Chapter 8
Heyes determinedly pulled on his clothes and boots. He was putting his hat on his head when Kid came in.
"Mornin' Heyes."
Heyes didn't say a word as he walked past Curry and out the door. Kid was completely caught off guard at this unusual behavior. He sat the things he was carrying on the table and hurried to catch up to his partner. He caught him at the bottom of the stairs.
"Joshua, will you stop? What are you doing?"
"An experiment."
Heyes left the hotel and stood on the boardwalk. He watched the sheriff leave his office and lock the door.
"What are you talkin' about?" Kid asked coming out behind him.
"You stay here and take that delivery job. I got something to do." Heyes stepped off the boardwalk and walked down the street. Kid was confused over how Heyes knew about the delivery job. He turned and watched his partner walk toward the bank. He noticed that as Heyes walked up to the bank door, he drew his revolver.
Kid's eyes widened as the significance of what he just saw set in. "He wouldn't..." Curry took off at a run. He entered the bank and couldn't believe what he was seeing. Heyes was holding up the bank. Thankfully, there was nobody in there except the workers and the owner, Newman Reynolds. "Joshua! What are you doin'?!"
Heyes never took his eyes off the tellers or lowered his gun. "What's it look like I'm doing? I'm robbing the bank."
'He's went crazy,' Kid thought. "I can see that?! WHY?!"
"Hadn't tried it yet," Heyes said. "Now you, Reynolds, open that safe and nobody gets hurt."
"No," Reynolds said defiantly.
"I would do it if I were you. Otherwise, I'm going to have to get my partner, Kid Curry there, to show you how good he is with a gun."
Kid's eyes widened for the second time that morning. He tried to grab Heyes by the arm, but his partner stood rigid. "Have you lost you're mind?!" Kid whispered.
"No. Now draw your gun and hold it on these people."
"In case you've forgotten, our horses are in the livery stable. How do you plan on gettin' away?"
"I ain't worried about it. The sheriff left and went somewhere."
Kid rolled his eyes. "You know, you could've let me know you'd decided we'd go back to outlawin'." He had to back his cousin, no matter how insane he was at the moment. If they made it out of this, he could get him help. He pulled out his Colt and leveled it at the the banker. "You heard him. Open that safe."
Reynolds looked less defiant than he had previously as he took in the sight of Kid Curry's gun pointed his way. He set to work opening the safe.
"We're not going back to outlawing," Heyes said quietly.
"Well, you coulda fooled me. You know the amnesty's gone after this," Curry whispered.
"It don't matter none. Tomorrow, things will go back to the way they were."
"What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all. Just fed up." Heyes smiled as he heard the safe open. "What a beautiful sound. Now, you, Reynolds, find something to put that money in."
Reynolds reluctantly grabbed a bag that had been in the safe and started filling it with money. "You'll never get away with this."
"Yeah, we will," Heyes said. He reached forward and took the bag from the disgruntled banker when it was full. "I happen to know that the sheriff isn't in his office right now. And nobody is going to come in the bank for at least thirty minutes. Believe me, I know. Now, give me the keys to your office Reynolds."
Reynolds started to argue, but one look at Curry convinced him to follow orders. He handed over the keys.
"Now, everybody in Reynolds' office. I happen to know there's no window in there so you won't be getting out until someone comes for you," Heyes ordered, motioning with his gun.
Reynolds and the clerks walked dejectedly into the office. Heyes shut the door and locked it, then took the keys and locked them in the safe. He reholstered his pistol. "Okay Kid, let's go." And he hurried to the door. Kid followed.
"Heyes, you're seein' a doctor when this is over."
"Whatever," he answered as he turned the sign in the window from 'open' to 'closed'. Heyes opened the door and looked out. Nobody was paying any attention to the bank. He slipped out with Kid behind him and they hurried to the livery stable.
Once inside, they saddled up their horses and left at a fast trot. Heyes tipped his hat and smiled at the livery man as they left. The man just shook his head and sighed.
oooooasjooooo
Once outside of town, they sped up into a gallop. They rode hard for about an hour before they slowed down. Heyes inspected a small gap between two boulders. It opened up behind the rocks into a small clearing and the entrance was concealed by a couple of trees. Heyes had almost overlooked it. "Let's go in there. We should be well hidden from anyone passing by."
Curry agreed and they dismounted to lead their horses through the gap. It was just barely wide enough to let them pass. When they got inside, Kid turned to Heyes. "Now, I want you to explain to me what's wrong with you. And don't tell me nothin' because I know better."
Heyes tied his reins loosely in a bush. "Kid, I can't explain it to you. You'd just think I was crazy."
"I ALREADY think that!"
Heyes frowned at him. "I just thought I'd do something different for a change. Don't worry. Things will be fine tomorrow. You'll never even remember doing this."
"That's what I'm talkin' about Heyes. You've said that twice now. Things will NOT go back to the way they were tomorrow. How could they?!"
Heyes sighed and flopped down on the ground. He looked up at his cousin. "Because this stupid dang day is repeating. Every morning, I get woke up by a rooster getting shot, just like this morning. I haven't been able to figure out a way to stop it. And I'm pretty sure robbing a bank won't stop it. I just needed to blow off some steam. Get some adrenalin pumping. I know you think I'm insane. You have everytime I've told you, except for once. So no matter what goes on today, it'll just start over again sometime in the morning."
Kid noticed how disheartened Heyes looked. He thought a minute before answering. "Heyes, I don't know what to say to that. You can't expect me to believe that."
"No, I don't." Heyes was quiet for a few minutes. Finally, he said, "We're going back to town and return the money."
Kid couldn't believe what he was hearing. "WHAT?!"
"We're going to take the money back." Heyes got up and retrieved his horse.
"We'll be arrested, who knows, maybe shot if we go back there!"
"We won't be shot. The sheriff's not that type of lawman."
"How do you know?!"
"Because I've come to know him pretty good over the last six or seven days. Now, let's go. Maybe turning ourselves in is the only way the loop will stop."
Curry ran to block his partner's exit. "Heyes, you're not thinking straight. Us going back there means twenty years in prison. You can't be serious."
"You're right," Heyes said calmly. "It does. So I want you to go the other direction. I'll go back to town alone and turn myself in. The loop's just affecting me. No use in you getting locked up too."
"NO," Kid yelled. "You're not going either."
"Yes I am. Now get out of the way."
"You're not gettin' past me."
"Kid, it could be the only way to break this repeating business. NOW MOVE."
"NO!"
"Alright." Heyes threw a punch and hit Kid square in the jaw. Curry staggered to the side, enough for Heyes to hurry through the gap. Once through, he jumped on his horse and took off.
Kid regained his balance. "Dang it! Heyes!" Curry pulled his horse through the gap and galloped off in pursuit of his insane partner.
Heyes looked around and saw he was being chased. He urged his mare faster with a slap of the reins. He had a good lead on his cousin. He'd never catch him.
"HEYES, STOP!" Curry yelled.
But Heyes couldn't hear him. He was intent on outrunning Curry. He rounded a bend and saw a group of horses coming towards him.
At the front of the group of horses, Sheriff Murray saw two riders coming towards him at a great rate of speed. It wasn't a minute later, one rider thundered past the posse, closely followed by another, headed back towards town. "That can't be those bank robbers," Murray said. But sure enough, the descriptions fit from what he could see. He threw his arm up and motioned for the posse members to turn around. 'What in the world kind of robbers were these? I've never seen the like,' Murray thought.
oooooasjooooo
Heyes pulled up in front of the sheriff's office. Curry got there less than a minute later. "Heyes, c'mon. Don't do this."
"I told you to go the other direction!" Heyes yelled angrily.
"I can't leave you alone with you out of your mind like this!" Curry yelled back.
About that time, the posse reached them. Heyes raised his hands in the air. "Sheriff, I'm here to turn myself in. This man here had nothing to do with it."
Murray had his gun aimed at Heyes. "That's not what Reynolds said. Boys, get their guns." Two revolvers were confiscated. "Now get off your horses nice and slow." The two complied.
"I told you to leave!" Heyes whispered. Curry rolled his eyes as they were escorted inside and into a cell.
Murray walked up to them as the door clanged shut. "Anything to say boys?"
"Yessir," Heyes said. "My name is Hannibal Heyes. This other guy's name is Marvin. I made him help me in the robbery."
Murray's eyes widened slightly. "Hannibal Heyes, you say. And...Marvin. Well, we'll see about that." He walked back out to his desk.
Curry flopped down on one of the bunks. "Why'd you do it?" he asked quietly.
Heyes sat down opposite of him. "I told you. It may be what I had to do to stop the loop. If it does break it, we'll just have to break out of jail, maybe head to Mexico. And if it doesn't, well, we'll just wake up in the hotel in the morning."
"You really have lost your mind, haven't you? And...Marvin? You really think anyone's gonna believe that?"
Heyes just turned and lay down. For once, he had nothing else to say.
oooooasjooooo
COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOOO...COCK-A-DOO..."
BANG
"SQUAAAWWKK..."
Heyes' eyes flew open and he stared at the ceiling. "Well, that didn't work."
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