High noon

Upon arrival we had taken position beyond the hills nearby town. Like this we would be able to strike swiftly without being spotted before. In order to arrive there, we had taken quite a detour, during which I had been too distracted to actually recognize how long it had taken us.

The sun had almost reached its highest point when we were done with our last preparations.

We had gathered in a circle as small as our number allowed it and I explained the plan one last time, looking at Casey from time to time to ensure that I myself explained it correctly.

“Does everybody know what to do?”

“It’s not like the plan is especially difficult.”, said somebody in the second row.

“I want you all to remember to stop the attack as soon as Troef’s men take cover inside the buildings entering the village by then without a good plan would be plain suicide.”

“We already agreed that we can’t wait for them to just starve. How shall we defeat them without fighting?”, said another person.

“I have an idea. Not a good one, but we will see if I need to present it as soon as the fight started.”, I explained.

“They went inside the mine!”, declared Archie, coming down the hill where one of our sharpshooters had taken position.

“It’s time.”

As soon as I had said this, the first shot was fired. The other sharpshooters heard the shot and in turn started to fire themselves. The training had been worth it. The first five men were dead before we could even climb onto the hill.

The initial confusion and the following attempts to find out where from the shots had been fired, made it possible to neutralize seven of Troef’s men, but that had been it.

Shortly after the situation had turned out just as expected. Most of us had remained hidden behind the hill, since there wouldn’t have been great use in charging in with everybody.

I myself had taken position on top of it, making sure not to give away the position of one of our sharpshooters.

Most of Troef’s gang had run into the saloon, but some others had entered just whichever house had been the closest to them when the attack started.

“Like I expected it.”, I sighed.

Gav and Archie waited downhill.

“So? What is your idea?”, asked Gav.

“I would like to know that as well!”, said somebody behind me.

I turned around. Of course it was Casey.

“Well…”, I started.

“You have an idea, don’t you?”

“Technically, yes.”

“Technically yes?”

“I also said that it isn’t a good one.”

“What is your idea?”, asked Archie.

“Well, I thought about offering him an old-fashioned duel.”

Gav laughed, Archie looked amused, and Casey went pale.

“A duel? Like in meeting, walking five steps and then shooting?”, asked Archie.

“Well not exactly but yes.”

Of course, they didn’t know about the cliché of dueling at high noon on an empty street, only the wind causing any movements in the area while nobody dares to make a move before the first and final shot is fired.

“Do you wish to get yourself killed?!”, Casey asked. She somehow seemed angry.

“Believe me, I would love nothing more than to avoid dying.”

“Then don’t do it!”

“I need to do it. I promised it to him. I promised I would protect everybody.”

“How does getting yourself killed protect anybody?”

“Believe me. I will make an offer he can’t refuse.”

Again, nobody understood the reference. But I expected they wouldn’t. I just always wanted to say the sentence in an important situation.

“Just wait here.”, I said and started my way.

I entered the village and, surprisingly, wasn’t shot immediately. Maybe the moment was enough of a cliché to grant me a certain amount of plot armor, but then again thinking something like this was already worthy of taking it from me.

The saloon was up ahead now.

“Troef! I know you are in there! Come out!”

“Too bad that if I come out your men will shoot me on sight.”, he replied.

I lifted my hand to signal the sharpshooters to stand by.

“Now they won’t. We have come to free this village. Come out and let’s deal with this like men!”

Slow steps approached the door of the saloon and out came Troef.

“You.”, he said.

“Surprised?”

“I was more surprised to hear you had left without saying goodbye. Then again, only a fool would have believed that I would have let you off the hook after winning this much money in poker.”

“Oh, so my assumptions were correct.”

Troef casually stood a few steps away, his right thumb hooked under his belt and looked around.

“Be sure that they are watching.”, I directed his attention back to me. There was no way he would spot all three of the sharpshooters and then manage to make something out of this situation, before getting a bullet shot right between his eyes, but the less he knew, the better.

“So, how do you want to resolve this situation. You could just shoot me right here and now, but then again that would mean a long fight with many casualties on both sides.”

“At least we agree on this point.”

“What do you propose?”

“Nobody has to die today. But of course, I don’t expect you to surrender like a coward. An old-fashioned duel. Just you and me. If I win, you will be dead and your men will surrender. If you win, we will leave.”

“And you think my men will agree on this?”

“There is still the option of starving, not being able to leave these houses again because you’d be shot down at sight.”, I grinned.

“It doesn’t matter anyways. I won’t lose to some backwater sheriff.”, he spat on the ground.

“Then you’ve got nothing to lose.”

“All right! You heard him! One of us will die today! Nobody else! A promise better kept!”, Troef shouted in an amused way for his men to hear the content of the deal he deemed relevant.

Troef walked a few steps back towards the saloon and then smiled at me.

“I hope you have dealt with your affairs.”

He pulled a tissue out of his pocket and lifted it.

“I will throw this tissue into the air. As soon as it touches the ground, we shoot at each other until one is hit or both have no bullets left in their weapon. Agreed?”

“Ready when you are.”

He smiled at me one last time before throwing the tissue into the air. It flew slightly above his head until the wind grabbed it and carried it in my direction. When the tissue was just slightly above the height of our knees, Troef pulled his revolver and shot at me.

A burning pain went through my chest. I looked down. He had shot directly into it. The cheapest trick he could have used, and I had fallen for it. To make things worse, I had expected that he might try to do something like this.

He took a step towards me before strength left my legs and I fell on my back.

“Well, how was that? We can leave?”, he asked and didn’t even turn around without even waiting for an answer.

“Alright guys! We’re leaving!”, Troef declared, and his men left their hiding spots. They took the horses and everything of worth they could carry and left the town through the gate I had used during my first visit.

Shortly after the last had left the town, there started another gunfight that shortly after returned to dead silence.

Troef had led his men directly into the position of our gatling gun.

“We both have no honor, as it seems.”, I silently laughed to myself and regretted it instantly after another sharp pain seemed to explode from my chest.

“I liked the other times a bit better. If only Troef could have aimed for the head.”, I mumbled to myself while I started to gradually lose control over my body.

“Shota!”, shouted a distant voice. My view darkened and became increasingly hazey.

A shadow leaned over me, followed by several others.

“Why did you do this?!”

It was Casey who spoke to me.

“I didn’t want anyone to die.”, I said as loud as I could though I was sure it wasn’t more than a whisper.

“Then what is this?! This was your great plan?!”

“You all survived.”

“But you…”

“I’ll be fine.”

“You’re dying!”

I moved my hand towards the star on my chest and tried to open the closing.

“Take this. They will need somebody like you.”

Although I could only see her silhouette by now, I know by the way she grabbed my hand holding the star and the droplets hitting my cheeks that she was crying.

“Promise it.”

“I promise.”, she sobbed.

Some of the bystanders apparently took off their hats.

“Thank you everybody, for giving me a home.”, I said with the last bit of strength I could gather.

I took a deep painful breath for one last time, before my lungs collapsed.

And yet another time I was dead.