I can honestly say this is the greatest piece of fan fiction I've ever had the privilege to read. The characters were all very well written amd although I usually don't enjoy stories with OCs in them, I fell in love with Bess. You included her in the story very well without deviating too far from the original storyline, something I really appreciate. I also really enjoyed hpw you included historical facts in your story as well. Thanks for the amazing piece!

This was a beautiful story from beginning to end and I appreciate you leaving it up to the reader whether Billy came to meet Bess/Paulita. Magnificent journey. :)

I have been enjoying your story a great deal. I like Bess and I can see her wavering with Dave because of all that she's been through. Very realistic I think.

I'm really enjoying your story so far. Nice interaction between Billy and Bess. She experienced what I'm sure a lot of people did at that time. I feel like you've really captured Billy in this piece. :)

Oh my gosh heck yes you scared me! Don't worry...all is forgiven. I stopped hyperventilating. I'm gonna live. Phew. XD

Sorry-I accidentally posted the review even though I wasn't done.
Anyhow-again, I recommend the book- and great story! :)

If you want to decide whether or not Henry McCarty, alias William H. Bonney, alias Billy the Kid-and later, (or was it?) Brushy Bill Roberts, died, check out the book "Billy the Kid: Beyond the Grave- by: W.C. Jameson." I'm not even done with it and it has given me a new perspective on the amount of detail-practically telling me exactly what Brushy Bill Roberts said in that interview-starting all those years ago when he began his career at a Regulator. It's amazing and I highly recommend it.
My opinion: Billy the Kid didn't die. Think about his name: Brushy Bill Roberts. The brushy part-or so I've heard-is because he was notorious for riding through scraggly brush in his frequent travels. Bill-Billy. Roberts-the last name of one of the men he killed-one he really detested. I dunno. But after you read the book-if you read it, decide for yourself. Watching Young Guns 2 couldn't hurt either. Also, I think it's really cool that Brushy Bill Roberts-whether or not he was Billy the Kid-died in Texas. I live there. Hm. Anyhoo

Really love this story! One thing- "shut up" in Spanish is spelled "cállate." Sounds weird, but the double 'l's a 'y' sound. I took Spanish last year. XD other than that, fantastic-I look forward to reading more. :)

AHH amazing twist. your a good writer I can now tell you planned all this from the beginning ;) how did I not find this story sooner!?

I don't usually like flashback chapters but damn this chapter was AWESOME! some seriously powerful stuff in here, it really conveys emotions, atmosphere and reasoning. Really well thought out. I'm impressed and entertaining by your writing. Keep it up-please! ;)

Just wanted you to know that I think your Billy is spot on and your wrighting style is excellent. The only thing that dissapointed me a little was the lack of a dramatic scene where Billy discovers Bess's horrible past and then he goes all protective and mad with that special Billy flare :) But as the rest of the story is so wonderfull I suppose I can live without it. I hope you wright more soon! I'm almost out of Young Guns fanfiction! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Wow. I just finished your story and it was amazing. I tend to avoid extra long storys but I was so desparte for some really good Young Guns fanfiction and I was NOT dissapointed. At all. In fact I was very plesently surprised. This is one of the all around best fanfictions I have read in a long time. And I've read a LOT of fanfiction. Please, please, please, PLEASE wright more Young Guns. I'm begging you. I love your work and I'm off to stalk your profile now : )

I LOVED this... Although you could put the Spanish translations in parentheses behind the phrase so we don't have to scroll ask the way to the bottom...but just a suggestion... 20/10 in my book!

in this story and real life.

one persistent question keeps popping up:

Did pat Garrett really kill Billy that night?

There actually is a considerable amount of evidence indicating that he did not. Much of this evidence is detailed below:

Evidence Garrett did NOT kill Billy the Kid

most basic evidence of Billy's having survived are the numerous claims made by people who knew the Kid and said they saw him after July 14, 1881. For example, Mrs. J. H. Wood, of Seven Rivers, claimed she served Billy dinner three days AFTER he was said to have been kiled. Mrs. Syd Boykin, of Lincoln, also claimed Billy visited her after he was supposedly killed. Manuel Taylor, a boyhood friend of Billy's from Silver City, claimed he ran into Billy at a bullfight in Guadalajara, Mexico in 1914. Ben Harbert, of Taos, New Mexico, who also knew the Kid, claimed he saw him in Taos after July 14, 1881. Jesse Cox, a wagon driver from New Mexico, claimed he had seen and spoken to Billy numerous times after 1881.

of Billy's friends, who never saw him again after that night, also claimed they didn't believe the story of his death. Yginio Salazar, ex-Regulator and close friend of Billy's, claimed he received a letter written by the Kid, detailing how he escaped from Fort Sumner on the night of July 14. Frank Coe, another former Regulator, claimed he never believed the Kid was dead and spent a great deal of his time researching sightings and reports of the Kid's current whereabouts.

Graham, alias John Collins, who rode with the Kid in the Rustlers and was a resident of Fort Sumner, claimed he helped dig the grave for the man Garrett killed, and claimed to his dying day that the corpse was not that of Billy the Kid.

4. In total, at least 26 different newspaper articles appeared after July 14 claiming the Kid survived.

Dec. 20, 1882, San Miguel County issued an arrest warrant for the Kid. This was again issued on Mar. 5, 1883. However, both times the warrant was returned as "not found in county."

and 1983, Elizabeth Garrett, last surviving daughter of Pat Garrett, claimed to interviewer Paul Cain that her father did not kill Billy the Kid.

Nevertheless, since history has stood resilient this long on the matter of the Kid's death, and most historians support Garrett's claim, certainly there must be significant evidence supporting their beliefs as well. They are as follows...

Evidence Garrett DID kill Billy the Kid

Pat Garrett said he HAD killed Billy, and Dep. John Poe, Dep. Thomas McKinney, and the vast majority of everyone else who claimed to have seen the body of the man Garrett killed claimed it was Billy. It may sound simple, but it cannot be understated: the greatest piece of evidence that Garrett did in fact kill the Kid is he said he did. Though his record shows he was not the most honorable of citizens, he was a career-driven lawman, and for him to make the unfounded claim of having killed the most notorious outlaw in the territory and have it later turn out to be a lie would be a crippling blow. Not only would it destroy any political aspirations he might hold, it would also imply an innocent man met his death rather than the Kid, implicating Garrett in reckless disregard of duty and an attempted cover-up. For this, he would not only be disgraced as a lawman, but quite probably be charged with his crimes and subject to their corresponding penalties.

no dobut in some people mind that Billy “was dead,” he never reappeared in a fashion noteworthy enough for the press to get wind and announce it. True, while it was in his best interest to maintain a low profile (as he had been since his escape from Lincoln in April) and put up with the charade of the public believing him dead, a man as well-known and recognized as he would not have had total control over how well his secret was kept, in that if he went near a populated area within the New Mexican borders, word would almost certainly reach the press and his ruse would be revealed. Furthermore, though it’s debatable how vain or reckless Billy truly was, it would seem odd for Billy to see the logistics in allowing Garrett, a mortal enemy and slayer of his two closest friends, to profit off his supposed death when he merely had to announce his being alive to essentially destroy his foe.

So, did Pat Garrett really kill Billy the Kid? There is both evidence for and against it. Still, there remains one loose end and unanswered question that poke holes in each theory.

If Billy really was killed that night, why did he act so completely out of character? Everyone who knew the Kid remembered him for how cool and calm he was under fire, and for the way he "shot first and asked questions later." A look at the gunfights he participated in throughout his life supports this contention. Yet the man Garrett killed acted far more naive and inexperienced than the quick-thinking gunfighter Billy was. Why did he not recognize deputies Poe and McKinney for what they were? In a tight-knit community such as Sumner, two Anglo lawmen standing on the town patriarch's porch in the middle of the night would be hard to mistake for anything but what they were. Why did he back into a darkened bedroom that could present more danger than what he faced on the porch? If he felt threatened, as pulling his pistol indicates, why not flee back where he came, into the shadows, rather than allow himself to be cornered?

The questions presented here will probably remain unanswered forever. And maybe that's a fitting end for the life of Billy the Kid, with both his entrance (1877) and exit(July 14 1881) in history being shrouded in mystery.

hello all, first I would like to say great story so tragic!

And much like all of u fellow "kid" buffs I would have to say I believe that Billy was not killed on July14 1881. And heres my "opinion" of why I believe Brushy Bill Roberts was William H Bonney.

First when Roberts first conducted an interview with William V. Morrison. Morrison did his "homework" on the kid and eventually recieved word that a man by the name of O.L Roberts or Brushy Bill was living South of Fort Worth and said to be Billy the Kid.

Morrison described Roberts as the following " a wiry , 156 pound man or so and Blue-gray eyes dancing into my eyes , with right hand outstretched for a very firm shake."

He also stated that " he was quite small, with well shaped fingers and wrists that were unusually large , forearms and shoulders heavy , forehead high , nose prominent." These were very similar to the descriptions of the kid.

Roberts also states very important yet interesting info also. He talks about stuff that only the kid would know IMO. And many people have identified him as the kid also. Mrs. Martile Able who was the widow of John Able ( one of Billy's friends) was eighty nine at the time Brushy Bill Roberts was being interviewed by Morrison. Anywaywhen visited by Morrison she was bedfast and living in El Paso at the time too. She told the reporter that she had not seen Billy since some time before Pat Garret claimed to have shot and killed the kid. And when Morrison brought roberts in to see her he asked who she was he replied " sure , thats John Able's wife ". Mrs. Able said that was indeed the man she knew as the kid .

But this is some evidence i have. Look for my website called Searching for the kid .