Chapter 9
Cody Jarrett knelt next to one of the dead men laying face down in the muck. He used the fringe of the man's shirt to gently clean the drying blood off of his pearl handled Colts. Two feet to his left lay a young girl. She couldn't be more than 15 years old, with long brown hair that had been pulled into a pony tail, but now lay askew. He could see the welt forming on her head from where he had taken the pistol across her scalp, blood already drying, mixing with the muck of the river mud, caking her head. Cody stood tall and twirled his Colt into his gun belt, which lay in a cross draw. Using his boot, he none to gently kicked the girl onto her stomach, mud and dirt caking her face and the front of her dress. She was ample and wide of hip, just the way he liked them. Using his gloved left hand, he slowly wiped the muck from around her mouth, smiling at the fullness of her lips.
Cody titled his hat back as he heard the shuffling of hoofs behind him and knew that Beau was coming with fresh horses. He turned and looked at the animals, two were not much better than plow horses, though the third was a good sized bay that would meet his needs nicely. He took the reins to the bay, flashing Beau a glare. Beau just lowered his eyes and began transferring his brother's and his saddles to the new horses. Cody hitched up his gear, including repositioning the stolen money from the bank into an extra set of saddle bags that would make it easier to carry. After his horse was ready he walked over to the brothers. Beau had saddled the horses, wise enough not to piss Cody off, but was now looking at his brother's belly wound.
The bullet was still lodged in Buford's gut. Cody knew he was a goner. Still, he needed the brothers a little longer. This wasn't yet the time of the place. Buford was turning a sickly yellow, blood likely seeping into his stomach. It was a painful way to die to be sure. His eyes had already started to glass over and he kept mumbling how cold he was over and over.
"Cody, please..... we gotta get to Desperation. He.. he ain't gonna make it unless we get to a doctor. Please Cody..."
The simpering sounds of weakness in Beau's voice made Cody want to kill him right there. Cody looked up, the sun already starting to set in the West, soon it would be to late to see to travel and staying at the river's edge was to dangerous, to close should a boat come along. He also glanced over at the girl, trying to quell the needs bubbling inside him. The needs that always came after a killing. There just wasn't time. Cody Jarrett may be a murderer, but you don't live as long as he has doing the things he has done by being careless. Cody ordered Beau to get Buford on his horse and then help him drag the corpses into the stable. They quickly drug the three men in, tossing them just out of sight. Jarrett threw the girl beside them, hearing a sick thud as her skull bounced off the hard packed dirt inside. Oh well, he never did like them to stupid to enjoy it. With a smile, Cody mounted his horse and followed the two brothers as they rode towards the town of Desperation, thinking the worst of things now lay behind him. Little did he know how wrong he was.
End of Line.
Gerrad!
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