Prairie Man

 Prairie Man

By:Justin Jackson

The sun slowly drew back its reach, leaving behind a calm grey air upon the grassland. Prairie dogs yelped and scurried away as a man on horseback slowed to a stop. He noticed a carriage up ahead, with a fellow outside emptying his bladder and a lady inside patiently waiting to keep moving. The horseman pulled out his medicine bag, carefully concealing his wheel gun with all of his medicine and herbs. He slowly approached the unaware gentleman from behind, startling him by readying the pistol’s hammer. “Everything on you and anything valuable in the carriage please.” The medicine man had done this many times before, now it almost felt like a dance to him. The carriage driver emptied his pockets in frustration, arguing that the couple had spent all their money in town. The medicine man thought for a moment, looking at his medicine bag. “Need some medicine? Up for a trade?” The man shook his head, not knowing what more this stranger needed of him.

BANG!

The man cried out in pain, holding his knee as he fell to the ground. The medicine man laughed heartily, ignoring the woman who now screamed in the carriage, moving fearfully in a doomed attempt to avoid him as he barged in. Her jewelry and her handbag were quickly snatched away, the only trace left of the medicine man was some bandages and alcohol for the man he shot. Stories like this began to blow around like tumbleweed, stories of a highwayman who disguised himself as a traveling doctor. The man was James Sleater, and this is howhe was never found again.

Sleater rode through the fog and quiet evening, scanning the hills for carriage lights. His eyes met with a curious bouncing light in the distance, and so he rode with determination like a moth to a flame. The fog quickly separated to reveal a small native woman, struggling to carry a large candle-lit lantern. “You shouldn’t be here.” The womanspoke feebly and with terror in her throat. Sleater frowned and pushed past her, riding further up the hill and deeper into the fog. The air grew cold, and the fog seemed to thicken with each passing foot. Still the highwayman rode, his horse neighing and whinnying with each call and kick to go faster. Soon enough, his horse made a strange sound, like a man grunting. With each further step his horse grew more vocal, now coughing and clearing his throat. The highwayman began to feel afraid. He got off his horse to give him some food, only to find two human eyes staring at him in place of his horse's eyes. Sleater was shocked but further horrified at the intensity and sentience the eyes carried with their stare. Again the horse cleared its throat, parting its lips as if it were about to speak. The highwayman felt the last shred of sanity leave him as his boots took to the dirt, carrying him off into the fog screaming. That was the last anyone ever saw or heard of the Highwayman, however, some say if you find yourself in the prairie at the right weather and in the wrong wind, you may see an odd horse scanning

the prairie with its humanlike eyes for another victim to rob.

For more of Justin's scary short stories check out his New book. Quick and Scary available on Amazon at the link below. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09M7SM4M3/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_V5DHY2467221DM6Y0QGX