Part I: The Consecration

   Cole Whetherstone sat on a rocking chair in the corner of the room staring out the window to his right. He had a large rifle laying across his lap. His right hand was clasped on the handle of the gun with his finger resting on the trigger. His left arm dangled down from his shoulder drooping across the arm of the chair. He had a half empty bottle of tequila in his left hand. He wore a brown wide-brimmed hat that hung over his face to shield his beautiful eyes from the Sun. He was a dark and handsome man in his mid to late thirties, and his unshaven, scruffy face carried an expression of fear.
   He had but two companions with him. One sat in an armchair next to the door of the room, and the other sat on the bed. The man in the armchair was older than Cole and the other companion. He carried himself in a way that showed others he had wisdom, and he had confidence in that wisdom. He was a man who understood human behavior and had worked as a deputy for most of his life. His name was Conrad. Cole's second companion was about twenty-two years old. He was well known in the town he grew up in for being very patriotic. He was a man who hated injustice, and though he frequently made mistakes, he was always set to do the right thing. He was called "Pit" which was short for Peter.
   Cole had been traveling with these two men for two years now. He loved and cared about both of them very dearly. They were currently arguing about what route to take next in order to hide from a Colonel named Sawyer. Pit kept suggesting that they take the road south to the border of Mexico.
   "You don't think things through, d'ya?" Conrad asked, "Ye don't think thet maybe Sawyer has alerted border petrol?"
   "Well, where do you suppose we go?" Pit asked
   "Well," Conrad started but he stopped as he noticed a sudden alertness in Cole's eyes. "What's wrong, Cole?"
   Cole sat upright in his chair. He dropped the tequila in his left hand and clenched his rifle tight in both hands. The bottle hit the ground and landed on its side spilling the tequila across the floor. Cole's heart pounded from what he saw. Colonel Sawyer came galloping down the road of the town on a tall black horse with three of his men. Sawyer was a tall, strong man who had a brown beard and long, light brown hair that reached to his shoulders. He wore a clean black suit with a silver star pinned to his chest. Cole hopped out of his chair and turned to face his two companions. His eyes were filled with terror. "He's here." Cole said in his firm monotone voice.The two men leaped to their feet.
   "What are we gonna do?" Pit asked
   "Relax," Cole said, "We will watch to see what he does. This is our perfect opportunity. For, whatever direction he goes, we will go the opposite." Cole sat back down in his rocking chair as he watched Sawyer tie his horse to a post in front of the saloon across the street from the inn Cole and his companions were staying in. Sawyer and his deputies walked into the saloon. Cole and his companions sat staring at the entrance to the saloon for hours. The sky had turned to a dark black ocean covered with tiny glowing holes of light. The moon sat high in the sky shining over the town which now lie dormant and tenebrous in the night aside from the saloon, whose yellow lights shown across the street into Cole's window, illuminating the left side of his face.
   Cole tried hard to stay awake, but his vision was fading and his mind had grown vacant. His head dropped forward and he fell into sleep. He often dreamed about his past. And tonight his dream was filled with one of the most important memories in his life:
He was twenty-five years old and was the youngest of the farmer, Justin's, eight sons, and he sat on his horse in the fields with the cattle watching over them as they roamed the grassland. Cole looked back to the house and he saw his oldest brother, Liam walking to the edge of the wooden fence that surrounded his home.
   "Cole!" Liam yelled to his brother
   "Oye!" Cole yelled back
   "Supper's ready!"
   "Alright! Be right there!"
   Cole rounded up the cattle and drove them back to the house. When he got inside the food had already been consumed by his brothers. However, he did not mind. They were all hard workers who brought in money for the family. Cole just watched over the cattle and worked as a ranch hand. He was constantly teased by his brothers and they had always belittled him for not supporting the family. He took their insults and prideful remarks, and he stayed strong. He let them believe that they were better than him. A part of himself believed that they were better than him, too.
   One day his father rounded up he and his brothers. However, Cole was out in the fields with the cattle, so he did not hear his father's call;
   "Boys," Justin started, "A representative named Captain Samuel of the Union is coming to town today. Apparently he wants to meet our family. He wants to choose one of you to take you in and train you to serve in his military. So the boys got ready and set for Dodge City to meet with Captain Samuel. Cole was left herding the cattle.
   Liam rode back home to find Cole working in the fields.
   "Cole!" Liam yelled
   Cole looked up from his work to see his older brother, "What?" he yelled
   "We require your assistance." Liam answered
   "Why?" Cole asked
   "Will you just get up off your butt and come with me!"
   The two brothers rode back to Dodge City and entered the saloon. Captain Samuel looked at Cole and said, "Yes, this is the one." All of Cole's brothers exited the saloon with jealous rage.
Justin stood up and Cole sat down in his seat.
   "Nicholas," Captain Samuel began, "I am happy to see that you are healthy."
   And with this statement, the Captain stood up and walked to the bar. When he came back from the bar he had two olives. He stuffed one in his mouth and handed the second one to Cole. He then walked out of the Saloon, mounted his horse, and rode off.
   Cole looked down at the olive and shoved it in his mouth.
   Cole awoke to a jolt to his left shoulder.
   "There he is." whispered Pit
   Cole looked out the window to see Colonel Sawyer exiting the saloon with his three soldiers. Cole watched as Sawyer examined the inn. Then, Sawyer did something that Cole did not expect. He walked towards the inn.
   "Uh oh." said Pit.
   "We gotta get outta here." Conrad exclaimed
   "I agree, lets go!" Pit said
   Without saying a word, Cole stood up and walked out of the room with his two companions. He held his rifle close to his chest as he walked around the inn. They were on the second story, so evading the Colonel and his men would be very difficult. Cole walked to the top of the stairs. He looked down and saw at the foot of the stairs, Colonel Sawyer staring Cole right in the face.
   When Pit saw Colonel Sawyer he yelled, "Run!" Pit and Conrad ran down the hall towards a window. But Cole just stood at the top of the stairs staring into Sawyer's eyes, that were staring right back. Cole lowered his eyes and saw Sawyer's right hand reaching for his revolver on his belt.
   Cole quickly pulled his rifle up, aimed at a mirror on the wall next to Sawyer. He closed his eyes, pulled the trigger and ran after Pit and Conrad. The glass from the mirror shattered and sliced into Sawyer's face. He let out a howl of pain and fell to the floor. His three soldiers ran to his side to help him up. A piece of glass had pierced deep into Sawyer's left eye. Blood deluged out of his eye socket onto the floor.
  Cole, Pit and Conrad escaped through the second story window, mounted their horses and rode north.
   The next day Sawyer sat in the hospital looking into a mirror examining the many scars on the left side of his face, and his black eye patch that slung around his head and over the spot where his left eye would have been. He clenched his hand into a fist and slammed it on a table. "I'm gonna git you, Cole Whetherstone!"

To Be Continued...