Out West

Halloween is fast approaching, and Micah is trying on a cowboy outfit to have ready for trick-or-treating.

“Hmmm. Not bad.” says Micah to himself while looking at himself in the mirror. Micah puts on a cowboy hat and says in a western accent, “Howdy, partner! Y’all best stay out of trouble, now!”

“Boys, dinner!” hollers Micah’s mother. Micah removes his cowboy outfit, puts on his street clothes, and goes out to the kitchen to chow down with his mom, stepdad, and brothers. After eating, Micah goes into his laboratory and does some research on cowboys and western culture to help bring more character out with his Halloween outfit of choice, later turning in for the night. The next day (on a beautiful Saturday), Micah takes a walk through town and hears panicking coming from a nearby building, investigating and noticing Trekker robbing a bank. Micah looks through one of the windows of the bank while Trekker points a ray gun at a teller, who nervously places wads of cash into a bag that Trekker is holding out.

“That’s right! Keep it coming!” said Trekker. Micah enters the bank and shouts, “Stop right there, Trekker!”

“Coming through!” shouts Trekker while making a run for it with his bag now full of cash. Trekker shoves Micah out of his path while he runs out of the bank with Micah chasing after him. At one point (while on the west side of Arcanum), Trekker summons a warp hole and enters it while Micah continues to chase after him, inadvertently entering the warp hole and appearing in a western town while in cowboy gear.

“Come and get me, slowpoke! Ha ha ha ha!” laughs Trekker while running off into the distance.

“You ain’t gonna get away with this, Trekker! Y’all come back now!” shouts Micah angrily in a southern accent. With a puzzled look on his face, Micah observes his surroundings and apparel while asking to himself, “What in tarnation is goin’ on ‘ere?”

“We ain’t got time for that.” responded a distant voice in a southern accent. Micah looks behind him and sees his brothers (older brother, Matthew, and younger brother, Christopher) in cowboy gear accompanying him.

“Matt? Chris? What’s y’all doin’ ‘ere?” asked Micah.

“Never mind that. We got ourselves a yellow-bellied sidewinder to round up!” responds Christopher while holding out a “Wanted” poster with Trekker’s photo on it.

“Care to join the herd, partner?” asked Matthew.

“Count me in! I reckon it’s best we catch that bottom-feeder together!” answered Micah.

“All right, boys! Let’s move out!” says Christopher while walking into town with Micah and Matthew. Micah and his brothers stop into a nearby saloon with Micah asking, “Listen up, y’all! We’re lookin’ for a feller with a big ol’ bag of loot! Y’all seen him anywhere?” asks Micah while Christopher presents the Wanted poster. Some of the patrons shake their heads while others have puzzled looks on their faces and look at one another.

“I have!” answered a female voice in a southern accent. Sarah, also dressed in cowboy gear, steps out of the crowd with Micah asking, “Sarah? What’s a li’l ol’ gal like yourself doin’ in a place like this?”

“That no-good, yellow-bellied sidewinder brought me ‘ere against my will! I’ve been tryin’ to find my way out e’er since! I only moseyed on down to this place to take a breather. But now that you’re ‘ere, I reckon I’m ready to keep on lookin’!” answered Sarah.

“Join the herd!” responded Micah. Sarah walks out of the saloon with Micah and his brothers while the patrons attend to their regular business. Micah and his brothers walk through town with Sarah, who tells them how she ended up in town and eluded Trekker. As they walk through town, Micah, his brothers, and Sarah make stops at buildings and present the Wanted poster of Trekker to the owners and patrons of the business to no avail. Micah and his brothers continue searching through town with Micah asking, “Well, boys. Whatcha say we take a break for a while, eh?” Micah receives no answer and looks behind him while asking, “Boys?” Micah observes his surroundings and does not find his brothers or Sarah in plain sight with Micah asking, “Matt? Chris? Sarah? Where’d y’all go?” Micah suddenly hears a menacing laugh and draws his attention to it, finding Trekker standing in front of a railroad track while asking, “Does this answer your question?” Trekker steps aside and reveals Matthew, Christopher, and Sarah tied to the track with Matthew saying, “We’ll be fine, Micah! Save yourself!”

“No! I ain’t leavin’ y’all behind! If we go, we go together!” responded Micah.

“How touchin’. Tell ya what, partner. I’ll fight you for ‘em. If you win, y’all can take your boys and gal home. But if I win, I run ‘em over with my Trekker Express. So, what’s it gonna be?” asked Trekker menacingly. Micah contemplates for a moment and answers with, “You’re on!” Micah and Trekker head over to one side of town opposite from each other and step towards each other with their hands close to their Bolt Shots. At a close proximity to Trekker, Micah pulls out his Bolt Shot and fires a bolt at Trekker with it while shouting, “Draw!” The bolt collides with Trekker’s Bolt Shot, sending it flying out of Trekker’s hand and out of sight with Micah saying, “Looks like we have a winner! A deal’s a deal, Trekker! Y’all know what needs to be done!” Micah observes his surroundings and does not find Trekker in plain sight.

“Trekker?! Where’d y’all go?!” asked Micah angrily. Micah suddenly hears a train whistle and draws his attention to it, seeing Trekker in a locomotive (resembling Trekker) barreling down the track towards Matthew, Christopher, and Sarah. Micah closes his eyes in fear with Matthew, Christopher, and Sarah doing the same, only for the train to come to an abrupt halt inches from Matthew, Christopher, Sarah. Micah, his brothers, and Sarah open their eyes and see ropes in front of the locomotive and draw their attention to the source, finding Wesley and a herd of cowboys on horses.

“Looks like y’all need a hand!” said Wesley. Micah, his brothers, and Sarah all smile at Wesley, who then says, “All right, boys! Round him up!” Trekker exits the locomotive and takes off running with Wesley and his herd of cowboys chasing after him while Micah frees his brothers and Sarah from the railroad track. Micah watches with his brothers and Sarah as Wesley and his herd of cowboys continue chasing after Trekker until they’ve had enough and decide to find their way back home to Arcanum. As they walk through town, Trekker suddenly drops in front of them hogtied with Micah, his brothers, and Sarah drawing their attention to Wesley and his herd of cowboys.

“All in a day’s work. C’mon, boys! Our work here is done!” says Wesley while leading his herd of cowboys out of town. Micah, his brothers, and Sarah watch as Wesley and his herd of cowboys ride on their horses out of town into the sunset, subsequently turning their attention to Trekker with stern looks on their faces.

“We had a deal, Trekker!” said Micah angrily.

“It ain’t fair! My reflexes ain’t as good as yours!” responded Trekker angrily. Matthew reaches into one of Trekker’s pockets and pulls out a remote, pressing its button and summoning a warp hole back to Arcanum.

“That’s our ticket home!” said Matthew. Micah leads his brothers and Sarah to the warp hole while dragging Trekker along, appearing back at the bank with the teller saying, “Oh, thank you kids for bringing Trekker to justice!”

“We ain’t the ones to thank, madam.” responds Micah with a southern accent. Christopher taps Micah’s shoulder while saying, “Uh, Micah? We’re not out west anymore.”

“Oh, sorry. I guess I’ve been there too long.” responded Micah.

“If you guys didn’t catch Trekker, who did?” asked the teller.

“That would be us.” answered a distant voice. Micah, his brothers, Sarah, and the rest of the crowd draw their attention to the source and find Wesley and his herd of cowboys standing behind Micah, his brothers, and Sarah.

“No thanks are necessary, folks. I’m just helping out my best friend.” says Wesley while walking up to Micah and placing his hand on his shoulder. Micah, his brothers, and Sarah untie Trekker with help from Wesley and his herd of cowboys while a squad of officers apprehend and escort Trekker to a police cruiser. After watching Trekker get hauled off, Micah, his brothers, and Sarah head home with Wesley while Wesley’s herd of cowboys return to their home with the crowd cheering everyone on. Micah, his brothers, Wesley, and Sarah all carry on with their lives while the bank recovers from Trekker’s robbery. On a Thursday evening, Micah walks in a Halloween parade in Arcanum with his brothers, Wesley, and Sarah, all dressed up in their cowboy gear with Micah going up on stage at a gazebo uptown for a costume contest afterwards.

“And the winner is…Micah!” said the host. Everyone cheers for Micah, who receives a 1^st place ribbon and exits the gazebo, joining back up with his brothers, Wesley, and Sarah.

“Congratulations, Micah!” said Wesley.

“Thanks, pal!” responded Micah. The following Sunday, Micah, his brothers, Wesley, and Sarah all go trick-or-treating together in Arcanum while dressed in their cowboy gear, having the time of their lives.

 

The End