He Goes On All Fours - A Western Monster Romance

A Dark Future for Graveflat

Ezekiel whistled for a black stallion to make his way back as a terrified rider gripped on to the reigns of the beast. By the time the large creature had returned to the own who called, the man on top of the massive pile of muscles was shaking from head to toe.

"How about that, Colt?" Ezekiel teased, noticing his companion latching on to the horse's long mane now.

Since Horley barricaded himself in his office quite frequently, the new Sheriff had offered the younger man to take part in some beneficial practices. He wanted to teach him to ride on horseback, shoot a revolver- among other things. Colt was unsure of it all, but it didn't take a lot of coaxing to finally convince him.

Ezekiel had said he had borrowed a horse just down the street, but in all honesty he had stolen it. The farmer was bedridden from an unfortunate disease and was soon to pass away, anyways.

"It's...fine. But I almost fell off. I don't know if should ride again."

Ezekiel rolled his eyes and casually glanced down, noticing a somewhat small but beautiful yellow flower blooming by his boots. He was surprised he hadn't noticed it before and bent down to pluck it from the ground.

Colt didn't know what he was up until he was suddenly handed a little flower. Ezekiel smiled as he twirled the stem around his fingertips, proudly proclaiming, "A wildflower for a wild boy."

The rider took the plant with as much as a stiff face as he could muster, but there was no hiding the smile that threatened to break free. He ended up just laughing as he tucked the yellow beauty in his chest pocket, causing Ezekiel to cock his head in confusion.

"So you're laughin' at my generosity, now?"

"Just your dumb remark."

Colt was prepared to get off the horse, but Ezekiel stopped him, ushering the other to scoot back a little. He ended up mounting the tall creature, causing the human to unintentionally latch on to his waist as the horse suddenly reared up.

"Are you trying to kill me?!" Colt yelled, smacking the shoulder of the monster he was still grabbing on to for dear life. Ezekiel let out a snicker, urging the beast to turn back into the desert where he planned to take Colt on a little journey.

He gently tapped the dark creature's sides, and the horse went off running. Colt tried not to scream, but he wasn't used to riding an animal at such high speeds. He unintentionally squeezed the man's torso, like a snake ready to kill its prey, and shut his eyes in hopes that it'd somehow be over quickly.

Ezekiel wasn't at all bothered by the deathly grip of his partner. He thoroughly enjoyed it, despite disliking humans on a massive scale.

The creature rode them out into the open desert and up a small cliff, where a wide and breathtaking view awaited them both. He managed to slow the horse down a little early, just so the other could stop digging his claws into his ribs.

Colt immediately let go, pushing himself off the horse as he began to wobble on the uneven floor beneath them. Ezekiel only watched as the other somehow lost his footing and almost landed on a cactus nearby.

"You really don't know how to do anythin', do you? Still daddy's lil boy, eh?"

Colt was taken aback by such a harsh comment which only made the other giggle maliciously. He narrowed his eyes, loosening his collar in annoyance.

"Just because I'm shorter and don't know certain things doesn't mean I'm a little boy. I come from a rich family and therefore am not used to the daily tasks of...other folk."

"Oh, so that's it. You're one of those rich snobs of society."

Ezekiel raised his eyebrows, a small smile growing on his lip as he inched a little closer to his fuming companion. He liked seeing him all riled up, and could tell there was a little spark of fire in that small but handsome man. If he ever became an outlaw, he would surely be able to fool a lot of people into thinking he was harmless. Small, but deadly.

"Alright, I take it back. I am not short. I stand well above many men in Graveflat. You're just abnormally large." Colt continued to mutter in the background, taking a slight offense at the mention of him being referred to as a boy. It wasn't his fault his mother passed that youthful gene onto him. Even at her old age she always maintained the visage of a young woman.

"Colt."

"Hm. What petty insult do you want to hurl at me now?"

"Do be quiet and enjoy the view. It'll do your body good to breathe in fresh air."

Colt did stop talking, finally realizing where the man had taken them. He gingerly walked over to the edge of the cliff, and stared out at the foreign world before him.

Horley had never bothered to take his family anywhere outside of their town. His focus always remained on Graveflat and the business he was running in the mines. The man always did prefer his work over his family...

"Colt," Ezekiel purposely broke his companion out of his thoughts after noticing the sad look creeping on his face. He walked over to him, offering a small cup of tea that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Where did you get that?" Colt asked in surprise, slowly reaching for the cup that contained a strange, black substance inside. Despite the odd appearance, it smelled nice. Like freshly cut herbs.

"You forget. I am a doctor."

Colt didn't drink from the cup just yet, and instead stared at it with a serious look on his face. He had many questions to ask Ezekiel, but he didn't know where to start or how. Deciding it didn't matter at the end, Colt lifted his gaze and paused for a moment when Ezekiel's own cold eyes met his. He struggled to speak for a moment before taking a small sip, building up the courage to pry into the creature's life once more.

"You- well, I know you told me about your past. Well, I was just curious about who you are. More specifically- what." The man mentally slapped himself for sounding so intrusive and rude, but it seemed Ezekiel didn't mind. He plucked off his hat, resting it on his knee as he sat down on a large rock close by. Colt did the same, eagerly awaiting yet dreading what the other would say.

"My grandfather taught me how to use the forces of nature for good and bad. Once...my cousin was dealt with, I was condemned by my own people. My grandfather was the only one who stood by me, and he too was shunned. There was no other road for us to take but a dark one. Yee naaldlooshii. We wear the skins of anythin' we choose and run around cursin' everyone."

Colt took another sip of his tea as it calmed his itchy throat, nodding silently, "Did you ever get revenge on the people who hurt your parents?"

A very eerie and malevolent smile slowly grew on Ezekiel's face as a spark of hidden enjoyment flickered in his gaze. Colt could tell he was thinking of something quite dark, and refused to ask what exactly was going on in his head.

"I did, darlin'. Wiped the entire town."

Even though he chuckled, Colt couldn't help but stay quiet as he looked down at the teacup. His brows knitted together as he tried not to get overwhelmed by the feeling of dread building in his stomach.

"You say you run around cursing people. And you wiped out the entire town. Does that mean...?"

Colt's voice trailed away as he looked back up and noticed Ezekiel's attention focused out in the distance. He looked surprised yet annoyed, as if something had suddenly irked him and soured his mood. The man was about to ask what he was looking at until he, too, turned and caught wind of a distant gang of horses. They were all in a single row, about a group of eight, and by the looks of it a rider was mounted on top of each.

Ezekiel stood up, motioning for Colt to hop on to the horse as the strangers seemingly got closer.

"Is something wrong?" Colt asked fearfully, realizing something not so good was going on. Ezekiel only looked up at the man with a false smile on his face as he shook his head.

"It's nothin'. Just got some unexpected company is all."