Chapter 08: Walk a Mile in their Shoes

“Just gotta breathe and pull the trigger…”

The young boy calmed his breath and closed his eyes. The world around him silenced and the only thing he could hear was his heartbeat that drummed on like a metronome. He gripped the gun tight in his hands, steadying as best he could before taking one last deep breath.

‍BANG!

The shot rang out and moments later the sound of a beebee against tin filled the air as a can fell off the log and onto the ground below. The boy ran in the direction he shot, looking for the can he made his target. He jumped up and down with joy seeing the shot pierced right through the center of the can. It was a great shot from his farthest distance yet. He grabbed his small, worn stetson and ran inside to tell his father.

Entering his home he was immediately hit with the stench of fresh cigarette smoke, which meant his father was nearby. Turning the corner he found him in the living room with a lit cigarette bouncing between his fingers. He was looking through a pile of old magazines, most of which featured his face in his younger days..

“Papi! Papi look!” The boy bounced up and down excitedly showing his father the can. “I shot it from 10 feet away this time! I hit it dead center-”

His father wouldn’t look away from the magazines so the boy moved closer to get his attention, paying little mind to his surroundings as he jumped up and down. The boy didn’t see the full glass of scotch his father had on the table. That is until it spilled, soaking all his Father’s precious magazines.

“Shit!” His father yelled, jumping to shake the liquid off and save the books.

“I’m sorry!” The boy yelped, ceasing his bouncing as his eyes grew wide in terror.

‍SMACK!

“How many times must I tell you to stop wasting your time with that crap Miguel! I spend all this money trying to get you into these school programs and you keep with the shooting.”

Young Miguel held his face where he had been slapped and tried to apologize, but he knew the look in his father’s eye was the point of no return. His father was once renowned at sharp shooting and trick shots. Then came the accident that left him with shaky hands and nerves that would never quite settle. As the fame dried up, he did side jobs to make ends meet. He saved every penny and worked every hour he could to give Miguel the best education and best chance in life. He promised that his son would never be part of something that could be taken away so easily, but Miguel only wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps.

Miguel balled himself up as best he could to defend from his father’s swinging shaky belt. As usual, each lashing was paired with venomous words reminding Miguel that his father worked hard to create a legacy for a useless child who did nothing but waste and destroy. Miguel always curled tighter and tighter until his father eventually grew tired enough to return to his chair. There he would smoke and drink until the morning alarm signaled the start of another grueling day. Miguel always waited until his father’s attention was directed elsewhere to sneak out of the house and find a safe place to cry. 

Once night fell deep enough, Miguel was used to wiping away his tears and beginning the trek home to sneak around his passed out father. However, on this night as he drew closer he noticed a new scent amongst the night air that he could not quite place. It was only when he rounded the corner that he realized it was the smell of burning. Seeing his home engulfed in flames brought him to his knees in shock. There was a crowd surrounding the ignited home, but his father was nowhere to be found.

Night became day and Miguel learned that his father had fallen asleep, cigarette in hand. Shortly afterward a distant relative Miguel had never met agreed to take him in. However, once the paperwork was finalized it became clear this relative had been expecting some type of left over money from his father’s estate. When that money failed to materialize, Miguel found himself unwanted and neglected until the day he was old enough to leave on his own. He walked out the door with nothing more than his father’s stetson and a pistol, both recovered from the fire. Though he knew he could never have won his father’s approval in life, he tried to honor him in death by restoring that legacy that his father had once held so dear.

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🌱🌱🌱

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Peg leapt from her seat, clasping her hand over her mouth in shock. Josie laid outside the train, buried within a bed of thorns. Peg bit her lip so hard from rage that she drew blood. 

“Miguel!” she growled as tears welled in her rage filled eyes.

Miguel just laughed and laughed, twirling his gun around playfully between his fingers.

“Hey how about we make a deal, Peg? You come with us to the finish line and leave behind the dead runt. You joining up with us now would be an incredible headline. Imagine what it will do for you once you’re back on the roots.”

Miguel continued his rant but Peg kept her focus on Josie. They were so close to reaching the end and Miguel had snatched it away from them. No, it was her fault. She had fallen for his trap and now her teammate paid the ultimate price.

“Are you listening, Peg? This offer will be expiring-”

“I don’t give a damn about your offer Miguel.”

He frowned for a moment before flashing a smile. “I know, I was just hoping for an opportunity to tell you no.”

In an instant he fired a shot in Peg’s direction. She tried reaching into her pockets for a bean but a bullet grazed her hand causing her to drop and spill out everything she had left.

“Tsk, Tsk no more of those magic beans. Now stand still and enjoy your last moments before I send you where your little friend is at.”

Miguel pulled the trigger and a shot fired once again. Peg slammed her eyes shut preparing for her fate. Instead of sharp pain she felt… nothing. Her eyes were still shut and she heard Miguel screaming expletives and firing over and over but she felt no pain. Opening her eyes she realized the bullets never reached her and she couldn’t see Miguel. In front of her were huge thick leaves that grew seemingly out of nowhere and protected her from the bullets. She looked over to her beans to see if they somehow grew into these leaves but they sat on the ground unmoved. Whatever this plant was, it wasn't something created by her magic beans. Peg stopped thinking about the leaves when she heard a familiar shout.

“HEY!”

She rose to her feet walking past the giant leaf protecting her and unworried about Miguel who also seemed to be just as shocked. What Peg and Miguel saw was absolutely beyond belief as standing on the bed of thorns, clothes torn and a huge bruise on her forehead stood Josie, and she was mad.

“YOU SHOT ME!?” Josie exclaimed, balling her fists tight. “I’m gonna’ beat you to a pulp cowboy guy!”

Miguel had no witty comebacks and attempted to fire again but he was out of bullets from unloading into the giant leaf protecting Peg. 

“Peg get back to Cruiser and get going.”

“Josie, I’m not leaving you behind!”  She replied, wiping away her tears.

“I loaded up enough coal, you’ll make it no problem.”

“I said I'm not leav- !”

Josie turned to Peg and gave her signature wide toothy grin.

“I’ll catch up, don’t worry.”

Peg normally would have argued but Josie’s demeanor was all the assurance she needed. Taking advantage of Miguel frantically attempting to reload, she hopped back into Midnight Cruiser. She gunned it through the bramble opening, barrelling towards the end of the race. Miguel wasn’t just going to let Peg leave, even with Josie seemingly rising from the dead. Once reloaded he readied his aim in her direction. Any other marksman would have no chance of such a small window, but Miguel wasn’t any other harksman.

“What the Hell?” he gasped.

Josie had packed as much strength as she could and lunged at Miguel reaching him with incredible speed.

“I told you!” She yelled, now only a few feet away from his face and readying a punch. “I’m gonna’ beat you to a pulp!”

Miguel turned to shoot Josie instead but he was too slow. As he turned his face connected with Josie’s fist which landed square against his jaw. The impact sent him flying from the edge of ‘Wings of Leo’ and deep into the thorns below, buried even deeper than Josie was moments before. Landing onto Wings of Leo she was able to see Peg and Midnite Cruiser in the distance and prepared to leap in their direction to catch up, until she felt a hand grip her arm. She turned to find Sister Loveless holding her.

“Sister Loveless!” Josie exclaimed, bowing the best she could while the elderly woman held her arm tightly. “I’m sorry! It’s hard to explain but Cowboy dude did some pretty awful things and-”

“37 years ago,” Sister Loveless spoke softly, still holding Josie’s arm, “A man came to me. His family all died from a horrible disease and he was the only one who survived. He endured tremendous suffering.”

“That’s sad and all but I need to catch up with Peg.” Josie replied, trying to politely separate herself from Loveless. “If you stay here we’ll make sure someone from the race comes back for you and-”

“Why don’t you walk a mile in his shoes?”

Sister Loveless’ grip tightened far beyond what Josie expected out of her. In seconds intense pain jolted through Josie’s entire body. It was so painful that Josie felt everything go dark along with losing her balance.

“Suffering is our humanity,” Sister Loveless spoke in a soft yet authoritative tone. “When the One True King Leopold returns only those who have suffered in his name will be given the first seats in Paradise.”

At this point Josie had fallen to the floor of the coal bay, barely able to keep focus as the elderly Sister Loveless reached down and gripped her neck.

“Let me tell you more about the suffering in this world.”

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To Be Continued

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