Music Artists: A to Z

  So recently the Red Hot Chili Peppers subreddit started playing an “A to Z” game, asking fans to pick on Chili Peppers song to represent each letter of the alphabet. Considering that the Peppers are one of my favorite bands, I thought it’d be fun to do my own version for this blog, as well as do the same for some of my other favorite music artists. I’ll probably come back and add to this post as I think of more artists to dissect in this way…

So without further ado, here you go:

The Beatles

And I Love Her, Back in the U.S.S.R., Come Together, Day Tripper, Eleanor Rigby, For You Blue, Get Back, Hey Jude, I Am the Walrus, Julia, Kansas City / Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey, Let It Be (Single Version), Magical Mystery Tour, The Night Before, Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da, Paperback Writer, Revolution, Strawberry Fields Forever, Ticket to Ride, While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Yesterday

The Rolling Stones

Angie, Beast of Burden, Connection, Dead Flowers, Emotional Rescue, Far Away Eyes, Gimme Shelter, Honky Tonk Women, It’s Only Rock ’n’ Roll (But I Like It), Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Keep Up Blues, The Last Time, Miss You, 19th Nervous Breakdown, Out of Tears, Paint It Black, Ruby Tuesday, Sympathy for the Devil, Tumbling Dice, Under My Thumb, Ventilator Blues, Wild Horses, You Can’t Always Get What You Want

Jimi Hendrix

All Along the Watchtower, Burning of the Midnight Lamp, Castles Made of Sand, Dolly Dagger, Ezy Ryder, Foxey Lady, Gypsy Eyes, Highway Chile, I Don’t Live Today, Johnny B. Goode, Killing Floor (BBC Sessions Version), Little Wing, Machine Gun, Night Bird Flying, One Rainy Wish, Purple Haze, The Queen, Red House, Stone Free (Valleys of Neptune Version), Third Stone from the Sun, Voodoo Child (Slight Return), The Wind Cries Mary, You Got Me Floatin’

Led Zeppelin

All My Love, Battle of Evermore, Communication Breakdown, D’Yer M’Ker, The Epic (Carouselambra), Friends, Good Times Bad Times, Heartbreaker, Immigrant Song (Live), Jennings Farm Blues (Bron-Y-Aur Stomp), Kashmir, Living Loving Maid (She’s Just a Woman), Moby Dick, No Quarter, Out on the Tiles, Poor Tom, Ramble On, Since I’ve Been Loving You, Trampled Under Foot, When the Levee Breaks, You Shook Me

Queen

Another One Bites the Dust, Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Don’t Stop Me Now, Escape from the Swamp, Friends Will Be Friends, God Save the Queen, Headlong, I Want It All, Jealousy, A Kind of Magic, Love of My Life, The Miracle, No One But You (Only the Good Die Young), One Vision, Play the Game, Radio Ga Ga, The Show Must Go On, These Are the Days of Our Lives, Under Pressure, Vultan’s Theme (Attack of the Hawk Men), We Will Rock You, You’re My Best Friend

Kiss

All the Way, Black Diamond, Creatures of the Night (1985 Remix), Detroit Rock City (2012 Remix), Easy As It Seems, Firehouse, Goin’ Blind, Hard Luck Woman, I Stole Your Love, Jungle, King of the Night Time World (2012 Remix), Love Her All I Can, Modern Day Delilah, Nowhere to Run, The Oath, Parasite, Rocket Ride, Strange Ways, Tears Are Falling, Unholy, Watchin’ You, X-Ray Eyes, Young and Wasted

Van Halen

Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love, Best of Both Worlds, Can’t Stop Lovin’ You, D.O.A., Everybody Wants Some, 5150, Good Enough, Hang ‘em High, I’m the One, Judgement Day, Little Dreamer, Mean Street, Not Enough, Outta Love Again, Panama, Runaround, Somebody Get Me a Doctor, Tattoo, Unchained, Women in Love, You Really Got Me

U2

Acrobat, Bullet the Blue Sky, City of Blinding Lights, Desire, Even Better Than the Real Thing, The Fly, Get On Your Boots, Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, Jesus Christ, Kite, Love is Blindness, Mysterious Ways, New Year’s Day (Video Version), Original of the Species, Pride (In the Name of Love), Red Hill Mining Town, Stuck in a Moment You Can’t Get Out Of, Tryin’ to Throw Your Arms Around the World, Until the End of the World, Vertigo, Walk On, Xanax and Wine, Yoshino Blossom, Zoo Station

Metallica

Atlas Rise, Battery, Creeping Death, Die Die My Darling, Enter Sandman, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The God That Failed, Hardwired, Inamorata, Jump in the Fire, King Nothing, Lords of Summer, Master of Puppets, Now That We’re Dead, Orion, Phantom Lord, Ride the Lightning, Seek & Destroy, Through the Never, The Unforgiven, The View, The Wait, You Really Got Me

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Around the World, Backwoods, Cabron, Dark Necessities, Especially in Michigan, Funky Monks, Give It Away, The Heavy Wing, I Could Have Lied, Johnny Kick a Hole in the Sky, Knock Me Down, Look Around, Minor Thing, Never is a Long Time, On Mercury, Parallel Universe, Quixoticelixer, Right on Time, Scar Tissue, This is the Kitt, Under the Bridge, Veronica, Whatchu Thinkin’, Yertle the Turtle, The Zephyr Song

Faith No More

Ashes to Ashes, Blood, Cuckoo for Caca, Digging the Grave, Everything’s Ruined, From Out of Nowhere, The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, Helpless, Introduce Yourself, The Jungle, Kindergarten, Land of Sunshine, Midlife Crisis, Naked in Front of a Computer, The Perfect Crime, Quiet in Heaven (Faith. No Man), Ricochet, A Small Victory, Take This Bottle, Ugly in the Morning, We Care a Lot (Introduce Yourself Version), Zombie Eaters

Guns N’ Roses

Ain’t It Fun, Better, Civil War, Dead Horse, Estranged, Fall to Pieces (Velvet Revolver), The Garden, Hard Skool, I.R.S., Jumpin’ Jack Flash (Acoustic), Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (Live), Live and Let Die, Mr. Brownstone, November Rain (2022 Version), Out ta Get Me, Pretty Tied Up (Live), Rocket Queen, Sweet Child o’ Mine, This I Love, Used to Love Her, Welcome to the Jungle, You Could Be Mine

White Zombie

Acid Flesh, Blur the Technicolor, Creature of the Wheel, Disaster Blaster II, Electric Head Part I (The Agony), Feed the Gods, Grindhouse (A Go-Go), I’m Your Boogieman, Kick, Love Razor, More Human Than Human, The One, El Phantasmo and the Chicken-Run Blast-O-Rama, Ratmouth, Super Charger Heaven, Thunderkiss ’65, Welcome to Planet Motherfucker/ Psychoholic Slag

Nirvana

All Apologies, Blew, Come As You Are, Dumb, Even In His Youth, Floyd the Barber (Live), Grey Goose, Hairspray Queen, I Hate Myself and Want to Die, Jesus Don’t Want Me for a Sunbeam, Lounge Act, Milk It, Negative Creep, On a Plain, Polly, Radio Friendly Unit Shifter, Sappy, Territorial Pissings, Very Ape, Where Did You Sleep Last Night?, You Know You’re Right

Alice in Chains

Angry Chair, Bleed the Freak, Check My Brain, Dirt, Fear the Voices, God Smack, Heaven Beside You, It Ain’t Like That, Junkhead, The Killer Is Me, Last of My Kind, Man in the Box, Nutshell, The One You Know, Put You Down, Queen of the Rodeo, Rooster, Sunshine, Them Bones, Untitled (Iron Gland), Voices, Would?, Your Decision

Green Day

American Idiot, Basket Case, Coming Clean, Deadbeat Holiday, Extraordinary Girl / Letterbomb, Fashion Victim, Geek Stink Breath, Holiday / Boulevard of Broken Dreams, In the End, Jesus of Suburbia, Know Your Enemy, Longview, Minority, Nice Guys Finish Last, Oh Love, Pulling Teeth, A Quick One While He’s Away, Redundant, She, 21 Guns, Uptight, Viva la Gloria!, Whatsername, X-Kid, You Lied

The Smashing Pumpkins

Anti-Hero, Bullet with Butterfly Wings, Cherub Rock, Drown, Eye, Farewell and Goodnight, Geek U.S.A., Hello Kitty Kat, I Am One, Jellybelly, Knights of Malta, Landslide, Mayonaise, 1979, An Ode to No One, Pissant, Quiet, Rhinoceros, Siva, Thirty-Three, Untitled, Violet Rays, Where Boys Fear to Tread, X.Y.U., You’re All I’ve Got Tonight, Zero

Buckethead

Abominable Snow Scalp, Big Sur Moon, Claymation Courtyard, Dawn at the Deuce, Electric Umbrella, Final Wars, Griffin’s Spike, Headless Reflection (The Coats of Claude Version), I Love My Parents, Jump Man, Kick Ass, Last Light, Mind Train, Nottingham Lace, Our Selves, Pink Eye, Revenge of the Double Man, Soothsayer (Dedicated to Aunt Suzie), Toy Store, Unemployment Blues, Vacuum Tube Implant, Whitewash, Yokohama

Oasis

Acquiesce, Bring It On Down, Champagne Supernova, Don’t Look Back in Anger, Eyeball Tickler, Falling Down, Go Let It Out, Half the World Away, I’m Outta Time, Just Getting Older, Keep the Dream Alive, Live Forever, Morning Glory, The Nature of Reality, One Way Road, Part of the Queue, A Quick Peep, Rock ’n’ Roll Star, Supersonic, Talk Tonight, Up in the Sky, Whatever, You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away

Outkast

ATLiens, B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad), Crumblin’ Erb, D.E.E.P., Elevators (Me & You), Funkin’ Around, GhettoMusick, Hey Ya!, In Your Dreams, Jazzy Belle, Knowing, A Life in the Day of Benjamin Andre (Incomplete), Ms. Jackson, Nathaniel, Ova da Wudz, Prototype, Rosa Parks, She Lives in My Lap, Two Dope Boyz (In a Cadillac), Unhappy, Vibrate, The Way You Move, Xplosion, Y’all Scared, Zora (Interlude)

Foo Fighters

Arlandria, Big Me, Cold Day in the Sun, Dear Rosemary, Everlong, February Stars, Generator, Hey Johnny Park, I’ll Stick Around, Kids In America, Learn to Fly, My Poor Brain, No Way Back, Ozone, The Pretender, Rope, Stranger Things Have Happened, Times Like These, Up In Arms, Virginia Moon, Wind Up, X-Static, You Should Be Dancing (Dee Gees)

Daft Punk

Aerodynamic, Beyond, Contact, Da Funk, Emotion, Fragments of Time, Get Lucky, Harder Better Faster Stronger, Instant Crush, Lose Yourself to Dance, Motherboard, Nightvision, One More Time, The Prime Time of Your Life, Robot Rock, Starboy (The Weeknd), Too Long, Voyager, Within

Slipknot

All Out Life, The Blister Exists, Custer, Duality, Eyeless, Finale, Gently, The Heretic Anthem, Iowa, Killpop, Left Behind, My Plague, Nero Forte, Only One, People = Shit, Red Flag, Solway Firth, Three Nil, Unsainted, Vermillion (Single Mix), Wait and Bleed, XIX, Yen

The White Stripes

Apple Blossom, Blue Orchid, Catch Hell Blues, The Denial Twist, Effect & Cause, Fell in Love with a Girl, Girl You Have No Faith In Medicine, Hotel Yorba, I’m Bound to Pack It Up, Jimmy the Exploder, Little Bird, My Doorbell, Offend In Every Way, Prickly Thorn But Sweetly Worn, Rag and Bone, Seven Nation Army, Truth Doesn’t Make a Noise, The Union Forever, Why Can’t You Be Nicer to Me?, You’ve Got Her In Your Pocket

Linkin Park

Across the Line, Blackout, Castle of Glass, Don’t Stay, Esaul (Xero Demo), Faint, Given Up, Hit the Floor, In the End, Jigga What / Faint (Jay-Z), Kyur4 th Ich, Lying from You, More the Victim, No More Sorrow, One Step Closer, A Place for My Head, QWERTY, Runaway, She Couldn’t, Talking to Myself, Until It Breaks, Victimized, What I’ve Done, X-Ecutioner Style, You Ain’t Gotsta Gotsta

And with that, let’s do some bonuses:

Songs in general

Angry Chair (Alice in Chains), Backwoods (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Come As You Are (Nirvana), Dark Necessities (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Everything’s Ruined (Faith No More), The Fly (U2), The Gentle Art of Making Enemies (Faith No More), Home Sweet Home (Motley Crue), Island in the Sun (Weezer), Jump (Kris Kross), The Killing Moon (Echo & the Bunnymen), Limo Wreck (Soundgarden), More Human Than Human (White Zombie), November Rain (2022 Version - Guns N’ Roses), The One (White Zombie), People = Shit (Slipknot), Quixoticelixer (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Rocket Queen (Guns N’ Roses), Scar Tissue (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Through the Never (Metallica), Under the Bridge (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Very Ape (Nirvana), Welcome to Planet Motherfucker/ Psychoholic Slag (White Zombie), X.Y.U. (The Smashing Pumpkins), You’re No Different (Ozzy Osbourne), Zero (The Smashing Pumpkins)

Other songs in general

All Along the Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix), Blur the Technicolor (White Zombie), Cemetery Gates (Pantera), Detroit Rock City (2012 Remix - Kiss), Electric Head Part I (White Zombie), From Out of Nowhere (Faith No More), Grindhouse (White Zombie), The Heavy Wing (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Immigrant Song (Live - Led Zeppelin), Jumpin’ Jack Flash (Acoustic - Guns N’ Roses), Kindergarten (Faith No More), Let It Be (The Beatles), Midlife Crisis (Faith No More), Nobody Rides for Free (Ratt), Our Selves (Buckethead), The Perfect Crime (Faith No More), Quiet (The Smashing Pumpkins), Rearviewmirror (Pearl Jam), Supernaut (Black Sabbath), Tornado of Souls (Megadeth), The Unforgiven (Metallica), Violet Hill (Coldplay), When the Levee Breaks (Led Zeppelin), X Gon’ Give It to Ya (DMX), You Could Be Mine (Guns N’ Roses), Zoo Station (U2)

Albums in general

Appetite for Destruction (Guns N’ Roses), By the Way (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Californication (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Dressed to Kill (Kiss), Electric Ladyland (Jimi Hendrix), Foo Fighters (Foo Fighters), The Getaway (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Hotter than Hell (Kiss), In Utero (Nirvana), Jane’s Addiction (Jane’s Addition), King for a Day (Faith No More), Led Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin), Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness (The Smashing Pumpkins), Nevermind (Nirvana), One Hot Minute (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Paranoid (Black Sabbath), Queens of the Stone Age (Queens of the Stone Age), Ride the Lightning (Metallica), Superunknown (Soundgarden), Ten (Pearl Jam), Undertow (Tool), Van Halen (Van Halen), The Wall (Pink Floyd), X&Y (Coldplay), Yield (Pearl Jam), Zooropa (U2)

Artists in general

Alice in Chains, Black Sabbath, Coldplay, Depeche Mode, The Eagles, Foo Fighters, Guns N’ Roses, Heart, Ice-T, Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Nirvana, Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam, Queens of the Stone Age, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Smashing Pumpkins, Tool, U2, Van Halen, The White Stripes, Xzibit, Yaz/ Yazoo, ZZ Top

And just for fun, let’s also throw in a non-musical list:

Movies

Aliens, The Batman, Casino Royale, Die Hard, The Empire Strikes Back, The Force Awakens, Guardians of the Galaxy, Home Alone, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Jaws, Knives Out, The Last Jedi - Score-Only Version, My Cousin Vinny, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Office Space, The Phantom Menace, A Quiet Place, Rear Window, Star Wars, Toy Story 2, Up, Venom, The Way of Water, X-Men, Young Frankenstein, Zoolander

Peace!

Related: List Repository

Causality: A Sci-Fi Short Story

CAUSALITY

Henry N. Silva

Mars, 2157

Dr. Evelyn looks upon the wasteland…

Mars wasn’t meant to still be like this. It’s been a century since colonization began. And yet, nothing much has changed. Still a red desert planet, still too cold, still too hostile…

The young scientist keeps her eyes fixed on the horizon. Another dust storm is coming, the size of a mountain, thick enough to prevent her from seeing the strong lights of the other colony towers…

With a sigh, she turns around, making her way out of her chrome apartment and into an elevator, descending to one of the community floors below. Soon enough, she finds herself sitting at dark bar, it’s walls drizzled with strands of neon. She orders her usual, synthbeer and a 3D-printed burger, and sits quietly, tuning out the hustle and bustle of other colonists all around her, as she waits for her order…

And then, a voice appears from behind her, “Dr. Evelyn?”

The young woman swings herself around, only to find standing there an aging military general, his uniform covered with flair.

He speaks again, “I need you to come with me.”

***

General Victor leads Evelyn across the wasteland…

She does her best to keep up, unused to wearing her bulky breathing suit for such a long period of time.

“Couldn’t we have taken a travel rover?” She asks, pantingly.

Victor briefly turns around, his face completely hidden by reflection, and then faces forward once more, resuming to lead the way.

Eventually, the pair reach a small, manhole-sized cave entrance. Victor steps aside, motioning for Evelyn to jump in, “After you.”

She follows his orders, finding herself leaping straight into a large, underground chamber of some kind, her fall broken by the planet’s weak gravity. She then proceeds to examine her surroundings. Plenty of other suited colonists have already set up camp there, all of them government officials and military personnel, no doubt.

Evelyn takes immediate notice of all the equipment scattered about, before refocusing her attention on the towering walls around her, illuminated by UV light-stands. Her jaw drops as she realizes that the walls are covered in hieroglyphs… Ancient hieroglyphs…

Victor lands on his feet behind Evelyn.

She immediately turns to face him, “I don’t understand! What is this place?”

“This place,” the general begins, “needs to stay off-record. You’re here for a very important assignment, Doctor. One that must be kept secret, at all costs.”

She points to the markings on the wall to her left, “Who put those there?”

“Who do you think?” The general’s tone suddenly deepens, becoming more serious than even before, “You don’t believe this planet has always been dead, do you Doctor?”

Evelyn doesn’t respond. Instead, she proceeds to make her way slowly to one of the walls, taking a much closer looks at the glyphs. Quickly, she is able to make out depictions of Martians, or whatever she’s supposed to call them, “They look much more humanoid than I would’ve expected.”

She walks a little further, stumbling upon a much larger glyph depicting two faceless figures, wearing armor of some kind.

“Doctor,” the general calls to her.

She turns back around, unable to find him in the sea of suited officials, until he waves his arm to get her attention.

Evelyn heads back towards Victor, who then leads her into one of several dark, narrow catacombs there in the underground. Soon enough, they find themselves in another illuminated area, much smaller than the main chamber. Only one other colonist is there, a man.

“This is Dr. Alan,” the general announces.

“I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Dr. Evelyn,” Alan says with a wave. “I’ve heard great things about your work.”

“What work, exactly?” Evelyn asks, still processing everything.

“Those fancy seeds of yours, I mean.”

“Oh, the genesis seeds.” She pulls out a handful of small, rather normal-looking seeds from her travel sack, strapped around the left shoulder of her suit, “Yes, just a handful of these seeds can generate an entire forest, but it takes centuries. I’m still trying to find a way to speed up the process.”

“Which is exactly why you’re here,” Victor explains. “We think we can help you, Dr. Evelyn, and that you can help us. Dr. Alan here has been trying to better understand what the ancient Martians were like, and we imagine that you yourself would like to learn the causality of Mars’s long lost ecosystem, would you not?”

“It would certainly help with my research, yes. But how exactly can we do either of those things?”

Alan takes a deep breath, before answering her question, “We can… We can go there, Dr. Evelyn.”

“Go where? What do you… Oh!” Evelyn nearly faints, as she begins to understand, “But isn’t that… Dangerous?”

“Not at all,” Victor chimes in. “Our research and previous experiments confirm that time is, in fact, a closed loop. Everything that is meant to have happened has happened, and everything that is meant to still happen will indeed still happen.”

Evelyn breathes in heavily, doing her best to calm her own nerves, “Well, if you say so… But how do we even… How do we get there?”

Without saying a word, Alan picks up a strange, metallic device off a nearby table, wrapping it around his forearm. A touchpad plate on the device suddenly springs to life, which Alan proceeds to click away at. He then reaches out his other arm to Evelyn, “Grab on.”

She wraps her arm around his.

General Victor takes a few steps backwards, saluting them both, “Best of luck.”

With a deep inhale, Alan presses the touchpad once more. Instantly, Evelyn’s vision is consumed by white, electric light, which then vanishes as quickly as it came…

She and Alan find themselves above ground, surrounded by lush, green forestry.

“Wow,” Evelyn looks around, in awe at the sight of it all. “How far back did we go?”

“Far,” Alan nods. “Very far… You think this air is safe to breathe?”

“We might as well keep our helmets on,” Evelyn answers. “Just to be on the safe side.”

Suddenly, the pair hear a cluster of footsteps, not too far away.

“Come on!” Alan motions for Evelyn to follow.

They make their way through a series of trees, before arriving at a handful of bushes. Carefully, they crouch down, peering their way through. On the other side, they find a dozen or so primitive humanoids, dressed in furry animal skins. The Martians, no doubt.

“Amazing,” Alan whispers. “If I didn’t know any better, I would almost say they were human.” His curiosity getting the best of him, he slowly begins to stand back up, “I’m gonna try to get a closer look.”

“No!” Evelyn rises with him, trying to pull him back down, but it’s no use. For in that very moment, the natives suddenly look over, noticing them both.

“Ah!” One of the Martians screams. He and all of his companions there proceed to run away, howling in fear.

Evelyn scoffs, “Nice going!”

“Sorry,” Alan lowers his head, sighing with shame. “Should we head back home?”

“No, not yet. I still need to get a better understanding of how all this green got here in the first place. We need to go back even further.”

Alan lets out another heavy sigh, “If you say so.”

They lock arms again, as Alan clicks away at the touchpad on his arm. A familiar white light overtakes their vision, vanishing within seconds…

The two scientists-turned-explorers now find themselves in a familiar red desert, still above ground.

“I said to go further back!”

“This is further back,” Alan clarifies. “You don’t see any settlement towers around, do you?”

“Ah, right,” Evelyn acknowledges.

Suddenly, they both notice a familiar, mountain-sized dust storm, closing in on them.

Alan turns to his travel companion, “We gotta go home, now!”

She nods in return, “Okay!!”

He begins to set the return controls on his touchpad, as the winds pick up exponentially. In the mist of all the chaos, Evelyn’s travel sack blows open. Before she has time to react, several dozen genesis seeds are blown out of the bag, taken away by the wind…

“No!” She tries to go after them, but then Alan wraps his arm around hers, slamming down on the touchpad.

The same white light from before overtakes their vision, for another second or two, and then, the pair find themselves back in their underground base. The roaring winds of the storm replaced by sheer silence…

General Victor clears his throat, “So… Did you find the answers you were looking for?”

Evelyn lowers her head and sighs, “Yeah… I think we did.”

Related: Fiction Repository

The Last Laugh: A Western Short Story

 THE LAST LAUGH

Henry N. Silva

October 5th, 1899

Young Pete took in what the Wild West had to offer…

Sure, he was homeless, with barely a dime to his name, but comfort wasn’t what the West was all about. It was about freedom. No rules. The final frontier… A time coming to an end, and Pete knew it, but he didn’t care;

Enjoy it while it lasts…

He chewed on his last bits of squirrel for the morning, his twenty-year-old body sore from sleeping on rocks. He sat as close to the fire pit as he could, its warmth contrasting with the cool air of the fall. He looked around, as the sunrise kissed the endless desert. A sight that never failed to amaze him, morning after morning…

Lon Sanders soon awoke just beside him, an immediate smile on his face, “Mornin’!” He was only a few years younger, yet he looked up to Pete as an elder, of some kind.

Pete, for his part, didn’t mind. Lon was just a rookie, after all. A rookie who, until now, never slept outdoors, never broke any rules. A rookie who didn’t even own a hat…

Lon continued to smile, “Can’t believe today’s finally my first score with y’all!”

Suddenly, as if on cue, Ol’ Lemons sat up, having slept on the other side of the fire. He too bore a shit-eating grin, “If we’re lucky, today’s you’re only score with us, boy!” Adjusting the brim of his hat, he stumbled to his feet, his middle-aged body almost failing him.

Young Pete couldn’t help but laugh, “Someone didn’t get enough shuteye!” He looked up to Lemons, the same way Lon looked up to him, but he wasn’t afraid to poke fun, now and then…

Lemons cocked his head in acknowledgement, “Keep laughing, boy! Soon you’s be needing more sleep too. Someday Young Pete won’t be so young no more!” He then looked over to his right, noticing their trio of horses beginning to rise, “Let’s getta move-on.”

Each of them mounted their rides, heading north, Lemons leading the way. In time, they reached a railroad, just as a train came into view, about to pass by…

“This is it, boys!” Lemons grinned again, his decaying teeth in full view, “Last great train robbery of the century!”

“Remember,” Pete began, his tone serious, “We be lookin’ for the cart with a red stripe painted across.”

Lon turned to him, “That’s where the loot is?”

Pete nodded, “Damn right that’s where the loot is.”

The locomotive on the horizon grew with each passing second, leaving a trail of smoke in its wake. In the blink of an instant, the roaring train was suddenly passing in front of them. Soon enough, the red-striped cart came into view.

“Go, go, go!” Lemons shouted at the top of his lungs.

They each commandeered their horses accordingly, all three of them now running alongside the train, the loot cart inching closer and closer… Lemons jumped off first, managing to grab hold of a pole behind the cart, his feet landing safely on the edge. He motioned his arm towards the others, “Come on!”

Pete went next. Lemons moved to the side as he jumped on, landing safely beside him. The hat on Pete’s head then blew away with the wind, never to be seen again…

Two two of them took a step further back behind the cart, protected by a rail, as Lon prepared to join them both. With a deep, nervous breath, he moved his body into position, and then jumped off his horse, reaching his arm out to grab hold of the pole… Alas, he missed! Pete, having anticipated this, reached his own arm out, managing to grab hold of the boy, as his feet landed safely on the ledge.

Young Pete pulled Lon towards him, all three of them were now together behind the loot cart. Only a door with a padlock now stood in their way. Swiftly, Lemons drew out his pistol, needing to only fire one shot to break the lock. He then kicked the door open, the three outlaws pouring into the cart. Pete’s jaw practically dropped at the sight of it all. Gold crowns, silver spoons, fine China, and so on.

Each outlaw had an empty sack tide to each of their sides. Two sacks per person. Six sacks in total. More than enough.

Lemons got to work, “Take all you can get, boys!”

Within minutes, all six sacks had been filled. The trio then left the exact way they came, exiting through the back door, and leaping off the train, using their now-filled sacks to break their fall…

They each took a moment to catch their breath, the train fading away in the distance. Then, they all scrambled to their feet, Lon smiling ear-to-ear, “We did it! We actually did it!”

Lemons nodded in return, “Indeed we did.” Suddenly, out of nowhere, he withdrew his pistol again, shooting Lon straight in the head.

Young Pete felt his heart sink to his stomach, as the boy fell backwards, “Lon!”

He ran over and knelt down before the body, looking for signs of life. Alas, Lon was dead…

  Pete stood up again to face Lemons, who by now had put his gun away once more, “Dammit, you yellowbelly sonofabitch! We said we wasn’t gonna do none of this one-less-share bullshit!”

“Whadn’t that,” the old man shrugged. “Just didn’t like him much, is all.”

The youngin’ said nothing, unsure what to make of everything, still frozen in shock…

Lemons walked over to examine the body, shrugging once more, “Sure does look kinda like you… If you switched clothes with him then everyone would think you’re dead. You’s wouldn’t need to worry ‘bout anyone tryna hunt you down.” He shifted his gaze towards Pete, “No one knew this boy was out here wit us, after all…”

Pete took a few steps back, keeping his eyes fixed on his now ex-idol, “You’s insane if you thinks I’m gonna do that.”

“C’mon, boy!” Lemons pointed a scolding finger at him, “You thinks you gonna get away with this shit for the rest of your life but you isn’t! If you keep them clothes, you ain’t ever gettin’ old and gray, boy! You ain’t makin’ it to the finish!”

For a second, Pete wondered if he was right. But then, his instincts kick in, “How’d I know you just isn’t gonna shoot me too when I’m changing?”

Lemons lowered his arm, attempting to seem vulnerable, “I’ve been with you since you started, boy. Why would I do that now?”

Pete shrugged, “We just did the perfect score, didn’t we? Our last score, right?” He got into position to draw his gun for a duel.

Ol’ Lemons took note, getting into position as well, “C’mon, boy… I don’t wanna end yer story dis way.”

Young Pete stayed firm, “Cut the bull. I’m the fastest gun in the West, and you know it. I killed ten men in five years, and I wadn’t planning to make it eleven today.”

The two remained still for a few more tense seconds… And then, they both drew, and-

BANG!

Pete managed to shoot Lemons straight in the chest, before the old man could even fire… Slowly, the youngin’ walked on over to his fallen mentor, taking his final breaths. Pete stood tall over him, “I see you, Ol’ Lemons.”

With what little life he had left, the dying gunslinger laughed. A haunting laugh. The last laugh…

Young Pete waited until he could see for sure that Lemons was dead… He then did his best to grab hold of all six sacks, preparing to leave… But then, from the corner of his eye, he took another instinctive look at Lon. He couldn’t help but notice how clean and fancy the rookie’s clothes were, a far cry from the dirty, pale-blue poncho he himself was known for always wearing… He dropped the bags, walking over again to Lon’s body.

Lemons had a point. They did somewhat look alike…

With a deep inhale of regret, Pete kneeled back down, proceeding to switch his clothes with those of his friend’s… As he changed, Pete checked Lon’s pockets. All of his papers were there…

Once he was done, Pete made one final switch; the guns. Carefully, he placed his own pistol in Lon’s dead hand, before taking hold of his, checking it from the inside. Only one bullet left. The last of its kind now, just like him…

Swiftly, he closed Lon’s pistol back up, fastening it away in the clean hostler he now wore. Before leaving for good, he made one last change; he moved Lemons’ body to a different angle, to make it look like he and Lon had shot one another…

And with that, Young Pete grabbed hold of all six bags, beginning the long trek ahead of him. He took one last look back.

Two bodies, lying there in the cold…

Fifty-Five Years Later

Pete awoke from the nightmare in a cold sweat. The usual for him, at this point…

The first rays of the rising sun were creeping in through his blinds. With a heavy grunt, the man who now called himself Lon Sanders got out of bed, his knees immediately feeling sore. Slowly, he limped on over to the bathroom, taking a moment to gaze at his reflection in the mirror. Old, gray, and crusty. Bloodshot eyes, heavy with regret.

He made it to the finish. The finish wasn’t so good…

In due time, he made his way to the kitchen. He looked out the window, to look upon the world of suburban, cookie-cutter homes. A world he didn’t understand, and never will…

After coffee and eggs, he headed into the living room. A television sat there, switched off. For a brief second, Pete reached out his arm to turn it on, but then quickly changed his mind, a look of anxiety appearing in his face. He never really quite got the appeal of television, despite his many attempts to try… So instead, looked over some records he had once bought impulsively, but again, failed to see the appeal.

As a last resort, he picked up a magazine from the coffee table, beginning to flip through. Pictures of the new youth, drinking egg creams and socializing at diners and drive-ins, sitting in nice cars, clad in leather, hair greased back. But once again, Pete couldn’t connect…

With a faint sigh, he looked up, his walls decorated with comic strips and movie posters of the legendary cowboy the world knew as Young Pete. Some things painted him as a nice boy, others as a stone-cold monster…

The truth is always somewhere in the middle…

***

Pete awoke in the dead of night, to the sound of a screeching halt…

In a hurry, he limped to the window. A truck had just pulled up to his house. He watched as the driver’s door swung open. A young man in denim came pouring out, no older than twenty-five. A beige cowboy hat on his head, his left hand clutching his right bicep. He was bleeding…

The young trucker collapsed to the ground. Pete remained still, unsure what to do. For a moment, he thought about ringing up 9-1-1, something he had never wanted to do, in fear of it somehow exposing his true self. For another moment, he thought about just leaving the youngin’ there to die… But then, instantly, he thought of Lon, his cold, innocent body, still fresh in his mind…

With a heavy sigh of remorse, Pete waddled over to his drawer. From it, he pulled out the rusted pistol that once belonged to the real Lon Sanders. Still one bullet left. The last of its kind. Just like him…

He then made his way down the stairs, and then outdoors. Carefully, he approached the injured fellow, “Can you walk?”

The trucker looked up at him, “Think so. I didn’t get shot. Just grazed, is all.”

With that, the old man turned around, making his way back into his own home, “Follow me inside. Now!”

The younger man did as he said, “The name’s Artie, by the way.”

Pete didn’t turn around, “I don’t care.”

***

The youngin’ proceeded to tell his story, as Pete wrapped a bandage around his wound; “Was doin’ a delivery. Made a stop at a rest place just outta town. Two guys saw me in the parking lot. Real grizzly-lookin’ guys. Made fun of my clothes. One of them walked up and tried to force himself onto me, so I shot the sonofabitch.” He looked down, seeming rueful, “I didn’t mean to… Just didn’t know what else to do, is all.”

“Then what happened?”

“Then I ran to my truck,” the injured soul went on, “and the other brother pulled out a gun and started shooting at me. As I drove away, he said he was gonna hunt me down like a dog.”

“So what’ll you do now?”

“Dunno,” Artie shrugged. “Think I’ll try headin’ out to Alaska, maybe.”

Pete finished wrapping the bandage, and then stood up, “You look ridiculous with that hat, by the way. Especially with that hat. No wonder they attacked you.”

Artie shrugged again, “I dress this way cause I’m a cowboy trucker.”

“Ugh!” Pete couldn’t help but cringe, “Don’t say that!”

The young man looked downward, as Pete suddenly felt a familiar sense of guilt wash over him.

“You can stay for the night,” the old man said with a sigh. “C’mon, I’ll show you to the couch.”

And so, the elder led the younger to the living room. Immediately, Artie took note of all the posters, newspapers cutouts and the like that covered the walls.

“What’s with all this?” He asked, “Got an obsession with Young Pete or something?”

The old man didn’t answer.

“No, wait…” Artie’s eyes suddenly lit up, an ear-to-ear grin overtaking his face, “You are him! Ha! I’d always heard rumors that you faked your own death!”

Pete rolled his eyes, “Should’ve never put any of this crap up, but I couldn’t help it.”

“You must be at least 75 years old!” Artie went on, “Do people even live that long?”

“I did.”

“When I was a kid I always used to picture you killing people and howlin’ with laughter.”

“Ain’t nuthin’ funny ‘bout killing.”

“Then again, I also used to picture you as some sorta hero.”

“Heroes don’t rob trains…”

“Hey, whatever happened to the treasure that they say you and Ol’ Lemons scored? Is it true that a bunch of Indians took it?”

“No. You’re standing in it.”

Artie proceeded to take a better look at the house around him.

Pete turned around, eyeing him critically, “No more questions!”

Curious as ever, the youngin’ suddenly turned his attention to the switched-off television there in the room, “Mind if I turn on the tube while I rest up?”

“Yeah, I do mind actually.”

“Why?”

“I don’t like watching it.”

“Then why did you buy one?”

“Wanted to try it, and then didn’t like it.”

“Aw, c’mon now!” Artie walked on over to the TV set and switched on. A sitcom instantly appeared on the screen.”

“Shut that off!”

“No, look!” The young man insisted, “It’s funny!”

With another heavy sigh and eye roll, the elder acquiesced, proceeding to sit there on the couch with his guest, watching the strange, magic box.

A few minutes went by, and then Artie spoke once more, “See? Told you it was funny.”

And then the old man did something he hadn’t done in ages; he smiled, “Yeah… Guess it is…” 

Some time went by, and then, the pair heard another vehicle come to a screeching halt, just outside the house. Moments later, a menacing voice filled the air;

“Come out here, yah piece of shit! I told you I’d find your ass!”

“Fuck!” Artie placed his head on his hands, “He found my truck!”

Pete thought to himself for a few seconds, and then stood up, handing Artie his car keys, “Stay in here ‘til it’s over… Then get go the garage, get in my ride, and head on out to Alaska like you said you was gonna do.”

“What?!” Artie shook his head in confusion and disbelief, “What’re you talkin’ ‘bout?!”

“You heard me. I’m goin’ out there. You stay in here ‘til it’s done.”

Artie shook his head again, “No!” He stood up too, “I’m goin’ out there! Not you!”

“No!”

“But you ain’t got nuthin’ to do with this! Why you?!”

“I ain’t the future.”

Artie paused for a few moments, and then sat back down, unsure what else to say…

And with that, Pete made his way outdoors, gun in hand… He met the grizzly-lookin’ man there in the road, and muttered under his breath;

“I see you, Ol’ Lemons.”

“Who the hell are you?!” Grizzly snarled, “Where’s that sonofabitch who killed my brother?! He in that house with you?!”

Pete said nothing, guarding his home.

“Get outta my way, old timer!” Grizzly grunted again, “I mean it!!”

Finally, the old man spoke up, “I’m the fastest gun in the West. I killed eleven men in five years, and I wadn’t planning to make it twelve tonight.”

Grizzly seemed perplexed, for a second, and then drew out his own pistol…

The two of them stared at one another for a few cold, suspenseful seconds, and then-

BANG!

…Grizzly stumbled a couple of steps forward, before collapsing to the ground, bleeding from his stomach…

Pete remained frozen still for some time… And then, suddenly, he began to giggle. And then, his giggle grew into a laugh. A roaring laugh. The last laugh…

But then, his laugh instantly morphed into a groan, as he grabbed hold of his chest… The old man then collapsed to the ground as well, allowing his sudden heart attack to consume him. Soon enough, he took his final breath, joining Grizzly in death.

Two bodies, lying there in the cold…

Related: Fiction Repository