Wild Bill

Bill was so tired he could hardly sit upright in the saddle. He knew his horse was exhausted as well, but they had to keep going. They had to get to the railway station before midnight. Sweet Sue was there with the money and clean bandages. He’d lost a lot of blood, could barely see, was having trouble breathing. Sue would whisk him onto the special Pullman car where a clandestine doctor waited to remove the bullet. The gang chasing him couldn’t out gallop the Mighty Number Nine. The money would be safe once the train left the station. It had been a long shot, a wild gamble, but he was almost there. Just around that bend …

He could hear the pounding of hooves coming closer and closer. He heard voices, both of them calling out his name. “Billy, open that door!” “William, dinner is getting cold.” His mother sounded worried; his dad was furious as always. “Get off that computer this minute, young man!” He heard his father mutter something about worthless teenagers, but he couldn’t spare any time for intrusive parents. Sue was waiting, and the posse was right behind him. “Unlock the door, William, please,” his mother begged, on the verge of tears. “Leave me alone!” Bill shouted toward the locked door. “Can’t you see I’m seriously wounded? I’ve got to get to the train station!”

He could hear his mother sobbing, his father kicking the door. The posse was one breath behind him when he fell into Sweet Sue’s arms. The doctor heaved him aboard and the train pulled away from the station. He had made it! Just barely. No video game could ever get the best of Wild Bill, he thought, as he lost consciousness.