Hoofprints in the Dust

(Warning: Contains a brief use of a racial slur used by a badguy)

Alec was in pain. 

His side throbbed from where he’d been slashed and his thigh was on fire from his fresh gunshot wound. He groaned and strained against the ropes binding his wrists to the post. He was sitting with his legs straight out in front of him.

“You think you’re in pain now?” One of the men guarding him asked. “Just you wait, boy.”

Alec scowled at him. “Don’t call me boy. Only those I actually respect get to call me that.”

The man stalked closer to him and leered down.

“Respect, huh? Wait till Bacall gets a hold of you. Maybe we’ll do like them Injuns used to do: stake you outside and pour honey on you - let the ants have you.”

Alec glared defiantly at the man. “Go to hell.”

The man backhanded him. “You’re the one in hell. You just don’t know it yet.”

Alec slowly turned back and chuckled as he winced. “You sound like a dime novel villain.”

His captor growled and walked away, closing the door behind him as he walked into an adjoining room. Alec took a deep breath. 

Despite his bravado, Alec was scared. He had no idea what horrors they had in mind for him, and he didn’t want to find out.

He strained against the rope to no avail. He tried to stand but his wounded leg made that too painful. It seemed he had no choice but to wait for what came next. He hung his head in defeat, but then quickly lifted it as he heard something.

From the other room there were shouts, crashing and smashing sounds and the clatter of glass breaking. The noise settled just as quickly as it had started, then there was the clip-clop of hooves and the door was suddenly kicked open.

Alec looked up as the familiar centauress stepped through. Her warclub was still in her hand and it was bloodied. She was clad in the buckskin top she usually wore.

“Kaya!” Alec exclaimed. “You’re a sight for sore eyes.”

“Always getting yourself into trouble,” she scolded.

“They jumped me,” he protested as she cut his ropes off with her knife. “Got cut, got shot...”

“How’d you find me? How’d you get here?” Alec pestered her.

“We’ll discuss that later. Can you walk?”

Alec nodded. “Yeah, I can.” He started to stand up but promptly fell over - Kaya caught him before he hit the floor. Alec looked at her, still surprised by her strength.

“No you can’t walk, or run,” the Centauress said, then a thought came to her. “I can’t believe I’m about to do this.”

“About to do wh—?!” Alec asked as she suddenly picked him up. 

She shifted him over until he was sitting on her horse half, his back pressed against hers. Kaya picked up the rope that had been used to restrain him and tied it around both their midsections to ensure that he wouldn’t fall off.

Trotting over to the next room, Kaya picked up a few objects and handed them to Alec.

“These are yours, right?” She handed him his hat and weapons.

Alec smiled. “Ah yeah.” 

He made sure his revolving carbine and Schofield pistol were both still loaded. Alec was a rebel through and through: using a revolver carbine instead of the more popular lever actions. 

Kaya gave a worried look to Alec as she trotted her way to the door of the shack and kicked it open. 

The mouths of the three men who were about to enter the building right as Kaya and Alec were making their escape fell open in surprise - Kaya instantly lashed out with her front hooves, kicking two of them in the chests. The third man sprinted away and began to shout for the alarm to be raised. Kaya caught him by the neck and slammed his head against the side of the building, but the damage had been done. There were shouts as the outlaw town came alive.

Kaya had her bow at the ready and an arrow knocked as she charged down the street. A man appeared in front of her drawing a pistol, she let fly and sent an arrow into his chest. Before the man even hit the ground, Kaya tore the arrow out of his bloody chest and re-knocked it.

Alec saw a shotgun-toting man round the corner starting to bring his gun up when Alec fired. The man spun on his heel and fell to the dirt.

“You shoot ahead of us, I’ll shoot behind!” Alec advised.

Kaya rode on as the town of bandits came alive. A man crouching behind a cart suddenly stood had an arrow lodge itself in his throat as he broke cover. Alec fired on another outlaw who charged out of a doorway with a gun. Another man fell from a balcony after taking an arrow to the stomach. Onwards the two moved down the street firing on anything that moved.

Alec fired his sixth and last shot at a gun barrel poking out of a window, the barrel withdrew quickly as the man wielding it was hit. Alec stowed his carbine and brought out his pistol while Kaya put another arrow into a desperado firing at her from the street. Gunshots were going off all over the town, and bullets where whizzing by the pair as Kaya galloped.

Alec fired, catching a rifleman on a roof in the shoulder. The man cried out and staggered away. A trio was firing from a porch of some building. Kaya swerved and Alec fired, hitting one in the leg while the other two scrambled away but not before one of them got an arrow in his back.

Kaya abruptly veered down an alleyway causing Alec to lean dangerously to the side.

“Whoa, Kaya, warn me next time!”

“Heh, sorry!”

The two kept shooting on perceived threats. Alec got down to his last shot just as she leapt over a low fence. 

“Yikes!” Alec cried as they landed on a narrow, sandy slope on the other side, the centauress nearly loosing her footing.

The two half ran and half slid down the slope until they were at the base. They looked back at the town which was still surging with activity, like a hornets’ nest. Riders were starting to head out in pursuit of them.

“We’ve got a head start, we’ll lose them!” Kaya said as she took off running again.

After running for miles, Kaya finally stopped at a basin. 

“I think we’ve lost them.”

“That’s a relief,” Alec mumbled. The Centauress untied the rope binding them.

“Let me have a look at your wounds,” she said as she transferred Alec from her back to a shelf-like rock.

“Shucks, I’m fine,” Alec grumbled.

The Centauress looked him over with an appraising eye, she reached down and tore at his pants leg.

“Hey!” Alec protested.

Kaya was deaf to his protests. “No you’re not fine. This could get infected, do you want that?”

“No, hey!” Alec was shouting again as she suddenly lifted his shirt up past the ribs.

“Same with this. We’re going to have to clean the wound,” Kaya said as she proceeded to pull Alec’s shirt off. “I’m going to fetch some herbs to stop any infection.” 

“I can do that myself,” he blushed.

Once again Kaya ignored him as she continued to undress him. “Don’t worry, I don’t think you’re attractive.”

Alec didn’t know how to respond to that as his dignity was removed along with his shirt. She carried him to the water where she gently washed his wounds.

“Just try to relax,” she advised.

He tried but the pain and the fact he was naked made that hard. Finally done cleaning his wounds Kaya applied some herbs to his wounds, which burned and made him cry out.

“Stop being a baby, the burning will pass,” She said as she bandaged him.

When she was done with him she helped him dress in the spare set of clothes he had in his pack. A tired Alec finally let fatigue overtake him as he slumped against the rock behind him, being careful to keep his revolver in reach.

“Rest well, regain your strength.” Kaya’s voice cut through the fog of his drowsiness.

“Sure. Thanks Kaya...” Alec muttered. “...For everything.”

The centauress beamed. “You’re welcome.”