Kinski goes insane in this chapter. Enjoy! :)
The sun was already dipping low over the mountains and the thin pale moon was already out. We finally made it to our home. Bill and the gang drank bottles of alcohol and then passed out for the night. I ate whatever food there was in the crates and then fell asleep as well. As I slept, a horrible nightmare came to me. I was being chased by the townspeople of Dirt. They screamed and shouted at me. I flapped my wings as fast as I could, but it was no use. The townspeople pulled their guns and rifles out and shot my wings. I screamed in pain as I came crashing down-
I woke up gasping and sticky with sweat. I quickly moved the covers away from me and tried to slow down my breathing. I looked around to see if I woke anyone up. I didn't.
Bill and the gang were dead asleep. Bill stirred a bit, but then continued to snore loudly. Chorizo shifted over on his other side and didn't move after that. Stump and Kinski didn't move, except for some small movements of breathing. I got up, got a crate of fruit, and went outside.
It was still dark outside but I didn't mind as I walked up the hill to the stable. I was in charge of taking care of Kaliah since she wouldn't let the others come near her to touch her or feed her. The gang didn't care of her anyway. Kaliah's skeleton outline glowed brightly in the darkness.
"You got fruit? Good, I'm starving," said Kaliah as she came down from the beams and picked up the crate and went back upside down.
"Yeah, sorry I didn't come earlier, we were…hanging out in the town doing "evil things,"" I said with guilt in my stomach.
"What did you do? Did they make you do it?" asked Kaliah with a mouthful of fruit. She licked her lips and ate some more.
"I had no choice, I had to do it," I explained and told her what happened. "Priscilla now doesn't look at me as a hero anymore, she looks at me as a monster. I hate it! I hate this!" I said angrily and sat down on the ground. I buried my face in my wings. I felt my throat tighten and tears brimming my eyes. Kaliah dropped the empty crate. I heard it crash to the ground. I looked up at Kaliah. She rubbed her face with her wings
Cleaning off all the extra food and licking it up. I looked down at the ground. Banana peels, apple cores, and little grape branches littered the dirt ground below Kaliah where she hung upside down.
"The sheriff and his posse didn't say it was going to be easy, and the townspeople can't know, or the plan wouldn't work. You are doing it to save them. Some sacrifices have to be made to make it work… or else you and the townspeople are goners," said Kaliah.
I didn't say anything. Kaliah finished cleaning her face and licked her wings. I thought about what Kaliah said. She's right. They didn't say it was going to be easy. I knew it wasn't going to be easy either, but I'm surprised I have made it this far. I thought I was going to get killed on the first day,I thought to myself. Some sacrifices have to be made in order for it all to work. Yes, I can't get Priscilla and Ricochet in on this, that would get too risky and possibly lose our lives. I looked up at her. "You're right, I was chosen to do this to help them, so I must make them believe I am a bad person," I said. Then I stood up and rested my wings on the fence. "I just wish I could tell Priscilla and Ricochet," I sighed sadly. Kaliah nodded.
"I know you do, but that would ruin everything, no one must know…well, except for that sheriff and his posse," she said.
I sighed again, "Yeah, but I can't even go near them, or talk to them either," I said. "They know because it was their plan. Them on the outside, me on the inside, except I'm doing the hard part," I said. Kaliah shrugged.
"You're doin' a pretty good job so far. You seem to be handlin' it pretty well," she complimented.
I smiled, "Thanks, Kaliah. You're a good friend." Kaliah smiled back and nodded. Kaliah and I talked for a while longer till my eyelids started to get heavy. I said goodbye to Kaliah and headed back down the hill to the mines.
I entered the hideout and made my way back to were I slept. No one stirred. Just as I was laying down and pulling the scratchy cover up to my chin, I heard a faint groan. I turned over. Kinski shifted uncomfortably on his couch. He started muttering strange random things I couldn't understand. He was dreaming. His eyes were squeezed shut, as if what he saw, disturbed him. He kicked his legs, thus kicking the moth eaten sheets off him. He groaned and whimpered. As I watched him, I realized he was having a nightmare. He shifted and jerked violently.
Suddenly he screamed and opened his eyes. He sat bolt upright, gasping and heaving. He buried his face in his hands. I quickly closed my eyes, pretending to sleep. My ears twitched as I heard him sigh and get up from where he slept. I heard him get up and head to outside. I opened my eyes, just as he was pulling out his jacks from his pocket.
He disappeared through the tunnel. I laid there, staring at the black, gapping tunnel. I could hear his footsteps fading away till I couldn't hear them anymore. I felt my eyes get heavy. I wanted to get up and see if he was ok, but sleep got the better of me as I rested my head and fell fast asleep.
The next day…
We all arrived at the town and jumped off the wagon. Kinski was the last to jump off. His hair stuck up in all directions and his eyes were redder then before. "Are you ok, Kinski?" I asked him. Kinski ignored my question as he shouldered past me to the saloon. Stump came up from behind me.
"Don't worry about 'im, he's like that almost everyday," Stump explained and followed after him. "Si. He has problems sleepin'" said Chorizo as he passed by me after the two jackrabbits. I thought back to last night. Him having the nightmare. His violent thrashing. I started to wonder if he had nightmares all the time. I pushed the thought away as I walked in after them.
I pushed the saloon doors open and walked in and sat at the end of the bar. Kinski sat on the other side. He hunched over his drink and stared down at it. His tired eyes watched the amber colored liquid swirl around in his glass. His droopy ears lightly touched the counter. I stared at the dark colored bags under his eyes behind his bangs. He looked like he never had a decent sleep in years. His head would slowly lower, but then snap back up. Fighting with himself to not fall asleep on the spot. I felt sorry for him. The poor creature seemed trapped. Bill nudged Kinski's arm with his elbow. "You gonna drink that, boy?" he asked. Kinski didn't say anything as he stared down at the drink.
After waiting a couple seconds to answer, Bill carefully snaked his hand under Kinski's head to the glass. Kinski grabbed the glass before he could. He whipped his head around and growled loudly. He bared his sharp, rotting teeth. Bill jumped back, almost knocking me over. Stump and Chorizo scooted away from the wild rabbit. Kinski's tired eyes shifted over to me.
I quickly looked down at my glass of water, my shoulders raised up near my head. Kinski snarled before turning back to his drink. Bill swivelled back to his drink. He cursed under his breath. None of us said anything as we drank. After ten minutes of silence, Kinski lifted his head up from his glass.
Ricochet and Buford stood at the far corner of the bar, cleaning glasses. Buford seemed calm, while Ricochet trembled in fear. He jumped when he noticed Kinski staring at him. Kinski lifted his hand up and motioned him forward. Ricochet exchanged glances with Buford. Buford looked over at the tired rabbit, then back to the corkscrew armed rabbit. He nodded. "Go ahead," he muttered to him. Ricochet hesitated before coming up to the hunchback jackrabbit.
"Y-yes?" he stuttered. Kinski pointed to his glass. "Refill," he said in a drowsy voice. Ricochet looked down at Kinski's glass. It was filled to the top. He looked back up at the tall jackrabbit. "I-it's already full," he said. Kinski's eyes flickered down to the drink, then back up.
"Refill it," he said with a bit of firmness in his voice. Ricochet's body shook with fear. He turned his head to Buford, who just shrugged. Ricochet's eyes then shifted over to us for help. I looked over to Kinski, then back to Ricochet and shrugged as well . Ricochet looked over at Bill, Stump and Chorizo. They were as lost as I was. Kinski wasn't thinking straight. "I-its alr-ready f-full," stuttered Ricochet.
Suddenly, before anyone could blink, Kinski grabbed the front of Ricochet's shirt. Ricochet screamed as he was pulled out from behind the bar and thrown toward the saloon doors. Ricochet crashed into a table and chairs. Buford gasped as he exchanged glances with me. We watched in horror as Kinski snapped and snarled like a wild animal on his stool. Buford silently lifted his wooden bat from behind the counter, but Kinski whipped his head around and aimed his gun at Buford.
"Don't you dare!" he shouted, making Buford jump. He dropped the bat. Before anyone could do anything, Kinski wheeled around and jumped off his stool. He approached Ricochet. Ricochet rubbed his head with his good hand and groaned. He pulled off a chunk of wood that was stuck at the end of his corkscrew and brushed a couple chunks of wood from him. He looked up. His eyes widened in horror as he tried getting up from the debris. Kinski grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and lifted him up to his face. "Kinski! No!" I screamed. Kinski ignored me.
Ricochet struggled as he hung there in mid air. Bill, Stump, and Chorizo started to laugh. I was the only one who didn't laugh. It wasn't funny at all, it was horrible. The young, grey rabbit stopped struggling and looked up in fear at Kinski's outraged face. Kinski's eyes glared through Ricochet from behind his long bangs. His mouth was clamped down tight, revealing his sharp, rotting teeth. Drool seeped out and dribbled down his lip. Ricochet whimpered as Kinski shoved his gun against the young jackrabbit's forehead. He gripped Ricochet's neck tightly, cutting off his air. Ricochet choked and struggled for air. He kicked his legs helplessly. Bill, Stump, and Chorizo continued laughing.
I jumped off my stool and ran to the two rabbits. I didn't realize what I was doing before I grabbed Kinski's arm. I could feel Bill, Stump, and Chorizo staring at me in confusion as they stopped laughing and watched me try to stop an insane creature. Trying to stop an outlaw from hurting someone, but I didn't care. I didn't want Kinski to kill Ricochet.
"Kinski! Let go of him!" I screamed as I pulled his arm with all my strength. Kinski growled a low growl as he shoved me off. I fell backwards and slammed against a couple chairs. I crashed to the floor, groaning in pain as I cradling my bleeding wings. The three outlaws stopped laughing and gasped, realizing that Kinski was getting a little too out of hand, and needed to be calmed down.
Stump and Chorizo jumped off their stools and tried stopping Kinski. Stump pulled on the hunchback jackrabbit's arm, but Kinski's grip was too strong. Kinski shoved the short jackrabbit away from him. Chorizo tried jumping on top of Kinski, but the shrew was too short and fell. Kinski kicked Chorizo away from him and continued strangling Ricochet.
Ricochet struggled in Kinski's grasp, gasping for air. Kinski sneered and clicked the hammer back on his gun. Ricochet's eyes widened, but continued to struggle.
Kinski never had a problem with Ricochet. He actually liked the story how he got a corkscrew for an arm. He was different, just like him, but today, Kinski couldn't seem to grasp what was real, and what was fake as he strangled the young boy. His mind was lost, trapped in between the worlds of nightmareland, and real life. Years of endless, sleepless nights overwhelmed him…
Bill didn't move from his place. He knew better then to try and stop the insane rabbit. Stump and Chorizo got up and tried stopping Kinski again but it was no use. Kinski shoved the two away. They crashed against two tables. I looked up from my bleeding wings to Ricochet. The young, grey rabbit started to go limp. He stopped kicking and his arms flopped to his sides. Kinski's mouth curled upward into an evil grin. I gasped and quickly stood up from where I crashed. I took a deep breath and screeched at the two.
Kinski and Ricochet were pushed back from the screech. They were flung back away from each other and landed on the opposite sides of the room. A couple tables and chairs snapped and broke. Kinski's gun was knocked out from his hands and clattered across the floor. He fell back. His deformity smacked up against one of the wooden beams that supported the saloon from collapsing. He screamed in agony as fell to the floor. He jerked and twisted violently.
Ricochet fell against the ground gasping for air. He coughed and held his chest with his good hand. His chest rising and falling. Without thinking, I ran to Ricochet. I went down on my knees and placed my left wing on his back. Long strands of saliva made its way from Ricochet's mouth to the floor. His mouth was open, gasping and heaving.
"Are you ok?" I asked him. He didn't say anything, but slightly nodded. I looked up. Stump and Chorizo cautiously walked over to Kinski, who crumpled up into a little ball in the middle of what remained of a table. Splintered wood and cracked legs laid around Kinski's trembling body.
Stump and Chorizo gently helped their friend up, careful not to touch his hump. Kinski groaned and gingerly rubbed his deformity as he was led out from the saloon. Bill go up from his stool. He grabbed me by the wing and pulled me out, leaving Ricochet alone on the ground.
Buford came around the bar and helped Ricochet up. Ricochet watched as Banshee and the outlaws left the saloon and down the street. "You all right, son?" asked Buford. Ricochet lightly touched his sore throat and coughed again. "Yeah," he lied. The image of Banshee asking if he was allright came into his mind. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't seem to grasp it. His thoughts were interrupted when Buford turned him around and led him back to the bar. "Why don't ya sit down and rest, don't worry about the mess, I'll clean it up," said Buford as he got a broom from behind the counter and started sweeping up the splintered wood. Ricochet just sat there at one of the stools, thinking...