First Down

by Paula Mabbel

  “Don’t mention it,” Connor said a little hesitantly, because he could tell there was more to Simon’s statement than his words had allowed to be conveyed. “Just get yourself out of town quickly, before he catches up to you,” Connor finished and then the phone clicked and Simon knew he had hung up.

  Simon stood up quickly and walked out of the diner. He didn’t need to be told twice about what Conner’s brother could do to him if he had the chance. He walked down the street with his head tilted towards the ground and didn’t stop until he had reached the outskirts of the city. He knew what he had to do. He knew that the time was quickly running out. If the creatures at the bar didn’t turn him in, then they would soon be grouping together to find him themselves.

  He stopped walking finally when he was a safe distance away from the city and then with a quick check to make sure there was nobody close enough to see him, he allowed his wings to unfurl once more and he took to the sky in a quick and fluid motion. He could feel his wings beating heavily as he pushed himself further into the sky, so that the clouds made a blanket below him and covered him from any prying eyes that might have been looking up.

  He took his time soaring across the sky. It had been so long since he had flown, since he’d felt the wind whip through his hair and let his wings stretch out to their full span. He breathed deeply and took in the wonderful scent of stardust as he soared across the sky, and then when the sweet smell of the stars abruptly changed into that of volcanic ash, he started to slowly lower himself from the sky.

  He let his feet take to the ground before he looked at his old home. He was on the top of an active volcano. It was the volcano that he had been born from, and it was the volcano that his legacy would rise from, too, as was the tradition of all dragons. He stepped close to the edge and looked down into the red-hot molten lava that was bubbling away just a few hundred feet below him, and then he stepped off the ledge and let himself freefall down into the lively mountain.

  His feet hit solid ground and he opened his eyes. He’d landed on a ledge, so close to the lava that he could almost feel his skin peeling away from his bones. He was quite sure that if any human ever got so close they would combust within seconds, but he was stronger than any human and his child would be too.

  He closed his eyes for another moment and cleared his mind as he felt his body going through the change. It was painful. He could feel all the bones in his body starting to move, grow and realign as they took on their other shape. He blocked out the pain the best he could, until it was gone and he found himself standing on four legs rather than two.

  He could already feel a deep movement in his stomach starting to take hold of him as he lay down on the small ledge and started to push. He could feel his life force draining away with every push of his body, but he didn’t care. A hollow thumping noise told Simon that it was over, and he turned his long neck to look at the small egg that would one day be his child.

  “I hope that you never forget to see the beauty in this world,” Simon whispered to the egg as his eyes drifted closed and peace finally took him away.

  *****

  THE END

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  Here is a FREE 9000 word Gay Romance story “Finding My Cowboy” by Joaquin Milhovich.

  Finding My Cowboy

  Tommy pulled the reins tight and clasped his legs to the side of the majestic bourbon-colored horse that he had acquired a couple of towns back. The horse was a tall and proud steed. Its neck with thick and embellished with a full mane of soft, shining hair and its legs were strong and fast enough to travel across the country without much need to stop. The horse slowed down when it felt the reins growing tight, and fell into a slow trot.

  Tommy could see faint flickering lights on his horizon and he knew that he would soon be walking through another town. He’d been traveling for weeks in his pursuit to find the man who had killed his brother, but he’d had no luck. It seemed that every town he had stopped in had seen the man in question, but he’d always left well before Tommy had arrived.

  The slow trot of his horse took him into the small town that he’d been able to see from a distance. It wasn’t anything special from first glance. It had a saloon, as most towns did, and an arrangement of shops all lining the dusty roads. He stopped when he reached a tethering pole and dismounted his horse. The air was cool, but it wasn’t cold, and he felt no guilt in tethering his horse to the pole so that he could go get some refreshments for himself.

  “I’ll be back soon,” he whispered to the horse, as it shook its mane and stomped on all fours. “Don’t be like that,” Tommy said gently. “We both need a rest.”

  The horse, of course, did not reply to him and after a moment of stupidly waiting for a response, Tommy turned and walked over to the saloon. It was the biggest building in the strip and the swinging doors that held out the cold were doing nothing to contain the loud music and conversation that was filling the street.

  Tommy walked up the wooden steps slowly and pushed open the doors. He could feel curious eyes looking at him as he ignored them and walked over to the bar. He was used to curious eyes, and they did not bother him. He’d been a stranger in many towns, and the reaction of the locals was always the same. He stopped when he reached the dirty bar. He could see where the dirt had been rubbed into the deep scratches that adorned the top and he pulled his hands back from resting on it.

  “Not often we get strangers in this part of town,” the barman said when he had caught Tommy’s eye and walked over to take his order.

  “That’s a real shame,” Tommy said earnestly. “Your town seems mighty nice.”

  “Well, we locals like to think so,” the barman said with an approving twinkle in his eye. “What can I get you? A drink? a whore?”

  Tommy laughed out loud when the barman suggested a whore. “I’m sure you’ve got some find whores here, but that’s not what I’m looking for,” Tommy said quickly when he noticed a curious and slightly suspicious look on the bartender’s face.

  “Then what are you looking for?” the bartender asked him with the curious, suspicious look remaining on his face.

  “Well, right now I’m looking for a stiff drink and somewhere to rest for the night,” Tommy said with an easy smile that seemed to curb any doubts that the bartender had about him.

  “That I can do,” the bartender said with a quick nod, before he turned around and pulled out a smudged shot glass from a shelf. “Whisky alright?” he asked, but didn’t wait for an answer, as he started to pour out the honey-brown liquid from a clear glass bottle.

  “Whisky will do just fine,” Tommy said, as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a few loose coins. “Can I ask whether you’ve had another stranger passing through here recently?” he asked when the bartender had passed him over his change.

  “We don’t get strangers round here right often,” the bartender said with a shake of his head.

  “But that’s not to say that you don’t ever get them. I don’t want any trouble, but if you could tell me if a man with raven hair and a scar on his cheek has passed through here recently, then you’d be doing me a favor.”

  The bartender looked thoughtful for a moment, but Tommy could tell he wasn’t trying to remember the man who had just been described. Instead, it seemed like he was trying to decide whether Tommy was worth helping. “Sure, I saw a guy like that,” the bartender said eventually with a small nod. “He came through these parts a few days ago.”

  “Thanks,” Tommy said, and then he took his glass and went to find a quiet table. The saloon was busy, but it seemed that everybody was gathered on one side of the room so that they could all talk to each other without having to strain themselves.

  Tommy took a seat in the empty part of the room and sipped his whisky thoughtfully. If the man he was pur
suing had been in the town a few days before then that meant that Tommy must have been catching up. He thought about finishing his drink and heading straight back out onto the road, but his eyes felt heavy and his bones ached for the comfort of a bed.

  “Hello, handsome,” a sultry voice said from behind him, as hands reached out and started to stroke his cheeks. “It isn’t often we get somebody as manly as you in these parts of town,” the girl continued, as she walked around for Tommy to give her a full inspection.

  She was undeniably pretty, with soft, brown hair that fell to her waist in curls and bright green eyes that seemed to hold more life within them than could be found in the outback that he’d been traveling through. She was wearing a pretty, light-blue dress that seemed to pull in tightly at her waist, pushing her breasts up so high that her chin was almost resting on them.

  “Well, you are a pretty southern belle aren’t you?” Tommy said with a warm smile to the girl.

  “I’d like to think so,” she said with eyelashes fluttering over the compliment.

  “Here’s the thing though, beautiful, you’re not really my type,” Tommy said in a friendly tone, so that he wouldn’t cause her offense.

  “I’m not your type?” the girl asked with a small, childlike pout on her lips that told Tommy that she was far too young to be working in that line of business anyway. “We’ve got other girls here. Would you like me to call out someone else?” she asked, as though the problem was with her and not that Tommy simply didn’t want a whore for the night.

  “That’s quite okay,” Tommy said as he shook his head. “I’m not looking for company tonight and if I were, then it wouldn’t be with any of you girls. No offense meant,” he said with another warm smile.

  The girl seemed to think over his words, as though there was something within them that she wasn’t getting at first. “Right,” the girl said with an uneasy look in her eyes.

  Tommy watched as the girl walked up to the bar and leaned across, whispering something to the bartender. He could feel the bartender’s eyes burning into the side of his cheek as he turned away, and he wondered what was being said. His curiosity over the conversation was short lived, however, when the bartender made his way over to Tommy’s table with a serious look on his face.

  “Look, I don’t want no trouble, but we don’t have your kind in here,” the bartender said, avoiding Tommy’s eyes.

  “My kind?” Tommy asked with a surprised laugh rising up his throat. “And what exactly does that mean?” he asked as he leaned back in his chair so that it was resting on only the two back legs.

  “You know what I mean, and we don’t want it here. I’m going to need to ask you to leave,” the bartender said, and then he turned and walked back to his bar before Tommy had a chance to argue or question him further.

  Tommy stood up with a smirk on his face and let his eyes graze over the curious faces in the room. They had all seen the bartender coming over to Tommy, but he doubted that they’d heard what he’d said to him. He picked up his drink and downed it in one before walking over to the bar and slamming the empty glass down on the grubby bar. “Thanks for the drink,” he said in a husky voice, before he turned and walked back out into the chilly night’s air.

  *******

  The sky was on fire with stars when Tommy walked out of the busy saloon, and they helped him find his way back to his horse, which was still tied up at its post. He could feel his feet wobbling slightly under his weight as the air mixed with the strong liquor and his otherwise empty stomach.

  “I guess we’re going a little sooner than I thought,” Tommy said to his horse, as he stroked down its face with the back of his hand.

  The horse shifted its feet, as though it was letting Tommy know that it was ready, and Tommy smiled. He reached up quickly to mount the horse, but found his hands missing the reins and he fell flat onto his back. The dust from the road rose up in a cloud around him, and for a moment Tommy couldn’t breathe.

  “You’ve had too much to drink,” a deep voice called out from the shadows that fell in between the shops.

  “Clearly,” Tommy called out into the darkness, “as it appears that I’m talking to myself.” Tommy heard a chuckle coming from the shadows and then a shuffle of footsteps. His eyes followed the sound to a small alley that split up two plain-windowed shops, and after a moment a man appeared out of the shadows.

  “I can assure you that you’re not talking to yourself,” the man said as he walked over to Tommy, who was still lying flat on his back. “Here,” he said, reaching his hand down and offering Tommy some help in getting up.

  Tommy took his hand and tried to ignore the sparks that seemed to ignite under his touch. “Thanks,” Tommy said when he was finally standing straight again.

  “Don’t mention it,” the guy said with an easy, friendly smile that seemed to reach up to his misty blue eyes. “I’m Greg, by the way,” he added.

  “Well, thanks for the help Greg, but I better be on my way,” Tommy said, as he reached out his hand to shake Greg’s.

  Greg looked at Tommy’s suspended hand before shaking his head. “I can’t let you travel in this state; you’ll end up having an accident. Have you tried the saloon? They normally have free rooms that you can stay in,” Greg suggested.

  Tommy shook his head. “I’ve been in, but there were no rooms to spare tonight,” he said without going into further detail.

  “That’s strange,” Greg said as his forehead started to wrinkle into a frown. “I didn’t think we had many out-of-towners staying at the moment, but what do I know, right?” he said with a warm smile. “Well, if you can’t stay at the saloon then I insist you come and spend the night at mine. I have a spare room, a warm fire and a reputation for making the best-cooked breakfasts this side of the outback,” he said warmly.

  “That’s very kind of you, but I should really be getting on my way,” Tommy said with a small shake of his head.

  “Nonsense. You’re coming back to my place for the night. You simply cannot travel in this state. You look as though you’re dead on your feet. My conscience would simply never rest if I let you ride out into the night now,” Greg said firmly.

  “Well, that’s very kind of you,” Tommy said after a moment. “Won’t your wife mind you bringing home a stranger?”

  Greg chuckled at Tommy’s suggestion. “I haven’t got me no wife yet,” he explained when Tommy gave him a confused look over his laughing reaction. “I live with my brother, but he won’t mind me helping out a traveler. He’s the sheriff of the town, so it’s his responsibility to help.”

  “If you’re sure that it won’t be any bother,” Tommy said, because he didn’t have enough energy in him to argue, never mind travel on.

  “No bother at all,” Greg said warmly and then he gestured with a head tilt for Tommy to follow him back into the shadows from which he had appeared in the first place. “Don’t worry, I only live two minutes from here. You’ll be resting your head down in no time,” he said with a grin, as he led the way back to his house.

  Greg’s house seemed small on the outside, but Tommy found it was surprisingly spacious once he walked into it. The kitchen and living area were open plan and a huge fireplace sat in the middle of the room. The place was tiny, but even in the dark Tommy could see thick sheets of dust on the tables and bookcases.

  “If you go upstairs and follow the hall on to the end, then you’ll find your room,” Greg said, as he walked over to the fire and started to put fresh logs onto it. “There, that should keep that burning overnight,” he said with a smile, as the logs started to slowly catch on fire.

  “Thanks again for this,” Tommy said as he turned and started to head up the stairs.

  “Don’t mention it,” Greg said as he dismissed Tommy’s thanks. “It’s nothing, really.”

  *******

  Tommy woke up slowly and with a head full of clouds. He could feel his stomach grumbling with hunger as he opened his eyes and realized that his senses were full
of the smell of bacon and eggs cooking. He pushed his legs out of bed and tried to ignore the cold air that met them. He could already hear footsteps coming from downstairs, and he looked out of the window with shock, as he realized that the sun had already started to rise above the horizon.

  It had been weeks since Tommy had slept so well. In fact, he hadn’t had a full night’s sleep since his brother had been murdered. He stretched his arms above his head and then pulled on the clothes that he’d left scattered on the floor from his quick undressing before he’d gotten into bed. They felt cold against his skin, but he didn’t care as he opened up the bedroom door and headed downstairs.

  He could hear the soft buzz of conversation as he entered the open room that was now full of light that was pouring in through the large open windows at the back of the room. Tommy looked out at the endless outback that seemed to go on much farther than the eye could see. He felt himself sigh as he realized that he would soon become a speck on the very horizon that looked so daunting when looking through a homey window such as the one he was staring out from.

  “Did you sleep well?” Greg asked him when he’d reached the bottom of the stairs.

  “I did. In fact, I think I’ve slept better here than I have in many weeks. Can I thank you again for your hospitality?” Tommy said, as he walked over to the table where Greg and his brother were seated and took a seat himself.

  “I told you last night to not mention it,” Greg said dismissively, as he passed over a plate filled with bacon, sausage and eggs.

  “This looks amazing,” Tommy said as he stomach made a noise in agreeance.

  “My brother makes the best breakfasts in town,” Greg’s brother said with a friendly smile. “I’m John Paul by the way, the sheriff and general peacekeeper for these parts.”

  “It’s good to meet you, John,” Tommy said in between a mouthful of eggs and bacon. “Your brother is great guy. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d had to travel on last night.”