writing from
Scars Publications

Audio/Video chapbooks cc&d magazine Down in the Dirt magazine books

 

This writing was accepted for publication in
the 108 page perfect-bound ISSN# / ISBN# issue/book
Approaching Front
cc&d (v251) (the Sep./Oct. 2014 Issue)




You can also order this 6"x9" issue as a paperback book:
order ISBN# book


Approaching Front

Order this writing in the book
Need to Know Basis
(redacted edition)

(the 2014 poetry, flash fiction
& short prose collection book)
Need to Know Basis (redacted edition) (2014 poetry, flash fiction and short collection book) get this poem
collection
6" x 9" ISBN#
paperback book:

order ISBN# book

Order this writing
in the book
One Solitary Word
the cc&d
July - Dec. 2014
collection book
One Solitary Word cc&d collectoin book get the 402 page
July - Dec. 2014
cc&d magazine
issue collection
6" x 9" ISBN#
paperback book:

order ISBN# book

Gunfight at OK Corral

Samantha Memi

    Samantha Memi, gunfighter and one time member of the McLaury gang, was on her way to see a fortune teller. She needed to know for certain if her ex-boyfriend Tom McLaury still loved her. She wished she’d stayed with him but, when she found him in bed with Mary Lou, she skedaddled outa Tombstone and never went back.
    “Your loved one is in Tombstone,” said the gypsy, looking into her crystal ball.
    “That’s right,” said Samantha, amazed.
    “He will be killed today at three of the clock past noon. Only you can stop it. A young boy, finds a gun, no, not a gun, a bullet. You have to stop this from happening.”
    Samantha left for Tombstone straight away and rode into the desert, spurring her horse to a gallop. The horse frothed and its eyes stared madly into nothing while Samantha clung on dearly. As she bounced on the hard saddle, she realised that although she didn’t have an ass like Calamity Jane, this bashing on a saddle wasn’t doing her any good at all, but she knew she had to forget about her ass and get to Tombstone in time to save Tom from dyin’.



    There was a lot of moseying going on in Tombstone. Morg Earp was moseying down to the Alhambra. Doc Holliday was moseying back from an argument with Big Nosed Kate. Virg, Morgan’s brother, was moseying from no particular place to no particular place.
    While everyone was moseying around, Wyatt Earp rode into town. He must have been in a hurry, ‘cos he was riding fast, and he didn’t have no time to do no moseying. He jumped off his horse, ran into the Golden Eagle, and shouted, “Anyone seen Virgil?”
    Johnny Behan looked up huffily from his beer and said, “He was moseying by the Cosmopolitan.”
    “Nah,” said Frank Stilwell, with a sneer, “he wuz moseying ‘round by the Can Can.”
    John Clum, who thought he knew everything, said, “I seed him up by Hafford’s.”
    This was no good. Virgil couldn’t be in three places at the same time. Wyatt left the saloon and shouted, “Virgil!” A distant voice echoed back, “Whaaat?”
    “Git Morg an’ come tuh mah office.”



    It was hot as a whorehouse on nickel night. Samantha was gittin’ hungry. The horse was gittin’ hungry. The sun was gittin’ blisterin’. The desert was gittin’ never-endin’. She saw a billboard, ‘Burgers, Hot Coffee, Waffles and Grits, 4 miles.’ The horse was darn near wore out. Samantha said, “Don’t worry hoss, we’ll gitcha a burger soon.” ‘Yeah sure,’ thought the horse, ‘probably made outa mah dear ole Ma.’



    Morg and Virg arrived at the Sheriff’s Office. Morgan asked, “Wassa matter, Wyatt?”
    “Someone gone done stole six mules from the army.”
    “Six mules!” exclaimed Virgil, “God dang it. Who’d do a thing like that?”
    “I dunno, but I reckon it musta bin the McLaurys.”
    “We oughta git out there now and tell ‘em tha’s a bad thing tuh do.”
    “Tha’s what ahm thinkin’.”
    So the Earp brothers rode out to the McLaury’s place.



    Samantha tied her horse near the water trough under a sign which said, ‘McDefecates, the Home of Good Burgers’. She went in, ordered a burger and fries, and asked the waitress, “Yuh know Tombstone?”
    “Sure do.”
    “Yuh know Tom McLaury?”
    The waitress smirked, “Everyone knows Tom.”
    “Is he still with Mary Lou?”
    “Nope. Ah reckon he’s pinin’ fer a lost love.”
    “Someone called Sam?”
    “Could be.”
    Samantha smiled. Could be, was enough.



    When the Earp brothers got to the McLaurys place, Virgil saw five mules with the army’s ‘US’ brand and one mule marked ‘D8’. He saw Tom McLaury with a branding iron. He knew Tom was re-branding the mules.
    “What yuh doing is wrong, Tom,” said Virgil.
    “I know Virg, an’ I feel bad ‘bout it. Weren’t mah idea.”
    “You oughta give ‘em back tuh the army,” said Morgan.
    “That’s what ah figure,” said Tom, “and that’s what I aim tuh do.”
    “Okay then,” said Wyatt, and the Earp brothers, satisfied they had taken care of a heinous crime, rode back to town.
    But Tom didn’t have no intention of giving back no mules, and he carried on branding till all the mules had the mark ‘D8’.



    Samantha relished her burger and fries. She asked the waitress, “Yuh clock keep good time?”
    “No ma’am, it’s at least half hour slow.”
    “Half hour! My God! wha’s the time?”
    “Reckon it ain’t far off three.”
    Samantha paid, rushed to her horse and galloped away. ‘How did she know Sam was Tom’s boyfriend,’ thought the waitress.



    The Earps had only been back in town a few hours when an army major walked into the Sheriff’s office and asked, “Where’s mah mules?”
    “We see Tom,” said Wyatt, “and he said he felt real bad about taking ‘em, said he’ll bring ‘em back straight away.”
    “Well he ain’t,” said the major
    Wyatt looked at Virgil and Virgil looked at Morgan and Morgan looked at Wyatt and they all looked at each other and thought ‘shit’. So they moseyed on out to the street, and Wyatt pulled out his gun to check the bullets. As he was filling the cylinder, a bullet fell and rolled under the sidewalk.
    Wyatt said to Virgil, “Where d’yuh reckon them McLaury boys gonna be?”
    Virgil shrugged and said, “Hell if I know.”
    Doc Holiday, still moseying around, moseyed over and said, “Y’all looking for the McLaurys? They’s up at the OK Corral.”
    “Thanks Doc. They gone done stole six mules,” said Virgil
    “No,” said Doc, amazed, “that’s a mean thing tuh do.”
    “And they promised they’d take ‘em back and they didn’t,” said Morgan
    “No,” said Doc, even more amazed, “they sure is mean critters.”
    “We’re goin’ after ‘em now,” said Wyatt.
    “I’ll come with yuh,” said Doc.
    As they walked away, young Burt Alford, who’d seen the bullet fall, retrieved it and put it in his pocket.



    Just as the Earp brothers got to the OK Corral, Samantha rode into town and asked, “Where’s Tom McLaury?”
    “Well,” said Pete Spence, scratching his head to help him think, “I can’t rightly say, but I reckon he’s moseying somewhere round town.”
    “I seed ‘im, goin’ tuh the OK Corral,” said Sadie Mansfield, looking at Samantha’s ass and thinking. ‘Mm, juicy’.
    Samantha turned into Allen street and rode as fast as the wind which, as there was only a breeze, wasn’t very fast. She saw Burt crouching by the side of the road and remembered the prophecy from the gypsy, but she didn’t know if he would be the same boy and she was in a hurry to meet Tom, to say I love you, I forgive you. She was sure he still loved her. After she’d ridden past Burt, he took the bullet out of his pocket and jammed it between two rocks.



    The Earp brothers and Doc got to the OK Corral and sure enough there was Ike and Billy Clanton, with Frank and Tom McLaury.
    “Yuh didn’t give back no mules like yuh said yuh wuz gonna,” said Wyatt
    “Aw, Sheriff, ahm sorry, we forgot,” said Frank, spittin’ baccy in the dirt, “we’ll take ‘em back at daybreak.”
    “That ain’t good enough,” said Wyatt, “yuh gotta take ‘em back now.”
    “We ain’t got time now Sheriff. We’ll do it tomorrah.”
    “Tomorrah’ll be too late,” said Wyatt
    “Like I said we ain’t got time now.”
    The McLaurys faced the Earps and readied themselves for a shootout. Just as Wyatt was gonna back down and say, ‘Okay, I suppose tomorrah’ll be okay’, Burt, took a rock and smashed the bullet. Hearing the explosion everyone drew their guns and fired.

    After the smoke cleared, Samantha rode up and saw the carnage. She jumped off her horse and rushed over to Tom.
    “Tom Tom,” she said, “I love yuh,” and Tom opened his eyes and a bubble of blood appeared from his lips, and when the bubble burst she heard, “Samantha, I love...” Samantha shook his head. “Who, Tom? Who do you love?” But Tom passed away, and Samantha mumbled, “Dagnabbit, I knowed I shouldn’ta stopped fuh no burger.”



Scars Publications


Copyright of written pieces remain with the author, who has allowed it to be shown through Scars Publications and Design.Web site © Scars Publications and Design. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted without express permission from the author.




Problems with this page? Then deal with it...