Trail Dust to Dust

Written for the Daily Flash Fiction Challenge with a word limit of 300.

The prompts: This story must contain the words: diamond, trail, bone

Trail Dust to Dust

Sam let his finger trace the brand on the horse’s flank.

A double diamond.

This just got real interesting, he thought to himself. His horse, still wearing his saddle, was tied to the hitching post. There was no attempt to hide any of it. Sam guessed that was to be expected. He was dead, after all. At least that’s what they thought.

That had been a mistake for which they would pay with their lives.

He dusted off most the trail that he’d collected on his clothes over the last three weeks. He had a bone to pick with some would-be murdering thieves. First he would need to scout the situation. They’d have him outnumbered. Plus, he was unarmed.

He found them inside the saloon. They were sitting at a table; cheating at cards.

Sam leaned against the bar and considered his options. He would need a gun. He couldn’t take on three armed men without one. He would also have to confront them; get them to start it. Otherwise, the sheriff might see him as the instigator. There was also the…

A commotion broke out at the card table. One of his “targets” stood up and tossed the table aside. Another one, dove to his left and came up shooting. The one standing teetered for a moment before collapsing in a bloody heap.

It happened so fast; all Sam could do was watch.

One down, two more to go, he thought. Somehow he felt a little cheated. Left to their own devices, they would apparently just kill themselves off. What fun was that?

Just then, the bloody heap stood up and walked over to the bar. He glanced over at Sam and said, “Hey, ain’t you the guy we kilt out there on the trail a few weeks back?”

Word count 300