Chapter 4：Miranda 4

After meeting Elliot, I had a new purpose, I wanted to help him stop my husband and John. We sat and devised a plan to get in close to the henchmen first. The two were named Robert and David. Robert was a tall, thin man who was missing half of his teeth. His fingernails were stained from cigarettes and his clothes were always dirty. But he was easy to find.

Whenever he wasn't working with John, he could be found playing poker in Nutall and Mann's Saloon. I thought it funny that anyone would want to gamble at the same place that one of the most famous gamblers was shot during a poker game. Elliot decided that that was where he was going to start. We walked out of the barn and began toward main street where the saloon was.

It was late in the day now and Elliot made sure not to let on that he could see me. But the living could see him like he was just as alive as any of them.

We walked into the saloon and skimmed the room. "There," I said as I pointed to the table in the far corner. There were five players but one was Robert.

Elliot gave a subtle nod of his head to acknowledge that he heard me. Then, he started toward the table. Nobody paid any mind to him until Robert saw him. The moment Robert recognized Elliot, though, he lost all color to his face. He was as pale as, well a ghost, not that we were all pale, we just can't tan like we used to.

"Impossible!" Robert muttered under his breath. His eyes were wide and mouth gaped open. "There ain't no way you're here right now. We ki..."

"Did you?" Elliot asked snidely, "Robert, isn't it?"

Robert began frantically looking around in a panic. "No, w... we did, there ain't no way you coulda... but here you are... um, how?" Robert mumbled barely audible.

"The how is not important, it's the why, you should worry about." Elliot said then motioned for Robert to follow him outside.

Just as Elliot turned to head outside, Robert stood, withdrew his gun and before I could say anything, he shot Elliot in the back. "Shoulda stayed dead, boy. Now I gotta kill ya myself." Robert slurred, clearly already effected by drink.

Everyone in the saloon scrambled to their feet in shock of what was now transpiring. Robert laughed as if the room were with him, but his laugh soon died when Elliot bagan to move.

"No," Robert mumbled in shock, seeing Elliot stir. "Will you just die?!" Robert shouted and shot off five more bullets before he ran out.

"That's enough, Robert," I heard the barkeep yell.

Suddenly, their was a groan that came from Elliot who was still face down on the floor. I knelt down next him, "He is out of bullets, Mr. Benedict, get up and take him down."

At that, he stood, lifted himself up and to his feet. The entire saloon stopped and stared at Elliot, the man who had just taken six bullets in the back and still stood. Robert turned ghost white again and turned on his heels, running out the back door. Elliot glanced at me and I could see a hint of a smile in his eyes, before he took off after Robert.

The two men disappeared outside and I stayed a moment to see what the men in the saloon were going to do. Everyone, however, just looked at each other in shock and the poker players that were playing Robert resumed their game. Within a few minutes, the saloon went back to how it was before all of the excitement.

I decided to go find Elliot, to see if I might be able to help him. I looked all up and down the alley, the main street, and even poked my head into a few of the businesses along the town's center. Just as I was about to give up, I heard a commotion in the stable at the far end of town.

I started running toward the stable and the commotion sounded like a fist fight ensuing. I walked through the doors to see Elliot pinned down by Robert. Robert's hands were around Elliot's throat and he was trying to kill him, again. I ran over and focused as much anger as I could and kicked some hay in his face which scared him and he fell back scrambling to get away from the exploding hay stack that nobody had been near.

This gave Elliot a second to get to his feet and pull his gun. Aiming it at Robert, he stepped forward little by little. Once Robert noticed that he had been beat, he raised his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry, man, John made us do it. We didn't have no choice. It was you or us!" Robert pleaded.

I knew this was not the truth, I had seen the pleasure that he and David got from hurting and killing. I looked over and saw the doubt in Elliot's eyes of what he was doing.

"Don't believe him, Elliot, I know this man. He was never forced to do anything like that, he enjoys it. He enjoys being a mercenary, of sorts. Do not let him get away with it, Elliot!" I informed him.

At that, I saw the strength and determination return to his eyes and stance. "I don't think so, Robert, I have seen into your heart and I know that you are wicked. All I can say now is, may God have mercy on your soul." Elliot looked down at him and pulled the trigger.

That is when I saw just what the bullets were capable of. They weren't ordinary bullets, obviously being from an angel and being made of gold, but they had a bit of magic to them. Instead of wounding Robert, he just simply disappeared in front of us.

Elliot looked over at me and I at him, our eyes met and in that second I realized how good looking of a man Elliot was. A smile crossed his face but when I went to smile back, he doubled over in pain. He was holding his chest and he hit his knee, a grimace on his face.

"Elliot!" I yelled as I knelt down beside him, "Elliot, what's wrong?"

"I... don't... know..." he barely got out before falling over onto his side.

"He is dying," I heard a soft angelic voice say from behind me. I spun around and I was looking eye to eye with an angel. His white wings folded behind his back. His dark brown hair casually draped over his forehead, and light blue nearly white eyes looked back at me. "Hello, Miranda, I am truly sorry for what has happened to you. I am, Mumiah and I do believe you know what I am."

"The Angel of Rebirth, you were the one who granted Elliot the opportunity to stop John, though he is dead." I recited to him.

"Yes, that is correct."

"What did you mean, he is dying? Isn't he already dead?" I asked of the Angel.

"Yes, but no, he is not fully dead. You see the golden bullets are tied to his soul. As one disappears, so a part of him does, as well." Mumiah said.

"Then he will just not shoot anymore," I said confidently.

"He may not, but everyday he will lose a bullet, whether it is to vanquish an enemy or not is up to him. Farewell, Miranda, I trust you will explain this when he wakes?"

I nodded and Mumiah vanished just as Robert had. I looked over and realized Elliot had passed out. I rushed to his side and cradled his head. He was so still, I would have thought him to be dead, though I knew he already was in some ways. I looked him up and down and something flared inside me. This man had left his big city life to come die in a small mining town to just be some sort of ghostly avenger, who will slowly die a little more everyday.

At that thought, I began to cry.