Warning: This chapter is kind of gory. Hope you enjoy.
Wounded Bird, Waffles, Doc and I dismounted our roadrunners when we got near the town. We crept along the outside of the buildings, away from Main Street. The outlaws were seen threatening the citizens with their new weapons. I narrowed my eyes when I saw one of the outlaws laugh at Ricochet as he trembled in fear. A couple other outlaws came around and started to harass him with their guns. In a different area, Two outlaws were seen jabbing their rifles at Rango. Petunia kept crying. Mrs. Rodent tried to keep her quiet as an outlaw shoved his gun against her face. I growled a low growl.
A wing touched my shoulder. I looked up. Wounded Bird shook his head. "Not yet," he whispered. I sighed silently and nodded. I couldn't take down all the outlaws at once, we had to think of a plan. I was jumping ahead of myself. We went inside a building from the back door.
We silently made our way through the house, lightly touching the floorboards before pressing our weight on it and moving on. Waffles whispered 'sorry' every time he stepped on a squeaky floorboard. Finally, we found a place. The outlaws couldn't see us through the windows. We kept out voices low as we sat down and figured out a plan.
"We have to figure out a way to take down the outlaws," said Doc. Waffles started to shake "How? There's so many of them! We can't fight all of them-!" started Waffles. "Shh!" Wounded Bird and I shushed. Waffles closed his mouth, he calmed himself down. "Sorry," he said in a low voice. My ears twitched to the sounds from outside. I could hear a couple citizens crying and praying. I heard a couple outlaws were heard clicking their hammers back on their guns to shut the citizens up. Thankfully they didn't hear Waffles.
"We have to figure out a way to get them to separate from each other, then we take them down one by one," I said. We talked in low voices as we figured out a plan. When our plan was worked out, we all stood up.
Crash! We all froze and turned. Waffles' eyes were wide. "Sorry," he said, picking up the chair he accidentally knocked over. I peeked my head out from behind the corner to the window. Outside, the gang members were staring right at the building we were in. "We got to get out of here," I whispered to Doc, Wounded Bird and Waffles. We briskly, but quietly made our way to the back door.
"Go search the building," said a gang leader to three of his members. The men obeyed. Blade pointed to two of his men and they made their way to the building. Hector grinned as he watched the six men file into the building. He turned back to his men and picked out three of his men. The three men followed right after the gang of six into the building.
The nine outlaws searched. We sat just outside the building, hiding behind a couple barrels. I would occasionally lift my head up and peer through the window to the outlaws. When two got close to our hiding spot, I went back down and crouched lower. Thankfully, they left where we were hiding and kept looking inside the building.
"Are there any citizens down there?" asked one of Hector's men as two came up from the basement. The two shook their heads. "No-" Bang! Bang! The two fell down dead. Suddenly, a gunshot was heard from above. An outlaw came tumbling down the stairs. A pool of blood formed around his lifeless body. Seconds later, two of Hector's men came down the stairs. Smoke trailed out of the end of their rifles.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps was heard. A gang member from a different gang bolted into the room Hector's men were in. "I heard shooting. What happened?" he asked. All three of Hector's men raised their rifles and pumped him full of lead. Bang! Bang! Bang! The gunslinger fell down dead.
The three laughed. "Man, these guys are so stupid," said one. The other two just kept laughing. Suddenly, two outlaws came out from behind the wall and shot the laughing men. Hector's men fell down dead. The two men from Blade's gang smirked. "We were just gonna say the same thing to you guys," said one of them. Then they left the building.
Wounded Bird and I exchanged glances. They were killing each other. "Money," I whispered to Wounded Bird. He nodded. "Greed." he said. I looked over to Doc and Waffles, who were both thinking the same thing. If they are killing each other off, how many remain? I wondered. I decided not to worry about it any longer as Wounded Bird, Doc, Waffles, and I got up from our hiding spot and made our way around the building.
"Hector, where's Skimp? He didn't come back when yer gang member, Rye, came back with that citizen," asked a gang leader, a blonde haired cat wearing jeans held up by suspenders. Hector lit a cigar and placed it into his mouth. "Skimp? He didn't come back?" asked Hector innocently.
The gang leader snarled. At lightning speed, he grabbed Hector by the front of his shirt. "Don't play stupid with me you ass!" the gang leader snapped. Hector socked the gunslinger in the face. The leader loosened his grip on Hector's shirt and fell backwards. Hector took out his cigar.
"Shut it, Klaus! He ain't my man! You should watch yer bastards more closely! Why don't you go and look for 'im then!" shouted Hector. The gang leader, named Klaus looked up at Hector with pure hatred. His nose was broken with blood oozing out. Klaus knew something was wrong with Hector. He never got angry at anyone… only unless it had to do with money. Klaus cursed under his breath. Damn, the money, thought Klaus as he got up from the ground. He spat a long stream of tobacco to his right side as he glared at Hector. "You killed him," said Klaus.
Hector glared back at Klaus. He crushed his cigar in his hand. "I did no such thing," said Hector as he dropped the cigar remains to the ground. Klaus bared his teeth. His blonde bangs fell over his eyes. "You made Rye kill him!" he shouted. A couple gunslingers turned. Hector didn't flinch. "You are killing us so you can get yer hands on the money! You want a bigger share!" snapped Klaus, his ears flicked back and his lips curled back, revealing his fangs.
Hector looked over to everyone else, then back to the cat. Before Hector could say anything, Klaus attacked. Hector was shoved to the ground. He screamed in pain as Klaus pinned him down to the ground and started to claw at his face. Hector jerked his head and kicked his legs frantically. He reached for his gun that landed inches away from his hand. Klaus snarled as he slashed at Hector's face. Hector used his free hand to hit Klaus as he stretched his other hand for his gun. The outlaws watched the two fought. Some exchanged glances, not sure whether to stop them, or to just let them fight to the death.
Finally, Hector grabbed his gun and shot Klaus in the stomach. Klaus gasped. His claws stopped inches from Hector's face. Hector narrowed his eyes and shoved the limp cat off him. Klaus fell to the dirt road. A pool of blood formed around him. His wide, pale blue eyes were still open. Hector slowly got up from the ground. He used the end of his shirt to wipe the fresh blood from his face. Claw marks were seen raked across his face in deep red gashes.
He looked up at the other outlaws. He looked over at the dead Klaus one last time before pulling out another cigar and lighting it. "Crazy bastard," muttered Hector as he left the circle, back to his gang. The gunslingers stared down at the dead Klaus.
Meanwhile…
"Shut it!" snarled an outlaw as he used the butt of his rifle to hit someone in the head. The citizen screamed in pain and fell to his side. The posse sat cross legged on the ground with their hands behind their heads. Hector's outlaw, Rye, watched them. Rango's posse listened to a couple of the gunslingers' conversations.
"When do ya think Bill's comin?" asked one outlaw to another. The other one shrugged. "Dunno, but he'd better hurry, I hate havin' to stand here all day, this "baby sittin'" is as boring as hell."
Elgin watched Rye as he eyed them. He sneered at Elgin when he noticed him glaring. When Rye's eyes flickered away from him, Elgin silently pulled out a small gun out from his boot. When the outlaw's back was fully turned, he got up and wrapped one of his arms around the man.
The outlaw tried to scream, but was cut off then he felt the nose of the gun digging deep into his back. "You scream. I pull the trigger." snarled Elgin. The outlaw's eyes instantly widened and dropped his gun. Elgin tilted his head to the posse. "Go," he said. The shocked posse quickly got up and scattered.
"The citizen's are escaping!" yelled Rye. Elgin jabbed the end of the gun deeper into Rye's back, but it was too late. Elgin felt the end of a gun against his temple. "Let Rye go," muttered a gruff voice. Elgin cursed under his breath and loosened his grip on Rye. Rye snickered as he moved away from Elgin. The gunslingers ran after the posse.
Doc watched from the shadows as the posse bolted in different directions. The outlaws chased them down. Ambrose was tackled down. Buford screamed in pain as bullets nicked his right shoulder. He slowed down and was captured. Mr. Furgus and Sergeant Turley's legs were lassoed. They both tripped and fell. Spoons and the rest of the posse were jumped on and pinned down to the ground.
Beans screamed as she was grabbed by her hair and chucked down next to the rest of the posse. One of Hector's men pointed a gun at the posse. Everyone's eyes widened and went quiet.
"Don't anyone scream or make a sound!" hollered Hector's man. Doc sneered as he came out and stood in the middle of the street. He raised his rifle from behind the outlaw and fired. Bang! Hector's gang member collapsed. Doc lowered his rifle. He bolted away when six members of a gang ran after him.
Waffles and Wounded hid on opposite sides of the street. When Doc ran past them and the gang appeared, they shot them. The remaining gangs gasped at the sight. The posse took their chance and ran. The gang members chased after them again.
The posse had a head start and grabbed a couple discarded guns. They turned and fired at the gunslingers as they ran. Five gunslingers collapsed to the ground and died. The rest of the gunslingers pulled out their guns and fired. Beans fired at the three men who held Rango prisoner.
She ran to him. "Rango!" she called and went down on her knees. Rango lifted himself up from the ground. He coughed and looked up at Beans. He smiled as he got up and lifted Beans up from the ground. Beans and Rango snapped out of their gaze as more gunshots were heard. Citizens scattered as the gang members were shot to the ground. Gunslingers brought out their guns and fired at the running citizens.
Elgin took his chance. He grabbed the gun from a distracted outlaw and shot him. Bang! He whipped and shot the other outlaws around him. Bang! Bang! Bang! The gunslingers fell to the ground. Elgin sneered as he whipped himself around. Rye was halfway down the street. Elgin aimed and fired. Bang! Rye went down. He screamed as he clutched his bleeding leg.
Elgin slowly walked to the screaming outlaw as citizens and other gang members ran and collapsed around him. Rye looked up at the black bobcat. He bared his teeth angrily. "What are you lookin' at? Kill me already!" Rye screamed. Elgin didn't kill him. Rye screamed in pain some more. "Kill me!" Rye screamed again. Elgin didn't flinch as he glared down at him. Blood poured out of Ryes leg. Elgin watched the outlaw suffer till he was fed up with it. He raised the gun and shot Rye. Rye's head lowered. His eyes wide open, but cold and lifeless. His body went limp. He was dead.
Main Street was filled with chaos. Blood was spilt, bodies twisted and went limp on the dirt road. Roadrunners screamed and bolted in all directions from the gunshots. Citizens were shot down and wounded. I ran and helped Ricochet and Priscilla and led them out of the chaos. After that, I made my way to the Rodent Family. They gave me a look of fear, but then relaxed. I led the way as bullets whizzed past us. The family filed into a building and stayed there.
A couple citizens fought back as they grabbed a couple guns from the dead bodies of outlaws and began firing. The gunslingers pulled out more weapons and fired back. Bullets flew through the air and tore through flesh and bone. Blood squirted out of a citizen that stood next to me. I screamed at a gang. They were sent flying backwards, tumbling down the street. I doubled over and wrapped my wings around my bleeding stomach.
Doc grabbed my shoulders and led me to a nearby building. A couple citizens charged the fallen gunslingers. The battle wore on. Doc swung the door open and led me inside a room full of citizens. They whimpered in fear. Parents held their children tightly. Husbands comforted their wives. Loud series of gunshots were heard, deafening everyone. .
I flinched as Doc placed more medicine over my wound and wrapped more bandages. I looked out the window to the battle. A bullet shattered the window, startling everyone. Screams and shouts were heard over the gunshots. Blood splattered against the windows. I got up, but Doc forced me to lay down. "No, you must-" he started. Suddenly, Rango barged in. "Doc! We need yer help!" he said, panicking. Doc got up and rushed out the door. Rango ran right behind him. Right after they left, I slowly eased myself up and made my way to the door.
Hector clutched his right shoulder as he made his way to the roadrunners. All his gang members were dead. Hector sneered as he got up and rode out. "That money is mine," he sneered as he rode toward the Abandoned Mines. A couple other gangs jumped onto their roadrunners and rode away. They didn't care about the money anymore, all they wanted was to get out of the town.
I walked outside and stopped. The battle was gradually dying away. The remaining outlaws were bolting to their roadrunners and fleeing the town. I sighed with relief. Lots of blood stained the road. It was a horrific scene to see.
Just then, I noticed Bill standing at the other end of the street. He just arrived at the scene. The dead bodies of outlaws littered the ground. His eyes flickered over to mine. He gasped in shock and rage. I was alive. "Goddammit!" He screamed and cursed a couple more times. I stared back at him. I slowly walked and stopped in the middle of the street. Stump and Chorizo stood beside Bill and growled at me angrily.
When I noticed that Kinski wasn't with them, I started to worry. Bill bared his teeth. "How many times do I have to try to kill you?" Bill screamed at me as he raised his gun. "I have to do everything myself these days!" he shouted in frustration and fired a couple rounds.
I jumped out of the way in time behind a barrel. The bullets erupted over my head, going right through the wood and leaving holes. I pressed my wings over my ears and squeezed my eyes shut. Clicks were heard after the gunshots. I sighed with relief and got up.
I froze when I noticed Stump and Chorizo aim their guns at me. Click! Stump cursed angrily. His guns were out of bullets. My eyes shifted over to Chorizo. Chorizo growled angrily. His eyes flashed red. He aimed his gun at me. "I never miss," Chorizo's voice echoed in my head. I stood there, frozen stiff, staring wide eyed at the shrew. Chorizo sneered as he raised his guns. I held my breath, my heart pounding fast.
Suddenly, Chorizo's eyebrows raised. He lowered his gun and took a step back. Stump and Bill did the same. I turned my head and found Rango, Beans, Waffles, Wounded Bird, Spoons, Elgin, Mr. Fugus, Ambrose, Buford, Sergeant Turley, Doc, and the rest of the citizens of Dirt standing right behind me. Their weapons cocked and aimed right at Bill's face.
Bill and his henchmen took a step back from the townspeople. Fear filled their eyes. I turned back to the outlaws and narrowed my eyes. Their eyes flickered down to me. With that, they bolted back to their wagon and rode away till they were out of sight. The citizens cheered. Rango hugged Beans. "We did it!" he shouted.
Everyone whooped and jumped for joy. "Did ya see the look on Bill's face?" laughed a citizen. "Bad Bill and his men wont be comin' here anymore!" said another. The citizens laughed. They defeated Bill and foiled his plan. As everyone walked away and started to help the wounded, I stopped in my tracks.
Kaliah, they still have Kaliah, a voice rang in my head. I felt my heart skip a beat. I turned my head back to where the faint outline of where the Abandoned Mines was. I had to save Kaliah. Just then, a wandering roadrunner appeared in my sight. It must have been one of the outlaws' roadrunner. I smiled. I approached the roadrunner with caution. I climbed up on the roadrunner and swung my leg over. I steered it toward the Abandoned Mines and whipped the reins. The roadrunner picked up speed and made its way toward the Abandoned Mines.
At the Abandoned Mines…
Kinski stared up at Kaliah. His arms rested on the fence that bordered the stables. Bill told him to stay and watch over the bat, and Loyal. Bill didn't trust Loyal at all. Kinski turned his head to the dog. Loyal sat on the boxes of money, his hands clasped in his lap. He stared straight ahead in the direction of the town, waiting patiently for his leader to come back. Kinski rolled his eyes and looked back at Kaliah.
Kaliah hung from the rafters in sadness. Her wings were limp and sore. She was still in pain from when the gang shot her down. Kinski fished his jacks out and fumbled with them. At the corner of his eye, he noticed Loyal staring at him. Kinski narrowed his eyes and faced the dog.
"What are you lookin' at?" he snarled. Loyal quickly averted his eyes away from the hunchback jackrabbit. Kinski grunted and turned his head back to his game. He blew a couple strands of bangs out of his face. After a while, Kinski finally placed his jacks back into his pocket. He stared at the end of the rope that was tied to the stable and then followed it up to where the other end was tied to Kaliah's foot. He picked at the knots that were tied to the stable, loosening them a bit. Kaliah lifted her head, her ears pricked up at the small sounds.
Suddenly, Kinski stopped when he heard something coming. Loyal's ears perked up. A roadrunner was seen coming. Kinski walked down the hill and watched as the roadrunner approached the mines. It was Hector. Kinski blinked in confusion. Hector slowed his roadrunner down when he got close to the dog and hunchback jackrabbit. He jumped off and clutched his right shoulder in pain. He straightened up and staggered over to Loyal.
"Where is everyone?" asked Loyal. Hector winced as a jolt of pain ran up and down his right arm. He narrowed his eyes at Loyal. "They're gone," he said. Loyal's eyes widened. "All of them?" he asked. Hector shook his head as he raised his gun. "Not all," he said. Bang! Loyal collapsed to the ground.
Kinski gasped, his eyes widened at Hector. He took a step back. His fingers touched his gun. Hector whipped around to Kinski. He raised his gun to the hunchback jackrabbit. A creepy evil grin appeared on Hector's face. "Don't worry, I didn't ferget about you," he said. Kinski froze in his tracks. He removed his hand from his gun. Hector's evil grin widened as he pulled the hammer back. His finger slowly squeezed the trigger.
Just then, Hector felt three barrels shove up against the side of his temple. His finger eased up on the trigger. Kinski sighed with relief. "You have five seconds to git the hell out of here," said a gruff voice behind Hector. Hector slowly lowered his gun. The barrels of the three guns slowly eased away from his temple. Without hesitating, Hector bolted to his roadrunner and fled. When he was out of sight, Bill turned to his henchmen.
"Git those boxes of money and put 'em back inside!" ordered Bill. Stump and Chorizo obeyed. Bill whipped his head to Kinski, who flinched. "Git yer ass over 'ere and help!" he shouted. Kinski shuffled over and helped with the boxes of money. "What happened?" he asked Stump and Chorizo. The two short men didn't answer him as they picked up a box. They muttered angrily under their breath.
Suddenly, the sound of flapping was heard. Bill turned his head. Kaliah was flapping and screeching. The rope was loose, and she was trying to escape. "Goddammit! Git that bat!" shouted Bill. Chorizo was the first to react and ran to Kaliah. The female bat screeched and flapped her wings angrily as Chorizo grabbed the rope. He cursed in Spanish as he tried keeping the bat from flying away.
"Ug! Guys! A little help!" he shouted. Kinski and Stump dropped the boxes they held in their arms and ran over to help him. They ran into the stable and pinned the bat's wings down. Kaliah fought them till all her strength left her. Chorizo tied the rope that was still connected to Kaliah to the stable. Knotting the rope tightly. Kaliah screeched weakly and licked her wings. Stump and Kinski left the stable and sat down in exhaustion. "Hurry up you bloats!" yelled Bill. Stump, Kinski and Chorizo sighed as they walked down the hill to their boss.
They each grabbed a crate of money and filed into their hideout. "I don't understand why we still have that bat, she's hard to control, lets just let her go," said Stump. Bill slapped the jackrabbit upside the head, "No! we're not getting rid of the bat! Not yet! You stupid-Jake!" screamed Bill in shock as he entered the hideout. Rattlesnake Jake was seen in the middle of their hideout. He was waiting for them. Bill's gang looked up and gasped in horror at the snake. The boxes of money slipped from their fingers and crashed to the floor. Jake hissed angrily.
Instantly, the gang fought their way back the way they came. Shoving each other out of the way and pulling each other back to get to the entrance first. Jake bared his fangs and hissed loudly. At lightning speed, his tail flicked around and whipped the gang members from the exit and covered it with his tail. The gang rubbed the back of their heads and groaned. They gasped when Jake's outraged face appeared in front of theirs. They were trapped.