Neon Sundown Chapter 3

Neon Sundown — Chapter 3: "The Other Cowboy"

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Recap: Cole Ryder rode out of Dust Hollow at dawn and met the Black Rider on the ridge — a rider in black on a machine horse, his face half machine, just like Cole's own.

PAGE 1 — The standoff

  1. Dawn on the ridge. Cole and the Black Rider face each other, twenty paces apart, dust drifting between them.
  2. The Rider, hat low, a revolver glowing at his hip: "The Warden has a cowboy now, Ryder."
  3. Cole, hand hovering over his revolver, small smile: "Then I guess the sun's got two of us."
  4. The Rider's machine horse paws the ground, sparks spitting from its hooves.
  5. Silence. Both riders' cyber eyes flare at the same instant.

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PAGE 2 — Draw

  1. Both revolvers clear leather at once — flash, flash — shots crossing in the dust.
  2. Cole rolls behind a rock as a beam shears the ridge where he stood.
  3. The Rider doesn't dodge — his coat smokes where Cole's shot grazed him, and he doesn't flinch.
  4. Cole, grim: "Fast. Faster than me."
  5. The Rider, walking forward, reloading without looking: "I'm what fast looks like when nobody's holding it back."

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PAGE 3 — Your future

  1. The Rider stops, hat tipped up — his machine half catches the sun, and for a second he looks almost human.
  2. The Rider, quiet: "I was a sheriff once. West of here. A town called Cinder Flats."
  3. Cole, lowering his revolver a fraction: "What happened to it?"
  4. The Rider: "The grid happened. And when it was done, it offered me a choice: serve, or watch everyone I saved get wired in anyway."
  5. The Rider, cold: "You're looking at your future, Ryder."

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PAGE 4 — The duel

  1. Cole charges — not with his gun, but with his cyber fist, straight at the Rider.
  2. The Rider catches the fist mid-swing, metal screaming on metal, both of them skidding in the dust.
  3. The machine horse rears, and the Rider vaults off its back, landing behind Cole.
  4. Cole spins, revolver out — but the Rider is already gone from where he aimed.
  5. A voice behind him: "You're good. But good is just slow with better manners."

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PAGE 5 — A heartbeat

  1. Cole's cyber eye flares — HUD vision: the Rider's chest, and inside the machine, a faint, uneven pulse.
  2. Cole, staring: "That's not a core. That's a heart."
  3. The Rider falters — one step, one blink — and for the first time he looks afraid.
  4. The Rider, snarling, covering his chest: "Don't look at that. Don't you dare look at that."
  5. Cole, understanding: "There's still a man in there. That's why the Warden sent you — not to kill me. To replace me."

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PAGE 6 — The shot he doesn't take

  1. Cole has the Rider dead in his sights, point blank, finger on the trigger.
  2. The Rider, eyes closed, waiting for it: "Do it. It's cleaner than what comes next."
  3. Cole, slowly lowering the revolver: "No. I don't shoot men who are still men."
  4. The Rider, staring at him, something cracking behind his machine face.
  5. The Rider, hoarse: "Then you're a fool. And fools are the only reason any town is still free."

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PAGE 7 — The distraction

  1. The Rider's horse suddenly screeches an alarm — its eyes flashing red toward the west.
  2. The Rider, mounting fast: "It was a distraction, Ryder. Every second we stood here, the grid moved."
  3. Cole, horror dawning: "Dust Hollow."
  4. On the horizon: smoke rising, and the glint of drones over the settlement.
  5. The Rider, already riding: "They hit it at dawn. While you were busy with me."

PAGE 8 — Ride back

  1. Cole on his bike, flat out across the dust, duster streaming behind him.
  2. The Rider beside him, machine horse keeping pace without effort.
  3. Cole, shouting over the wind: "Why are you coming with me?"
  4. The Rider, eyes forward: "I owe you nothing. But I hate the grid too. That's worth one ride."
  5. Ahead: Dust Hollow's wall, drones circling like vultures, and the gate hanging open.

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PAGE 9 — The gate

  1. Inside the wall: settlers fighting drones with rifles and wrenches, lanterns smashed in the dust.
  2. The kid, holding the gate lever with both hands, shouting: "Cole! They took the Elder!"
  3. A carrier machine lifting away, the Elder's gray hair visible through its cage bars.
  4. Cole, revolver out, running for the carrier: "Not her. Not this town."
  5. The Warden's voice, booming from every drone at once: "COME HOME, COWBOYS."

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PAGE 10 — Cliffhanger

  1. The carrier rising over the wall, the Elder reaching through the bars toward Cole.
  2. The Rider, beside Cole, revolver raised at the carrier: "Say the word and I bring it down. But she falls with it."
  3. Cole, torn, watching the carrier climb: "Hold your fire. We follow it. Together."
  4. The Rider, a ghost of a smile: "Together. First time I've said that in years."
  5. The two cowboys ride out side by side, toward the wastes, under a sky full of drones: "Then let's go get her back."

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END CHAPTER 3 — "To be continued…"

← Chapter 2: The Army at Dawn | All chapters | Chapter 4: Ashes and Wires →