Wanted: Dead or Alive

The cocking of a pistol caught the man’s attention. His eyes widened as he looked up from the small fire that he had to keep himself warm from the desert wind in the dead of night. He cautiously turned his head in the direction of the sound. His heartbeat accelerated in his chest, fear coursed through his veins when his eyes connected with the old silver barrel of a six-shooter. Sweat coated his forehead and his clammy hands trembled when he tried to see the gunman’s face that was cloaked in shadows.

“Hand over your money now and I’ll make this quick.”

There was slight evidence of an accent in the gunman’s voice. Being a talented gunman himself, the man figured that the person was just a petty thief. Instead of feeling scared as he did moments before, a small wave of bravery filled his being. He held up one hand in surrender as his other moved to his side as it appeared like he was reaching for his small money pouch but his hand came to a halt on the strap of his gun holster.

“You sure you want to do that?” The gunman’s cocky voice filled the man’s ears, causing his breathing to stop momentarily because he knew that he’d been caught. “But if you’d really like to, then please, have at it, but I’m the one walking away from this.”

The gunman leaned closer to the man, the dancing flames emitting light on his face and making his features visible. The man’s eyes widened when he recognized the person. It was the infamous outlaw that terrorized half of the western states, known for the slayings of two government officials, five sheriffs, and several citizens.

He choked on his own breath as he stuttered, “Y-y-you’re t-that o-o-outlaw–”

“So I am,” the gunman smirked, “Too bad you’re not going to live to tell anyone you saw me up close and actually talked with me.”

He panicked, raising both his hands up, “Please, I have a wife and kid back home. Don’t leave my son fatherless.”

The outlaw chuckled, “Since when has that stopped me before? If you’ve heard of me, you must know a lot about the things I’ve done. Your money, now, I’ll not say it again.”

The man reached back for his money pouch and held it out to the outlaw, he tried pleading one more time but it was cut off with a single shot. The sound echoed into the night, the man’s body slumped down and fell into a heap on the ground with blood and brains seeping out of the hole in his skull. The outlaw grabbed the money pouch and the small pistol that was in the man’s holster along with the belt of bullets, he could always use the extra guns and ammunition.

He doused the fire with sand until it was out and then headed towards the direction where he’d left his horse when he was making the silent attack on the man. Due to it being late in the evening, he wanted nothing more than to find a clear spot or a place to rest his weary head but he needed to quickly get out of the area before sunrise. Where he had killed the man wasn’t too far from the nearby town so it would take no time for someone to find the body.

The next morning, after staying the night in the local whore house like he did in most towns he came to, the outlaw was on his way to the next town. He’d pulled his black cowboy hat down to shield his face from most of the citizens that he passed. His name and face was becoming widely known and he didn’t want the citizens to start panicking when he was still half-sleep. A bandana was tied loosely around his neck to keep most of his face from his nose down concealed.

A few glances was all he received as he walked towards one of the small stores. He needed to get a few items before heading out again. His journey was taking him anywhere and everything so he had to be prepared for another sleepless night in the desert on the way.

Upon his entrance in the small store, the owner glanced up from his job of setting a few medicine bottles on the shelves behind the counter. The owner smiled and greeted him like any other customer in which the outlaw smiled in return but more so to himself. The fool didn’t recognize him, a good thing that just saved the man’s life.

Once he found what he needed, along with a few bottles of whiskey, the outlaw walked up to the counter and placed everything down as he waited for the total. He pulled out the money pouch that he stole from the man he killed the night before and happily paid the price that the store owner said. After bundling up his items, he bid the owner a good day when something caught his attention behind the man.

He smirked to himself and walked out of the shop, leaving behind the store owner that had a wanted poster behind him the whole time and didn’t even recognize the outlaw as the one that was in the black and white sketch on the poster.

Oliver Scott Sykes
Wanted: Dead or Alive
With A Bounty Of $500