Rattle Snake

A Story by Matt Cabazal

It was a rusty afternoon in the idle town of Texas, dust made the wind roughly kiss the silky skin of the horse and the sun kept the cacti green. Then came the presence of Bill Wesley wearing a fine calfskin boots entering a bar full of old timers with their Magnums and Winchesters spinning around their finger, waiting for the golden time of the day. "I'll have one whiskey on the rocks" said the 64 year old Bill to the 17 year old bartender. "You see, when I was at your age, I used to shoot tin cans filled with water with my revolver, I was a terrible shooter then, and everytime I would miss my father would always say to me "inhale before you squeeze" and god damn I did." said the old man. "My father would not let me hold any gun. He's a preacher and he always believes that anything that is associated with death is made by the devil." uttered the boy.
The old wooden door banged so hard that it startled everybody. In came the Bearded Bandit with his black suaded vest, then pointed a gun to Bill, who fearlessly put the tip of the gun in his mouth. Bill and the Bandit always fought for pride in their small town, everyone hated the Bandit for stealing their things. "C'mon now, shoot the damn thing!" said Bill to the Bandit. Then a loud bang was heard, and the smell of burnt gun powder filled the air, blood spilled all over the floor, blood coming from the Bandit's head. The bartender was holding his revolver nervously. "I wont tell your father" says Bill to the kid. "Drinks are on me" he replied.