I'm doing this...

I'm just going leave my teammate back there and-

A bullet ripped the air past my face, the whiplash causing my ear to ring. This is about to get crazy, getting out of this without getting shot will be like getting through rain without getting wet. Micah barked,

"Quit your mullin' lawman! It's about to get hot n' heavy!"

The man, Arthur was his name pulled the double barrel from his back just as the sheriff and his deputies stepped out.

"I knew you were up to no-"

Those were the man's last words before his leg was blown clean off. Arthur then peppered the others and Micah finished them off. The sheriff and one other man were groaning, wallowing in the mud and their blood, and I hopped over the short stone wall. Bullets followed me as any and every man with guns ran out to protect their women and children from mostly Micah, I wouldn't touch them, bless God.

I put the still dying sheriff in between me and the bullets coming for my life. I pried the pearl handled Cattleman revolver from him and targeted a man for three shots. The distance and pressure from shooting in center of the road caused me to miss twice but I hit him in the throat. I was a hundred yards away and still saw the blood escape his aorta violently.

I heard horses behind me, Arthur pointed his reloaded double barrel shotgun at me and barked, "Duck fool!"

With a killer pointing a shotgun-wedding namesake in your face you tend to do what they say.

Ducking and covering my ears I could almost feel the shotgun shooting over me. After those shots there was a man thrown next to me and one behind me. The two men's horses galloped away and then me and Arthur both glanced at Micah.

The crazy cunt was going down the center of the street with two guns like he was God.

"C'mon! I already killed more than the two of ya! What's the hold up?!"

"There were riders on our flank you buffoon!"

I scrambled for the closest body and took an old Spencer and any ammo I could get. I glanced towards the general store and spied a kid watching us in horror. I signaled for him to get down and he pointed behind me.

Behind me?

A revolver kicked up mud behind me and I dove, turned onto my back and shot. The man was wounded from Arthur's shotty, explaining his lousy aim. My shot kicked his head back and he slumped into the ground.

Mud and blood stuck to my duster when I got up and regrouped. We crossed a bridge and Arthur exclaimed,

"We need to get outta her Micah!"

"No, I gotta make a house call!"

"Wha-? House calls? We ain't got time for this fool!"

"I personally like living as well," I added, before another wave of armed civilians charged us.

"Aww, this is what you don't understand!" Micah cried shooting two men and taking cover, "This is livin' life! Life at its finest!"

I cussed when a citizen peppered me with a shotgun. The birdshot only cut my face and torso rather harmlessly before Arthur mopped up the other men with the ease of counting to four with your fingers. That's because there was only four of them anyway.

Sheet lighting cracked overhead and the eerie silence was filled with the drumming of rain on the rooftops. Following my rescuers my gaze began to wander on the bleeding man I passed, crawling away in the mud. God forgive his sins, I prayed mentally before my revolver interrupted the rain in mercy.

We came up to a small wooden cabin, the wood relatively newer than the other buildings. Arthur looked tense and his vest and Union suit stuck to him. I tried to swat at the mud on my back and then proceeded to reload my revolver.

"Now what's so important about all this?" Arthur shook his head, "We could be half-way to a train, hell, camp by now!"

"I'm almost done Arthur."

I gulped and then took a detour to the building adjacent us. There was a blood trail that led to a closed door and I heard a woman mumbling something, no sobbing, begging even. My lips pursed, she dragged the wounded man in there and was begging for him to stay awake. I sighed and a gunshot beckoned from Micah's locale.

Another gunshot called before I took a stalker hat from off a peg and rejoined my group. Micah was going on about his recovered guns before a shot whipped my new hat into the mud. I just got that hat-

I raised my Spencer, aimed and shot. My target stumbled back holding his chest before I shot again. My shot went through his arm into his chest again and he collapsed. Micah was calmly reloading his guns as Arthur shot the last shot of his revolver, missed, and grabbed his knife. I tried to cover him but I when I went to cock my rifle it jammed. Cussing it took me a moment and my full strength to force the shell into the chamber but Arthur tackled the panicked man and his knife tasted blood, plummeting into his throat and pulled out with flourish.

I crossed the bridge I was covering them from and Micah had glee in his eyes. "Ah," he sighed, "I love rolling around in mud n' blood!"

"I can't confess it to be my favorite pastime."

"C'mon! Your just like Arthur, a spineless stick in the mud!"

"Spineless?!" Arthur said, as I kept my mouth shut, "You had me," he glanced at me, "us help you shoot up half the town!"

I watched them, rifle leaned in my hand against my shoulder, guilt swelling in my gut. I looked at the chaos and it reminded me of the O'Drisscolls, and what my father said about Atlanta and the campaign of Savannah. I didn't take joy in this...

No, no joy at all.

"They had it coming Arthur-"

"Gentlemen," I interrupted, "can we take this somewhere a bit safer?"

"Yeah, are we done here, Micah?"

The man's face contorted from Arthur's guilt tripping and barked, "Yeah, yeah let's go."