​[August 2008]  

Word Count: 1065 

​

Chapters: 1

​

 

​

WHAT MADE US GO THE WAY WE WENT?

​

by

Eleanor Ward

​

 

A troubled Curry seeks reassurance from his partner.

​

​

​

Kid Curry sat hunched in an old, worn armchair, gazing pensively through the window of the hotel room. It was raining heavily, and rivulets of water ran down the glass.

 

Lying on the bed, pillows propped behind his back, Hannibal Heyes appeared to be reading a book but, every few moments, his eyes flicked across to his partner, his relaxed expression belying an underlying apprehension.

 

The atmosphere in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife, yet still Heyes continued to casually study his book, his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, the book braced across his abdomen and supported by one hand, his other arm folded casually behind his head.

 

The Kid had been in this sombre mood since he’d been forced into drawing against the card sharp he’d exposed in the Saturday night poker game at the local saloon the previous night.  The man had left the saloon in a storm of bluff and bluster after the Kid had exposed his cheating but, angry at being shown up, he had waited until he and Heyes left the saloon, to return to their hotel, and then called him out.  The man already had his gun in his hand as he moved from the shadows of an alleyway and the Kid had had no time to aim not to kill, before the man fired, drawing his gun and firing it in one, fluid, split second movement before dropping into a roll as the other man also pulled his trigger, his bullet slamming into a wooden pillar just a few inches to the side of Heyes’ head before the man fell to the floor, dead.

 

The Sheriff had seen the altercation in the saloon and, after interviewing the other participants in the card game who had confirmed that the man had cheated and had been heard threatening revenge as he left, he had given Curry the benefit of the doubt in regards to the killing.

 

With a sigh of relief, Heyes and Curry had planned to leave town early the next morning, just in case the Sheriff did any more investigating which might arouse his suspicions as to their identities but, half an hour later, the heavens had opened, torrential rain, gales and a vicious thunderstorm keeping them prisoner in their hotel room for the remainder of the night and all of this morning.

 

Heyes knew it wasn’t the weather that was responsible for the Kid’s preoccupied mood.  He was brooding about having killed the man.  Despite his skill with a gun, he wasn’t by nature a killer and had worked hard to become good enough that, most of the time, he didn’t have to kill.

​

It wasn’t the first time he’d killed a man, but that didn’t make it any easier for him to deal with.  Heyes knew he would be going over the minute seconds it took both of them to fire, in his mind, trying to work out if he could have avoided firing the fatal shot.

 

Heyes once again flicked his gaze across to his partner, before lowering it back to his book and turning another page, patiently waiting for the questions that he knew would eventually come.

 

“What made us go the way we went?”

 

Heyes looked up, taken by surprised at the question.

 

“Huh?”

 

“What made us go the way we went?” the Kid repeated, “Down the path to outlawin’ ?”

 

Heyes sighed and closed the book.

 

“We didn’t choose to go that way, Kid.”

 

“We didn’t?” the Kid muttered, his gaze still fixed through the rain streaked window.

 

“You know we didn’t.” Heyes said quietly, swinging his legs to the floor and getting to his feet to cross to the window to stand in front of Curry,  “We just did what we had to do to survive.”

 

The Kid gave a grunt, half of disgust and half of anguish, shaking his head to himself as he gazed out of the window.

 

Heyes reached out to put his hand on the Kid’s shoulder.

 

“You mustn’t blame yourself, Kid.  It was him or you.” he told him.

 

“Or you.” the Kid responded,  “That bullet missed you by a whisker.”

 

“Well, a bit more than a whisker.” smiled Heyes.

 

The Kid shook his head, not listening,  “It’s my fault.  I should have guessed that he might hang around looking for trouble.  I should have been ready.  That way I might not have had to kill him.  I messed up.  I’m sorry.”

 

“Listen,” Heyes said angrily, gripping the Kid’s shoulder harder and pulling him round to face him,  “don’t ever apologise, OK?  If it wasn’t for you we’d likely both be dead by now.  We went the way we did because we had no choice, and we’ve done what we’ve had to do to keep ourselves alive. It might not be legal and it might not always be pleasant, but it’s necessary, and I thank God, every day, that I have you with me, ‘cause there’s no way I’d be here today if it wasn’t for you and your ability with that gun.”  He sighed, heavily, “I know you feel bad when something like this happens,” he said quietly,  “but it won’t always be this way, Kid.  One day soon, we’ll come to a fork in the road and then we’ll take a different way.”

 

The Kid eyed him for several moments before saying, “You really think so?”

 

Heyes broke into a cheeky grin,  “Would I lie to you?”

 

A ghost of a smile touched the corner of the Kid’s mouth.

 

“Hey, look, the rain’s stopping. We’ll be able to head out soon.” said Heyes, nodding towards the window.

 

The Kid turned to see the rain dying away and a ray of sunshine break through the clouds.

 

Heyes watched his friend as he gave a deep sigh, obviously  having made some sort of recompense with himself for the previous night’s events, before he turned to look at him.

​

“Well, I hope that fork in the road comes up soon, Heyes.” he said wistfully.

 

Heyes met his gaze with a gentle smile,  “It will, Kid.  Believe me, it will.”   Then, crossing to pick up his book and pack it in his saddlebags he said, “Come on, let’s hit the trail while the weather holds.”

 

Curry got to his feet and, picking up his belongings, followed Heyes out of the door.

 

 

​

-ooOOoo-

​

​