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A blog for poetry, prose, and pop culture.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Flash Fiction: Under a Dead Sun: Past Sins

Chapter 1-

Cody Jarrett spurred his horse faster, watching the flecks of spittle and lather flake from the tiring horse. Still he dug his spurs deep into the beats flank, a wild gleam in his eye as he crested the top of the valley. He spared a glance over his shoulder, seeing his partners the Johnson Brothers urging their horses just as insistently. Beau Johnson was tall and lean with long scraggly hair and a face that had a perpetual 5 o'clock shadow. His younger brother Buford was short and stocky, with thinning blind hair that he always kept under his hat. Buford was slumped over his horse, one hand clinging to the reins, the other clutching the belly wound he had received back in Sedition.

Jarrett spied father back, seeing the trailing dust clouds of the posse on their heels getting closer and grimaced. He'd be damned if they caught him now. He turned his gaze down the valley floor, and saw the river stretched out in the distance, maybe another 5 miles. He spiked his spurs again and held on as the horse careened down the winding slope, shouting for the brothers to hurry along.

Cody had two saddle bags full of stolen money taken from the Wells Fargo bank in Sedition. He had been planning the robbery for weeks and it had went off perfectly, until the damned deputy had gone for his gun. Jarret was deadly with his guns, matching Colt Peacemakers, ebony pearl handles with his initials carved in them, each slung crosswise on his belt. Jarrett had shot the deputy, then both the tellers and the bank manager. It wasn't the killin' he minded, no. Killing men was something that Cody Jarrett was good at. It was something he liked doing. What he didn't like, was whiny sons of bitches slowing him down.

The trio beat through the thin sagebrush, aiming for the raft that was spun across the surging river by a large rope suspended on either side. Make the raft and on the other side lay fresh horses, and a few days farther down the river, a boat to take them to the town of Desperation. Just a few more days and Cody Jarrett, the most wanted man in the county, would be home free. What he didn't know though, is that being a wanted man would take on a whole new meaning.

End of Line.
Gerrad!

2 comments:

briscojr said...

So do you have any "real people" in mind when you write your characters? Obviously going to cast Slater as Cody, and maybe a My Name Is Earl theme for the Johnson Brothers. Jason Lee as Beau and Ethan Suplee as Buford. Writer approved or not?

Gerrad McConnell said...

Umm it really depends. I actually did some script work for basic visuals for each of the main cast, 4 total, earlier in the year. Originally I was pitching this to my RM to pencil as a comic, as he really liked the first arc I did. When I kind of figured that wasn't going to happen I decided to just do it this way.
That gives me a little freedom to change the cast up from my orginal pitch. As for cating, I like your choices, though I hopefully will make some good character jumps