{"id":4967,"date":"2021-10-13T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-13T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/?p=4967"},"modified":"2021-10-09T12:46:13","modified_gmt":"2021-10-09T12:46:13","slug":"the-adventures-of-maite-and-kepa-part-74","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/2021\/10\/13\/the-adventures-of-maite-and-kepa-part-74\/","title":{"rendered":"The Adventures of Maite and Kepa: Part 74"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
The Adventures of Maite and Kepa is a weekly serial. While it is a work of fiction, it has elements from both my own experiences and stories I’ve heard from various people. The characters, while in some cases inspired by real people, aren’t directly modeled on anyone in particular. I expect there will be inconsistencies and factual errors. I don’t know where it is going, and I’ll probably forget where it’s been. Why am I doing this? To give me an excuse and a deadline for some creative writing and because I thought people might enjoy it. Gozatu!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Donny slowly slid off his saddle, his boots stirring up a small cloud of dust when they hit the dry ground. His horse was panting hard and frothing at the mouth, but Donny paid it no heed. His attention was focused on Kepa and Maite, who stood just behind him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI admit,\u201d said Donny as he spit into the dirt. \u201cThat was some chase. I haven\u2019t ridden so hard since I was a boy.\u201d His face cracked into a smile that Maite could only call evil. \u201cI guess it\u2019s only fitting that you make me work for this, boy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donny took a few steps forward as Kepa stepped back instinctively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLike I said,\u201d barked Donny, waving his gun, \u201cyou better stay out here, or the whole thing goes up in flames.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He took another step forward. \u201cI don\u2019t know what you did back there, with that light trick, but my boy, my cousin, isn\u2019t looking too good after that last trick you pulled. We had to put down his horse. And he might not make it himself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was self defense,\u201d seethed Kepa through gritted teeth, his hand behind his back holding strong to Maite\u2019s. \u201cHe was trying to kill us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donny shrugged. \u201cMaybe. Who can say? All I know is that he\u2019s the one hurt and here you are, with your honey. What do you think the sheriff will think?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a good question. Let\u2019s go ask him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donny paused, his hand on his chin as he pretended to think about Kepa\u2019s suggestion. But after a moment, he continued. \u201cNah, we don\u2019t have to involve the poor man. I\u2019ve got a better idea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kepa watched as Donny opened the chamber of his revolver and let the few remaining bullets tumble out and into the dirt. His eyes on Kepa, he reached into his vest and pulled out something. Kepa was startled to see that it was glowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKepa!\u201d whispered Maite in his ear. \u201cIt\u2019s the\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBadakit,\u201d interrupted Kepa as he squeezed her hand. \u201cI know. It\u2019s the zatia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou see,\u201d said Donny, oblivious to their conversation, \u201cI found this bullet – \u201c he held up the glowing object between his finger and thumb \u201c – on the body of a dead sheepherder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA sheepherder you killed, I imagine,\u201d interrupted Maite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donny shrugged. \u201cI didn\u2019t say that. But it don\u2019t matter. The man was dead, and I found this on him, tucked into his pocket. Seemed weird that he carried a bullet that way, but I took it, saving it for a special occasion. And now, it only seems proper that it returns to the body of another sheepherder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He slowly slid the bullet into the chamber of his revolver. Maite gasped as the chamber clicked closed and Donny pointed it at them. Kepa shifted slightly to position himself even more completely between Donny and Maite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, is that your plan?\u201d asked Kepa. \u201cYou’re just going to shoot me? Here? In front of everyone?\u201d He pointed to the windows surrounding them. Most had their lights on and a few shadowy figures were silhouetted in their frames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donny looked around. \u201cWhat are they going to do? Turn me in? Say I shot an unarmed man in cold blood?\u201d He raised his voice so that everyone could hear him. \u201cNot if they know what\u2019s good for them, they won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kepa saw more than a few shadows withdraw and a few lights go out. He realized no one was going to come to their rescue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donny lifted his revolver, aiming it at Kepa\u2019s heart. Kepa, feeling Maite\u2019s breath on the back of his neck, squeezed her hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll see you soon,\u201d he whispered. Glaring at Donny, he yelled \u201cShoot me already, you damn coward! What are you waiting for? Shoot!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Donny\u2019s face twisted in rage as he pulled the trigger. Kepa watched, almost as if in slow motion, as the bright light of the zatia flew across the space separating them. Maite screamed in his ear, but her voice seemed far away. He felt the bullet rip through his chest, cracking bones and tearing flesh as pain exploded in his body. His heart burst just as a bright white light filled his vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you get this post via email, the return-to address goes no where, so please write blas@buber.net<\/a> if you want to get in touch with me.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Donny slowly slid off his saddle, his boots stirring up a small cloud of dust when they hit the dry ground. His horse was panting hard and frothing at the mouth, but Donny paid it no heed. His attention was focused on Kepa and Maite, who stood just behind him. \u201cI admit,\u201d said Donny as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2640,864],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventures-of-maite-and-kepa","category-bubers-basque-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/maite-and-kepa-v2-01.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2sYNu-1i7","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4967"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4967\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4968,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4967\/revisions\/4968"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buber.net\/Basque\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}