I wrote a short little story · 6:31pm Oct 15th, 2019
I've been playing a lot of Red Dead Redemption 2 online recently, and I'll admit that at first I thought the online part of the game was boring. But now that there's more to do, I'm honestly enjoying the online more than the single player. I've had some memorable moments in that game, but there's this one incident that stuck with me. And as a result, I made it into a short story. Of course, it's been changed and embelished a little, but I think it turned out pretty good. It's no masterpeice and I can feel that I haven't written an English story in a while, but I did my best.
So yeah, my first western story, I guess. What do you think?
The forest was quiet and calm. Birds could be heard singing in the tree tops, and a lone deer lowered its head to drink from a small stream flowing through the woods. Suddenly, the natural silence of the woods was torn apart by the clear sound of a shrill whisstle, tearing through the morning sunlight.
The deer stopped what it was doing, looked up and saw a strange contraption approach further down the hill. It instinctivly knew that, whatever it was, it was dangerous, and so the deer hurried away into the woods, fleeing from the huge monstrosity that had just rolled into the woods, with black smoke rising from its top.
The wheels of the steam-powered train grinded to a screeching halt as it stopped at Riggs Station. There was no one at the staion itself, until one lonely man stepped out of the train and onto the platform.
The man wore brown, clothing, and his hair was blond and trimmed.
As he exited the train car, he felt some drops of rain hit his face. He wiped them away and looked to the skies. Black clouds slowly made their way overhead, and as they did, he could hear the faint rumble of thunder in the distance. A storm was on its way, and he was certain it would be a big one.
Just in case, he threw his duster over his shoulders.
Quickly he made his way to the little station house. Inside, it felt wam and cozy, unlike the outside where the storm was gaining traction. He didn’t have time to look around before a familiar voice called his name.
”Nathan! Over here, boy!”
A man in a heavy duster coat sat in a bench on the other side of the station, calling to Nathan through the opened window on the othe side. Nathan walked though the station house, and as he exited, the man stoof up and shook his hand.
”Good to see you, Cripps”, Nathan said. ”Is Frankie ready to go?”
Cripps nodded and waved his hand towards the short side of the station. ”He’s all saddled up and ready for ya’.”
”Thanks. I knew I could count on you”, Nathan responded.
He made his way towads the side of the station, but Cripps suddenly told him to stop,
”Listen, boy..”, he began. ”I know it’s none of my bussiness, but I think you should wait for a while before setting out. You look like you haven’t eaten in days!”
Nathan stopped, looked into the ground and drew a sigh. Cripps was right, he hadn’t eaten for a while. Truth be told, he starved himself on purpose. A thinner taget is harder to hit.
A few years prior, he had been an easy target. He and a gang of his so-called friends had staged a robbery in Saint Denis. Despite all their effots, plans and coordination, the robbery went straight to hell. His friends were gunned down by marshalls in the street, their blood coating the sidewalk in streaks of crimson.
Nathan, on the other hand, survived. He took a bullet to the leg, and was quickly taken into custody. He was sent to Siskia Penitentiary, and spent several years isolated and cut off from the entire world. Siskia was a hard place to survive, and the violence was always there.
It was in this dark, dreary place, that Nathan made a vow to himself. He swore that once he got out of jail, he would change. No more robberies, stick-ups and violence. He resigned his past and was ready for a new life outside the walls that surrounded him.
”How about a cup of coffee? Just as a little strenghtener before you head out”, Cripps said, then added, with a smile: ”Maybe something stiff in the coffee?” He pulled out a small canteen from inside his coat, and grinned.
”Some coffee sounds good”, Nathan replied.
”Nothing else?” Cripps asked, shaking the flask as he did.
Nathan simply shook his head.
”Fine”, the old man said. ”Just means more for me. Now, come on, let’s get out of this rain.”
A few minutes later, the two men had taken their seats in a corner inside the station house, Nathan sipped his coffee, while Cripps poured some whiskey in his cup before drinking it,
”So, tell me again”, Nathan asked. ”Who or what am I looking for?”
Cripps took a swig of his drink. ”I don’t know what the guy looks like”, he began. ”He’s been terrorzing the town and its shops for a while, and they need help tracking him down and.. putting him out of bussines, so to speak.”
”That’s a lot to go on”, Nathan muttered.
”If I had more to tell you, I would.”
”I guess I could talk to some folks in the saloon.”
”There’s no saloon in town. You could try the hotel, though. There’s also this so-called ’welcome-center’, but I doibt you’ll find much information there”, Cripps said.
”I’ll ty the hotel, then”, Nathan replied.
”That’s probably your best chance, I agree.”
”You know anything else? What has he done, exaclty?”
Cripps scratched his jawline. ”Well, he’s hogtied several residents and pulled them after his horse. He’s robbed the town store and he’s assaulted seveal people throughout.”
”So he’s violent, but not lethal?” Nathan asked.
”Exactly”, Cripps replied. ”He should’t be too much of a hassle to take care of.”
Outside, the rain still poured down. It hammered against the window of the small station house, and the wind threatened to tear down the fragile walls.
As Nathan took another gulp of his coffee, a flash of lightning tore the sky asunder, followed instantly by the deafening sound of thunder. The lamp above their heads flickered slightly.
”One hell of a storm”; Cripps said, looking on the rain running down the windows. ”You sure about this? I think it would be better to wait for better weather.”
”Justice never waits on better weather”, Nathan answered bluntly.
”You’re not wrong there”, Cripps said. ”No rest for the wicked, either.”
”I gave up on my wickednesss a long time ago. These days, I’m an agent of justice.”
”That you are, boy.” Cripps raised his cup. ”To justice, then.”
Nathan held up his cup ,too. ”To justice.”
Both men finished their drinks, then got ready to leave. As Nathan stood up, he heard a faint rumble in the distance.
”That’ll be my train”, Cripps said quietly. ”I better get going.”
”Sure. Thanks again, Cripps”, Nathan replied
The two walked out of the station and unto the small platform, just in time to see the locomotive roll in.
Cripps took off his old hat, brushed off some of the rain on it, then turned back to Nathan.
”You get that son of a bitch, you hear?”
”He’s as good as gone.”
They shook hands, then Cripps entered the train. Nathan went back into the station and sat down at the same table as before, and waited. He was deep in his thoughts when the train dissapeared on the tracks, and he had to force himself out of it.
He pulled his duster tighter, and headed out. Around the corner, he fond his most loyal companion.
”Hey, boy”, he said to his horse. ”Ready to set out?”
Frankie neighed as Nathan carefully patted the horse’s neck. The man quickly sat up on his horse, and started moving down the road to the north-west.
The ride wasn’t long, and after a short while braving though the storm, he came across a big sign made out of wood, propped up on two tree trunks. The skull of an elk hung at the top of the sign.
One single word was written in big letters on the sign.
Strawberry.
The first thing Nathan saw as he entered town was a butches stall, just to his ight. The butcher greeted him as he passed by, and Nathan nodded in response.
Strawberry wasn’ta big town by any means. It was a quiet little place with a post office, a supplies store, the hotel and some residential houses. A river ran straight through the town, splitting it into two sides. A waterwheel had been built at the top of the stream, though Nathan had no idea what it was used for.
The hotel wasn’t hard to find, thankfully. It was a big, white building with two stories, and big letters on the wall detailing the name.
Trackers Hotel.
Nathan tied Frankie to a post outside the hotel, and walked up the short stairs to the padio in front. He noticed a sign next to the door, stating that the hotel had no vacancies. Nathan grabbed the doorknob and twisted it, but the door was locked.
He knocked a few times, but no one came to open.
”Hello?” He called through the door.”bIs anybody in there? My name’s Nathan. I have some bussiness to take care of here.”
At first, nothing happened, and he was almost ready to give up and leave. Then he heard the lock of the door move, and slowly the door slid open just a crack. An old man with a bushy, black moustache peeked out through the door,
”What do you want?” He asked quickly.
”Hello, sir”, Nathan began. ”My name’s Nath-”
”Yes, yes, I heard that. Again, what do you want?”
”I’ve been told the town has had some issues with a certain outsider?”
”Yeah, and what’s it to you?” The moustache asked.
”I’m here to take care of him.” Nathan responded.
”Why do you care?”
”It’s my job to hunt down wrongdoers and bring them to justice.”
”Ah, you’re a bounty hunter. I have no interest in the likes of you.”
”No, I’m not a bounty hunter, I am.. You could call me an agent of justice. I’ll handle your little problem, but I don’t excpet any pay. I’m just interested in stopping this guy, whoever he is.”
The man in the door seemed to relax a bit when he heard Nathan’s words. He even opened the door a little bit more.
”Listen, I can’t talk about this in public, and I don’t trust you enough to let you in. What if you’re working with that guy? How do I know you’re not on his side?”
”I’m not”, Nathan said. ”I can’t give you anything else than my word.”
”Well..” the man began. ”Like I said, I can’t talk about it in public. I could become that asshole’s next target.”
”Alright, I’ll leave you alone, then”; Nathan said, then added: ”I*ll ty at the geneal store instead.”
The man nodded, then quickly shut the door in Nathan’s face. It was obvious he was too afraid to lend a hand.
Frankie neighed, and Nathan hurried down to him. The animal was afraid for some reason, he could see it in his eyes. Nathan gently stroked Frankie’s neck and mane, trying to calm him down. He grabbed ahold of the reigns, as he had decided to take his horse somewhere else where he could calm down.
As he sat up again, Frankie started thrashing about. Nathan did his best to calm the horse.
”What’s wrong?”
Then suddenly, the entire world seemed to stand still. Frankie shrieked in fear, and Nathan heard a loud bang not too far away.
Nathan felt the impact of the bullet. Frankie fell, and Nathan fell with him. Both hit the gound hard, and Nathan had enough control to at least roll sideways to avoid being crushed by the horse.
His face sunk into the wet mud, and he gagged as it filled his mouth in an empty scream. As fast as he could, he got back up on his feet, then hurried back to Frankie.
The animal was on its side. Nathan fell to his knees and quickly pressed his hand against the newly-formed bullet hole, staining his hand in thick blood.
”Nononononono-” Nathan yelled frantically. ”Come on Frankie, you have to fight! Don’t give up, please!”
Bu the knew it was too late. The bullet had torn through Frankie’s chest, peircing his lungs in the proccess. Blood was streaming out, and no matter what Nathan did, he couldn’t stop it.
He fought to keep his tears in, but then he realized something: whoever shot Fankie was undoubtedly looking straight at him ight now.
And almost as a sign from above, another shot rang out. It was closer now, and Nathan could almost feel the force of the bullet as it zipped past his ear. Quickly he got up, forced to leave his dead companion in the middle of the street.
Nathan threw himself behind the nearest wall, and drew his Schofield from its holster. He cracked the cylinder to check on his bullets. Only four of them. As he loaded the last two bullets into his gun, another shot was fired at him, this one hitting the wall.
With the revolver at the ready, he peaked around the corner, and finally saw his assailant.
It was a chubby little man with unkempt hair and beard. He was dressed in nothing but work overalls, and held a rifle in his hands.
He looked as if he hadn’t washed in weeks. Like he had been crawling around in the mud all day.
The man saw Nathan, and quickly raised his rifle to fire again. Nathan ducked back behind the wall, then fired off two rounds blindly around the corner. This man was out for blood, and he had no choice but to defend himself.
”I don’t wanna kill you!” Nathan shouted. ”Lay down the rifle and come peacefully! It doesn’t have to end in bloodshed!”
Another round hit the wall. It was a clear answer to Nathan’s words. Adrenaline pumped through Nathan’s body, and when he heard the footsteps of the crazy man getting closer, he simply acted out of instinct.
He dove out of cover, shooting of several bullets in the other man’s direction, hoping they would hit their mark. Once again he rolled across the muddy street, then stood up and held his gun pointed forward.
No more bullets were fired. As Nathan stood and looked over at the assailant, he saw he was on the ground, crawling away from him on his back. A bullet had hit his leg, and blood coated the overalls.
Nathan slowly walked up to the man, who was now left at his complete mercy. He looked into the cylinder of his revolver again, then walked up to the man.
”Please don’t kill me!” the man yelled in fear. ”I’ll never set foot in this town again, I swear!”
Nathan cocked his revolver.
”I was going to spare you”, he said, then pressed the gun against the man’s forehead. ”But you killed Frankie. You kiled my best friend.”
A moment of silence, as Nathan stood over the wounded man, and the rain poured down on the two combatants.
Nathan pulled the trigger.
👍