Everett Brooks and the Midnight Riders: Epilogue
The final showdown.
Prologue | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Epilogue
Catch a train on a silver afternoon
A thousand miles and I'm getting there too soon
Take me there when I should be going home
Tell me why I'm still feeling all alone?
I’ve Been Let Down, Mazzy Star
Grunting with effort, a one-armed Amos Blackburn lowered himself into the tub that had been prepared for him. It was one month since the shootout in Heaven’s Hollow, and he still was getting used to the absence of his dominant limb. Amos plunged under the soapy water and let the warmth seep into his bones, easing the aches and pains brought on by the frigid Colorado weather outside.
When Amos surfaced moments later, he was astonished to see an unfamiliar figure wearing an oversized buffalo coat and a wide brimmed hat pulled down low seated on a stool next to the tub. The stranger reached into their coat and pulled out a Remington 1858 revolver. Amos cast a glance over to where his own pistol lay, just out of reach. He laughed bitterly.
“Should’ve known you’d catch up to me sooner or later, Everett Brooks.”
The stranger didn’t respond, but rather thumbed back the hammer of the Remington with an ominous click.
“Dammit, Brooks, I know it’s you! Show yourself, yellow-belly!”
The interloper swept off their hat…and lustrous blonde locks came tumbling out as a radiant female countenance was revealed.
“Sorry to disappoint,” Sweet Caroline said with a grin.
“You?!” Amos Blackburn exclaimed in shock. “How’d you find me?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” she responded cryptically.
Amos eyed the revolver in her hands warily. “I imagine you’re here for a particular purpose, but you should know there’s a half dozen hardened killers waitin’ downstairs, and they’ll come runnin’ soon as they hear your six shooter go off.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that, sugar.” Caroline stomped on the plank floor as hard as she could. The jaunty piano tune that had been filtering up through the floorboards from the saloon below stopped abruptly, and several gunshots that Caroline knew for a fact blazed from a pair of Colt Open Top revolvers thundered in rapid succession, followed by muffled voices in vehement disagreement, and, finally, menacing steps slowly climbing the stairs to where Amos and Caroline waited. There was a firm knock at the door.
“Your turn, darlin’,” Everett Brooks stated matter-of-factly from out in the hallway. Caroline tightened her grip on the Remington and winked at Amos Blackburn as she fingered the trigger.
“Guess this is goodbye…sugar.”
The End
Everett Brooks will return.
Afterword: To enhance the impact of this story, listen to the song below after you read.
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Excellent story! I enjoyed it immensely. I loved the ending!
This was such a good read!