Free Will

Daddy never told Jay what getting old feels like. He thought old was when the body began to slow down, and bones started creakin' more often. This wasn't it.

Old now means one was lucky enough to survive the collapse and store enough water from the Colorado River before it all disappeared.

The river is dry to the bone; ain't a soul brave enough to walk these parts without a pistol strapped to their side. Any drop of water is life, but it also means death.

Jay shot a bandit a time or two. Theft is a sin though people weren't being taught that or much of anything in the Lower Basin. The Upper Basin is where all the "smart folk" fought for freedom. They fought for order.

He'd wondered if he chose the wrong side; civil war over water; who would have thought?

The heat index indicator on his wristband whistled, alerting Jay that it'd be too hot once high noon came to travel any further without risking stroke or death. "Damn," he exhaled into the air wishing a breeze would strike across the barren province he marshaled.

His gut told him to keep moving and find maybe a cactus that he could salvage and take back to camp; instead, he turned toward the east, toward his camp, and saw a terror worse than the devil himself.

Jay froze, shifting his hand to pistol as Galen Melark and his band of savages rode up on horseback with a barrel of water splattered in blood. They laughed like hyenas surrounding a horde of carrion.

Jay stared down Galen, not letting his sight shy away from the trenchcoat-wearing, black hat, no good son of a bitch that stole his water and killed one of his people for it.

"Whatcha doin' out here all alone, Jay?"

"State your business."

Galen scoffed, "I asked you a question there, partner."

"You got three seconds to tell me what you want, or shorty on the white horse meets God."

Galen twitched, scrunching his nose, and spoke through gritted teeth, "My business is to see you, Mr. Man o' God."

"I ain't never said nothin' like that."

"You don't have to," and the savages chuckled.

Jay observed the men laughing.

"Say," said Galen, "Why don't you ask me how I got this water? Isn't that what you're out here looking for?"

"I know what you did, Galen. Free will. That's what your Upper Basin laws say, doesn't it?"

"I know what the law says. You wanna lecture me on em'?"

Jay replied, "We both know who would win that argument, Galen. You stole from me once before."

Galen pulled out a toothpick and looked to the desert. He did steal from Jay before, losing a few good men in the process. But a leader did what was right for everybody, no matter the cost, which meant sacrifices were needed. There was a time when both he and Jay agreed on such a thing.

"You gonna look at me, Galen, or should I put another one of your men in the ground?"

Galen angled his head toward Jay, "I remember the last time you did that; I told you it meant war."

"Are we at war now, Galen?"

"The war is for water, Jay. You've always known that."

"Then why kill my men and soak my barrel with their blood?"

"This ain't your barrel, Jay."

At once, a man on a black horse offloaded the barrel, and it burst open. Thinking that gallons of water would run out churned Jay's stomach. But it wasn't the water that made him ill.

"It's blood, Jay. My momma's, my wife's, and my son's."

Jay relinquished his grip on his pistol and lowered his arm to his side. "Who did this?" he asked.

"That's why I came to you."

Galen handed the reigns to the man on the stallion and jumped off. He walked with his hands in the air, showing no threat. He met Jay and pulled out a small gold medallion. The insignia was a lion lying with a lamb curled beside it.

"Are you invoking the creed?"

Galen sucked his teeth, dropped his head, sniffled a bit, and said, "Yes. I am."

Jay eyed the men behind them. It was customary for Galen to pull a stunt and break a covenant. But the creed, the ancient seal, was an irrevocable and unbreakable vow. The men held firm, respectable, and amiable to what was about to happen.

"Do you know what you're doing, Galen?"

He shook his head, "What choice do I got? You the closest thing to family I got left."

Jay unbuttoned the top of his shirt, revealing a golden chain bearing the same medallion as Galen's. He broke the chain and placed it in his hand.

"You know I can't make this vow if my clan was responsible for what happened, don't you?"

Galen sniffled slightly and shook his head quickly, "Yeah, I know."

Jay nodded and held out his left arm, waiting for Galen to outstretch his. He'd never know if it was hesitation or nervousness, but Galen inevitably grabbed Jay's arm with a clenching grip, like one who knew their clock was ticking. Jay took his medallion in his right hand, with Galen mirroring him. They placed the gold in their mouths and pulled out their pistols. Each man pressed the muzzle into the heart of the other. It was high noon. The sweat poured down Galen's face as he waited for Jay's signal. With the gold clenched in his mouth, Jay counted internally, "1, 2, 3..." With a gentle nod, both men swallowed the medallions, and a shockwave originating from their spot in the desert flung them to the ground. As Galen's gang rode up with guns blazing, the horses bucked and whinnied.

"You alright?" Shorty called out.

Galen grunted, "I'm fine," as he pushed himself off the ground. He swiftly turned to Jay and asked, "Did it work?"

Jay was slow to rise, dusting the dirt off his pants. He retrieved his hat and lowered it, shading his face. With great solemness, he inched toward Galen and whispered, "This is your last chance, or I will carve that medallion out of your stomach myself."