Gunslinger | Teen Ink

Gunslinger

November 14, 2008
By Anonymous

The Gunslinger rode up to the saloon. He stopped for a moment, and stared at it, wondering if it would be worth it to stay. He wore black clothing and a pair of silver studded six shooters. He sighed, and dismounted and tied his horse up to the hitching post…

The Kid rode through the desert on his painted horse. He was the average height for young men his age. His brown hair fell down to his shoulders and his hat shaded his blue eyes. He had a grim look in his face…

The Gunslinger sat in the back of the saloon with a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass half filled. He was twirling a gold coin in his hand and was staring intently at a poker game at one of the tables…

The Kid was on top of a high ridge when he saw the town. He decided that staying in town was better than sleeping in the desert. He wheeled horse around towards town…

The Gunslinger poured himself a shot of whiskey and downed it in one swig. The town was really boring to the Gunslinger. He sat for a moment, considering leaving…

The Kid tied his horse to the hitching post in front of the saloon. He walked inside and his first impression was that it was a very dreary place inside…
The Gunslinger heard the saloon door open and looked around. He saw a young man walk in the bar. He looked like he was barely fifteen, if that. He noticed the kid sported a pair of six-shooters. The Gunslinger chuckled to himself. It was probably another kid that pretended to be a gunslinger in order to gain a reputation. Then the Gunslinger noticed his face. He recognized the face. Somewhere in the deep facets of his memory he had memory of that face.
The Kid walked through the doors and took in his surroundings. There wasn’t much activity inside, but at least there were bedrooms to rent out for the night. He walked up to the front of the saloon and sat at the bar. The bartender eyed him curiously, but pulled out a shot glass and filled it up. The Kid really didn’t want a shot of whiskey, but just wanted a room. But, not wanting to be rude, he took the glass up to his lips and downed it all in one large swig. It wasn’t all that terrible at first, but then it burned like hell. The Kid dropped his glass and gagged viciously. The bartender and every at the bar laughed hysterically. The Kid’s eyes watered and he was not in the mood to be laughed at. He looked to his left and saw a man laughing and scowled at him. The man’s mannerism changed quickly.
The man looked at the Kid and said, “You gotta problem with me boy?” The Kid decided that it wasn’t worth his time to fight the man and just ignored him. This just angered the half drunk man. “Hey, you listen to me when I’m talkin to you.” The Kid decided it was time to leave and got up, but the man grabbed him by his shirt. The Kid decided he had had enough and punched the man in the face hard enough that it knocked him into a barstool. The man got up and shouted, “Who the hell do you think you are?” The Kid pulled out one of his six shooters and pointed it at the man. “I’m Kid, the Gunslinger.” The man looked at the Kid, and threw his head back and laughed.
This angered the Kid and he fired of two shots. Both hit the man’s belt and his pants fell down. The man realized what had happened and bent down to pick them up and the Kid kicked him in the head. The man was getting up when the Kid heard a voice behind him say, “So you’re the infamous “Kid the Gunslinger”. I must say, I’m quite impressed.” The Kid turned around and saw the Gunslinger. His face contorted into one that contained all the hate and rage that one could have in a lifetime. The Gunslinger saw his face up close and recognized who it was. Inside he felt dread he had contained for ten long years. “We need to step outside now!” said the Kid with much venom in his voice. “Naturally.” said the Gunslinger. They both walked outside.
On their way out the Kid recalled the memory of the Gunslinger. The last time the Kid had seen the Gunslinger, he was five and he watched him kill his mother, father, and brother in front of him, yet had spared his life. The Kid had trained ten long years for this moment.
Both were outside and faced each other. They were about fifteen yards apart. The Kid glared at the Gunslinger. “You’re going to pay for what you did.” The Gunslinger just stared at him and the Kid pulled out both pistols and in two seconds had unloaded all of his ammunition in the direction of the Gunslinger. The Gunslinger stood there without flinching and all of the bullets seemingly deflected around him. Suddenly, in a blur of motion, the Gunslinger pulled out both of his pistols and fired into the Kid’s pistols barrels, shattering both. It hurt the Kid’s hands, but did little real damage to him.
The Kid fell to his knees and sat there. He couldn’t believe that he had lost. He wondered if all of his years of training had been for nothing. The Kid was almost to tears. The Gunslinger untied his horse, mounted, and pulled his horse up next to the Kid. He pulled out his two six shooters and dumped the bullets out, then dropped the pistols onto the ground next to the Kid. The Kid looked at him with surprise. “Take those. There rightfully yours anyway. And if you want to become a full fledged Gunslinger and complete your revenge, find Jeremiah Smith and tell him you wish to become a full fledged Gunslinger.” The Gunslinger started to ride away, then turned and pulled out a rifle and shot the Kid’s horse’s lead rope, scaring the animal causing it to run away. The Gunslinger spurred his horse and rode it full speed out of town.

The Kid stared at the Gunslinger as he rode off into the distance. He stood up and picked up the pistols. They felt very natural in his hand. He put them in his holster. They felt good there. He looked back in the direction his horse ran. He had a feeling that the Gunslinger meant him to go on foot. He looked back at the direction the Gunslinger had ridden to. “Jeremiah Smith, huh?” He started off into the desert on foot…

The Gunslinger looked back after a few miles. The Kid would find Jeremiah and become a Gunslinger. That was for sure. The Gunslinger looked forward and grimaced. Things were now set into motion that could not be undone, and the Gunslinger hoped in the bottom of his heart that the Kid was prepared to face it…


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This article has 2 comments.


on Apr. 19 2022 at 9:17 am
The-Grim-Reaper SILVER, Hudson, New Hampshire
8 articles 0 photos 22 comments

Favorite Quote:
We are all born crazy some of us remain that way

We don't talk about Bruno

Silenco Bruno

Is this based off of the Stephen King series the Dark Tower with Roland the gunslinger?

on Jul. 1 2013 at 12:35 am
Quartermaster PLATINUM, Los Angeles, California
21 articles 8 photos 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
"They tell us sir that we are weak. Unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when will we be stronger?"

          Really enjoyed the back and forth storytelling in the beginning, especially since they were very similiar. It hinted that the characters themselves were similiar.                One thing you could try is instead of saying what the characters feel, show the reader how they feel. Instead of "the town was really boring to the gunslinger" try something like "the gunslinger groaned at the lethargic calm lingering in the air; he sighed and rolled his eyes at the crisp paint trim on the saloon, unmarred by gunshot or knife slash."