[The Lone Gunslinger, Chapter 4, Bones of the Ancestors] [A Bell Rings] The last three weeks passed quickly, and the mornings have cooled to a comfortable briskness that provide a welcome relief during the brutal morning exercises. I thought working on the farm had toned me—I was wrong. The first week I experienced soreness in places I didn't know I had muscles. The second week the soreness was replaced with a general feeling of weakness and exhaustion. But now, in the third week, I am feeling a level of energy and fitness that is… enjoyable. The runs, sprints, rope climbs, swims, and weight lifting are something I look forward to each morning. We, being myself and the other trainees, don't always exercise together. The morning exercises may be printed from the Vid-Screen, or sometimes they are instructions printed on signs along the pine-covered roads through the mountains. Yesterday's exercise routine was the most fun I've had yet. We were instructed to sprint along a pre-planned route and at each intersection meet with one of the other trainees, and sometimes Gunslingers I didn't even know, and conduct partner assisted exercises. Then we would sprint to the next intersection and do it again. I think I enjoyed it because I was meeting Gunslingers I hadn't met before, and I felt like as if I were part of something bigger than myself. We did that for nearly three hours, and instead of feeling exhausted, I felt great. Simon tells me it is the strength of youth blossoming, but whatever it is I like the feeling. After morning exercises, we eat breakfast and then go to the classroom cabins for lessons. And it's not always just us trainees. Often there is another Gunslinger there brushing up on a particular subject. A few days ago an elderly Gunslinger was in class with us brushing up on algebra for a mission. I have to wonder what kind of mission would require algebra. Twig is super lucky; he's already left on a mission. Last year several Lone Gunslingers were sent in under-cover to a local school, there is a Daraian drug called 'Sleep' that has killed several students, but the Gunslingers haven't been able to discover how it's getting into the school. They think that since us trainees are only sixteen that Twig will fit in better with the students and find the source of the drugs. As for me, right now I'm not running, sprinting, or in the classroom. Today is a fun day. I'm dressed like a big bush and trying to sneak through the woods to a training cabin that Gunslingers' Simon and Elias are waiting, pretending to be the bad guys. Misfire is on my left and Rock is somewhere off to my right. The other trainees are spread throughout the forest trying to sneak up on other Gunslingers waiting for them. I've had to go back to the start line three times already. I'm covered in purple paint; Simon keeps seeing me and shooting me. But not this time, I've checked my camouflage, and I'm going very slow, I'll get him this time. I hear the crack of a rifle, but it's from somewhere way off to my left, someone was seen and is probably headed back to the start line. I know the rifle shot probably woke the bored Simon up, and he will be scanning for me, so I freeze in place and wait. Misfire doesn't realize this and I can see him moving forward, and then rolls quickly to his right behind a tree at the same moment another crack of rifle fire comes from the training cabin ahead. Misfire must have seen something at the last second. The purple paint round hits the tree; Misfire isn't hit and doesn’t have to start over, yet, but now Simon and Elias know where Misfire is, and he's pinned down. I think maybe Simon and Elias will have their rifles aimed to each side of the tree waiting for Misfire to move again, so I take advantage of the moment and crawl forward to the next covered position. There is no rifle fire, I made it, maybe I should move forward again while Simon is watching Misfire. I crawl forward, slowly, until I reach another covered position. I can see the cabin and realize I made a mistake; I should have approached from the blind side of the cabin, now I'm in plain view of the windows. I don't see Simon or Elias, but I know they are too smart to stick their rifles out where I can see them. I'm going to have to take a chance and crawl out into the open. I get up on my knees... and I hear the very distinctive sound of a revolver hammer being pulled back. Simon is behind me. "You of all people should know the bad guys will try to sneak up on you," says Simon. I look over my shoulder; Simon is pointing his revolver at me, I know I'm about to get another bruise from a paint bullet. But the shot doesn't come, at that exact moment a bell rings—just a single bell, and then again maybe five or so seconds later. The bell continues like this, and I think the bell sounds lonely and out of place here in the forest. Simon looks up at the tree tops and closes his eyes. Gunslinger Elias runs out of the cabin, something is wrong, but I don't know what. Rock and Misfire sense it as well and stand up from where they are hiding. [The River of our Ancestors] Gunslinger Elias stops and looks at Simon. "There are twelve away from the mountain." "Yes," says Simon opening his eyes. "Hero, gather your class together and follow us, do not speak, you will lead your class into the river last, do as you see us do, and then follow the procession." Simon holsters his gun and doesn't give me any further instructions. The bell continues ringing, and Simon and Elias take off at a dead run. I wave Rock and Misfire over and whisper to them not to speak. We run after the two Gunslingers, not knowing where we are going, but we follow them and pull the branches and leaves we were using for camouflage off and drop them on the ground. I see other Gunslingers running the same direction we are running, and I start to see my classmates. I motion them over and warn them not to speak, we are all curious and concerned about what is happening, but we do as we are told. The bell is still ringing, and I think it is becoming the most ominous sound I have ever heard. The Gunslingers slow to a walk as we get near what may be every Gunslinger on the mountain gathered together on the bank of a river. I even see Gunslinger Phillip, the eldest of all the Gunslingers, being helped by two other Gunslingers to walk towards the gathering. I can't see what is happening, but I know the trainees have to stay in the back, so I look around for someplace we can stand out of the way an see what's happening. Thunder points at a spot upriver slightly from everyone else and I lead the class over there, and that's when I see Rattlesnake is standing in the middle of the river. The river is more of a creek than a river and is a pleasant mountain creek full of stones the water bubbles over and around. Ace is on the opposite bank of the creek and I think it looks like she is crying. Rattlesnake is standing alone in the river with his head held down. I know Ace has a thing for Rattlesnake, but he must be around twenty-three, and Ace's class ran last year, so she's probably seventeen. I haven't seen Rattlesnake show Ace any special attention, so I think it's just Ace with a crush on Rattlesnake. I don't see any more Gunslingers coming, and I'm pretty sure everyone is here, even Commander Conrad is at the creek. Rattlesnake drops on his knees in the creek; the water flows around him and then Rattlesnake lifts a small stone from the creek and stands up again. Misfire nudges me and whispers, "Where's Rattlesnake's Gunslinger?" Rock whispers, "I heard off-world on a mission." I motion for them to be quiet but too late. A Gunslinger I've never seen before turns and walks over to me. I know the look in his eyes, I've seen it before from the man on the farm. I've never flinched from a beating, and I'm not starting now. I am afraid of Simon, but nobody else. The Gunslinger cuffs me hard on the side of the head and whispers to me. "Keep your men under control and show some respect, Class Leader." The cuff stung, but I nod my head and motion that we don't understand what is happening. The Gunslinger stares at us for a moment and motions us into a huddle. "Rattlesnake stands in the river, as we all will or have done," he says. "Gunslinger Theodore has died on a mission; this is the River of our Ancestors, just do as you see us do." The Gunslinger returns to his place with the others and I look at Misfire and Rock, they are both red as a freshly picked beet for getting me in trouble. I think the Gunslinger that cuffed me has taught me a lesson, but I need to think on it for awhile to figure it out. I look back at the river; Rattlesnake has already left the creek and the two Gunslingers helping the elderly Gunslinger Phillip is lowering him down into the creek to select a rock. Commander Conrad goes into the river next and picks up a rock, then Simon and Elias, then one by one the other Gunslingers follow. Trainees are last, in order of their year, and we are the very last. I lead my class into the creek and select a rock and then follow the procession of Gunslingers following Rattlesnake. The procession stops at Camp Theodore and gathers around Rattlesnake, and then Rattlesnake drops the stone he is carrying into the tin-can hanging from the sign. I think the sound of the rock dropping into the can sounds like a gunshot. The bell finally stops it's ringing. The elderly Gunslinger, Phillip, drops his rock in next, and then the Commander and the other Gunslingers. I still don't understand the significance of the rocks, it's nice, but why is everyone treating this with such reverence? I understand that Rattlesnake's mentor has died, and that is horrible, but still, why the rocks? The can over-flows and the remainder is set on the ground under the can, and I lay my rock on the ground under the can with the others, and my class follows as well. Another Gunslinger I don't know comes out of Gunslinger Theodore's cabin carrying a pack and solemnly hands the pack to Rattlesnake, and he shoulders the pack and walks off into the forest. Nobody follows him. [The Stories of our Ancestors] "Remain near, twenty-four hours fasting with the exception of broth, and all cabins are sealed," says Commander Conrad. "Seek solitude and reflection in the forest, and expect to be sought out by our young Gunslingers, go now, all trainees hold fast." The 'grown up' Gunslingers wander off, each alone, into the forest—the three classes of trainees remain waiting for instructions. I see Ace and would like to talk with her, but she is with her class, and I don't think I will get a chance. "Second and third years, you have done this before, do you have any questions?" asks the Commander. The second and third year shake their heads and leave, but unlike the 'grown up' Gunslingers, the individual classes remain together, walking in a line following their Class Leader. The Commander turns to us. "Do not go to your cabins, remain together, broth will be set out at main intersections, seek out Gunslingers in the forest and hear the stories of your ancestors, do you have any questions?" I did have questions, but couldn't think which one to ask first, and I guess the Commander took my hesitation to mean I didn't have any questions. He walked into the forest, and we were left standing there alone. The others looked at me, expecting I might know what we were supposed to do. I decided to go find Simon; he would tell me. I made it about fifty feet. "Am I so old and addle-brained that I can no longer teach?" Gunslinger Phillip was sitting on a log, his two helpers next to him. "Umm... no Sir, I mean... yes Sir... I mean..." "You have mush for brain's boy, sit down." We sit in a semi-circle in front of the elderly Gunslinger and wait. "Listen to the story of our beginnings, for I was there," says the elderly Gunslinger. I think the man must be confused; he would have to be nearly two-hundred years old. "We were slaves, rescued and made Sionnach's Eighty, and life was good," he says. "But it was not to remain that way. Our Princes' fought a great battle, and we fought beside them. We escaped the destruction of the Palace, and our Princes' led us to an ocean world. That was the best time of my life." The old man paused, his eyes seeing what only he could see, though; I had no idea what he is saying. "My Prince was the most beautiful and perfect of the Princes, and the youngest. We played and ran on the beaches together for a year in happiness before they took us to that cursed desert planet. We spent the first year stranded in the bitter coldness of the mountains." Desert planet? Mountains? I'm sure now the old man's memories must have failed. "My Prince, so beautiful, his smile could light the sky, was too young for even his Kitsune body to protect him, and he died during that awful winter. The four of us that served that sweetest of Princes went out into the snow to die, as was proper so that we might serve him in the land of the ancestors." This story is so incredible that I start to wonder if some of it is true. I look at my classmates, but they shrug as if to say they are unsure of the story as well. "We didn't die," says the old man. "Lord Black came to us and led us to a cave and we lived in that cave for thirty-seven years until he returned for us. He took us..." "Wait a minute, Sir," I interrupt and get a scathing glare from the two Gunslingers flanking the old man. "The Kitsune are immortal; you don't look immortal." "A reward," the old man says. "Now listen first, ask your questions after." Thunder shoves me for being so blunt. "Lord Black came and took us to a place where other Deputies that had failed their Gunslinger Princes were waiting," the old man continued. "We were to be given a second chance. The Gunslingers were a young Order and over-whelmed with the Pirate Wars, and The Silver Rebellion had begun on Raunu Major—they needed our help." I didn't know anything about Gunslingers being Princes or had I ever heard of The Silver Rebellion if such a thing had ever occurred. I was very skeptical about this story. "We were given Needle Ships and sent to fight on Raunu Major," says the old man, "but Needle Ships are fragile ships and were never intended for the brutal upper atmosphere of a super planet like Raunu Major. Our ships were damaged and tumbled and spun and plunged to the ground." "The Drop!" shouted Misfire connecting the pieces of the story. "Yes," says the old man, "and can you guess where we crashed?" "Oh my gosh," shouts Sprint. "At the beginning of The Long Run, all those little hills." "Those hills saved my life," says Thunder. "I was able to see where the Beasties were." "Me too," says Misfire. I think about the boy I tried to save that was standing in the dip between the little hills, I survived because I was standing on top of one of the hills, but that other boy had died. "Yes, the prairie has long since covered our crashed ships," says the old Gunslinger. "Nobody that has not stood on the bones of the ancestors have ever completed The Long Run." "And you ran to the mountains, for safety?" asks Thunder. "Of the sixty-four deputies that dropped, forty-two survived the crash," says the old man, "and of those forty-two, only twelve of us made that long run to the mountains." "What happened then?" asked Rock. Now I get it; our initiation was to follow our 'ancestors'. We ran from the crashed ships to the mountains as they had. "Our Princes had spent months giving slave boys the finest Imperial combat training available when we lived in the Imperial Palace on Kitsune," says the old man. "We took command of the Raunu Forces and put down The Silver Rebellion, and for it we were given the rank of Gunslinger, but not the title of Lord as other Gunslingers have." "You became the very first Lone Gunslingers?" I am starting to believe the old man's story; it is just too incredible not to be true. "But if you were born on Kitsune, why aren't you immortal?" "All of us wanted nothing more than to be reunited with our fallen Princes, and Lord Black granted us that wish, I am the last of those of Sionnach's Eighty that was sent here, though there are others out there somewhere," the old man waves at the sky, "those that have not failed their Princes." "I don't think you're a failure," says Misfire. "You created the Lone Gunslingers." "I am tired, children," says the old man. "Other Gunslingers are waiting to tell stories of your ancestors, go now." I stand, and the others follow me. "Let's go find Simon or one of our other Gunslingers." "No," says Thunder. "We can talk to them anytime, let's go find Gunslingers we won't normally get to hear stories from." I agree and for the rest of the day and night, and on into late morning, we go from Gunslinger to Gunslinger hearing stories of our ancestors. A light snow falls during the night, but we are too excited hearing all the stories to care. We are sitting with Gunslinger Raphael when the bell starts ringing again, only this time its ringing as if in celebration. [Bones of our Ancestors] "Theodore's back," says Gunslinger Raphael. "Come boys." "Huh? But Gunslinger Theodore died?" says Sprint. "You will understand soon," says Gunslinger Raphael. We follow Raphael back to Camp Theodore, the others all gathering again and waiting. We don't wait long, and there is hushed talking among the Gunslingers. My class stands silently in the back and soon we see Rattlesnake coming from the forest. Rattlesnake stops at the Camp sign where we all left a rock and unhooked the can from the sign. He carries the can of rocks over to a large mound of rocks and carefully adds them to the other rocks. I've seen those mounds of rocks in front of every camp; there isn't a single mound of rocks that doesn't come to my waist. Rattlesnake makes three more trips and picks all the rocks up that are laying on the ground and also adds them to the mound of rocks. Then he hooks the can back on the sign and faces us. I look at the other boys in my class; a few of them have tears in their eyes. They've figured out something I haven't yet. Rattlesnake faces us and speaks. "My name is Gunslinger Theodore." Commander Conrad steps up to Rattlesnake... Theodore?... Gunslinger Theodore Rattlesnake? I am confused. "Welcome back, Theodore," says the Commander. The other Gunslingers push in, all of them slapping Rattlesnake on the back. "Welcome back, Theodore... Welcome back... Well done, Theodore... Welcome back." I look at the large mound of rocks, and suddenly everything falls into place for me and I can feel a tear falling down my cheek. The rocks, 'Bones of our Ancestors'. How many Theodore's have there been to create a mound so high? And at my camp, how many Simons have there been, giving their lives for what we are? The Gunslingers part and make a path, all looking at us, the first-year trainees that are experiencing the Bones of our Ancestors Ritual for the first time. I walk between the Gunslingers; my class following and hold my hand out to Rattlesnake. "Welcome back, Gunslinger Theodore." Theodore shakes my hand, and the other boys push in around me, patting Theodore on the back and welcoming him home. There are more pats on the back, and then Gunslinger Theodore turns and walks, alone, to his cabin. Simon nods for me to come; the other boys go with their Gunslingers, and I follow Simon back to our camp. We walk through the fresh fallen snow on the path to our cabin, and then I stop and wait for Simon to keep walking. I then step carefully into the footprints Simon is making and walk in Simon's footprints until we are almost at the cabin, and then step to the side until we are at the cabin. Simon looks back at what I have done and smiles. "Yes, boy, that is exactly how it is, we walk side by side for awhile until you can walk alone, and then when it is time, you will walk with another and show him the path." "Simon?" "Yes, boy?" "I hope my name is just Hero for a very very long time." "Me too, boy, me too." I follow Simon into the cabin. "Simon?" "Yes, boy?" "What is your full name?" "Simon Longshot." "Did you know Theodore well?" "We were on The Long Run together; he is how I got my name." "Will you tell me the story?" "Of course, but right now you need to get cleaned up, there will be a Memorial Feast at the Dining Cabin to celebrate Theodore Two-step's life." I get ready for the feast. I think I'm starting to understand what it means to be a Lone Gunslinger, but we aren't so alone, I think, not as long as I remember the 'Bones of my Ancestors'.