Chapter Selection: 1 2 3

2.

"Now Ben, I ain’t here for trouble, I just want to stay until it’s my time.  I know it ain’t long for me, and I just wanna be around home till it’s finished."  Ben sat still, his face unchanged.  "Home?  Black Rock ain’t been home for you in years.  Don’t you know what your name means to people here?  It’s a symbol of the past, of the fear and hatred those years brought.  You won’t see out the next sunrise once it’s known you’re in town."  Manny sighed; he had thought it would be hard seeing Ben again after all this time, but not like this.  Maybe he had been wrong to come back.  The ache returned to his chest, it hadn’t hurt like this for a few days.  He breathed slowly and deeply, waiting for the pain to recede.  Once it had gone he stood, and made his way to the door.  "Ben.  Son.  I know I ain’t owed nothin' by you, I don’t have that right to ask you nothin'.  But I won’t be turned from this.  What they said bout me when you were a child, most of it was true, and if it weren’t it were damn close."  Manny paused, and then opened the door.  "I did plenty bad, and had plenty bad done back on me.  But those were the times, and I don’t know what else I could have done.  If I had stayed it would have been certain death for you and your mother, and a harder decision I never took.  But it’s in the past, and I ain’t got much of the future to go puttin' things right."  He walked out into the cooling night air, and Ben sat forward and tried to think of anything but the past. Tommy Mellard sat down on the porch of the family home and smoked his cigarette.  The door opened behind him and his father nicked the roll-up playfully from his son and finished it off.  "He he, I know, I shouldn’t.  How was your night son?  Hope you got some of your wages left if you lookin' to pay off that mare this month?"  Tommy waved his money pouch under his dad's nose, and dropped it into his palm ."That’s no problem pa, she'll be mine by the end of next week.  That’s somethin’ else Bill Stimson won’t like after what happened tonight!"  The old man knew his son was a good boy, didn’t cause no trouble like some did when liquor and the town were mixed.  "That boy is goin' to get hisself hurt one day, maybe worse."  Tommy laughed, "Well, if he did it would be funny if it was that Sheriff's old man that taught the lesson."  His father stiffened, a frown creased his brow.  "The sheriff's pa?  Old man Vincent?  Are you sure?"  His hand tightened its grip on Tommy's shoulder and the boy wriggled free.  "Yes pa, Bill done try and make fun of the old fella, but he got that old horse pistol out faster n' lightnin' and old Bill wet his new pants!"  Tommy stood up and made his way to the house, "Sure wish you could'a seen it pa."  As the old man bunched his fists together in the lamplight the boy didn’t see the look on his face; "So do I son, so do I." Next morning dawned dry and cold, the sun barely making a difference to the chill damp air.  The town struggled into life, unaware of the smouldering embers from years past about to burst into flame once more.  Tommy’s father was up early, before the cock crowed weakly from atop the creaking barn.  His well worn Colt Navy was sat in the equally worn leather flap holster, loaded for the first time in many years.  Dave Mellard heaved himself into the saddle as his wife Bridget came out onto the porch.  “David, what are you doing this for?  It’s all in the past; we should be planning for the future not living in the past.”  Dave Mellard spat viciously into the dirt; “Ain’t no future for me while that bastard draws breath.  You know what he did, there ain’t no forgive and forgettin’.”  He pulled the horse round to head into town, to put right his past.  Ben Vincent watched his father as he ate, not feeling love nor hate towards him.  Time had removed all family ties, but he couldn’t find anger either.  He was looking old, and ill.  There must be something wrong with him to risk coming back here after all this time.  Maybe that was it, enough time might have past that it could all just pass peaceably.  The few survivors from that war were all older and probably in not much better shape.  Ben had to hope that was true. The four men entered town, each carrying pistols in flagrant violation of the town’s gun laws.  Mellard had stopped at two other places, where there lived others for which the end of the war hadn’t ended the suffering or memories.  Pete Roberts and his brother Wayne both had stood silent as Mellard told his news, then gathered guns and saddled up.  The three had travelled on to John Terrier’s place.  He had been their commanding officer during the war between the states and had been burdened with more than most when the conflict ended.  He too had fetched his revolver and rode with the rest into town.  Now, the group tied off their horses and headed for the sheriff’s office. “Oh no,” Ben saw the four old men walking purposefully towards his door.  Manny heard the despair in his son’s voice, and pushed up from the table.  “No need to tell me what that’s for.”  Ben wheeled round to face his father; “This is serious.  It’s my job to prevent just this damn thing from happening.”  He walked over to the locker and lifted out his shotgun.  “This isn’t gonna be easy to calm, you better stay inside.”  He checked the breech held two cartridges and snapped the gun shut.  Pushing the door open, he stepped outside.  “Ben, son, this ain’t your fight.  Step aside now and let us in.”  Ben raised his shotgun, and shook his head.  “Not going to be any shooting here today Mr Mellard.  War ended a long time ago, and no matter what was done, I can’t let you kill him.”  The four men lined up, each stepping away from the other to minimise any blast from the sheriff’s shotgun.  “You cant get us all son, we got to do this.  You don’t, cant understand.  Time don’t heal these wounds, justice does.”  Ben pulled the hammers back, still hoping to end this quietly.  The sound of another hammer close to his ear told him he had been out-manoeuvred.  As he looked round slowly the grinning face of Tommy Mellard beamed at him triumphantly.  The grin was wiped off his face seconds later, as yet another pistol joined the fray.

Chapter Selection: 1 2 3