The Long and Storied Life of Jose Montoya

The Long and Storied Life of Jose Montoya 8extra clear, and the stars seemed to slowly pulse rather than rapidly twinkle. He looked at his body,still unconscious on the ground, just to make sure it was still there. It was. He decided he would stareup at the stars a while longer, since their slow pulsing was more like a form of dance than it wasanything else.He was still staring at the stars when the first horse began to brush past him. It was followed bya score of others, strung out in a long line abreast. They were beautiful animals. They were moving inslow time, just like everything else, and Jose could see every powerful bundle of muscle and tendon asthey glided over the dirt and rocks of the desert floor. The dust they raised behind them in their pathcurled slowly upwards, and had a beauty of its own. Jose found that he could see through it, when thatwas what he chose to do.The men atop the horses were not nearly so beautiful as their mounts. They were the first lineof Villa's cavalry charge against Agua Prieta's defenses. Some had faces twisted and bent by rage,scowling and furious; others looked more terrified than anyone Jose had ever seen before. All had theirgazes decidedly fixed in the direction of the trenches that they soon hoped to reach. All had their riflesat the ready. All were prepared to kill or to die, or both. Of all the strange things that Jose had seenthat night, and of all the strange things that he was still to see, and of all the strange things that hewould see over the course of his lifetime, those men on their blind charge to destruction were easily themost frightening.It was easy for Jose to keep up with the cavalry charge just by walking. He felt a littleconcerned about leaving his body lying in the desert, since he was now retracing his steps of thatmorning and returning to Agua Prieta, but he decided that since there was apparently nothing he coulddo in his disincorporated state to protect his body anyway, he might as well go along and see whatwould come next.Jose watched as the Villistas began to open fire in the direction of the Agua Prieta trenches.