teeth.
Chorizo, Kinski, and Stump's eyes widened. They took a step back in fear. Bill just gave me an unimpressed look, but I saw fear in his eyes as well. My bared teeth turned upward into a creepy grin. Bill hesitated, but held his ground. My hardened face relaxed. I straightened up, still with the grin on my face. "Well, now that we got that straightened out, I was wondering if I could join your…little gang, heard you guys were the talk of the town," I lied, not sure if it really was true or not. The gang exchanged glances.
Bill finally found his voice. "We don't normally allow girls into the gang," he said. My smile disappeared. I raised an eyebrow, "Don't usually allow girls in, huh?" I shook my head. Bill sneered as he fingered his gun. I felt the blood drain from my face. I tilted my head upward to Bill, pretending i didnt notice the gun.
"Is there a test girls have to pass to join?" I asked. Bill didnt say anything. After a couple seconds of silence, Bill's scrunched up reptile face cracked a smile. Something sparked in his eyes…something mischievous.
"Oh… yes…nothin' big. Just a... simple task," he said, snickering. Bill's gang looked at each other confusingly. "What task, Bill?" asked Stump. Bill turned his head to his confused comrades. "We're going to give her a very challenging test," he said in a harsh tone. Then he turned back to me, "Then we'll see if she's worth joining our little gang," he finished, smiling slyly. Bill had something up his sleeve, and it wasn't going to be good.
I fumbled with my bandaged wings nervously as we rode in a wagon to Balthazar's place. Kinski, Chorizo, Stump, and I rode in the back of the wagon as Bill drove in the front. He whipped the reins. The boar, that was attached to the wagon, grunted and quickened its' pace. I stared down at my wings.
The task wasn't really what I had in mind, nor it was simple. I had to sneak in, steal a bat, and get out…without getting caught. It seemed impossible. At least it was one instead of five or fifty, but still, there was a million bats, a thousand prairie dogs, and one me. One false step and I'm dead.
The ride along the way was quiet. The gang didn't really want to talk to me. I didn't care. A lantern sat in the middle of the wagon so we could see each others faces. The gang would sometimes look at me, but then look out at the dark desert scenery.
After a couple of hours of silence, Chorizo and Stump couldn't take it any longer and broke the eerie, awkward silence. "Why do they call you Banshee again, senorita?" asked Chorizo in his Spanish accent. I turned to him, "because my screams are powerful enough to send objects hundreds of yards away," I answered trying to sound like it was no big deal.
"Can you do it anytime you want?" asked Stump. I nodded. He looked out to the scenery and pointed at a boulder. "Can you scream at that?" he asked. I slowly moved over to the other side next to Stump so I could get a better shot. The gang watched. I took a deep breath and screamed at it. A couple sonic waves erupted and made contact with the boulder.
Instead of flying through the air, it exploded into a million pieces. The scream startled the boar and jolted the wagon a bit. "Hey! Quiet down back there!" snapped Bill as he tried calming down the startled boar. Chorizo, Kinski, and Stump ignored it as they stared wide eyed at what was once left of the boulder.
Their mouths hung open. I sat back down. Stump and Chorizo scooted away from me, afraid of ending up just like the boulder. At least I convinced them, I thought to myself, shrugging that I wasn't able to send the boulder a couple feet away.
After a couple minutes of awkward silence, Stump and Chorizo started talking to me again. Kinski stayed quiet. He would sometimes listen in, but sometimes doze off or drink some alcohol from one of the bottles in the wagon.
We rode on, even when the sun came up. Bill would stop the wagon and let the boar rest as Chorizo, Stump, Kinski and I would get up and walk around, stretching our legs. Then we would get back in and ride on. My eyes felt heavy, but I didn't want to fall asleep, especially in a wagon full of gunslingers.
No one talked during the journey. The sun glared down on us. The gunslingers didn't seem affected to the sun, especially Kinski, who had longsleeve garments on, and on top of all that, he had thick fur. I placed my wings over my head to keep the heat from boiling my brain. I wasnt made for the heat.
The day wore on till the sun started to set. The sun gave off its last rays of golden light before it disappeared over the purple mountains. The white moon came out and billions of stars. We arrived at the Prairie Dog territory. Kinski Chorizo and Stump gripped the sides of the wagon nervously as they looked up at the canyon walls. We rode deeper and deeper into the canyon.
"We're here," muttered Bill as he pulled the reins. The boar stopped. We all jumped out and looked up at the carved out home where the bats and prairie dogs lived. "All right, the bats live at the very top, and some of 'em sleep in there, the others are off flyin' about," said Bill in a low voice. I nodded and started toward the carved out home.
"Bill? Why did you want her to do this task? We almost died trying to get a bat last time we came here. Hell, almost died when we barely escaped!" pointed out Stump."I know, that's why I'm making her do it. She'll be one less person to worry about," said Bill. The gang went silent.
"Suppose she does make it out?" asked Kinski, breaking the silence. Bill faced the hunchback rabbit with fury in his eyes. "I don't care if she makes it out! It's a very high possibility she wont make it, and a very small possibility she will, so lets just leave it at that!" snapped Bill.
"Will you let her join our gang if she does?" asked Chorizo. Bill glared at Chorizo. Then he glared at the two jackrabbits. He scowled at them. "Do you guys really believe that she'll make it out?" asked Bill, his jaw clenched. The gang exchanged glances. "Well, she does have a good advantage with that scream ability she has," piped up Chorizo.
Bill glared at them. Outraged that his own gang members actually believed in the bat, and wanted her to make it out. "She is NOT going to make it out!" he roared at them. The gang jumped. Bill grunted and faced the canyon. His fat stubby arms crossed over his chest.
"How much do you bet?" asked Stump, breaking the silence.
...
After a half an hour of silence, and going back and forth on the decisions, Banshee came screaming out of the home, riding a bat. "Cough it up Bill," said Stump smiling slyly, extending his arm out for the cash. Bill grumbled and slapped Stump upside the head. Stump muttered angrily and rubbed his sore head. Then Bill started running toward the wagon. "Come on! We gotta get out of here!" he yelled. The gang all jumped on the back of the wagon and followed after Banshee.
I screamed at the top of my lungs, also accidentally taking out the sides of the canyon as I rode on the bat. I looked down and noticed that the bat was painted in neon blue glow-in-the-dark paint. The paint went along the bat as an outline. Almost like a bat skeleton structure. A loud alarm went off.
I looked behind me and then noticed I was being followed by a swarm of other glow-in-the-dark bats. All in different neon colors and patterns. I guessed so the prairie dogs could recognize their bats at night. The swarm of bats screeched bitterly. I could hear Balthazar yelling at the top of his lungs. Giving orders to the riders. A group of bats came flying up next to me. I leaned forward.
My bat instantly went down and went down along the bottom of the canyon. Suddenly machine guns fired nonstop. Sparks flying from the machine. I steered my bat to dodge the bullets. I clung on to the fur of the bat's neck. It screeched in anger and confusion.
"Who are you? What are you doin'?" a voice asked.
"Huh? What? Did you talk?" I asked the bat as it went right side up and flew on.
"Yes, I did, Who are you?" it asked again. It was a female voice.
"It's sort of hard to explain at the moment," I said through gritted teeth as the group of bats flew near me. I forced the bat I rode to fly right. The bat flew alongside the canyon wall. The group of bats didnt have time to stop as they crashed into the canyon wall.
Suddenly explosions went off down below. I heard yelling and cursing. It was Bill and the gang. They were riding in the wagon. Their boar squealing in fear and running at top speed. I made the female bat go down and fly next to the wagon.
"Banshee!" yelled Stump and pointed. The others turned and saw me. I gave them a look, "Simple task, huh?" I said back to them sarcastically. Suddenly more explosions went off next to the wagon causing it to shake a little. "Just keep heading toward the exit!" yelled Bill. I nodded. The female bat flew higher up.
"Why are you doin' this?" the female bat asked again.
"I'll explain to you when we are through! Also how can I understand you?" I asked the bat as I dodged a canyon arch.
"You are a bat, just like me, the question is, how come you're not flyin'?" she asked.
"One of my wings is injured, got bitten from a coyote," I answered as we went higher up. Explosions of dynamite was heard behind me but I didnt look back. I heard Balthazar scream another order to a group of prairie dogs. "Boseefus! Jedadiah! Lasso that bat!" They all went after me.
I gripped the female bat's fur as she swerved around and through canyon formations. Suddenly my bat screeched as lassos wrapped around her neck and feet. We were going down. I could hear the prairie dogs laughing hysterically.
Suddenly, I felt my neck get lassoed and then jerked back. I screeched in pain as i clawed at the rope. My legs dug into the female bat's sides. A rock bridge exploded from my scream and came down on the bats behind us. Some got crushed, but some nearly made it. The rope was tightening around my neck. I felt myself slipping.
Just then, gunshots were heard from down below. One of the bullets snapped the rope that grasped my neck and I was free. I didnt have time to look down. I untied the rope around the female bat's neck. The other bullets hit the bats and the riders, causing the bats to zigzag and crash against the walls of the canyons. Neon explosions of color erupted. Machine guns and dynamite went off again. Some bullets nicked the female bat's wings. My bat screeched in pain and staggered a bit.
"What in tarnation!" yelled Balthazar. I turned my head around, noticing him right behind me, riding a bat. Then he hit the prairie dog who was shooting at my bat. "Ow! I-I'm sorry-" said the voice that belonged to the shooter. "Don't kill my bat!" Balthazar snapped. Oh no! This was Balthazar's bat?, I asked myself in my head. I felt my stomach twisting into thick knots. I leaned my head down near the female bat i rode. "Are you ok?" I asked Balthazar's bat.
"No, I'm not!" she snapped. Instantly, she started screeching wildly and flapping her wings faster. I held on as she tried bucking me off and started to slow down and turn back.
I gritted my teeth as I used all my strength to steer her back. Balthazar's bat and I fought in mid air. Balthazar's bat jerked her head back. Her sharp teeth snapped at me. I moved away from her gapping mouth full of sharp teeth, but still held on. Balthazar's bat turned her head back and flew down. Her wings gradually folded. She was going to suicide and try to take me with her.
When I realized what she was trying to do, I quickly yanked her fur, causing her to screech in pain. Her wings came out from under her. She pulled up just in time and flew low over the ground. She flew up right behind the wagon. She jerked violently.
"I need some help! The bat won't cooperate!" I yelled to Bill and his gang. Stump and Chorizo turned to Bill, hesitant. Kinski was the only one who didn't hesitate. He quickly grabbed some rope and tossed one end to me. I tied my end around Balthazar's bat's neck as he tied his end to the wagon. Balthazar's bat struggled and kept flying right and left. The wagon jolted a bit from the bat's strength but was able to anchor her.
We were almost out of the canyon. More explosions went off. Balthazar's bat pulled and jerked some more. Suddenly, another explosion went off close to the wagon. Balthazar's bat screeched and swerved away as far as the rope let her. One of the back wheels broke off, making the wagon lopsided. The gang held on to the sides for dear life. "Banshee! Scream at them!" yelled Stump.
Another explosion went off and the other back wheel flew off, almost hitting me. Chorizo almost fell off the wagon when the wagon hit a small ditch. Then Bill, Chorizo, and Kinski also started yelling at me to screech at the swarm.
"Don't do it! Please, whatever they are asking you to do. Please don't hurt my master and his family!" begged Balthazar's bat.
"I'm sorry, I have to, or they'll kill us," I said. I turned my head to face the swarm of bats. I took a deep breath...and screamed at them. Huge sonic waves struck the whole swarm of bats and prairie dogs. They all were sent flying back and crashed into the ground and walls. An explosion of neon colors lit up the whole canyon. I quickly closed my eyes from the bright lights. It was like a fireworks display. I heard Bill and the gang laughing and whooping.
"You better have a very good explanation why I shouldn't rip you to shreds!" snapped Balthazar's bat.
"Don't worry, I do," I said. My stomach twisting. I felt sick and horrible inside. I held on tightly to Balthazar's bat as she was pulled forward by the long rope tied to the wagon. The canyon opened up and we made it out, alive. As we left the Prairie Dog territory, the pitch black sky started to slowly lighten up. The shades of black changed to lighter shades of black and grey.