?Sometimes you just gotta do the thing,? said the man. ?No matter how much you don?t want to.?
?I suppose you?re right,? Silas agreed. ?But I like to put off this unpleasantness long as I can.?
?You can?t wait forever, son.?
?No, no I cannot,? Silas stood.
In the dark neither man could see the other. Silas had to stoop to keep his head from hitting the rough and hard roof of the little cave. He dug around in his poke for a match and struck it. The tiny flame flickered and danced, putting on a brilliant show while somehow being able to give off almost no light. It was enough to stop him from tripping over the man who sat beside him. Once he got his bearings and knew how to get to the mouth of the cave, Silas tossed the match and its tiny flame died, extinguishing so suddenly that he never got a chance to see the smoke before it was enveloped by that infinite cave-darkness.
With a hand on the wall to his right he picked his path. The oppressive black that closed in all around him eventually gave way to lunar light filtering in from the cave?s mouth. That hole in the earth was on the side of a craggy hill of stone and dirt. The world outside was flat and dry, all that yellow-gold sand turned the color of slate and steel under the cloudless nighttime sky. Down the hill a-ways and around to the east came the drifting trail of smoke from a distant campfire. Out here in the pale dark the flames were just a tiny speck of something a little brighter than the rest. Silas heard movement behind him and stepped out of the cave mouth to make way for the man.
?Time we got to getting,? Jackson said.
?Time we got to getting,? Silas echoed the sentiment and started down the rocky face of that hill, careful not to disturb loose stones. The going was no easier on the way down than it had been headed up, but they managed it without incident and stuck close to the shadow of that rock and earth hill. They rounded a bend and came upon a copse of tree-like boulders, all tall and grand with stone limbs stretching out toward the sky. Silas didn?t take the time to wonder at the strange geological formation, he had his eyes on the trio of men who were sitting around a pale and weak fire. They had their bedrolls unraveled and were sitting on them. Nearby three horses were tied off and munching on some feed. There was a pot of something stewing on a little grill over the fire, it bubbled and popped and the smell of cooked meat reminded his gut of how empty it was.
It tasted like red on the air, like life and blood and what happens when it all runs out. Silas drew his gun and stepped into the camp.
?I don?t like to shoot a man whose back is to me,? he said. The men jumped and scrambled to get to their feet. Each was reaching for a weapon, but none had guns. One man with a straw hat picked up a cudgel that was lying in the pale dust beside him, another had a knife, and the third grabbed a rock from the ring around the fire and brought it up like he meant to hurl it at Silas.
?Now fellas,? Jackson said as he stepped out from behind another of those tree-like boulders behind the trio. ?I don?t have such qualms with gunnin? you down from behind. So, let?s be gentlemen here and put those down. We ain?t here to kill you, anyhow.?
The man with the cudgel turned toward Jackson and the man with the rock threw it at Silas. Silas s hot him in the shin and side-stepped the rock. The gunfire had all eyes on him again. His smile was tight and thin-lipped and it drew the corners of his eyes together with a collection of hard wrinkles that were as dusty and dirty as the rest of the gods forsaken flatlands.
?No games,? he had to raise his voice to be heard above the belated howling of the wounded man, who fell to the ground and clutched at his leg as blood came out in fat drops and streams down his leg. ?Drop the knife, drop the club, or you get worse than he did.?
The other two men did as they were told and Silas went to the wounded man and shot him in the face. His friends screamed and yelled in a mixture of surprise and outrage but they didn?t get up.
?No surviving out here with a wound like that,? he said. ?I sure as hell wasn?t gonna carry him. Jackson??
?Not for all the money in the world, Silas.?
?There,? Silas turned his gaze on the two living men. ?Now you know. No games.?
?I suppose you?re right,? Silas agreed. ?But I like to put off this unpleasantness long as I can.?
?You can?t wait forever, son.?
?No, no I cannot,? Silas stood.
In the dark neither man could see the other. Silas had to stoop to keep his head from hitting the rough and hard roof of the little cave. He dug around in his poke for a match and struck it. The tiny flame flickered and danced, putting on a brilliant show while somehow being able to give off almost no light. It was enough to stop him from tripping over the man who sat beside him. Once he got his bearings and knew how to get to the mouth of the cave, Silas tossed the match and its tiny flame died, extinguishing so suddenly that he never got a chance to see the smoke before it was enveloped by that infinite cave-darkness.
With a hand on the wall to his right he picked his path. The oppressive black that closed in all around him eventually gave way to lunar light filtering in from the cave?s mouth. That hole in the earth was on the side of a craggy hill of stone and dirt. The world outside was flat and dry, all that yellow-gold sand turned the color of slate and steel under the cloudless nighttime sky. Down the hill a-ways and around to the east came the drifting trail of smoke from a distant campfire. Out here in the pale dark the flames were just a tiny speck of something a little brighter than the rest. Silas heard movement behind him and stepped out of the cave mouth to make way for the man.
?Time we got to getting,? Jackson said.
?Time we got to getting,? Silas echoed the sentiment and started down the rocky face of that hill, careful not to disturb loose stones. The going was no easier on the way down than it had been headed up, but they managed it without incident and stuck close to the shadow of that rock and earth hill. They rounded a bend and came upon a copse of tree-like boulders, all tall and grand with stone limbs stretching out toward the sky. Silas didn?t take the time to wonder at the strange geological formation, he had his eyes on the trio of men who were sitting around a pale and weak fire. They had their bedrolls unraveled and were sitting on them. Nearby three horses were tied off and munching on some feed. There was a pot of something stewing on a little grill over the fire, it bubbled and popped and the smell of cooked meat reminded his gut of how empty it was.
It tasted like red on the air, like life and blood and what happens when it all runs out. Silas drew his gun and stepped into the camp.
?I don?t like to shoot a man whose back is to me,? he said. The men jumped and scrambled to get to their feet. Each was reaching for a weapon, but none had guns. One man with a straw hat picked up a cudgel that was lying in the pale dust beside him, another had a knife, and the third grabbed a rock from the ring around the fire and brought it up like he meant to hurl it at Silas.
?Now fellas,? Jackson said as he stepped out from behind another of those tree-like boulders behind the trio. ?I don?t have such qualms with gunnin? you down from behind. So, let?s be gentlemen here and put those down. We ain?t here to kill you, anyhow.?
The man with the cudgel turned toward Jackson and the man with the rock threw it at Silas. Silas s hot him in the shin and side-stepped the rock. The gunfire had all eyes on him again. His smile was tight and thin-lipped and it drew the corners of his eyes together with a collection of hard wrinkles that were as dusty and dirty as the rest of the gods forsaken flatlands.
?No games,? he had to raise his voice to be heard above the belated howling of the wounded man, who fell to the ground and clutched at his leg as blood came out in fat drops and streams down his leg. ?Drop the knife, drop the club, or you get worse than he did.?
The other two men did as they were told and Silas went to the wounded man and shot him in the face. His friends screamed and yelled in a mixture of surprise and outrage but they didn?t get up.
?No surviving out here with a wound like that,? he said. ?I sure as hell wasn?t gonna carry him. Jackson??
?Not for all the money in the world, Silas.?
?There,? Silas turned his gaze on the two living men. ?Now you know. No games.?