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Title : "The Shooting Thunder"
Original Story by Teru.
English translation by Chiko
[PART 1] : Encounter
[Character] :
[Billy Murdock] :
[Dalia Cassavetes] :
[Robert Cassavetes] :
[Story] : There were a father and a daughter living closely together in a small town in the west.
Father's name is Robert Cassavetes and a daughter, Dalia, 10.
One day when Robert took his little girl out to town,
he was unexpectedly picked a fight by three nasty guys out of a bar.
They started to beat him and kick him on the street but people walking by pretended not notice what was going on and no one tried to stop them.
Too frightened to move from where she stood, Dalia just stood there and watched her father beaten up by guys.
Deeply injured all over his body, Robert still tried to walk home.
But by the time they got home, he was too weak.
He went to bed that night and never opened his eyes again.
Dalia was left all alone in the house.
She had no one who would take care of her.
A few months have passed and there was no food in the house anymore.
Not a dime is left in her pocket either.
She still survived another few days without eating but was dying of hunger.
Almost unconsciously she walked to her father's grave and collapsed there,
knowing she would die soon and go up to heaven where dad is waiting for her.
But she was saved by a man, who then just happened to walk by the graveyard.
His name was Billy Murdock, a bounty hunter, who came from another state going after a criminal.
He held an unconscious girl up in his arms and went back to town.
Checked in a hotel, where he fed her and put her to sleep.
When she woke up in bed, Murdock sat by the chair looking out of the window.
Dalia thanked him for food and kindness but he was ignoring her.
She raised her voice and talked to him again and again but he did not even turn around and look at her.
Becoming mad, Dalia got out bed and walked right in front of him and yelled!
Finally he noticed her trying to speak to him.
He took out his pen and wrote "I am a deaf. Please write down what you want to say."
Dalia was a little upset but wrote "Thank you for saving my life.".
He asked her why she was dying in the graveyard.
She told him the whole story about her father's death and being left all alone in the world with no one to depend on.
He felt really sorry for this poor little girl and wondered she would surely die if he would leave her here.
He could not tell her the truth about himself being a bounty hunter.
As the night went on, the two were so tired they soon fell asleep.
When Murdock woke up next morning, Dalia was gone.
Looked everywhere in town for her but she was nowhere to be found.
He walked the way back to the graveyard where he found her the day before but she was not there.
Looking around the yard, he found little footprints on the ground.
He followed these traces that led to a lake, where footprints ended by the water's edge.
He jumped into the water and found Dalia sinking.
He grabbed her tightly and pulled her back to the ground.
Dalia looked so pale and hopeless but Murdock did not want to give up her.
He gave her mouth to mouth over and over, desperately praying that she would come around.
The next minute, she did. She came back to life and saw a face of a man who saved her life twice.
Murdock told her that he is a bounty hunter and sometimes kills people to win money.
After knowing what he does, Dalia took a penny out of her pocket and gave him.
"It's all I have. Please help me get back at men who killed my dad." she wrote.
Her eyes said it all. He knew she was serious.
Murdock took her penny and wrote "Got it. You will be my partner.".
They slept together in a sleeping bag that night by the lake.
Murdock was also known as a nickname "Shooting Thunder".
He is what peopled called a born gunman, who can shot as quickly as the thunder and never missed the target.
No one could notice he is handicapped.
To Be Continued...
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