Prompt One

Xavier ran a hand through his collar long auburn hair before setting his dark cowboy hat on his head. He felt at odds with himself, being born in a modern world wanting so much to be in the old west. He had done a few cattle drives in previous years, whenever someone pulled out an electronic device or some other thing spoiled the whole trip for him. He chuckled at himself stepping up to the large window overlooking only part of the massive city of New York. This modern place made him felt even more like an outsider.

The three day two night stay had been his sister’s dream, not his. Betty would have been here enjoying the fruits of her tireless work for the contest had she not fallen off her horse the day before she was to depart. He did, however, purchased the items from her list she had given him. He set them in the mail yesterday not wanting to deal with airport security over a few knickknacks. He hated airports just as much as he hated the city. He was a country boy through and through.

Glancing about the hotel room one last time ensuring he had not forgotten anything. He was eager to put this fast pace city behind him and return to the sanity of Minnesota. His horses, his job and his beloved compound bow his grandfather given him when he was thirteen. He had been gun shy and bolted every time one was fired, no matter what he or his father did that fear could never be fully stated. His father was determined his boy would hunt just like the rest of the Tanner clan. So, his grandfather came up with the logical solution. Xavier warmed to the quiet weapon instantly. It took just as much training and skill to fire a bow as it did for a gun, on some occasions more so. The wind hit the shaft of the arrow more boldly than the smaller bullet.

His boot heels clicked against the elevator floor and he pushed the lobby button when Cowboy Logic began to play. He wiggled his cell phone out of the jacket inside pocket and smiled at the caller’s name. “Howdy,” he said into the receiver.

“I hope you enjoyed my prize,” Betty said with mock hurt.

“I reckon I did,” he answered with a chuckle adjusting the strap of his backpack on his shoulder. “Not liking the big city. You can have it.”

Betty giggled. “You were able to get all that stuff?”

“On the way to you by mail, thought it would be safer.”

“You crazy coot,” she said, shaking her head at him. He was a strange one about the airports. Always so afraid they will think he was a terrorist. “Thank you. I’ll see you when you get back. You have to sign my cast you know.”

“Plan to,” he answered leaning on the wall watching the numbers on the blink as the lift descended. He felt tired, it was hard to sleep in a strange bed, he was eager to return home and sleep in his own. The constant noise and lights flashing didn’t help matters much, even with the drapes closed. Car alarms and police sirens, voices in the hallway at all hours of the night. “I’ll put something real nice on it, like almost got raped in NY or something to that effect.”

“Don’t you dare, I’ll poke your eyes out.”

“Gotta catch me first,” he declared, playfully. “I reckon I better be off, need to catch my flight. It will take me two hours just to get to the airport in this traffic. I swear riding a horse would be faster in this bee hive.”

“Well, good luck. Don’t get raped. I’ll see you when you get back to the quiet,” she paused. “X, I love you. I don’t know why but I really need you to know that.”

“I love you too, Betty,” Xavier said feeling a strange twinge in his heart. “Give my love to everyone. Don’t you worry about me none, this old cowboy has a few tricks up his sleeve. I can take real good of myself.”

“I know,” she whispered picking at the edges of her cast. “Just be extra careful.”

“Will do,” he said, static burst into his ear and the connection was dropped. He slipped the mobile back in his jacket pocket and the doors opened. He approached the counter and had a short pleasant conversation with the young woman as she checked him out of the room. He grinned at the dark haired clerk and touched the brim of his hat, turning on his heel each step brought him closer to the glass doors.

The lights burn brightly a few burst before all fixtures blinked off arching toward Xavier hitting his left shoulder, the electricity tingled and he glanced the broken fixtures. The clerk tapped a key then smacked the side of the monitor. Xavier dismissed the strange sensation taking another step, the ground shook violently it raced up his legs making them feeling heavy like stone. Buildings collapsed smashing into the busy streets. People ran for cover as carnage was administered by the very structures the humans had crafted.

Gravity withdrew its hold like an unseen wave all things drifted toward the east, Xavier felt like he was caught in a wind tunnel as he left the ground. A chair slammed into Xavier’s back pushing him toward the wall. His palms hit the vertical barrier, screaming pierced the quiet lobby as the clerk held to the desk feet kicking in the air uselessly. “What the?” A car burst through the entry of the hotel, the driver turning the wheel to avoid the crash. The glass shot though the room like bullets tearing everything they came into contact with. A blast of fire shot from the car and surrounded Xavier the flames melted into his skin.

Gravity took hold of New York, Xavier twisted his body as he dropped and having been thrown off enough horses in his day and knew how to fall. The car shattered the rest of the doors as it bounced on the tires several times before coming to a rest. The glass rained down and the clerk slammed hard on the floor chased with a scream of pain.

The whole city tipped, Xavier dodged a table skipping toward him catching him in the shoulder instead of the skull. He slipped a few times on the shards of glass as he made his way toward the clerk. The car was torn from the thick glass tearing up more of the paint job of the expensive car.

Several more shutters vibrated through the ground and water swept over the streets and pooling in basements and dips in the landscape before the city leveled. Xavier glanced over his shoulder toward the driver who still held on the steering wheel face white with fear. “Help me,” the clerk pleaded unable to unpin herself from the furniture huddled around her.

Xavier made quick work of freeing her and helped her to her feet. “What happened?” Both grabbed their personal phones. “I have no cell service.”

“Nor do I,” he stated shutting it off before slipping it back in his pocket. No use for the battery to die as the system searched for a tower.

The clerk went to the landlines to find those phones were not working either. “I left California to get away from the earthquakes,” she declared slamming the phone down.

“When did earthquakes come with no gravity?”

She peered at him, mouth slightly open then shrugged.

Xavier walked over to the car and shimmied around the broken glass and wedged vehicle to the outside. The general public was screaming and running everywhere, he had to jump back several times or get plowed down. People were all but killing others to get into stores to grab whatever eatable and cigarettes they could. Booze was another huge item being toted around the rubble of the buildings.

Xavier peered up at the sky, the normal blue was there with puffy clouds. All was pretty much normal on that level. He sloshed through a huge puddle of water and stopped short as something moved, he leaned closer to find a small fish creature that was glowing near the fins. He had never seen or heard about any blue glowing fish, he was no expert though. The creature darted down the grate to safety below.

There was several shots of a gun in the near distance, he ducked and hugged a building. The clerk was at his side and grabbed his hand. “Don’t leave me,” she whimpered grabbing his hand with an iron grip.

“Alright,” he said. “Let my fingers have blood though, Ma’am.”

“Jade, my name is Jade.” She pointed to the name tag.

“Xavier.”

“I know,” she gestured to the hotel.