Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Ticket to the Future ❯ Gunshots in the Desert ( Chapter 8 )

Standard Disclaimer: Trigun is not mine… I'm not making any money from this… You know, I think by now we are all familiar with this legal stuff, so I'll just skip on to the story.

Ticket to the Future: Part VIII

Gunshots in the Desert

"Did you hear that?"

"Course, I heard it, I ain't deaf."

"What the hell was that?"

"Sounds like gun fire to me."

"Where is it coming from?"

"I think over by the foothills toward the south."

"Who is doing all that shooting?"

"Nobody knows…"

"Is it Vash the Stampede?"

"Idiot… it's not Mr. Vash."

"Is it an attack against the town?"

"Someone should go check it out."

A cacophony of voices reached both Vash and myself as we stepped out of the market and into the street to join the other townspeople. Some of them looked relieved as they spied Vash in their midst. There came the sound again… a loud report of a gun being fired. Vash looked at me and raised a brow. "It… it almost sounds like Wolfwood's…"

"It couldn't be," I quickly answered, nervously scanning the crowd. "Who would be shooting it? Milly is at home resting and he has not moved from the second floor of the house."

A man near us spoke up. "You mean Mrs. Wolfwood?" I nodded at him. "She was in the gun shop earlier, buying some kinda big shells. I made a joke about her needin' something that large in this town."

"Vash?"

"Go check the house, quickly."

I sprinted off in the direction of the house at the end of the street. My heart was pounding. "Why would Milly need ammo for that gun?" I tore up the steps and threw open the door. "Milly? Milly are you here?" No one answered my frantic summons.

"Maybe she's asleep and can't hear me. That's it," I thought, momentarily relieved. "She is upstairs asleep." I dashed up the stairs, two at a time, calling her name, "Milly… Milly?" Turning left at the landing, I raced down the hallway past Knives' room. At the end of the hallway, I threw open the door calling again, "Milly?" The room was empty.

Leaning against the doorframe to catch my breath, I took in the room at a glance. Something was missing. What was it? Scanning the room again, it suddenly dawned on me. "The Cross-Punisher… it's gone!"

Whipping around, I backtracked to the room occupied by Knives. Hesitating a second, I threw open the door without warning. On the bed, were the clothes he had been wearing and of Knives, there was no sign.

I strode quickly to the closet where my worst fears were confirmed. Knives had taken his bodysuit and now he was gone.

Tearing back out of the house and down the street, I screamed for Vash. "Vash…VASH… come quickly…"

Vash ran toward me with a concerned look on his face. "What is it? What's wrong?" he demanded.

Gasping for breath, I told him in rapid tones. "Milly…. and… Knives… gone… and … Mr. Wolfwood's gun… is gone…"

"Mr. Vash, …Mr. Vash… Please take my truck." Dr. Jones appeared suddenly, tossing his keys in our direction. "Go fetch Mrs. Wolfwood and please stress to her that she must not over exert herself. She has someone else to think of besides herself."

Vash snagged the keys from mid-air. "Thanks, Doc. I'll bring Milly back. She's hard to get through to sometimes, but I'll return with her."

Members of the pipeline crew chimed in their responses. "We like Milly. It's going to be hard enough on her without her husband around. Tell her we have more work we need her help on. That'll help convince her to return to town without too much fuss."

I was secretly pleased to see that Milly had made such an impact on the people here. It spoke well of our acceptance by them. But, it still didn't help relieve the fear I was feeling.

"I'll get her back. She was probably just bored." I was pleased to see that Vash did mention Knives as a reason for her being gone. Striding quickly to Dr. Jones' truck, Vash motioned for me to follow.

"Stay here, Meryl. Go on about your errands and keep a sharp eye out for Knives."

"But Vash," I protested quietly. "I want to go with you."

"I know that, but we don't know if Knives is the reason Milly or whoever is out there firing Wolfwood's gun."

"But…"

"Meryl, I don't have time to argue with you right now. If Knives is out there causing this mess, I may have to stop him. If it's not him, then I need you to be my eyes and ears here."

Sighing heavily, I nodded in agreement. "Please Vash, hurry."

Snatching a quick kiss, Vash leaped into the truck. "I'll be back before you know it."

Vash sped out of town as the curious onlookers slowly went about their business.

********

"Darn it… the kick of this thing is worse than anything else that I've ever shot." I laid the Cross-Punisher atop a large piece of rock and wiped the sweat out of my eyes. I had plenty of shells though and I was determined to fire this thing without being knocked back a few paces. But, at least I wasn't flat on my back anymore. The first three or four times I had fired it, I wound up staring into the sun.

Taking a small drink from the canteen, I scanned the land around me. I had chosen this location because low hills and rocky outcroppings surrounded it. I had wanted some privacy and I was glad I hadn't drawn a crowd. I didn't want to worry all the nice people in town with the noise I was making. Checking the distance to the bottles I had set up as targets, I picked up the gun and held it by the crossbars.

"Come on, Milly. You can do this." In one smooth motion, I whipped the Cross-Punisher up while it transformed into one large weapon. Whirling the opposite direction, I brought it up in line with my targets while squeezing the trigger. I was please to hear a soft chiming of glass mingled with the report of the gun.

I eased it to the ground as I felt the fluttering of my child in my womb. Resting a hand against my belly, I spoke softly to my child. "Ssshh, little one. It's all right. Your mamma is just practicing with daddy's gun. No harm will come to you, I promise." The tiny movements gradually slowed and finally ceased after a few moments. I liked to think my baby could hear my voice and knew that he or she was loved and wanted.

Striding over to the row of empty bottles, I was slightly pleased and yet disappointed to see only one broken. "Just a few more minutes, baby and then I promise I will take us both home for a nice snack and a nap." I was pleased to feel the small movements in response.

Taking aim again at the bottles, I suddenly wondered why I saw Mr. Knives face imposed over my targets.

********

Vash sped out of town due south, toward the direction of the gunfire. His thoughts raced with the possibilities of what could be happening now. Surely Knives hadn't done anything to Milly. Maybe she was just fooling around with Wolfwood's gun. He hoped that was the case. But that still didn't answer the more pressing question of Knives' whereabouts.

Reaching the sound of the gunfire, Vash slowed the truck. The location of the shooter was just beyond these hills. Shoving it into park, he left the vehicle and began to cautiously climb the low rise in front of him. As he neared the top, his sharp vision spied another figure concealed next to a large mass of boulders.

Hey, Vash. Come to see what all the noise is about?" Knives lifted his hand in greeting as he spoke softly.

"Knives." Vash returned the greeting evenly. "What brings you out into the desert?"

"What do you think?" Knives nodded in the direction of the small valley. "It seems that Milly has decided to take up a more lethal weapon these days."

Vash climbed higher until he could view the scene below. Milly was there, struggling with the Cross-Punisher. Vash grimaced as the recoil knocked her back several paces. He and Knives watched the scene below them for several more minutes.

"You have any idea why she is doing such a crazy thing." Vash asked quietly.

"I have no idea, brother," came the smooth response.

"Milly has spent a good deal of time in your company. Have you done anything to her or said anything to her to upset her?"

Knives smiled slightly at that. "Milly is an interesting specimen for a human. I may have a few plans for her and besides," he added with a careless shrug. "I would hardly break a new plaything after just acquiring it."

Vash turned on his brother, fisting his hands on the neckline of Knives' body suit. "You leave Milly alone. She doesn't deserve any more pain… especially not from the likes of you."

"Still sentimental after all this time. Poor Vash, still trying to protect his precious humans."

"Knives, I mean it… you leave Milly alone. Or this time I will kill you and to hell with my promise not to take a life."

********

To be continued…

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Ok, people. Here is chapter 8. From this point on, the updates will not be as quick being posted. This is due to the fact that on Monday (1/7/02) I have to go back to being a dull respectable schoolteacher… and not the anime lemon writer I am now.

In the mean time, leave me a few comments on where you think the story is headed.

Love and Peace,

Blackhat (^_~)