EP 113 - THE LAST SHOT.

"We have to come to a compromise then." Conrad spoke to this non forthcoming scoundrel. "A shoot off. Me and You."

Knox grinned knavishly. "An honorable way to die , for you of course." He held his gun in one hand then pulled out the other for a handshake. "You've got yourself a deal , boy."

Conrad shook his head , his wits reeling and then turned away from him. Both men backed each other as they moved fifteen paces away from each other, weapons in their tight grips.

"When I count to five, the quickest shot wins..." Conrad shouted out to him .

"And the other side..." Knox added.

Silence filled the forest. The birds stopped chirping, the leaves halted in their rustling motions as all went still. It was a silence so thick you could cut the tension with a knife. A silence so heavy...

"Can you stop the explaining already and get to the shooting part?!!!" John groaned with the others in agreement.

"I'm the game master and I can do whatever I want, Heh-heh." Eva mocked and continued. "Sweat glistened on Conrad's forehead as Tension pervaded the atmosphere . A dramatic wind blew whilst A tumbleweed rolled by the taut men...

"What the hell is a tumbleweed doing in the middle of a forest?" Sky questioned incredulously.

"You're telling me sister." Su ling rolled her eyes.

"I'm hungry." Obi whined aloud and every one started mumbling and talking all at once.

"Oh boy." Eva sighed.

After taking a two minute break , the game was back on. Conrad whipped out his pistol and began the count down.

"5"

"4"

"3...

Obi threw the die.

"Roll..."

"6"

"Bullet Blaster!"

A loud shot rang out , echoing across the forest as a flock of crows resting on a nearby tree , scattered into the air as such unexpected noise.

It was a heck of a shot , even Knox acknowledged that . Outside of having the wind knocked from him , which he always hated , Knox noticed a fair amount of pain with the gutshot, which was something he was not used to.

A hit to the face , yes , or even the kidney but the gut shot was something every marksman feared on his way down. He descended to the ground , holding his abdomen in his hand trying to close his fingers over his wound to prevent blood from pouring out but none came.

"What did you do to me, You dungbeetle ?!"

"Words hurt ya know." Conrad placed a hand over his heart. "Chill out man I couldn't be as cruel as to kill you. Its only an immobilizing shot. You won't be able to move for three days tops. If only that worked with your mouth." He sighed

"You cheated , You sniveling Bastard!" Knox shouted angrily at Conrad holstered his blaster and approached him. "You got a shot off before you reached one."

"Even if I counted up to one, I would have shot you dead straight."He smiled and opened his palm and a casings of unused bullets fell to the ground. Knox pulled out his gun and saw it empty.

"

How did you...?"

"An adventurer's secret." He whispered and held him by the collar. "Now it's time for you to pay for all your crimes, in jail."

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The villagers were stunned when the adventurers returned and threw Knox , one of their most trusted protectors before their feets.

"The bandit " Avyanna declared. "As promised."

"Knox!" One of the old man that had surrounded him gasped in surprise. "How could you do this? We trusted you!"

"I regret nothing." He retorted angrily as he glared at Conrad who grinned cheekily at him. "And I would have gotten away with it , If it wasn't for you numbskulls ."

"Someone shut him up and throw him in the dungeons." Another old man shouted and some hefty young men came into drag Knox away admist boos and curses.

The adventurers returned the gold back to the people and the people expressed the sincerest appreciation by cheering their praises.

"We give you all our deepest apologies and thank you for returning back what belongs to us." The old man and the rest of the people bowed their heads in gratitude.

"Speaking about gratitude..." Conrad began. "I have one tiny favor to ask of you..."

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Clink....

Clink....

The man in the cell brought down his harmonica from his cracked lips. He opened up his two eyes and looked up to see Conrad jingling a bunch of metal keys.

"Rise and Shine Old man."

"I'll be darned. You came back." He grinned showing his yellowish teeth. "You rescue your friends?"

"Yeah, but there wasn't much groveling in appreciation that I had expected." He blew a raspberry and put his his hands into his pocket. "That's my problem. Your problem is you're now a free man. Happy Living."

The old man eyes enlarged in shock and then he closed them , a tear escaping from them as he placed his harmonica back to his lips and continued to play.

"I just told you you're free. Aren't you supposed to jump for joy and get as far away from here as you can?" Conrad asked.

"You ..." The man smiled once more. "You're a good lad , son. But even If I leave , I'll probably be back here in a few days. I have no place to live , no money , nothing. At least in this Prison I get shelter and three square meals a day , even if its the prison chow."

The brown haired man sighed.

The old man felt something thud by his side and he took a hold of it ? Loosening the ropes around its top , he saw that it was a bag filled with gold. He looked up at the younger man.

"How did you get this?! Tell me you didn't steal...

"Relax Old man , I didn't steal it." He scratched the back of his head. "I just kinda borrowed it. It doesn't matter how I got it , What matters now is that you're free. ."

"Thank you son." The old man said trying to hold back his tears at the genuine kindness that had been shown to him. He rise to his frail feet as he called out to his savior who was now walking away. "How can I ever repay you?"

He smiled like an angel. "By Living a honest and happy Life."