Western Justice

Dakho

()[o__o]()
Reaction score
75
A cowboy-themed (very) short story. I felt it was kind of jumbled towards the end, wanted to know what you all think of it. Enjoy.

Thrice did the bell toll as the blazing sun settled in the middle of the sky, casting its gaze down upon the barren wasteland below it. The town settled on those open plains of dust and dirt was alive with the hoots and hollers of a bloodthirsty crowd. Men, women, and children alike gathered around the gallows to witness the spectacle that was death. A lone man stood on the wooden platform, with two of the sheriff’s men watching him through the sights of their rifles. He wouldn’t be going anywhere. The wind kicked up as the executioner arrived, a man in the employment of the sheriff named Thomas Phillips. A lanky middle-aged man with a short temper and a willingness to sin without hesitation. He spent most of his days in the saloon, living off of cheap food, cheap liquor, and cheap women. And he was the last thing that men at the gallows would ever see.

The land was unkind to the crowd that day. The heat of the day was at its peak, and it was the worst it had been in a month. The occasional gust of wind would kick up dust and dirt, and tended to be more of a nuisance than anything else. It was a land of strife, where a man was only worth as much as the sweat on his brow. It was a land for new beginnings, and untimely ends. Such an end was due that day, at the gallows of the town of Denton.

“Murderer!”
“Scum!”
“Sinner!” Words of bile and hate spewed from the crowd as Samuel Dontess prepared himself for his own demise. He could see the executioner coming; Phillips, that bastard. Samuel had known him for several years, and he was, by all accounts, a man with a black heart. Greed and lust were his only driving forces. It was the fact that this would be the man to kill him that bothered Samuel more than the actual fact that he was going to die. Hardly an honorable death. Phillips approached. “Well hi there, Samuel. It’s good to see you.” Samuel said nothing. “Now there’s no reason to be sour! If you atone for your sins, you will rise to heavens! The Lord is forgiving.”
“Not for you, Phillips. You’re beyond redemption.”
“Funny you say that, Mr. Dontess. If I’m not mistaken, it’s you at the gallows, not — Oh, look. Reverend Hawthorne is here.” The priest approached up the steps onto the wooden platform. A short man in his thirties, Father Hawthorne was relatively new to the priesthood. He was not a particularly well-liked man of the town; he was a nervous and jittery man who bumbled through his sermons like a foolish schoolboy. But alas, he was the only priest in Denton.

Father Hawthorne stumbled a bit as he walked up the steps, his anxiety obvious to the crowd. He gave a nod to Phillips as he approached Samuel. The priest began spewing out this and that about atoning and asking God for forgiveness. Samuel didn’t really pay attention. He was a Christian, but he worshipped in his own time and never went to Hawthorne’s sermons. The priest noted his disregard, and remarked, “My son, you must listen. Your eternity is at stake!”
“I’ve said my prayers, reverend. I don’t need a fool like you to communicate with God.”
“Very well then, Mr. Dontess. I pray that the Lord has mercy on your stubborn soul.” Hawthorne was quick to leave after saying his last remark. He had no intent to watch Samuel die.

“Sheriff’s comin’ soon, Samuel. And once he’s spoken, I’ll get to hang you like the murderin’ scum you are.” Phillips snickered and then walked away, leaving Samuel to himself and the crowd. His thoughts drifted to one topic: the sheriff. In a few minutes, the sheriff would walk out, declare that Samuel Dontess be executed on two counts of murder, and then watch as Phillips tied the knot and kicked away the stool. It was bitterly ironic. After all, the murders that Samuel was to die for were perpetrated by the sheriff himself. His name was Douglas Bradley, though very few called him by name. Like those in his employment, he was scum, and a mockery of the law. His style of “justice” tended to be doling out execution and imprisonment warrants to whomever he held a grudge against. Such was the case here. Eight days ago, the sheriff shot two men dead; they were brothers, Jonas and Isaiah Wilson. He pegged the murder on Samuel. It made sense; Samuel had been living alone for the past two years since his wife had died, and so there was no one to verify his alibi that he had been asleep when the deed was committed. In a show of arrogance, the sheriff told Samuel that it was he who had killed the Wilson brothers. Unfortunately for Sheriff Bradley, it would be his end.

The sheriff arrived on horseback, despite the fact that his office was just down the street. He trotted right up to the platform before dismounting. The crowd cheered him as he walked up the steps. “Greetings, men and women of Denton! Today we witness an act of justice. For merely a week ago, this man committed the ultimate sin: murder.” The crowd let out a wave of boo’s at the mention of the deed. “The two innocent Wilson brothers, Jonas and Isaiah. Two honest, hard working, Christian men, gunned down in cold blood by Samuel Dontess, never to see their wives and children again. But, at the very least, they will have their justice, when Samuel Dontess is executed.” He turned to Phillips then, and spoke in a softer voice, “prepare the rope.”

Phillips nodded and stepped forward to Samuel. This was it. Faded memories surged forward in his mind, and his eyes welled up in tears; the first time in the entire incident. Memories of his wife, his brother and sister, and of his father, who raised all three of them by himself. He remembered the sight of others before him, hanging at the gallows. He wondered if they were innocent as well. He wondered if they ever considered fighting back, before the executioner wrapped the noose around their neck. Phillips walked up to Samuel, noose in hands. “Goodbye, Samuel.”

The noose hovered over his head. In a sudden movement, Samuel lunged forward, grabbing Phillips. He was spared a moment before the guard or the sheriff shot him down, for they were still with shock. Samuel threw Phillips off the platform. The gangly man collapsed in the dirt, crying out in anger and pain. The sheriff had his gun drawn by then, and took aim. Samuel made a quick sidestep, and a bullet bit into his shoulder. Moments later he heard bullets whiz by, nearly missing him. As the sheriff cocked back the hammer of his revolver once again, Samuel grabbed at the weapon with both hands. The crowd was in a panic, and with the two so close, the guards couldn’t get off a shot without risking the sheriff. Instead, the guards pulled out their revolvers and sprinted towards the two. Samuel pulled the sheriff from the platform and the two toppled into the dirt, rolling about. The revolver fell from their hands, clattering away several feet.
The sheriff gave Samuel a quick elbow to the chest before crawling towards the weapon. Samuel grabbed his leg and pulled him backwards, and then using the momentum to leap forward, landing with his hand wrapped around the revolver. Sheriff Bradley rose and leapt at Samuel in a last effort to grab the weapon, but it was too late for him. Samuel quickly aimed and punched three rounds into the sheriff’s chest. He crumpled to the ground, dead. He let out one last sigh before the guards were upon him; a flurry of bullets assailed him, the guards letting loose with unrelenting fury. By the time they had emptied their guns, Samuel Dontess was dead. Justice had been served.
 

DogOfHavoc

Future Tragedy
Reaction score
55
Pretty good. There was some awkward sentences but overall it was pretty enjoyable.

As a side note, when men are brought to the gallows they are bound so that they can't fight back.
 

Dakho

()[o__o]()
Reaction score
75
Pretty good. There was some awkward sentences but overall it was pretty enjoyable.

As a side note, when men are brought to the gallows they are bound so that they can't fight back.

Yeah, definitely some strange sentences; I feel that's mostly at the end. And on the second point, you're right. However, it wouldn't be too ridiculous to assume such a town would be lax in their security, and add on to that the arrogance of the sheriff, and to me it seems somewhat plausible.
 

thewrongvine

The Evolved Panda Commandant
Reaction score
506
It's a cool story, :) Setting and character there are fun.
Perhaps to spice it up with what DogOfHavoc said with more security, make it harder for Samuel. Not necessarily making him like some super guy, but have to think more, or have a lucky escape like in Pirates of the Carribean, how Jack escapes every single time, :D

But still, nice story. :thup: Me liked it.

~Hai-Bye-Vine~
 

Tru_Power22

You can change this now in User CP.
Reaction score
144
Very nice. Creative. Not historically accurate, but overall pretty cool.
 
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