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Entry tags:
oom: thy kingdom come plot
The sleep comes easy.
The dreams, however, are anything but.
It's dark. The moon is a bare sliver above the desert.
He's walking.
There's the jingle of chains around his wrist. His mouth is dry, too dry, because of the dust from the horse he's walking behind. They aren't dragging him, not in the dark, but he's tired. So very tired.
The darkness falls and they walk. The sun rises and he lifts his eyes to the mountains.
Nothing seems to have changed at all. The man in front spurs his horse and Doc stumbles off his feet, trying to keep from tripping but it's no use. He falls to his knees and feels the yank of the rope against his wrists, it tugs him along.
There's a street. Long, and dusty. Lincoln. They're back in Lincoln. They rebuilt the gallows.
"Nobody can run from the law, Scurlock. Not even you."
They shove him into the pit. He falls. The ground is hard, not hay and piss and shit, but tile, filth, ash. His mouth tastes like dirt. He coughs and crumbles of earth and dust fall, spills out onto the ground in front of his eyes. Flames flicker and then he realizes where he is.
The hospital.
"Do you need some water?"
Doc whirls and he's staring at sightless eyes, dark pools in a face, flesh burnt away. His wrists are still bound. She's holding a rope. "Come along, now. We'll find you some water."
"Get away from me."
She tugs the rope and feels it jerk against his neck. He's in a noose. She's holding him like a leash and parading him down the hall. He coughs and spits and it's dark, mud colored, and his mouth is still dry. It's hard to breathe. The noose isn't tight.
Not yet, anyways.
"You'll get some water soon."
"Please...let me go."
Doc thinks about his body. Lying there on the floor near the doorway. How it looked. His neck had been at a somewhat odd angle. He assumed it was because of the slump in his posture. But it looked...broken.
There's a laugh. A laugh Doc would know anywhere.
Billy.
"You remember old Red Smitty, Doc?" He laughs again. "They hung him, his head came clean off! Quite the sight, an' I've seen lots of sights."
Another laugh.
"Dammit, Billy! Get out of here!"
"'Fraid we can't do that, Doc. Y'see, they've been looking for a doctor..."
Doc feels the tug on his neck and he trips over a metal pan. It scatters across the floor and he listens to the echo as it bounces down the halls. Billy's laugh follows him, mocking him, and she keeps walking.
"Please, you've gotta let me out of here!"
The ground shakes beneath him. The floor cracks and the earth spills up, and it threatens to swallow him whole before he starts to walk faster. He coughs again and feels his stomach turn, but instead of vomit, it is more earth.
Ash stings his eyes.
"Today's the day, Regulator! And we got ourselves a surprise guest! Boy howdy, quite the turnout, if I say!"
That voice he recognizes too. The air smells of earth and sweat and piss, and it's too bright for him to see, but they pull him out and march him up the steps. He can't stop coughing. Everything hurts in his lungs. There is a torch, flames licking close to his face.
"Doc!"
No.
She's standing there. Murphy is standing next to her. The bullet hole in his head is oozing blood, brains threatening to spill forth. He's laughing and kissing at her neck. She struggles against him and then Doc sees the chains on her wrists.
"Yen!"
They hit him in the head and he falls to his knees on the wood. Everything spins.
"We need a doctor."
"Yen..."
"Not to worry, she'll be here soon enough, come along."
Doc feels himself being dragged down the hallway. The ash stings his eyes and the dirt pools in his mouth. His neck feels strange. Oddly angled...
"They hung me."
"Not yet they haven't, they still need you," her voice is cheerful. "Here we are."
Everything is blurry. There are giggles and then he opens his eyes. Children. Boys. All with marks on their faces. Burns on their hands. Heat blisters from fire and chemicals and some have the same black eyes. He recognizes them. They giggle and laugh and mock gunfighting between the beds, laughing as something zings against the metal and sparks.
(It only takes a spark.)
The fire catches and licks at the curtains, the beds, the clothes. She tugs him away. They scream but they giggle at the same time and frolic among the ashes and play like their 'hero', the Kid, the greatest outlaw ever known...
The bullets ring out through the halls.
"Water! Here you go."
She tugs hard on his rope and the noose cinches around his neck. Then he falls. The ground opens and he's falling, falling hard and fast and then he hits something hard. Ice. It shatters and he slips beneath the surface and struggles for breath.
There's laughing.
A blanket around his shoulders, then they kick dirt on him. Again and again and again. If he drowns, who cares?
The bullethole bleeds and Murphy's face rots away.
"All mine, Doc," he croons, as he grabs Yen and then they both vanish.
"No!"
The earth quakes beneath him. The fire licks at his clothes. The heat dries him off but then the gun goes off, the bullet hits the wall and the wall explodes.
McKloskey's brains all over his face and the blood in your mouth and eyes.
The click of a hammer.
Then,
Bang.
The dreams, however, are anything but.
It's dark. The moon is a bare sliver above the desert.
He's walking.
There's the jingle of chains around his wrist. His mouth is dry, too dry, because of the dust from the horse he's walking behind. They aren't dragging him, not in the dark, but he's tired. So very tired.
The darkness falls and they walk. The sun rises and he lifts his eyes to the mountains.
Nothing seems to have changed at all. The man in front spurs his horse and Doc stumbles off his feet, trying to keep from tripping but it's no use. He falls to his knees and feels the yank of the rope against his wrists, it tugs him along.
There's a street. Long, and dusty. Lincoln. They're back in Lincoln. They rebuilt the gallows.
"Nobody can run from the law, Scurlock. Not even you."
They shove him into the pit. He falls. The ground is hard, not hay and piss and shit, but tile, filth, ash. His mouth tastes like dirt. He coughs and crumbles of earth and dust fall, spills out onto the ground in front of his eyes. Flames flicker and then he realizes where he is.
The hospital.
"Do you need some water?"
Doc whirls and he's staring at sightless eyes, dark pools in a face, flesh burnt away. His wrists are still bound. She's holding a rope. "Come along, now. We'll find you some water."
"Get away from me."
She tugs the rope and feels it jerk against his neck. He's in a noose. She's holding him like a leash and parading him down the hall. He coughs and spits and it's dark, mud colored, and his mouth is still dry. It's hard to breathe. The noose isn't tight.
Not yet, anyways.
"You'll get some water soon."
"Please...let me go."
Doc thinks about his body. Lying there on the floor near the doorway. How it looked. His neck had been at a somewhat odd angle. He assumed it was because of the slump in his posture. But it looked...broken.
There's a laugh. A laugh Doc would know anywhere.
Billy.
"You remember old Red Smitty, Doc?" He laughs again. "They hung him, his head came clean off! Quite the sight, an' I've seen lots of sights."
Another laugh.
"Dammit, Billy! Get out of here!"
"'Fraid we can't do that, Doc. Y'see, they've been looking for a doctor..."
Doc feels the tug on his neck and he trips over a metal pan. It scatters across the floor and he listens to the echo as it bounces down the halls. Billy's laugh follows him, mocking him, and she keeps walking.
"Please, you've gotta let me out of here!"
The ground shakes beneath him. The floor cracks and the earth spills up, and it threatens to swallow him whole before he starts to walk faster. He coughs again and feels his stomach turn, but instead of vomit, it is more earth.
Ash stings his eyes.
"Today's the day, Regulator! And we got ourselves a surprise guest! Boy howdy, quite the turnout, if I say!"
That voice he recognizes too. The air smells of earth and sweat and piss, and it's too bright for him to see, but they pull him out and march him up the steps. He can't stop coughing. Everything hurts in his lungs. There is a torch, flames licking close to his face.
"Doc!"
No.
She's standing there. Murphy is standing next to her. The bullet hole in his head is oozing blood, brains threatening to spill forth. He's laughing and kissing at her neck. She struggles against him and then Doc sees the chains on her wrists.
"Yen!"
They hit him in the head and he falls to his knees on the wood. Everything spins.
"We need a doctor."
"Yen..."
"Not to worry, she'll be here soon enough, come along."
Doc feels himself being dragged down the hallway. The ash stings his eyes and the dirt pools in his mouth. His neck feels strange. Oddly angled...
"They hung me."
"Not yet they haven't, they still need you," her voice is cheerful. "Here we are."
Everything is blurry. There are giggles and then he opens his eyes. Children. Boys. All with marks on their faces. Burns on their hands. Heat blisters from fire and chemicals and some have the same black eyes. He recognizes them. They giggle and laugh and mock gunfighting between the beds, laughing as something zings against the metal and sparks.
(It only takes a spark.)
The fire catches and licks at the curtains, the beds, the clothes. She tugs him away. They scream but they giggle at the same time and frolic among the ashes and play like their 'hero', the Kid, the greatest outlaw ever known...
The bullets ring out through the halls.
"Water! Here you go."
She tugs hard on his rope and the noose cinches around his neck. Then he falls. The ground opens and he's falling, falling hard and fast and then he hits something hard. Ice. It shatters and he slips beneath the surface and struggles for breath.
There's laughing.
A blanket around his shoulders, then they kick dirt on him. Again and again and again. If he drowns, who cares?
The bullethole bleeds and Murphy's face rots away.
"All mine, Doc," he croons, as he grabs Yen and then they both vanish.
"No!"
The earth quakes beneath him. The fire licks at his clothes. The heat dries him off but then the gun goes off, the bullet hits the wall and the wall explodes.
McKloskey's brains all over his face and the blood in your mouth and eyes.
The click of a hammer.
Then,
Bang.