FINALLY! For some reason I've been struggling really hard with this one o_o! Sorry for the long wait...
*** Chapter Three : Rimrock ***
The sun had barely began to peek up above the horizon when Hicks snuck out. He head directly towards the livery stable and drew an inner sigh of relief when he saw that Rangos black roadrunner still was in her stall. Hopefully, he'd have a couple of hours headstart now!
Both his 'parents' and the sheriff would go through the roof if they knew about this, so he had gone out before the rest of the town woke up as well. He knew Mr and Mrs Greene would worry about him, and he always felt bad for worrying them by being a bountyhunter and all, but this time it was for real. This time he had found out the whereabouts of the very man who pulled the trigger on his parents, and he was sure to know something about the one behind it all: Joey Garcia. He could NOT let this chance fall into someone elses hands! Especially not Rango, since he seemed to kill all his bounties, and unless someone discovered how to bring the dead back to life, there were no way in which anyone could interrogate a dead person.
So he quickly saddled his roadrunner, threw his light packing over the back of the saddle and rode out of the town. To his relief, he never saw as much as a glimpse of the other bountyhunter. Good! He needed all the time he could get!
Though on his way to Rimrock, he realized he was passing through his old home and for reasons not even he could fathom, he decided to turn into the remains of the farm. Just paying his old folks a visit...
For eleven years, the charcoaled remains of the old Red family farm had been left to the mercy of the nature. The ruins were covered in reddish sand, and practically all that remained was the well, the stove and the chimney of the house and the brick foundations of the barn. Along with a few charred stumps of wood sticking up here and there. It had been years since anyone as much as set a foot here.
He remembered that the farm had been the most affected victim of the drought that had lasted for years, and the only thing they had been able to grow was corn and potatoes. Though ironically, a couple of weeks after his parents death and funeral, it had started to rain, and for a while, the farm had been completely overrun by plants and vegetation! But now, it was back to its dry, sandy state.
His family had been small, poor and exposed, but they were happy. Even if his mother sometimes forced him to play piano, and even if his father sometimes would ride away with those bad men and stay away for weeks in a rows. His mother was the kindest and most loving woman on Earth, and his father was strong, brave and fun, and no matter how long he stayed away he'd ALWAYS be back in time for dinner! For potatoes and corn. What he wouldn't give to be eating nothing but potatoes and corn again...
He caught himself wiping a stray tear away from the corner of his eye. This place brought back so many memories that he asked himself why in tarnation he'd EVER wanna go back here! So, with a low last goodbye to the remnants of his childhood home, he turned his roadrunner around and continued to Rimrock, now more eager than ever to get his hands on Harry Cold!
…
Rimrock was only a couple of hours away from Bedrock, and was a mountainside town that rested dangerously close to a steep cliff, with only a tall palisade wall to protect them from the drop. The town wasn't very big, but it wasn't a smalltown either. It was somewhere in the middle.
And in the mountains above the town and its drop, was an old, abandoned mineshaft where Harry Cold had his headquarters, along with a few men he had handpicked to follow him. Outside the entrance to the mine was Harry and two of the men sitting around a campfire, whose fire had long since burnt out and only charcoal and cold ashes were left inside the ring of rocks. The lizard with the dark turquoise eyes were silently staring down at the cold campfire, while the other two, a doormouse and a red-eyed treefrog, was arguing about something but Harry had since long shut them out. He was too deep into his own thoughts to even notice that they were there. It was only when he heard the distant rumbling of an approaching roadrunner and rider that he became aware of his surroundings again and looked up just as a rider, the third member of his little 'gang', arrived.
"Cold!" The rider, a possum, hollered, and Harry arched a quizzical brow. The other two piped down too, the possum was alarmed by something and whatever he was here to say didn't seem to bode well for any of them! "I was down in Rimrock, a-an' I was just passin' the sheriffs office...!" He jumped down from his roadrunner and sprinted the short distance left between him and the others. "A-an' I heard that they're sendin' a bountyhunter, Cold! Sheriff Mortimer in Bedrock has sent a bountyhunter out fer ya!"
Harry didn't budge his emotionless face. "That's all?" He said after the possum went silent to catch his breath. "We've dealt with bountyhunters before, Fickle, what's so special 'bout this one?"
Fickle, the possum, gulped and glanced over at the direction to the town. "I-I heard it's Rango, Cold. Rango! You've heard 'bout 'im, right?"
The mouse and the frog exchanged a nervous glance while Harry once again appeared unfazed. Of course he's heard about Rango. Who hadn't heard about Rango? "When will he be here?"
"I-I think they said this afternoon, Cold"
Harry didn't say anything. Instead, he quietly got up from the log he was sitting on and walked towards the mines entrance. "Keanan, Joss, Fickle" As he said the names of his men still with his back towards them, they all tensed up and watched him. "Y'all better go make yourselves ready; we're paying Rimrock a visit tonight"
…
Hicks watched the sign that said 'Rimrock', and then glanced at the town, seemingly balancing on the edge of the world. He had never been in Rimrock before, but he was still familiar with it and knew that sheriff Mortimer and sheriff Cobs of Rimrock were childhood best friends. Therefore, a good reason to keep his distance to the sheriff, if possible. The last thing he wanted was to have Cobs getting suspicious towards him and alert sheriff Mortimer, thus probably causing a whole lot of problems for them all.
He entered the town just as the clock on a church further away struck twelve and managed to get both a stall in the stable for his roadrunner, and the cheapest room in the hotel. The next hours he spent doing some research in the town. Everyone knew Harry Cold stayed somewhere in the area, although they had no idea where. And nobody dared to keep their doors unlocked as long as the outlaw was in the area, and the rumors that the bountyhunter Rango was coming had spread like a wildfire. Everyone was hoping that he would be able to defeat Harry once and for all and finally put him to justice. For some reason, it all annoyed Hicks greatly, hearing the townspeople praise the bountyhunter in black before he even got the job done! Hell, Hicks wasn't even sure if he really DID all those things they say he did! Like, taking out an entire gang of bankrobbers on his own, or meeting the Spirit of the West! Sure, his roadrunner had appeared to be different from the common stock, that he had to admit, but her rider was possibly just a big liar!
When Hicks had rode into town, nobody had batted an eye. But when the other bountyhunter rode into town a couple of hours later, there had been a big commotion on the streets. Hicks had been sitting in his hotel room, cleaning his gun when he heard the mass gather outside. He got up from his chair and looked out the window, only to sigh heavily when he saw Rango ride through the street.
He saw the sheriff run up to Rango and talk to him about something, but was interrupted when a journalist scurried in between and tried to get the bountyhunters attention. Probably to interview him, that hack. But instead, Rango dismounted and followed the sheriff to the station, his bird angrily snapped her beak at the journalist before following her master, but this time she seemed to stay on the outside.
Hicks muttered something to himself and went back to his gun on the table. So much for a head start! Now both of the bountyhunters were here, out to get Harry Cold and so far, the odds weren't exactly in Hicks' favor.
…
That night, after having spent the rest of the afternoon doing some reconnaissance in the surrounding forest, Hicks contemplated going down to the saloon. Both to get a drink and to see if he could get someone to give him any leads on Cold. He knew the other bountyhunter had very likely already done so, probably with better results than Hicks would get, but it was worth a shot.
Conveniently enough, the town only had one saloon which was just further down the street from the hotel Hicks stayed at. It was getting late and the men working in the surrounding ranches and the forest were already thirsty, and was starting to occupy the place. Hicks winced; crowded, noisy places really wasn't his thing, but if it would help him get closer to Cold...
Nobody seemed to be paying any attention to the young coyote as he entered through the swinging door, so he quietly made his way to the bar and sat down on one of the tall chairs. Immediately, a female lizard wearing a revealing red dress and her black hair tied in a loose braid appeared behind the bar, leaning her right hand on the surface.
"So" She said and twirled a strand of black hair around her finger. "What's it gonna be, cowboy?"
"Information" Hicks answered and she raised an eyebrow at him.
"Uh-huh? 'Bout what?"
"'Bout Harry Cold"
She went silent for a while, staring at him with an unimpressed look on her face. "Don't say nuthin'; you're that other bountyhunter who's here to catch him, huh?" Hicks didn't answer, so she sighed and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the counter. "Listen, kid, they've already hired a pro to git'im, a real badass, so don't go wastin' yer energy on this; I'm pretty sure this 'Rango' fella have it in the bag already!"
"Is that so?" Hicks growled lowly, but the lizard just threw her braid over her shoulder and nodded.
"Yeah, so if I were you'd I'd git myself a drink or two, jus' have a good time an' then go find myself some new poor soul to drag in" She made a gesture to the shelf of bottles behind her. "So, cowboy; what's it gonna be?"
Hicks didn't answer her. Instead, he slowly turned around so he was facing the rest of the saloon, leaning backwards against the bar. "Hey!" He hollered over the sound of men drinking, laughing and whooping. "I'm lookin' for Harry Cold, an' I know y'all are familiar with him!" The saloon silenced down for a moment, and the attention was turned to the young coyote by the bar. Hicks looked at them without changing his expression from the same cold glare. "If anyone knows where I can find him, speak up! I have a bone to pick with him!"
"You've got a death wish, boy?" Someone said from the crowd and and agreeing chuckle went through the saloon.
"Yeah, jus' leave it to Rango!"
"You'd only be diggin' yer own grave, kid! Let the professional deal with men like Cold!"
And as the crowd went back it its noisy, drunken business, Hicks growled and flattened his ears to his neck. Why didn't they take him seriously?! The other bountyhunter couldn't be that many years older than him!
The female lizard once again sighed and shook her head. "I told'cha, cowboy" She said and leaned over the counter again. "Leave Harry to the pro! He'll git that bastard locked up in no time!"
Hicks gritted his fangs. "I can't let him do that..." He said lowly. "I've gotta score to settle with Cold..."
"So does we all, but he's way out of our league! Yers too!"
He threw a last glare at the lizard, then he turned his back on her and left through the door. He was bitterly making his way back to the hotel with his hands in his pockets as a cold wind swept through the street he was walking on. He needed to get his hands on Cold before Rango did, but unless people stopped underestimate him, he'd remain clueless! All he knew was that Cold was hanging out somewhere in the mountains, together with a small, yet lethal, gang. Sometimes they come down to Rimrock on a raiding spree, only to leave just as suddenly as they came. Though nobody knew for sure what they were doing here in Rimrock, or even where they came from.
Hicks had just reached his room when a sudden gunshot was heard. He stopped and perked his ears as the sound of roadrunners coming into the town was heard, shortly followed by more, haphazardly fired gunfire. Yanking his gun out of his holster, he ran up to the window and peeked down, just as a gang rode in on the street underneath. The gang stopped not too far from the hotel so he could still see them, and noticed that the gang consisted of a doormouse, a possum-rat and some sort of green frog, and they were all being led by a tall, dark greenish turquoise lizard. The coyote tensed up when he recognized the lizard; it was HIM! Harry Cold! It HAD to be him! He began to tremble, still holding the gun in his hand, and his heart began to hammer so hard that it was getting difficult for him to hear what the lizard was shouting.
"So, I've heard there's someone here who's been looking for me, huh?!" Harry hollered and held his nervously tip-toeing roadrunner back. In his gangmembers hands were smoking guns as they were looking around for any hidden shooters. "Rango, is that correct?!"
People were hurrying to get away from the streets and hid themselves in their homes or the stores, nobody wanted to be around now when the outlaws were in town again. Hicks couldn't move from his spot, still looking out through the cracked window down at the street. He didn't care that the outlaw had come for Rango; he was here! He was just mere FEET away from him! He COULD easily kill him from this distance!
He raised his revolver to pull the trigger back, but changed his mind. It would be wrong to shoot him down from here, hiding in his room. Besides, he much rather wanted to see the man hanged for his crimes, and NOT just for the death of his family! Hicks made up his mind, holstered his gun and ran down the stairs.
But upon arriving to the streets, he noticed that a crowd had began to form again, everyone's attention was turned to the two lizards on the street, facing each other; Rango and Harry Cold. How could the other bountyhunter have gotten there so fast?! Hicks stayed back, angrily gritting his fangs with a shaking hand hovering above his gun.
"I'll be honest with you; I hate bountyhunters" Harry said as he and Rango was watching each others every move.
Rango nodded. "That's understandable. I'd do too"
"I hate it when they're snooping around, acting like they know what they're doing..."
"Did'cha seriously just call me out to insult me an' my profession? Wow! Ya should be called Harry Bold!"
"Not at all" Harry shook his head. "Since I don't see the use in trying to avoid the unavoidable, I've decided that we should just finish this here and get it over with"
"Ah, you've come to turn yourself in, eh? Great! Saves me a LOT of trouble-...!"
"What?! No! I'm here to settle this with you like men! Face to face, in a duel!"
"Oh..." Rango did a disappointed sigh. "To tell ya the truth; I ain't much for duelin'... But I guess I ain't got much of a choice if I wanna catch ya, huh?" Harry nodded, and Rango tilted his head to the side. "An' it's to the death, I presume?" He asked, and Harry nodded again. Rango replied by grinning. "Good!"
Hicks flinched. If the bountyhunter killed Cold now, Hicks would be back on square one with NO clues what-so-ever about Garcia and his hideout! He HAD to stop them somehow! He watched as the two lizards took a couple of steps away from each other, getting themselves ready to draw..
Rango threw a skeptical glance at Harrys three companions. "How do I know yer friends over there won't interfere?" He asked and narrowed his eyes at them.
"They won't" Harry said, and they nodded in agreement.
"Nah, we won't have to!" The treefrog said and grinned, the other two chuckled.
"Good, keep thinkin' that!" Rango nodded and turned his attention back to Harry.
The two lizards stood like that, frozen to the ground. Just waiting. Hicks looked around and noticed what they were waiting for; the big clock perched on top of the church at the end of the street was mere seconds away from eight o' clock. They were waiting for the clock to strike, and on the last strike they'd draw. Hicks made it to the front row and glanced at the man to the left, a jackrabbit. And a ranch worker judging by the strong javelina-smell coming from him. He was carrying a gun on his right side, just like Hicks.
Hicks clenched his jaw and let one of his hands sneak closer to the other mans gun, the other one hovered over his own. He was focusing on the sounds from the clock, every nerve in his body was tense and ready to spring. He had never been in a duel before, but he had heard about the massive adrenaline rush you get, and even if he wasn't one of the duelists here, he was still on the verge of going mad as he felt the blood boil in his systems and his heart racing madly. The two real duelists however, didn't seem to budge. They just watched each other with the same cold, determined face, not even breathing as the waited for the clock to strike.
The entire town was dead-silent, everyone seemed to be holding their breaths. The sun was getting closer to the horizon, the streams of light was covering the town in cold shadows, but the two lizards didn't care. They were only seeing their opponent, and listening for the clock.
Dong...
The first bell chime finally caused a reaction from the lizards; they both tensed up and reached for their guns. Hicks bit down on his lip, hard enough to puncture the skin. It was happening!
Dong...
Dong...
Dong...
Everyone was counting the strikes, and Hicks felt sweat break out on his forehead. He tried to keep his hands from trembling, but to no avail. Not even the other bountyhunter seemed to be able to keep from shaking. The only one who didn't seem to be trembling with anticipation was Harry.
Dong...
Dong...
Dong...
Hicks felt his heart stop and his mind go blank. Now!
Dong...
Just as the last 'dong' went through the town, both of the lizard drew their revolvers in a flash and two gunshots echoed. But neither of the lizard had fired a single shot; the two bullets that had been fired had knocked their revolvers out of their hands and both of them stared in shock at their empty hands. Then their heads turned to the crowd and they both spotted the young, ashblonde coyote, holding two smoking guns in his hand. The jackrabbit next to him yelped and began to fumble for his own gun.
"H-he took mah gun!" The jackrabbit yelped and stared at Hicks, who ignored his looks.
Rango angrily gritted his teeth while Harry watched Hicks with an unreadable expression. "The HELL do ya think you're doin', kid!?" The bountyhunter angrily growled and took a step towards the coyote, but stopped when he aimed one of the guns in his hands at him.
Hicks didn't say anything, but he kept the gun pointing at the other bountyhunter as he walked out into the street, his eyed fixated at Harry. "Harry Cold..." He said lowly, but the dark turquoise lizard didn't budge. "R'member me, Cold?" He continued and took a couple of steps closer to the outlaw, but stopped when the rest of the gang drew their guns at him.
"Hold your fire" Harry hurried to tell his gang without looking at them. Instead he tilted his head slightly to the side and frowned, as if trying to recall something. "Have we met before?"
The sight of his murdered parents flashed in front of Hicks eyes, and the young coyote flattened his ears. "Yeah... We've met before..." He growled. "The name's Red... Hicks Red..."
Harry didn't seem especially surprised. He just nodded slowly. "Yeah, I see that now". Suddenly another gunshot went off and the tall, longlegged lizard swiftly dodged to the side when he felt a bullet graze against his neck.
Rango had retrieved his gun and fired at the other lizard. "HEY! Our duel ain't over! Git BACK 'ere!" He hollered and fired again, but Harry quickly made his way to his roadrunner, swiftly threw himself up in the saddle and set off with his gang.
Rango cursed and fired off a couple of more rounds until his revolver clicked. He cursed louder and threw his gun onto the ground and turned to Hicks again, his face was distorted into an enraged snarl.
"You IDIOT!" He lunged for the young coyote, and Hicks threw his guns away and got ready for the impact.
Rangos fist came harder and faster than Hicks predicted however and upon making contact with Hicks jaw, his head was tossed back and black dots danced in front of his eyes. But shortly after the punch, a punch to his gut followed, making Hicks double over. But he quickly recovered and surprised Rango with a headbutt on his way up again, shortly followed by a punch clear in his face.
They were just about to lunge for each other again when the public interfered; a couple of men rushed forward to hold the two brawlers apart while the sheriff emerged from the crowd. Sheriff Cobs, a tall dark brown rooster, sighed and shook his head when he saw the fighters. That made Rango growl angrily and free himself from the men holding him back.
"Sheriff, I would've been down to the office with Colds body now, if it weren't for this pup!" He said and pointed a stiff finger at Hicks. He looked ready to pop a vein any second! "He interfered with our duel! Sheriff, I had that sonnova bitch RIGHT where you're standin' now!"
"Ya don't understand!" Hicks objected and yanked his arms free. "I need Cold alive! He-...!"
"But this world doesn't!" Sheriff Cobs cut him off. "Listen, kid, if you're gonna run 'round an' git in Rangos way, I ain't gonna have much choice but to lock ya up, y'hear?"
Hicks clenched his jaw, which still stung after the other bountyhunters punch. He didn't answer the sheriff.
"Just lock 'im up, sheriff..." Rango muttered and wiped his bleeding nose with the sleeve of his black jacket. "I met this kid in Bedrock, an' seein' how he's here despite that the sheriff told him not to go, he ain't gonna give up on Cold 'til either of 'em are dead. He's gonna keep gettin' in my way!"
"Sheriff Mortimer, eh?" He arched an eyebrow at Hicks, who instantly averted his eyes with a frustrated grunt. "You're Red, Bedrocks bountyhunter?" Hicks bitterly nodded in reply. "An' you're here for Cold as well?"
"Yeah... He knows Joey Garcia, the man who murdered my parents!" Hicks bitter reply made the townspeople gasp and exchange glances. "That's why I need him alive; I need him to tell me where I can find that murderin' sonnova bitch an' make him pay for what he did!"
It had been a while since Joey Garcias name had been uttered here, but they still remembered the times when that evil child had the entire county as his playground. Robbing, burning and killing wherever he went. Even the sheriff was shocked, but after a while his face hardened and he made a sign for his deputies to come forth and arrest the young coyote.
"You're comin' with me to the station"
Hicks flinched and tried to back away from the deputies, both were coyotes just like him. "W-what?! NO! Why?! I ain't done nothin'!"
"For yer own safety, Red!" The rooster said sternly. "Mortimer's warned me 'bout you; you're on this suicide-quest, you're goin' up against Garcia on yer own, regardless of yer own life!"
"My life's insignificant!" Hicks growled in protest as the other coyotes managed to slap a pair of shackles on his wrists. "What's important is that the monster gets what he deserves; a one way ticket back to the hell he spawned from!"
"I'm gonna have to lock ya up 'til Mortimer can come an' git ya home, an' I hope he'll have 'nuff sense to keep ya locked up 'til ya return to yer senses, kid!"
"Ya can't do this!" Hicks roared and tried to free himself from the shackles and the deputies grips, but to no avail. All he could do was to toss and turn as he got dragged to the sheriff station.
But as he was taken away, he couldn't help but to throw a quick glance at the other bountyhunter, and was surprised at what he saw. Rango wasn't glaring at him anymore, he looked surprised. Impressed even! Despite that he had appeared to be willing to kill him just moments before! He gave Hicks some sort of acknowledging nod, but Hicks only growled at him and did an attempt to break free once more.
So yeah, once again a thousand apologies for the lateness o_o"... Hopefully, next chapter won't take this long! But MAN was I having a hard time with this chapter for some reason, gee -.-! I just didn't know how to go on once Hicks got to Rimrock, and to tell y'all the truth, I'm not overly satisfied with how it turned out, bleh...
Anyway, I'll see when I can finish the next chapter, hopefully it won't take another frickin' month and a half for me to do it!