Sarah - Afterwards

From last time ...

He pushed himself away from the powdery surface of the lot with his left arm and got himself into a sitting position. He could see Sully lying in a crumpled heap between him and the road. She got him. Damn. She got him. And saved MY fuckin' life doin' it, too.

And now ...

Sarah ran up to Jake who was, by now, sitting up. She could see blood soaking his tee shirt from a wide wound across the back of his upper right shoulder - her tears now in relief. He's alive.

"Jake!! Are you hurt bad?"

"See about that other shooter. See if he's still alive. I'll be alright - just help me up."

Sarah helped Jake get to his feet.

"I'm gonna go inside for a minute. I gotta call Two Feathers. You go see who that was back there in the scrub."

Jake opened the door to the shop and stepped inside. Sarah stood in the doorway.

"It was Chico."

"Well, go see if he's dead."

"What if he's not Jake?"

"Then drag his ass in here. Go!"

Sarah went out to find the body while Jake picked up the phone and spoke.

"Sally, I need Two Feathers, out on the Res. ... Yeah, I'll wait."

Meanwhile, Sarah went back into the brush to where Chico lay, wounded, but badly so.

"You! You shoot me?"

"Yes, Chico, I did. You were going to shoot Jake. I had no choice."

"I know you, no?" He coughed. "I theenk I see you at the casino weeth Sully."

"That's right, Chico. That was me. I'm sorry I had to shoot you."

Sarah could see blood flecks around his mouth. She knew from what Jake had taught her that she'd probably shot him through a lung. Chico wasn't going to live very long.

"I only do what Sully tell me. I like Jake. He's a good hombre."

Chico starting coughing up blood.

"Save your breath, Chico."

"I have to ask you ... weel you tell my Rosa ... I love her?"

She never had a chance to answer. Chico collapsed and died before she could say anything.

Sarah sat for a while, next to Chico. What she had done began to sink in.

She had killed a man. Two men. Real, live, breathing people. She turned away from Chico and threw up on the ground.

Sarah walked into the shop just as Jake hung up the phone.

"I got a hold of Two Feathers and asked him to come up here. How's Chico?"

"He's dead. He asked me to tell Rosa he loved her ... and then he died."

"Here, you'd better sit down before you go into shock. I'll get you some water."

Sarah sat there, her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. Jake came up to her with a glass of water in his hand.

"Here, drink this. I know it's hard. The first time was bad for me, too. Real bad. I threw up all over the place."

Sarah looked up at Jake.

"You threw up?" She started to giggle. "You threw up?" She started to laugh. "Well, I guess that makes us even, Jake, 'cause so did I." She started laughing and crying all mixed together and Jake knelt down next to her and slowly drew her head down on his good shoulder and wrapped his arms around her. He held her as she cried it out.