Chapter 1: Prologue

The Thoughts that Count

By Ikemtz16

Chapter 1: Prologue

***

In the dusty plains of the wild west, a man emerged from the horizon. He stood blithe near the top of the hill, for his travel only led him to reflect on his day. He had just rooted from Texas several months ago as an alleged bounty hunter, looking to redeem himself. Though his mind recalled such a story, he couldn't shake away the somber memories of killing nearly hundreds of outlaws, or the many hearts he broke.

The uncouth witness of mangled bodies after every shootout, haunted him as he stumbled through the dunes. Many folk considered him a hero, but the horrible events of his life only vilified his reputation. He had little friends in his time, while some dismissed him as a ruthless man, and everyday he feared of becoming alone, with no partner to befriend or woman to fall in love with.

Do they despise a man for his actions, or do they honor him?

***

I closed the the front cover of my novel I've been reading. Its powerful literature left me astonished as I laid the book on the night stand.

"Wow." I muttered. "Quite the story, I think I'll read more of it later."

I adjusted my recline on the bed frame, and sighed through my nostrils. The back of my head rested on the frame’s wooden surface as I sat there bored. It had been a long day lately of managing various errands throughout the day. Now I plainly lied on my bed thinking about the cowboy's ballad.

Recently, I've been working like a beaver in the back parts of Gallup, in a small property ranch. The days were tough, but the pay was decent. Obviously, not enough to get me out of this hick town, but it was good enough for the essentials.

Several minutes go by that night and I was still bored. Nothing left to do but just rest. Besides, I had more work to do tomorrow and since it was getting late, it would've been best just to sleep for now in order to awake properly.

I was about to go to bed until my boss, Charlie, called for me.

"Ike! Git down here!" he shouted in a slightly strong Texas drawl.

‘What can I say, I'm at a ranch.’

As if by reflex, I hopped off my bed. But before I made haste, I stopped by my mirror on the door to make sure I was presentable. My smooth brown hair wasn't too shaggy, so that was one benefit. My complexion didn't pause me either, all I saw was just flawless skin. The attire I wore was more rugged since I was a ranch hand, just a plain t-shirt with skinny jeans. Though I’ll admit, the pants had the tendency to compress my crotch like there was no tomorrow.

I nodded with approval at my reflection and ran downstairs to meet Charlie, sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace. He was sitting on a two-seat couch with his eyes glued to the TV on top of the mantle.

I approached the man, who was about an inch shorter compared to my six foot height. He was wearing a black cowboy hat and beige jacket, along with blue skinny jeans and light brown cowboy boots. His facial features were a dark-brown, rugged beard covering the majority of his chin, cheeks and upper lip.

When I appeared in the room, he turned to me with the side of his face glowing against the light of the flames.

"Howdy Ike," he said. "Can y'all do me a favor and check on the horses out back? Just wanna make sure they're fed before ya hit the hay."

I sighed with discouragement, then nodded my head.

"Sure," I replied.

"Much appreciated."

It did annoy me slightly that I had to do a last minute job before bed, but if it meant a bonus I had to listen.

So I grabbed my jacket on the coat rack and made my way to the front door. Outside it was still dark. I could hear crickets chirping and wolves howling in the distance soothed my ears. The air was still warm due to the summer heat, but it was reasonably manageable.

I was still tired from my desperation for sleep, but my senses were rejuvenated by the summer night’s warm, clean air, encouraging me to commence with my chore.

I made my way to the barn doors. I opened them slightly before peeking my head into the wooden building. It may have been just a quiet little barn, but a stowaway with a weapon crossed my mind at the moment. Sure enough those thoughts vanished when the coast was clear.

As I walked inside, I studied each trough I passed. All were filled with enough hay and water to make it through the night. Except for a quarter horse lurking in the back. So I grabbed a bucket and filled it with clean water from the water pump, then pouring it all into the trough. As well as a bale of hay to ease the horse's appetite.

"There you go, Cletus," I said to the horse, who just stood there as I just kept talking. "Now eat slowly this time, I don't want you all hungry again tonight." I chuckled at those words.

But stopped when I realized how lame that sounded.

Though my duty was finally done, I was much too lazy to leave. That and the clean air from outside was getting to me. So I took advantage of this opportunity by climbing up to the loft of the barn and resting on a shredded blanket I left there on my previous night. Sitting on a snug spot crossed legged in front of an open window, revealing a beautiful night sky over the vast New Mexico high desert. Usually every night before crawling into bed, I would ease my overworked nerves with subtle scenery. It always helped me relax a little before bed and the sight was truly remarkable to take in every night.

"Beautiful," I admitted softly.

"It is, isn't it?" asked a woman's voice from behind me.

I turned around to see a woman; roughly in her thirties. She was standing on the ladder, near the edge of the loft. I was not sure how I failed to notice her presence or the creaking sound of the barn doors when she came in.

"Hey, Ike," she said with a smile, of which I responded with my own.

"Evening, Mrs. Williamson," I replied, "what are you doing here?"

Mrs. Williamson, or Abbie as I've grown to call her, was Charlie's wife and assistant to the ranch. But unlike my boss, she was more friendly and well-spirited. Ever since I came to the farm, she welcomed me with content hospitality.

"I was just about to feed the horses,” she said, “but I can already say that's taken care of." She referred to the occupied troughs.

"Your husband told me to feed them, so I just helped out."

Her perky smile conveyed her gratefulness.

"That's very nice of you Ike. Might I ask how your day's been?"

"It was great. I'm just tired right now, so I was planning to head to bed real soon."

Abbie climbed onto the loft and sat right next to me.

"Well, you seem more interested in the view," she noted, gesturing her head to the window.

I smiled. "It helps me relax before I go to bed. This is what I call 'my warm milk before bed'."

She chuckled at that comment. At least someone finally laughed tonight.

"So Ike," she said with her signature smile, "you've been working here for two months, right?"

"Yeah, about two months." I replied, reminiscing on the many memories on this ranch, "Why?"

Abbie shrugged her shoulders. "Well my husband is always so busy with you, that we've never properly met. I've never got to ask what school you came from."

"I was at UNM just last year."

"Ah, the university." Abbie mused, "How was it?"

I started to recall my time at college. It was okay in terms of education, but most of the time it was pretty lonesome. Being a social butterfly was not exactly my specialty as a freshman to a senior. At that reminder, I brushed off my loneliness with a sigh as I looked out the window to hopefully instigate my sadness. Abbie's grin began to shrink at the sight of my slowly growing frown.

"To be honest, Mrs. Williamson," I mumbled aloud, "it wasn't all that great."

"Well why not?" she asked concernedly.

"I... don't want to talk about it."

She cocked her head at me and gave me a confused look. I assumed she was going to interrogate without rest, but her expression was filled with regret as she remained silent for a moment.

“I'm sorry, Ike,” she eventually spoke, “I didn't mean to-”

“It's fine,” I interrupted. “You didn't know. If it's all the same to you, I don't want to look back on that.” I looked her in the eye. “All I can say is that I wasn’t a social type of guy. You know, doesn’t play well with others?”

She understood my metaphor and nodded earnestly. Then she rested a comforting hand on my shoulder.

“If it's that personal, Ike. Then I completely respect it.”

I smiled heartily at her. She then offered a hug, of which I happily accepted. But upon movement, caused something to fall out of my pocket. Abbie seemed to notice the parcel that fell.

"What's that?" She pointed at the floor.

Looking down, I saw a folded piece of paper.

I chuckled slightly. "I forgot about this!" I replied as I picked up the paper.

"What is it?" Abbie asked.

"Just an old picture I drew earlier."

I unfolded it into the lantern above us to show a black and white drawing of four cowboys. They were set in the middle of the picture aligned to face me and Abbie with challenging grins.

"Wow, Ike!" Abbie awed. "You certainly have skills other than breaking horses."

I smiled at her. “A guy can have more than one hobby, can’t he?”

We chortled at that comment. I was beginning to speculate that my comical quotes were brightening up the moment, unlike my previous attempts.

After showing her the drawing, I explained to Abbie about these fictional fellows. Talking about their names, their personalities, and their lives. Already planned out as if they were legitimate characters to a story. I did so by naming each character individually.

"That's Vince Gonzales." I pointed to a big mexican man with a bloated chin and sombrero on the left side of the paper.

He wore a long-sleeved, button-up shirt with a bandolier wrapped over his shoulder. A shiny belt buckle with a cow skull glistened on his waist.

I moved on to the next person standing by the first. He was also big, but more buff looking, wearing a poncho over a black shirt. The sleeves were folded to expose his broad arms, and was also wearing a bandolier, just like Vince. A flat brimmed hat sat on top of his head. She might not know it, but his skin was supposed to be pink.

"Rufus Wells," I presented.

The next person resided on the far right of the picture. He was pretty skinny for a cowboy, and had black, spiky hair underneath a gambler's hat. A vest and handkerchief complimented his build as he stood their with a smug expression.

"Bobby Blackjack." Abbie giggled a little at the funny last name.

Finally, I point out the gentleman in the middle of the group. He too was skinny, but was rather slim compared to Bobby. A black hat, white shirt, and black suspenders were etched on his body. Glasses surrounded his large cartoon eyes, that gazed right at me as I scrutinized the design.

"And finally, John Everett."

"He looks just like you," Abbie commented.

The resemblance was meant to be, for when I drew these characters I wanted to portray myself as a western hero. Something I’ve wanted to imagine since I was a little kid.

"I call these guys Wild West Tech," I spoke with pride.

I further explained the premise of these frontiersmen. In my imagination, they were basically a gang of cowboys, with an arsenal of superior technology that no other pioneer has ever seen before. Living their lives in the Wild West and battling zombies to protect their world.

Abbie looked deep into the picture and smiled with glee at my talents.

“Again, Wow!” she exclaimed surprisedly. “This is actually amazing, Ike. How come you don’t do this as a career?

I shook my head. "Naw, these are just rough sketches. It would be a great idea, but I'm alright with just working here." I look at her with a smile, of which she happily returned with her own.

"Well," Abbie said as she stood up and began to climb down the ladder, "I better go to bed. You should probably do the same. Remember that tomorrow is your day off, so don't worry about going to work.”

I had completely forgotten I had a day off every weekend. Charlie wanted me to take it easy after working hard with him every day, which surprised me a little considering he does nothing but put me to work without ever taking a break. Probably because of some economical dilemma he's succumbing to every now and then, and he had to perform his best in maintaining his farm for profit. And every weekend when a day off commenced, I wanted to make it worthwhile.

"And Ike? I'm sorry for bringing up that conversation.” She blushed. “You know, about…” She trailed off, but I already got it from there.

I waved my hand at her. “It’s okay, Abbie,” I replied, “it’s nothing important anyway.”

Her smile widened. “I hope you'll be alright."

Her sympathy was warming to hear. We then exchanged last minute good-nights as she climbed down the ladder and walked out of the barn.

I was about to do the same, but after Abbie asked about my past, I started to think about it. I wasn't sure why I thought of it now, but trying to forget turned out to be a problem. I don't even want to bring it up in this story.

Despite wanting to investigate, a yawn unexpectedly escaped my mouth. My bed was calling my name, and I was born to answer that call. Besides, ignoring those memories was probably best, for slumber was a top priority to focus on. So I followed Abbie's advice and followed suit out the barn doors.

But before I left, I halted under the doorway. A weird sensation overcame me for a second. As if someone was watching me. I looked behind, only to see dimly lit stalls and a couple of horses eyeing me walk out the door.

“Ike!” I turned to Abbie from outside. “You coming to bed?”

“Uh, be right there!” I replied.

Completely brushing off whatever I felt was inside that barn, I followed Abbie back inside the house.

Unbeknownst to me, someone was inside. A horse in the corner of the barn, was standing about with a pure white coat that glistened in the moonlight, and had a multicolor mane with streaks of light rainbow colors.

With a tattoo of a sun on its flank.