Snippet #2004455

Well, this'd been an exciting afternoon. Nothing to welcome you back from four days in the desert like an angry marshal and a hell of a lot of pistols. Kate spurred Gunsmoke forward down main street, firing the occasional shot over her shoulder. She had to be wise with her shots- she only had a six-shooter pistol and she'd already wasted 3 bullets. Her ammo and other weaponry was safely stowed in her saddle bag, which she didn't dare reach for until she'd escaped main street and the threat of a bullet in the back.

Above the pound of hoofbeats, Kate heard, much to her surprise...singing? Coming towards her? Who walks towards gunfire? Singing, no less! She peered through the dust churning around her, making out the hazy shape of a man and a pack mule. And what was said man holding? A gun, of course.

The rifle was resting on his shoulder, and Kate took a small amount of comfort knowing that her pistol was already drawn and she could easily fire off two shots before he ever hoisted his gun. He didn't cut a particularly imposing figure, this dusty man with his beraggled mule, but hey, she wasn't about to underestimate anyone with a firearm. But why, why, why was this crazy miner blocking her path? Christ, why was everyone trying to be a hero these days?

"Clear out!" she hollered, racing towards the man. He wasn't moving, and neither was she. No, Kate had set her course, and she intended to stay on it. The mule was balking, braying and stomping in the ornery way mules do, but the man was at least twice as stubborn as the animal, and he wasn't going anywhere. "Dammit! Clear out, I said!" she yelled.

The man looked at her without concern. She was mere yards from him now, and she made a last ditch effort to make a point. She fired a shot at the man's feet, sending a blast of dirt into the air. Now she was mad. Not only was he in her way, he'd made her waste a bullet!

She oughtta put a bullet through his head right now, teach him not to mess with a hardened outlaw. And she probably would've, too, except that Gunsmoke made up his mind before Kate, and, being a well-reasoned animal who knew it was easier to go around things than through them, the horse veered left, very narrowly avoiding the terrified mule. Spotting an opening between two buildings, Kate shook her head in disgust and turned a hard left, a cloud of choking dust appearing from under Gunsmoke's hooves as the pair skidded off main street, tore down a short, narrow alley, and galloped onto a smaller side street.