Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Episode I : A Town Called Tombstone

Jecka leaned her full weight back into her chair with a sigh. Absent-mindedly, she swiveled her chair left. Then right. Then the full revolution before bringing it to a stop facing forwards towards her desk once again. The day was still young, the sun still burning bright overhead, and yet she was already completely burnt out. Being one of only two sheriffs in a small town in the middle of nowhere will do that to you, that was a fact of life that Jecka had learned rather quickly, not that she was new to it by this point. Despite the chaos she had now come to expect on a daily basis, Jecka could at least take solace in the fact that she wasn’t alone in this job. 

“You already look exhausted.” Megan chimed in, leaning against the wooden wall of Jecka’s little office area. “You should get some rest.”

Jecka let out a loud snort that probably sounded more derisive than she had intended. “Secon’ I do that, somethin’s bound to go wrong.”

“Mmh, fair.” Megan nodded her head in agreement. “Things do have a tendency to do just that.”

Braddock Gorge was a massive dustbowl, with nothing but a barren desert stretching as far as the eye could see. The only pocket of civilization being the small town of Tombstone which itself sat in the center of this nothingness. As such, receiving any kind of news or supplies from outside of town was sparse. That meant the town had to rely on itself and its own working folk to get by most of the time, with merchants being a rarity usually limited to the monthly caravan.

In the past, Tombstone had garnered some level of notoriety as a mining town, but the old mine out in the desert had been abandoned long ago. It was just over a day's ride out, and had been deemed unprofitable long ago. It was nothing more than an empty cave now, and with it gone, the town had faded into obscurity. Not that Jecka really minded that fact, it kept them off the map of potential ne’er do wells that might seek to do them harm.

The wild west was home to many bandits, crooks, and all around villains that Jecka would count her blessings every day chose to pass right on by Tombstone, but that was about the only silver lining the remoteness of their town provided. Excluding the monthly caravan, they were alone.

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot.” Megan shot up again, walking around the corner to fetch a stack of papers from a box. “The caravan came by earlier, the merchants dropped off the usual supplies alongside some new wanted posters. I think some of ‘em are hitching up here for the night so if there’s anything amiss we can check with ‘em, but otherwise they’ll be gone by sunrise. Best to check the stock now. There should be two different types, ‘bout twenty of each.”

Jecka groaned. It wasn’t uncommon to receive a stack of new wanted posters from outside of town, but it was unhelpful. Caravan space was better taken up by more useful stocks she thought, especially given that Tombstone didn’t get any trouble. What use were wanted posters in a town that never had any wanted men?

“Leave ‘em there, I’ll give ‘em a look over later.” Jecka said, making no attempt to sound like she would actually follow through with this anytime soon.

“Jecka, I get that we don’t get a lot of the big time crooks here, but it’s still important to take stock of these! You never know when a ruffian might show their face!”

“If a ruffian decides to show their face, they’re unlikely to do it quietly. If someone’s breaking the law, we’ll know. Posters like this’ll only stir up more fuss in the community!”

“It’ll stir up caution!” Megan said, raising a teacherly finger. “Besides, you’ve heard the rumblings among the caravan riders. There’s talk of a local gang in the area. A bunch of crooks.”

“You’ve been listenin’ to too many tall tales Meg.” Jecka said, still leaning back in her chair. “Tombstone hasn’t had gang trouble in the last two decades, and we all know who was to blame for that.”

Megan’s demeanor shifted at that. Her originally confident, if not outright bossy, attitude was replaced with one of hesitance at Jecka’s words.

“Yeah well… he did what he thought was best for the town.”

Jecka let out a dry laugh at that before sitting up in her chair. “Megan, my dad only ever did what he thought was right for him. That’s ultimately what did him in.”

Megan didn’t retort, but just gave Jecka a quizzical look before preparing to sharply change the subject, however before she could manage that, the wide double doors to the sheriffs office were flung open by the vibrant sight of the red-head that both Megan and Jecka had become far too acquainted with.

“Ari?” Megan blurted out at the surprise entrance.

“I’m gonna need one of y’alls assistance!” Ari stated gruffly. “There’s a fight breakin’ out in my bar, and I’d rather not have the trouble.”

Ari was the bartender of the local pub, the Silver Dollar Saloon, a rowdy but reliable little bar near the edge of town. It was a favorite of the locals who often sought their days' entertainment from it, be that entertainment in the form of some local pianists or a game of poker, or something a bit more unruly. From the sounds of it, today's docket had been filled by the latter.

With a sigh, Jecka stood up from her seat. “I’ll take care of this’n today Meg.”

“Y’sure?” Megan asked.

“Yeah, after all, it’s my turn.” Jecka said, idly passing her hand near her holster to make sure she was ready. Sure enough, she was. “Right then Ari, lead the way.”

Immediately, Jecka’s senses were hit with the overwhelming smell of tobacco and alcohol. The dim lighting of the bar combined with the rustic interior blended together into a surprisingly cozy atmosphere. A cozy atmosphere that was currently in peril of being shattered by two unruly patrons towards the back. Or perhaps to be more specific, one unruly patron, and another, unfamiliar stranger who looked to be involved only to as much of an extent as she was tolerating the screaming drunkard in her face.

Well, perhaps tolerating was a strong word.

“WHAT’R YOU THINK YOU KNOW ‘BOUT ME?!” The drunkard, an older man who Jecka recognized as a man named ‘Krazy Katz”, yelled out, his intoxicating breath managing to warrant a genuine look of repulsion from the stranger.

“From the smell of your breath, I think I can gather quite a lot.” She said with a tone that dripped of annoyance.

The stranger was a girl, somewhere around Jecka’s age from the looks of it. She was seated at one of the tables alone, with only a single drink to keep her company. However she had turned around in her seat to face the standing figure of the drunkard. She had long brunette hair coiling into a ponytail over her back, and she was wearing a white and blue pinched front hat that looked to have been handmade. Her most notable feature however, was her deathly pale skin which was something that was quite rare out in the blazing heat of the desert. This girl was an enigma to Jecka, and Jecka was smart enough to know that was the most dangerous thing a person could be.

Wasting no more time, Jecka stepped up beside the quarreling duo, butting herself into the conversation.

“Aright, break it up.”

The brunette gave a small smirk to Katz before turning back around to her drink. Despite Jecka’s best attempts, Katz seemed to take this as a declaration of war. Shoving Jecka aside he walked up right behind the brunette again.

“Heck, yer just a girl, so I’ll go easy on you. After all, it’s clear the real fault for raising such a disgrace falls on your parents!” Katz spat out figuratively, before deciding to follow that up with a literal trail of spit as he treated the stranger’s hat as a makeshift spittoon. The stranger didn’t react at first, but slowly she lowered her glass and then stood up from her seat.

From the gasps of the other patrons who had been silently watching this encounter up until now, this was likely the first time since the encounter had started that the stranger had bothered to engage to this degree. Slowly, the brunette turned around and turned to glare into the eyes of Katz. A glare that could say a thousand words, and none of them were particularly kind.

“You want to fight so bad?” she asked coldly.

“NO!-” Jecka attempted to cut in before being cut off by Katz.

“HEH! The girlie wants to scrap!”

“Oh I’m not talking about no mere scrap.” She said dangerously. “Tell me, do you really think you’re the quicker draw here?”

Katz’ drunken face fell slightly as he realized what the stranger was getting at. “You what?”

“A duel, you and me.” she said, no hint of sarcasm in her voice.

“NO! No, I will NOT be having this in my town!” Jecka yelled out, but to no avail as her voice was quickly drowned out by the excited cheering of the crowd.

Go figure everyone but the sheriff would be gung-ho about the idea, but with everyone cheering and hollering, Jecka couldn’t get a word in edge-wise until…

“HEY!” Ari’s voice bellowed through the crowd quickly drawing everyone’s attention. Unlike Jecka, it seemed the rowdier folk here actually held some respect for the only bartender for miles. “If yer gonna take this any further, you’re not doing it in MY bar!”

Well, at least Ari was helping.

“Take your fight outside!” Ari commanded.

Never mind.

“Ari!” Jecka scolded. “Not helping!”

“Sorry sheriff, but my only concern is the bar. Breaking up the fight is your problem.” Ari shrugged, returning behind the bar as the patrons interested in the fight began to pour out after the two soon to be dueling parties. With a disgruntled sigh, Jecka jumped out into action to keep up.

Outside the atmosphere was tense, the crowd had formed large lines near the buildings around the center of the dusted road. In the center stood both the stranger, and the drunkard. Both stood, their hands already floating above their holsters, and both staring each other down like their lives depended on it.

Well, that last part was exactly the problem, their lives did depend on it. Jecka slowly stepped out into the center of the road, situating herself between both the stranger and the drunkard, putting herself directly into the line of fire. She turned to face the stranger first. She was an unknown, and someone Jecka wanted to keep a close eye on.

“There are two options for the both of you.” Jecka stated. “You can either shoot each other, and whoever’s left standing is going straight to a cell, or you can both stand down and walk away.”

“You clearly don’t get how duels work.” The stranger said, her eyes looking through Jecka and boring instead into the drunkard behind her.

“I understand too tarnal well, and I ain’t gonna stand by and let this kinda violence slide!”

“Durn persnickety female!” The drunkard behind Jecka yelled out. “Get outta the way!”

Jecka didn’t budge. Her hand now hovered near her holster. Jecka didn’t want any violence, but if she had to she would fire a warning shot to show she meant business. She wasn’t one to step down from danger, and she certainly wasn’t one to back away from showing what she was worth. Unfortunately for Jecka, fate had other plans. As Jecka eyed down the stranger, she noted the sudden movement of her hand. This crazy bitch was actually going for it, wasn’t she?

Jecka’s hand shot down to her own holster but before she could grab it she felt the cold metal of the barrel of a gun shoved up against the back of her head. As it turned out, the threat hadn't been from the girl ahead of her, it had been from the drunkard behind her. Katz’ gun was currently trained squarely on the back of Jecka’s head. 

The stranger who had managed to pull out her own revolver in the chaotic few seconds that she had been allotted, trained it down the dusty road. Whether she was aiming at Jecka or at the drunkard wasn’t entirely clear, but Jecka could make an educated guess based on which of the two of them was currently holding a gun of their own.

“Dang it all sherriff, you’ve only gone and done this to yerself!” Katz said in a slurred voice as he pushed his head out over Jecka’s left shoulder so as to whisper the rest into her ear. “Oh well, a girlie like you was never fit to protect this town anyways.” Katz cocked his revolver, and in that moment Jecka realized just how close to death she truly was.

Katz currently had his revolver primed and ready right up against Jecka’s head. His head was perched right over her shoulder, completely exposed and yet she couldn’t do a thing to save herself. Moments, seconds, perhaps less, until Jecka’s brains would be plastered out across the dusty road ahead. She didn’t have time to think, nor time to react, all she could do was stare ahead at the stranger.

The brunette surveyed the scene, but the second the click rang out to denote the readying of Katz’ revolver, her eyes locked on, her aiming steadied, and there was only the briefest of pauses before her gun, which had been aimed so perfectly at Katz’ head, shifted down and to the the right ever so slightly. A tiny, nearly imperceptible action, but one that Jecka had no choice but to fixate on. Then…

Ker-POW!!

There was a loud bang, that echoed through the dusty town. The noise ricocheting through the air, loud and definitive. A statement that of the three involved parties, only two could still possibly be standing. A statement that was followed by the proof in the form of a loud thumping as a body fell to the dusty ground below. A promise, that was then further muddled when that body let out a loud groan followed by…

“SHE SHOT ME!!” Katz screamed out, holding his shoulder, his gun having flown out of his hand when he had been sent back by the force of the shot. “THE SONOMA BITCH ACTUALLY SHOT ME!!” Katz again cried out as if he had done nothing to warrant such a slight.

“Sonoma?” The stranger asked dryly as if she hadn't just shot someone. “Whatever.”

Jecka was frozen solid in place for a second. The stranger's bullet had whizzed through the air and right past her head, landing squarely into Katz’ shoulder. This had been enough to send him flying back as his gun was now far from his grasp. Jecka was safe, the drunkard was still alive, and the stranger reholstered her revolver with a rather bored expression.

Snapping back to the land of the living, Jecka quickly whipped around to survey Katz’ current predicament. The bullet had indeed plunged right into his shoulder, and there was lots of blood. But he was still alive. The wound didn’t look fatal, not that she was a doctor but- Oh shit, right, a doctor.

“Someone fetch the darned doctor!” Jecka yelled out at the crowd, which quickly began to disperse as several spectators ran off in the direction of the requested doctor. Eventually, the doctor came rushing down with two other men, and Katz was picked up and carried off. It felt like a bit of a blur. Jecka had been the town sheriff for some time, and breaking up fights was commonplace, but never had she been in such a life or death situation, and never had she been forced to reach for her gun for any reason other than a meaningless intimidation tactic.

That wasn’t to say she didn’t know how to fire it if she had to. She was more than skilled thanks to her countless hours spent training out on the firing range. The graveyard of shattered glass bottles she had shot off of the wooden logs out back of the office near the edge of town was proof enough of that. But she had never been in such a situation where she had needed to use those skills.

She hadn't properly assessed the situation, and that had nearly gotten her killed. She was so caught up in the stranger ahead, she didn’t stop to consider the threat behind her. Although, thinking of that stranger, Jecka jerked her head to her left and then to her right. In the aftermath of the chaos, the stranger had vanished. Or at least, she had begun to, but Jecka was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the familiar white and blue hat as it disappeared back through the double doors that led into the bar.

Bingo! With little hesitation, Jecka dashed off after the stranger, hoping to finally get some answers. Who was she, and why was she in her town?

Once again Jecka was hit with the overwhelming aroma of the bar. After the excitement of the duel, many of the patrons had returned for another round, and the smell was evidence of that. The jovial sounds of laughter and talking filled the air, producing a more than constricting atmosphere for Jecka. Whatever, she just had to find that stranger and drag her outside, wherever she was.

Jecka looked around between the tables and crowds of people inhabiting them, but upon reaching the table the brunette had sat at prior, she found it was now occupied by other various patrons. Jecka had been right behind the stranger and yet somehow managed to lose her in the crowd.

“Ari.” Jecka said, slinking up towards the bar to find the bartender midway through cleaning a shockingly dirty glass. “Where’d that stranger go?”

“Oh, probably to her room.” Ari said casually.

“What?”

“I rent the room out on the upper floor for those willing to pay. She rented it out for the night.”

“I didn’t know this was a bar and an inn.” Jecka said, narrowing her eyes.

“Neither did I.” Ari shrugged. “But she had money, and besides, I was planning to go up to the ranch and er, stay with Kelly for the night anyway.

Jecka nodded slowly, already forming an inkling of what the bartender was likely referring to via the usage of the word stay . An inkling that was confirmed when the slightest shade of red spread down from her vibrant hair and onto her flushed face. Ari was generally strong stuff, not one to fluster easily, and yet whenever the conversation turned to one of girls…

“Well I’m not one to judge what you do in yer offtime.” Jecka said, choosing not to further approach that topic with a ten foot rope. “But you don’t think you’re being a lil’ too accommodating of a passing stranger? We don’t know nuth’n about her.”

“Business is business Jecka.” Ari said with a shrug as she placed the now slightly less filthy glass down onto the counter.

“Tombstone is in the middle of nowhere, and in nowhere, strangers are always bad news.”

“Eh, I’d say it’s really only like eighty percent of the time that they’re bad news.”

“That’s still not a good number.” Jecka said, ready to further pursue this debate until she heard the creaking of wood as someone came down the steps from the second floor. Jecka glanced over from across the packed bar to the stairs to confirm that her target was indeed showing herself again. For a moment their eyes met, and the stranger’s glare turned ever so slightly more sour as her eyes rolled, before she continued towards the door, breaking eye contact.

“Hey!” Jecka yelled out, hoping to again grab the stranger’s attention, but as Jecka bumped and pushed through the crowd, the stranger was able to eloquently weave her way through the people and quickly reach the exit, ignoring Jecka.

“Dammit!” Jecka cursed as she finally managed to push through the crowd and out the doors into the scalding afternoon heat. Glancing around wildly she caught the stranger slowly walking down and along the path that led up towards the ranch. “Hey! Wait up!”

With a prolonged mix of both a groan and a sigh, the stranger stopped and turned around to face Jecka with a look of complete apathy. “What’ya want blondie?”

“Th’ name’s Jecka actually.” she said as she finally caught up to her target, trying to stifle her panting at the short dash she had just undertaken to ensure she would be able to do so before she slipped away again.

“Jecka?” The stranger asked in a tone that was clearly meant to incite offense.

“Yes, short for Jessica.”

“Why not just Jess?”

“Cuz we’ve already got a Jess in town, and when something’s goin’ down the people need to know who to call.” Not entirely true, but it would suffice. Truth is it had just been a nickname she liked as a kid. One given to her by an old friend she hadn't seen in a long time. She had kept the name partly to spite her father, but she liked it all the same. “Now, are you gonna tell me your name?”

“Probably not.” The stranger shrugged.

Jecka’s scowl deepened.

“Ugh, Nicole, if it’ll get you off my back.” The stranger, now identified as Nicole, groaned once again, turning to continue her walk.

Jecka, not one to be left behind in a conversation, began walking alongside her so as to keep pace.

“Do you have any affiliations, I should know about?”

“Affiliations?”

“Like gangs. We’ve had reports-”

“If I was part of some gang, why would I be here alone?”

“Well- I don’t know, maybe you’re scouting out the town for an attack?” Jecka sighed. “Look, I don't know. I’m the local sheriff, so it’s my job to make sure any passing strangers aren’t out to cause any trouble!”

“Well relax, I’m alone.” Nicole said, giving Jecka another passive glare. “I don’t travel with anybody. Not unless yer countin’ my horse.”

“So then what are you doing here in Tombstone?”

“Just passing through. Your town is about the only stop for miles, so I thought I’d take advantage of that. An actual bed, some drinks, and a night in. Not a crime, is it?”

“Depends on how you paid for it.” Jecka mumbled. “Then that business with Katz?”

“Who?”

“The drunk… the one you shot?”

“Oh, look, I’m not looking for any trouble, but if it’s gonna come my way, I will defend myself.”

“Hm.” Jecka nodded before transitioning back into a brief silence as she walked alongside Nicole. “So then… why didn’t you shoot to kill?”

“I missed.” Nicole shrugged. “Well, that and I didn’t need you trying to use it as an excuse to arrest me. I’ve got places I need to be, hence why I’m only gon’a be here for a night, and then, I’ll be outta yer hair for good.”

“Well, I do technically have due right to arrest you seein’ as you were the one to initiate the duel but… I’ll let it slide seein’ as you did save me back there… thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” Nicole said with a dry, sarcastic, chuckle. “Ever.”

Eventually Jecka looked up to realize that during their conversation, they had walked all the way out to the edge of town to the ranch. Jecka was about to ask what exactly they were doing there until the local ranch owner, Kelly, came bounding up to greet them.

“NICOLE!” She yelped out as if they were old friends.

“We’ve talked once.” Nicole said dryly, confirming they were in fact not friends.

“But that’s all it takes to enter my inner circle of friendship!” Kelly beamed, confirming that no actually, they were indeed friends, and this fact was non-negotiable.

Nicole just grunted in an annoyed tone. "Where's my horse?”

“Oh! Percy?” Kelly asked.

“You named your horse Percy?” Jecka asked, a bit surprised the rough and tumble cowgirl hadn't picked a more… hardcore name.

“Percy’s a good name.” Nicole justified bluntly.

“That it is! He’s right down this way!” Kelly agreed, holding out her hands so as to lead the two of them to the enclosure where Percy was currently waiting.

Following along behind Kelly, Jecka and Nicole were both led to a nearby barn, outside of which within a fenced enclosure stood a tall brown horse that could only have been-

“Heya Perce!” Nicole yelled out, showing more emotion towards the horse than she had shown towards the armed drunkard. At the call, Percy looked up and neighed as he walked over to the fence, allowing Nicole to stroke a hand along the bridge of his nose.

“So, who exactly are you?” Jecka asked, crossing her arms as Nicole continued to pet the majestic beast that was currently staring directly at her for some reason.

“M’name not good ‘nuff for you?” Nicole asked, turning to look at the blonde.

“A wanderin’ stranger with a horse isn’t exactly the most trusting of things this far out. Forgive me for bein’ cautious.”

“Ooh! Are you a cowgirl?!” Kelly asked, butting into the conversation excitedly.

“I mean…” Nicole said, unsure of what to answer. “Not really?”

“But that’s not a no!”

“Er, I guess it ain’t.”

“So then it’s a yes!”

“I-... sure.”

“YAY!” Kelly literally jumped up and down on the spot, for some reason the idea of meeting a cowgirl face to face seemed to absolutely make her day.

For Jecka it was just more fuel for the worrisome fire burning inside of her. Still, the stranger didn’t seem to be dangerous, and she had certainly had ample opportunities to prove herself as such.

“Look,” Nicole continued, turning back to face Jecka. “I’ll be outta here by sundown alright? I’ve got no interest in stickin’ around for long anyway.”

“Hm.” Jecka squinted her eyes at the cowgirl standing before her. “Right, but if I hear even a peep of trouble outta you, you’ll be spending a lot longer locked up in a nice n’ comfy cell. I’m keepin’ an eye on you.”

Nicole just rolled her eyes and turned back to face Percy, signaling to Jecka that the conversation was over. Taking her cue to leave, Jecka turned to continue walking back down the path to Tombstone. In the end, she’d just have to trust what Nicole had said and hope she’d be gone long before she had the chance to cause any trouble, but at the same time Jecka couldn’t deny that in her gut, she could feel trouble was on the horizon.

Jecka’s walk back down the path to town had been uneventful, as the blistering sun only just started to set on the distant horizon. From the mountain path she was taking, the view of the valley was vast, broken up only by the occasional cloud of sand. Despite the view, Jecka didn’t waste any time gawping at it, she had to return back to the office and sort through those wanted posters, or else she’d never hear the end of it from Megan, and so quickening her pace she rounded a boulder bringing the town back into view only to be met with the distant sight of five strangers on horseback and Megan standing right by the entrance into town. Sure enough, it looked as if trouble had found them.

Rushing down the path now, Jecka had a chance to fully take in what it was that she was seeing. Megan stood alone at the entrance where the dusty road ended and the wild west began, and standing right on the precipice of that border looming on horseback were four masked strangers that Jecka didn’t recognize, and one unmasked man in the middle. Of course, being a stranger was already worrying enough, but the masks and outfits screamed only one thing to Jecka. Bandits!

As soon as Jecka entered the eyesight of the five bandits who had been deep in conversation with a worried looking Megan, they glanced over to sneer at her, with the bandit in the middle raising his eyebrows at the sight of her.

“Oh-ho, what have we got here?” The middle man barked out with a gravelly voice. “You wouldn’t happen to be one miss Jessica Valentine, would’ye?”

Jecka froze on the spot. How did these men know her name? Had Megan told them? That didn’t make sense, why would Megan have called her Jessica ? “Who are you?” Jecka asked coldly, stepping up beside Megan, who seemed relieved to see Jecka.

“Who’re we?” The man in the middle said with a snicker. With that, he heaved his legs over the horse and hopped down, still standing tall above either of the girls. He took a few steps so as to walk up right in front of them, with the four bandits behind him hovering their hands over their holsters in case things got ugly. Neither Megan nor Jecka stepped back in response to the approaching goon however.

“M’name’s not important. All you gotta know lil’ missy is that me n’ mah boys here go way back with your father.” The man, who Jecka had internally decided to label as Smelly , sneered. “So why don’t you just step aside, and let us speak to him, hm?”

Figures, even now that man’s actions were still haunting her. This time it was Jecka who stepped forward, closing what little space remained between herself and Smelly. The four bandits in the back kept their eyes locked on her, but made no attempt to go for their guns, likely because Megan was in turn covering for Jecka. Megan had never been the quickest to draw, but they didn’t know that.

“M’father’s dead.” Jecka said coldly, no hint of emotion in her voice. “So you can explain yer business to me.”

Smelly looked taken aback, his face forming into the slightest of snarls, before easing out into a horrid curled smile once again. “That’s too bad… Me and him had a lot of unfinished business. Unfinished business that I guess you’ll have to answer fer.”

Jecka narrowed her eyes. “What kind of business ?”

“Yer father owed me a pretty penny. If he’s gone, then that debt falls down to you and this town.”

“Are you threatening us?” Jecka asked, her scowl deepening as her hand subtly hovered over her own revolver.

Smelly barked out a loud laugh at that as if it was the funniest joke he had ever heard. “Nothin’ bad’s gonna happen to you or these poor lil’ townsfolk. Nothin’. Just as long as me and my boys find a fine stash of cash waiting for us here come sunrise.”

“Money?” Megan snarled.

“Yeah, not too much just… everything you’ve got.” Smelly turned his gaze off of Jecka and gave a wretched smile back to Megan. “Or else, me and my boys will take a look ‘round ourselves assumin’ we ain’t satisfied with what you’re offerin’. Me and my boys gotta eat after all, and I can’t see you having any other aces up yer sleeves.” Smelly was clearly referring to the four snickering goons on horseback, each of them just as foul as Smelly himself, and each looking more than ready for a fight.

Jecka may not’ve had the chance earlier, but she could see one now. Smelly was still sneering over at Megan, and for the briefest of moments at the mention, the four cronies in the back turned to look at each other with a low snicker. This window was small, but more than enough time for Jecka to whip out her revolver and-

“JECKA!” Megan yelped out.

Sure enough, by the time that Jecka had managed to train her revolver directly onto Smelly’s forehead, the four goons in the back had taken notice and aimed their own guns at both Jecka and Megan. They were slow on the uptake, but Jecka had been smart enough not to fire yet. Megan’s hand hovered over her own revolver, but in a five to two fight, Jecka realized she wouldn’t have a chance in hell of winning. Still, she had proven one thing to Smelly. She was the quicker draw.

Despite this fact, Smelly didn’t look worried. In fact, he still had that wretched smile stretched across his face as he turned to look down at Jecka, meeting her gaze. “Fiesty.” He said simply, before letting out a low snicker.

Jecka held her revolver tight, her finger right above the trigger. All it would take is one squeeze and Smelly would fall. Of course, that would only give the four goons time to open fire as well, and they’d be able to easily dispatch her and Megan. As such, and rather reluctantly, Jecka lowered her gun and reholstered it, standing her ground.

Smelly let out one last dry laugh before turning around to pull himself back onto the back of the giant black horse he had ridden in on. “Remember, you’ve got till sunrise!” He barked out as he whipped the reins of the horse, and rode off. The four cronies riding not far behind him. Both Megan and Jecka stood there on the outskirts, watching the five ride off into the valley and eventually rounding a mountain. Just like that, they were gone.

Arriving back in the office, Jecka let out a loud curse before slumping down into her seat. Megan looked to be in a similar mood as she once again took her spot leaning against a nearby wall.

“Jecka, we need to think of something.”

“I know.”

“Whatever riches they’re lookin’ for, we don’t have!”

“I know!”

“But if they come back with more men, they’ll tear this town inside out looking for them.”

“I KNOW!!” Jecka yelled out, slamming her fist down onto the desk. Megan quickly quieted after that. “We can’t give them what they want, and we can’t take them in a fight. Especially not as long as there are still people here.”

Megan nodded. “We can evacuate the town. Some of the caravan waggons haven’t left yet, we could strike up a deal to get everyone out by sunrise!”

“And go where?” Jecka asked. “There’s no other town within a day's ride from here, especially not any big enough to take in so many people. Tombstone’s our home Meg, we can’t just abandon it.”

“I’m not saying we’d need to abandon it, just camp out somewhere in the desert for the day.”

“And come back to what? Assuming they don’t wait for us, they will absolutely ransack the town. We’d be coming back to ruins at best, and a firing squad at worst.”

“Then… then we get the people out, but then me and you can stay behind. Maybe we can take ‘em out from the rooftops?”

“And leave the caravan unguarded? It’s one thing if they’re just passing through, but if they’re gonna camp out there, they’ll need protection. We can’t both stay back here.”

“Don’t you dare suggest what I think yer about to suggest.” Megan said, readying for a fight, but before she could say another word Jecka raised her revolver and pointed it squarely at Megan. Megan didn’t even have a chance to react until it was already drawn.

She froze for a second, before Jecka slowly lowered her revolver. “Sorry Meg, but I’m the quicker draw. If one of us is going to stay behind, it’s gotta be me.”

“And take on a whole band’a bandits on yer own?!

“Yes, if I have to.”

“Jecka, they’ll shoot you dead, make no mistake! It don’t matter how fast you think you are, there are still five of them. Without backup you don’t stand a chance!”

“I know but… I can’t just flee.”

“Oh but it’s okay if I flee?”

“You aren’t fleeing, you’re protecting the people! Doin’ yer job… but this whole mess is my- my father’s fault.”

“That don’t mean you gotta get yourself killed over it.”

“I don’t have any intention of dying.”

Megan let out an exasperated laugh. “Well you could’a fooled me! Jecka, what’s your plan here?”

Jecka didn’t respond immediately, with so many thoughts swirling through her head, she wasn’t entirely sure how she could respond. She needed an actual plan, she couldn’t just sit around and wait for the gang to come back, she’d be a fish in a barrel. She could hide and open fire once they appeared, but without someone to cover her she’d be surrounded almost instantly…

Then it hit her… Megan was needed with the caravan, and no one else in the village could be relied upon in a fight like this. There wasn't a citizen in tombstone she could ask for assistance in this scenario. But that still left one more candidate who she might be able to ask for help.

“I won’t be alone.” Jecka said, sitting up in her chair.

“What?” Megan asked, confused. “You’re not planning to ask Ari to help are yah? She’s good in a fistfight I’ll grant you but when it comes to handling a gun, well… I don’t even think she owns one.”

“Not Ari.” Jecka shook her head. “But someone else.”

Megan just looked at her dumbfounded and eventually let out an annoyed sigh. “Well, it doesn’t sound like you’re lying about some grand plan just to get me to leave you, so I’ll trust you actually have one. Not like I could stop you anyways.” Megan let a small smile spread across her face, despite the obvious annoyance she still felt.

“I’d almost like to see you try.” Jecka quipped back, earning a raunchy laugh from Megan.

“Just promise me you’ll avoid gettin’ yerself killed, alright?”

“Like I said, I’ve no intention of dying anytime soon.”

Megan smiled, however wryly, before pushing herself off of the wall and standing up straight. “Right, I’ll begin preparations for the caravan, talk to the merchants. I’m sure we can get a good deal given the context behind this all. We might be able to reach that old mine for cover for the night as well.”

Megan began to turn on the spot and head for the door, but as she did Jecka noticed something she had glazed over prior.

“What’r these?” Jecka asked, grabbing a paper from the stack that had been sitting on the edge of her desk.

“Hm?” Megan said, turning around as she reached the door. “Oh, those are the new wanted posters I was tellin’ you about earlier. Not exactly a top priority now though.”

Jecka stared into the paper she was holding in her hand, one of the two types of posters that had arrived and what had been the very first poster she had picked up from the stack. “Right.” Jecka said, eventually tearing her eyes away from the poster as she crumpled it up and placed it in her pocket. “Good luck with the caravan.”

“Mhm.” Megan nodded. “Oh, and where are you headed?”

“Me?” Jecka said standing up from her chair. “I’m headed to the ranch!”

The setting sun cast a deep orange glow across the barn as Jecka approached it. Somewhat to her surprise, Nicole was actually still up there. She was laying down in the grass inside of the horse enclosure, her head leaning against Percy’s side who was laying on his knees right behind her, lazily munching at a patch of grass as Nicole just gazed up at the darkening sky. As she lay there, she seemed to be deep in conversation with seemingly no one. Well, unless she was speaking to the horse? Jecka couldn’t hear much, but was able to make out something about ‘finding her ’. Even after everything Jecka had seen this girl go through in just the past day alone, she never would have assumed that she was capable of any of it if all she had to go off of was this sight.

Nicole’s face, which had either been completely emotionless, or caked in layers of sarcasm, took on a new form when she thought no one was watching. As she stared up at the stars that were only just beginning to peak through the veil of night, she had a look of what could only be described as wonder plastered across her face. For a moment, Jecka almost didn’t want to disturb her, but that became irrelevant when Nicole blankly glanced over in her direction, only to jolt upwards with an angry expression the second she clocked that Jecka was standing there watching. Whatever it was that she had been talking about, dying in her throat as soon as she noticed Jecka.

Percy, who seemed rather annoyed at Nicole's sudden movements, gave out an annoyed neigh before getting up from his spot and walking over towards the barn. Nicole, not making any attempt to hide her annoyance at the fact her little bout of stargazing had been witnessed, and subsequently ruined, stomped over towards the fence so as to ‘greet’ Jecka.

“Is part of the sheriff’s code eavesdropping in on things that don’t concern you?” She asked grumpily.

“Sheriff’s code?” Jecka responded back blankly.

Nicole just grunted and with one swift motion, hauled herself over the fence. Before Jecka could say anything more, Nicole began to stomp off past her, clearly heading back into town.

“Wait!” Jecka hollered out, flipping around so as to keep up with Nicole’s surprisingly fast stomping speed. “I need your help!”

“Pfft.” Nicole scoffed, not slowing down one bit as she responded. “What’ya need my help with?”

“Bandits!” Jecka blurted out, perhaps too suddenly, as Nicole stopped dead in her tracks and whipped around to face the sheriff. Jecka, who had not been expecting this, nearly rammed straight into Nicole, but managed to narrowly catch herself before the collision.

“Bandits?” Nicole asked, in a somewhat urgent tone. “Who was leadin’ ‘em?”

“Uh… I dunno, some dude?” Jecka said, confused.

Nicole’s face, which had been fully alert, relaxed slightly at hearing that, almost seeming bored now. “Ah.” She said in her usual tone. “So what do you need me for?”

After a brief recap of the situation to Nicole, involving the bandits, their threat, and Jecka’s plan, Jecka eventually came to a stop and waited impatiently for the Brunnette’s reply.

“Well?” Jecka asked expectantly. “Can you help?”

“I mean probably.” Nicole said blankly. “But why should I?”

Jecka let out an annoyed sigh. As much as she had been hoping to appeal to Nicole’s good nature, a part of her had always been aware that wouldn’t work. “Look, I can make it worth your while, alright?”

“Hm.” Nicole said, seemingly considering the offer. “Seein’ as your only other option is effectively complete annihilation, I’d ‘spect that’s a pretty fine reward then, yeah?”

Jecka grumbled annoyedly. “I mean yeah, I imagine that Mayor Lynn would be pretty generous given the alternative.”

A thin smile spread across Nicole’s face. “So all I gotta do is take out a handful of bandits, and then I get paid right?”

“Whatever it takes to keep the town safe.” Jecka nodded.

“Right, then one last question.” Nicole said, her smile fading. “Why me?”

“Well, I already told you. Megan’s needed with the caravan and no one else can fire a gun, much less take out a bandit.”

“Not what I meant.” Nicole stopped her. “Why do you want me ?” Nicole asked, the look on her face signaling she already expected a very specific answer.

Jecka thought for a second, chewing on her lip as she pondered the question. Eventually, she found her answer. “Back in town, you were quick. You never took your eye off the real threat, even when I tried to distract you. You’ve clearly got experience.”

“But I missed, r’member?”

Jecka smirked. “No you didn’t. You paused for a second, but not out of fear. You realigned your shot knowingly. You don’t just have experience, you have skill.”

Nicole winced slightly, but didn’t argue the point. Then, after a pause, the dry grin returned. “Fine. I’ll help.”

Jecka had to use every ounce of her will not to fistbump the air excitedly at that.

“But…” Nicole continued. “If we’re doing this, we’re doing it my way.”

Nicole’s grin never faltered as she said that, but Jecka did realize that her internal want to fistbump the air had. What exactly did this renegade have in mind, and how much would Jecka later regret agreeing to all of it?

The scorched ball of flame Jecka knew as the sun leered in the distance. Peaking over the distant mountains and gushing its light through the valley, filling the world with warmth. A warmth that only served to add further tension to Jecka’s already stiff stance. Jecka had been standing in the same spot for a little under an hour by this point, alone. The dusty road through Tombstone was completely abandoned, not another single soul anywhere within sight. Jecka stood alone.

She kept her eyes trained on the entrance ahead, and out into the valley. Soon, she would be greeted by the sight of those same five men from the evening prior, and she had to be ready. She had barely slept, but she was perhaps more awake and alert now than she had been in a long time. She had to be after all, if this went sour, it would surely mark doom for herself, and all the other townsfolk of Tombstone that would rely on her success here today. So all in all, no pressure right?

After what felt like hours, but judging by the rise of the sun was likely only a few more minutes, Jecka saw the specks in the distance that would eventually grow into sight as being the five bandits on horseback. Not long after she first saw them did they arrive before her, the large black horse of the main bandit neighing loudly as he brought it to a halt so as to leer down at Jecka.

“Well?” He asked, looking left, and then right through the ghost town. “Where’s my riches?”

“We have them.” Jecka said simply. “They’re back there.” Jecka motioned behind herself to the grand bank that sat at the very end of the road.

The leader, who Jecka recalled she had dubbed ‘Smelly’, scowled down the end of the road, and eventually slung his leg over the horse's head as he hopped down from his perch. He grumbled suspiciously over at Jecka. It was only then that Jecka realized that strapped around his belt was not one but two holsters. Each sporting a revolver.

“Well, we couldn’t just leave it lying out overnight.” Jecka scowled back. “Just follow me.” She said, making no attempt to mask the revulsion in her voice.

“Fine.” Smelly grunted. He waved his hairy hand into the air holding up two fingers, and at that the two men that had directly flanked him hopped off of their horses and walked up beside him, each sporting a revolver holstered just within their reach. “These two’ll be accompanying me, and the two back there,” Smelly nodded at the other two men, still on horseback. “Will be standing by out here. If this is some kind’a trick, all I haf’ta do is holler, and they’ll open fire into every single building here, and set your lil’ town ablaze. So no funny business.”

Jecka’s face flashed with anger once again at the threat, but she contained herself. At that, she began to turn to face the bank. As she did, she gave the vaguest of nods up to the roof of the left row of buildings. Imperceivable to the bandits that were still watching her like a hawk, but not to the intended target of the nod. Then, Jecka set off with a confident strut down the road and towards the bank. Smelly and his two right hand cronies following right behind her.

Pushing open the double doors that led into the bank, the stale air was filled with Smelly living up to his name, along with the stench of the other two bandits who silently trailed behind their leader and Jecka.

“I’m not seein’ nothin’...” Smelly grunted impatiently. “R’member, all it’d take is a single holler and-”

“I r’member.” Jecka cut him off, repeating his pronunciation of the word ‘R’member’. Smelly sneered angrily.

“I don’t think I care much for your tone lil’ miss. Don’t forget we’re bein’ quite the hospitable ruffians here by not shootin’ you where you stand.

“For which you have my eternal thanks.” Jecka said sarcastically, not a hint of fear being shown. Best to keep that very real fear to herself for now.

“The only reason yer still standin’ is cause we haven’t accounted for that other lil’ wench that greeted us at the gates yesterday. Where is she anyway?” Smelly said, as if only just realizing that overlooked detail may become troublesome for him. Evidently that had not initially been the only reason Jecka was kept alive, but it likely was now and Jecka was not about to let that go.

“She’s around, protectin’ the townsfolk.”

“And then where are the townsfolk?”

“Hidin’ in their homes.” Jecka lied.

Smelly let out a loud raunchy laugh. “Like that’ll save ‘em.” Then, without warning, Smelly pulled out the gun that had been strapped to his left holster and aimed it directly at Jecka. “You think I’m stewpid dolly?”

Jecka quickly raised her hands, but at the same time wanted to explode, not just at the casual threat of killing the townsfolk, but also at the utter gull it took to call her ‘dolly’. Yet still, she contained herself. “Stupid? You?” She said, again showing no fear in her voice, her raised hands merely a formality.

“The other sheriff ain’t just ‘ around ’ is she? She’s waitin’ in there!” Smelly pointed at the door leading into the vault behind Jecka with his revolver. “You think yer so clever with a whole lil’ ambush set up, but you really think that’ll be enough to stop yer town bein’ torched? What could possibly be your plan here?”

Jecka didn’t have time to respond, before the sound of a gunshot rang out. A gunshot, from outside. Then, another, and another. Smelly, startled by the noise, whipped around to look at the door, in doing so taking his gun off of Jecka. It gave her maybe a second of time before the two bandits flanking him realized what was happening and trained their own guns onto Jecka, but a second was all she needed. Before anyone else could react, Jecka whipped out her own revolver and fired, one bandit fell. The other bandit reached for his gun as Smelly was still turning around but before he could manage anything Jecka hit him too, and trained her gun back onto Smelly who had only just turned back to face her, dropping his own gun and raising his hands away from the other one holstered to his right.

“WAIT!” He yelled out, fear evident in his sniveling voice. As Jecka held her revolver on Smelly, she noted the end of the firing noises from outside. Whatever had happened out there, it was over now.

“March.” Jecka said, nodding her head at the door behind Smelly leading back out into the main road. As much as she wanted to shoot him down then and there before he had the chance to try anything else, she knew that if their plan had failed, and Nicole hadn't managed to snipe the other two men, she’d need her gun trained on Smelly to even have a chance of gettin’ out of this alive. Assuming of course there was any honor amongst thieves, which Jecka realized was perhaps not something she should rely upon.

Despite that, with her revolver still trained directly onto the back of Smelly’s skull, she marched the bandit leader out and into the main road. Lying there, both still, were the bodies of the other two bandits. Unlike Katz who had been lucky enough to get away with a bullet in the shoulder, Nicole had clearly not been so kind to these two.

Jecka held her pistol to Smelly’s head, and hollered out. “Nicole?! NICOLE?!”

“Relax, I’m here.” Nicole grumbled, walking out from around the side of the building she had stationed herself on top of only an hour and a half ago. As she walked past the fallen corpse of one of the bandits, she fancily slung her pistol through the air and holstered it. A practiced maneuver, and one meant to be as swanky as possible, earning a relieved scoff from Jecka. They had actually managed to win. Five bandits, against two barely coordinated girls, Jecka had to admit she hadn't been exactly thrilled about those odds.

But like so many things in the west, their victory was short lived. As if in slow motion, Jecka watched in horror as the corpse of the bandit that had been lying still, slowly began to shift. It was only then that Jecka realized it wasn’t a corpse. The bandit she and Nicole had both assumed was dead, managed to prop himself up and raise his gun towards the back of Nicole’s head. There wasn’t any time, and Jecka had to act fast.

She knew what she was doing would compromise her position, that it would give him the upper hand, but if she didn’t do it then Nicole would be shot dead before she knew what hit her. So, without a second thought, Jecka shoved past Smelly, his head no longer in the way, her already drawn pistol found its mark and blasted a bullet clean through the last bandit’s head, saving Nicole. There was just one issue now, Smelly had been quick, and in that time had managed to pull out his second revolver and aim it directly at Jecka’s head. In effect, their positions had been reversed. Jecka had predicted this, and now, was relying on Nicole to get her through this.

“Heh, yer bold, I’ll give you that dolly.” Smelly leered into her ear from behind her, the awful stench of his breath nearly suffocating her. “But what’s yer plan now?”

“Hey!” Nicole’s voice cut in, snapping Smelly’s attention onto her. “Drop the gun.” Nicole said coolly. In the chaos, Nicole had managed to whip out her own pistol and was aiming it directly at Smelly’s head. The only thing stopping her from firing, was Smelly’s pistol which was still trained directly on Jecka’s head. Unlike the drunkard Katz however, Smelly did a far better job of hiding himself behind Jecka’s figure.

With a laugh, Smelly looked out at Nicole, just enough to make eye contact but not enough to make such an obvious shot easy. “Why’re you helpin’ her?” Smelly asked. “I recognize you, y'know. Nicole Hawkins.

Nicole’s grip on her pistol tensed. “Then you know it ain’t a good idea to mess with me.”

“Oh maybe that was true once, but yer on yer own now.” Smelly sneered. “No one to watch yer back.”

Nicole’s aim never wavered. It remained stationary, down, and ever so slightly to the right.

“But I’ll tell you what.” Smelly said. “I’ll make you a deal. You need money right? That’s why yer doin’ alla this. Well tell you what… drop yer gun, let me kill this lil’ sheriff here, and we can take this town for ourselves.”

Nicole’s face remained stagnant, her expression unchanging. Jecka wasn't so confident. Would this girl take the deal? Jecka didn’t know her, and clearly this bandit at least knew something of her past. Was she a bandit too? It would explain a lot.

“Well, whad’ya say?” Smelly asked, pushing the cold barrel of the gun into Jecka’s head excitedly. “Ready to make some real money?”

BANG!

…

Thump.

The body fell to the dusted floor, kicking up sand as it did. Nicole lowered her revolver slowly, and Jecka turned around to see the bullet hole that had managed to pierce right between the eyes of Smelly, and clean through the forehead. The horrid grin still plastered across his face. Somehow, he really hadn't seen that coming. Then again, Jecka had been unsure herself.

Taking a moment to catch her breath, Jecka turned to look back at Nicole, who simply stared at Smelly. She had a strange look on her face as she stared into the fresh hole that had been created in Smelly’s forehead, but eventually she managed to rip her gaze away with her eyes then flicking up to meet Jeckas.

After another pause, filled only with the sound of relieved panting, Jecka managed to get out a simple, “Thanks.”

Nicole glanced her gaze backwards, to the bandit that had nearly managed to take her out, his figure face down in the sand and a puddle of blood, then she flicked her gaze to the other bandit who was lying on his back, a bullet hole through the heart signifying he was indeed dead. Slowly, she holstered her revolver. “Just returning the favor.”

Jecka looked up at Nicole confused. “Huh?”

“I woulda been dead if you hadn't given up yer position there.” Nicole explained simply. Jecka realized that was probably about as close to a ‘thanks’ as she was going to get with Nicole, and let out a small laugh. Her laugh didn’t last long as she noticed Nicole’s hand, shaking ever so slightly. She was holding it with her other hand in an attempt to hide it, but she was doing a bad job at that.

“It’s fine.” Nicole said, a slight scowl forming across her face as she quickly shoved both of her hands into her pockets. “I’m fine.”

“Right.” Jecka nodded, deciding not to pursue that topic any further. For a rough and tumble renegade, Nicole clearly had her own problems to sort out.

“Anyway, I should be going.” Nicole abruptly added.

“Oh uh, right.” Jecka nodded, feeling ever so slightly dejected at that, although she wasn’t entirely sure as to why.

“So. My reward?” Nicole asked, turning back to Jecka.

Oh shit. “Oh yeah.” Jecka raised an eyebrow. “Well, normally we don’t give out rewards to wanted criminals.”

Nicole stiffened, but didn’t make a go for her revolver.

“That said.” Jecka made sure to quickly clarify. “If I happened to miss the stack of wanted posters still sittin’ on my desk, and didn’t recognize you as the one whose face was plastered on each of ‘em till it was too late, who could fault me?”

Nicole’s stance relaxed, but she kept her gaze on Jecka, a quizzical look that made Jecka feel uneasy. The tense atmosphere was broken however when Jecka heard the loud bark of laughter that broke through Nicole’s defenses. A genuine, honest to god, laugh. Jecka couldn’t help but laugh too, but hers was still mixed with an air of confusion.

Eventually, Nicole calmed herself down and raised a finger so as to point at Jecka with a smile. “You are a crazy bitch, y’know that?”

Jecka smiled back confidently. “This far out, that’s what it takes.” Jecka then had another thought, and daring to ask it, looked into Nicole’s eyes. “You could stay y’know.”

“What?”

“Here. In tombstone. You could stay. You’ve got the skills needed to be a sheriff. Meg may not like it, but she’d get over it if I convinced her. We could get you a lil place of your own as well as payment for saving the town. We aren’t rich but we can at least offer you that.”

Nicole looked back at Jecka, as if actually considering the offer, but then shook her head. “I can’t.”

“Oh.” Jecka said, again, a little disappointed. “You’ve… already got a home?”

“Not anymore. Me and Perce we’re… alone right now. But we’re looking for something… someone…”

Jecka recalled the only other face she saw on those wanted posters back in her office. Refocusing, and looking back up at Nicole, Jecka once again dared to ask, “The person you were lookin’ for, It’s that ‘Eagle-eyed Emily’ isn’t it?”

Nicole's face soured slightly, but she didn’t deny it. She never said a word, but her expression still managed to convey a thousand words, and none of them were particularly contradictory.

“Well,” Nicole suddenly broke the silence, clapping her hands together. “If freedom’s my reward, then I’ll be claiming it now.” Turning around, she began to walk off towards the path to the ranch.

Kelly had evacuated with the other townsfolk, but the animals had been left at the ranch. There hadn't been a way to bring all of them with the caravan, so Percy was still up there. Hopping into stride alongside Nicole, Jecka followed along. Despite her exterior, Jecka didn’t think that Nicole minded the company. Eventually, after a quiet walk back, they reached the barn. Nicole walked up to the fence and began to stroke her hand along Percy’s nose, who had been waiting for her.

“This was all so… new for me.” Jecka eventually managed to get out. Nicole turned to look at her.

“Life threatening danger?”

“No.” Jecka frowned honestly. “I used to get enough of that from my dad. I mean the excitement.”

Nicole simply looked back at Jecka. Into Jecka. “You need to get out of this dusty lil’ town more.”

“Yeah.” Jecka agreed with a small laugh. “I prolly do.”

“What’s binding you here? From the sounds of it, it sure as shit ain’t family.”

“I-” Jecka began, before trailing off, genuinely unsure. Eventually, she settled on as her answer. “Duty.”

Nicole laughed dryly at her. “Duty’s a sham.”

Before Jecka could respond, another horse walked up to the fence, one with gorgeous white hair that somehow managed to defy the sand. Percy seemed delighted at the company and even pulled away from Nicole’s hand to greet the other horse.

“Dammit Perce, don’t get attached.” Nicole said, turning back to the horse. Percy merely neighed in response. It was probably horse for some swear word or another, but Nicole just smiled wryly. Jecka walked up beside Nicole and leaned on the fence as well.

“Whose horse is that?” Nicole asked, nodding at the white one.

“Uh, mine actually.” Jecka said, surprised. “That’s Spirit.”

“You’ve got a horse?” Nicole asked, sounding a bit surprised. “Furthermore, you named her Spirit?”

“Well I am the sheriff.” Jecka said, her arms quickly snapping to her hips. “Although I probably won't take her out as much as I should. Also, Spirit’s a good name.”

Nicole let out a chuckle. “Whelp.” She said after a pause, hauling herself over the fence and walking up to Percy again, preparing to saddle up. “That’s a problem for you to figure out.” She said as she pulled herself up and onto Percy. Then, as she and Percy walked over to the nearby gate that Jecka was kind enough to unlock and hold open for them, she looked down and over to Jecka, meeting her eyes for perhaps the final time. “See ya round Sherriff.”

With that, Nicole and Percy trotted off down the road. Jecka watched after them, something inside of her chest telling her this wasn’t right. That something was still wrong. It was only then that Jecka realized the crazy urge that was bubbling up inside of her. The horrible and stupid idea she would never have so much as entertained beyond the odd daydream before yesterday, and yet here she was, moments away from actually giving in to it.

“Wait!” Jecka hollered out, dashing into the horse’s enclosure herself, closing the gate behind her. Percy came to a halt suddenly, much to Nicole’s initial annoyance, but she too turned to look back to see Jecka hurriedly rushing to and fro inside of the enclosure, fetching her saddle and quickly hopping onto the back of Spirit. Then, as soon as she was comfortably on the white horse’s back, she cracked the reins and Jecka’s horse ran forward, actually managing to jump over the enclosure fence, much to Nicole and Percy’s surprise. Skidding to a halt and kicking up enough dust to send Nicole into a coughing fit, Jecka looked back up confidently at Nicole. “You’re right. This lil’ dustball of a town doesn’t need me.”

“W-what?” Nicole asked, completely lost at what Jecka was getting at.

“You don’t get it yet?” Jecka scoffed. “I’m coming with you!”

“W-wait, but what about the bandits? It took two of us to hold ‘em off. You really think that other sheriff will be enough if it happens again? N-not that I care but-”

Jecka let out a laugh, cutting Nicole off. “They were only here cause of my dad, and he’s gone. Otherwise Tombstone hasn’t had any trouble like that since before I was born, and if word gets out that it managed to hold its own against a gang like that, then it’ll only further go down in infamy, scaring off any others that might try. Plus, with Megan as the lead sheriff, Tombstone is more than safe.”

Nicole just gawped at Jecka, but eventually a confident smirk formed on her face. “You wanna come with me? You don’t even know where I’m headed.”

“Well from the sounds of it,” Jecka smirked back. “Neither do you.”

Nicole let out another bark of laughter. “You really are a crazy bitch, throwing away the comfort of this life, and for what?”

Jecka smiled back, turning to look at the wide open plains ahead. “For the chance to really live a little.”

“Well, hurry up if yer comin’.” Nicole said, turning Percy so as to continue along the path. “If we’re quick, we can catch the caravan before it returns. Might be your one chance to let ‘em know what’s happenin’.”

“Right!” Jecka agreed, following along behind Nicole. “I take it we’re going to find her then?”

“Yeah.” Nicole nodded. “That’s the goal.”

“What happened anyway? Between you and Emily?”

Nicole scoffed, a twinkle of something Jecka didn’t recognize in her eye. “That’s a story for another day. For now, we ride!”

At that, Nicole whipped the reins, and Percy bounced off, quickly reaching full speed. Seeing this as a challenge, Jecka did the same, and soon the two girls, the renegade and the sheriff, the stranger and the stickler, were riding off together, into the sunrise! On to new adventures, and on to new horizons.

Chapter Text

The atmosphere of the mine was thick and still. The cold rock walls surrounding her breathed a damp air against her skin. Each step sent a faint echo crawling up the tunnel walls which only added to the constricting atmosphere as her lamp produced a soft flicker of light that barely managed to illuminate the path ahead, its edges lapped up and swallowed greedily by the black.

All the same, Kelly was never one to run from the dark. That didn’t mean she was fond of it, that just meant she typically knew how to carry herself in it. She had spent enough nights beneath it to know its tricks after all, but this darkness felt different. It didn’t wait around her, it watched.

“Hey,” Crispin, who Kelly had entered the mine with, called out. “How far down does this thing like... go?”

“I dunno, but they’ve gotta be in here somewhere.” Kelly said, stepping further into the pulsating darkness.

Tentatively, Crispin followed. “This’ns a bad idea Kelly.”

“Then yer more than free to turn back, but I’m not leaving ‘till I find ‘em.”

“We’ve been searching these tunnels fer hours. I don’t think we’re gonna find ‘em.”

“Then like I said, yer more than free to turn back.” Kelly snapped, her usual attitude long eroded by this point.

She held herself firm though. She would find them. She would find her. All of this had started after Mayor Lynn hadn't listened. Kelly had told them they’d have been safer taking camp outside of the mine to wait for the chaos in Tombstone to blow over, but no, she had to insist they set up camp inside. She had wanted its walls, its roof. Megan hadn't said a word against it, just told Kelly to stop clinging onto old folk tales. Just stories to scare the kids.

A big spacious cavern, two segmented areas, and that was all they needed to make up their minds. Sure, they were safer from the elements inside, but Kelly knew what still lingered down here. Her grandfather had worked these mines back when it was still known for that. Back before it went silent. Back on the night of the explosion. The night these tunnels earned their name.

The haunted mine of the Fractured Summit.

Folks could scoff all they wanted at her talk of spirits and curses, but Kelly didn’t care. She knew the mine wasn’t empty, that perhaps it never had been. Not really. Something lingered down here. And yet no one ever listened to her.

Her next step betrayed her. Pebble, slide, weight shifting, world turning, she threw her hands out, flesh scraped against stone as she caught herself against the wall, but the lamp slipped free.

It shattered against the rock, its already weak flame gasping out as the dark rushed in, thick and absolute.

“Shit!” Kelly hissed, pushing herself back up.

“What’d you go n’ do that fer?” Crispin’s voice echoed from somewhere in the dark, closer than she liked.

“Well I didn’t do it on purpose!” She shot back, turning towards the sound. Even blind her glare could’ve lit a match.

This was the last place she wanted to be, but right now she had no choice. She had to hope against hope that it wasn’t all for naught, that she was still out there, and that her and Crispin weren’t about to encounter-

“ERR- ERR- ERR-”

The sound scraped through the dark like a knife against bone.

“Crispin...” Kelly’s voice wavered. “Tell me that was you...”

“Uh,” he stuttered, “no...”

Kelly frantically looked around, her blind eyes straining against the black. The echoes of their voices reverberated around them like thin, quivering things that crawled along the red rock and died slow. She waited. Breath locked in her chest. Her heart hammered against her ribs like it was trying to claw its way out.

The air shifted.

Everything felt wrong.

Not empty. Not quiet.

Just... wrong.

Yet despite it all, she found herself almost thankful for the black. After all, she had the vaguest idea of what it was that was waiting in the light.

“ERR-” the distant voice scraped again. Closer this time. “INN- INN-”

Her pulse quickened. Her boots scuffed backward over stone, breath hitching as pale light began to flicker at the far end of the tunnel. Something began to glow, faint, flickering, alive.

Kelly stared. The light breathed brighter, like a lantern in a storm.

The Glimmering Man was coming.

“Crispin.” Kelly croaked out, hushed but urgent. “Get ready to run.”

“W-wait-” he stuttered. “It’s a trick, it can’t be real!”

“We have to meet back up with the others!” She twisted herself to face him. Even in the dark, she could make out his entire form quivering, staring back at the tunnel she had just turned her back to.

Then, it happened.

K-THWOOM!!

With a massive whoosh, a hurricane of wind came bellowing from the opposite end of the tunnel, knocking Kelly forward. Her hair whipped around her face, her ponytail coming undone as messy locks clouded her vision, stinging her eyes. A blinding light surged, flooding the walls, bouncing off of the stone, searing her vision.

She slammed her eyes shut, her heart hammering, lungs burning, the taste of dust and stone in her mouth. The tunnel screamed in her ears. An agony of terror.

“YOU SAPSKULL, CLOSE YER EYES!!” She hollered into the blinding light.

“I- I CAN’T!!” Crispin screamed back, his voice being thrown towards Kelly, shredding through the roar of wind, towards the glimmering. “OH GOD!!”

“INN- INN- INN- DETT-” The scraggled voice, now directly behind her, rasped.

“NO,” Crispin screamed again. “DON’T TAKE MEE-”

K-THW-THW-THW-

The tunnel erupted into a hurricane of sound and light, wind tearing at Kelly’s figure, dust and grit stinging her eyes still slammed shut, her mouth filled with coppery tang, the lampless darkness that had clung to her moments ago had vanished entirely, replaced by a white that burned.

And then-

THW-THWOOM!!...

Silence...

The wind died as suddenly as it had roared to life, and with it the light died leaving behind Kelly, who was now accompanied only by the darkness. Slowly, she managed to pry her eyes open and look around. Left, then right, then left once more. The light was indeed gone, but with it so was Crispin.

“Tarnation,” she gasped. The word barely left her lips before another, louder, “oh tarnation!” escaped them.

With a sudden surge of desperation flooding her veins like fire, she spun on her heel and tore down the tunnel. Every footfall an ear-splitting echo against the rock. She had to get out- She had to find them- She had to warn the others-

The Glimmering Man had struck again.

Episode II : The Glimmering Man: Part I

The sun beat down mercilessly overhead, a bright glare that threatened to burn her if not for the sheriff hat perched atop her head. The smell of horse sweat hung thick in the air, and her wrist still ached from the action less than an hour prior.

And yet, as Jecka rode on the back of Spirit, she found herself grinning a most mad grin. One that flourished with the revelation of freedom and the promise of adventure. Yes, there were still duties to perform. She couldn’t leave the town without first making sure everything was as it should be. Without first making sure that Megan was okay to take on the role of the sole sheriff.

But she had faith. Megan was clever, sometimes too much so for her own good. Jecka was still shocked she had managed to convince her of the caravan plan in the first place, but all the same things finally felt like they might just go her way. The day was looking brighter.

That said, she couldn’t deny the insanity in her current plan. Nicole was an enigma, a shadow, or maybe something darker. Of course, that was just it, she didn’t know for sure. What she did know however, was that Nicole had been offered multiple instances to turn on her, to leave the town to its fate and Jecka along with it, and yet she hadn't. Sure, Nicole may not be safe, but that didn’t mean she was a threat either.

Besides, she wasn’t looking for safety anyways. She had lived a safe life, and that had bored her near to death. Aimless and pointless, predictable and monotonous, a chore to trudge through day after day. About the most exciting thing she could have hoped for then was breaking up the odd bar brawl, but this? This was dangerous, and dangerous was intoxicating. That was why she had become a sheriff in the first place.

Maybe not the most virtuous of drives, but she still did good, despite what her father had wanted for her. She just wanted a little something for herself as well. After all, she had earned that much, hadn't she?

“How much further out is this mine that the caravan was hidin’ out in?” Nicole bellowed, slowing Percy’s forward ascent so as to keep pace with Spirit’s.

“It’s a little over a day's ride out of the town.” Jecka called back. “Assuming they started to head back around the time we left, we should come across them soon.”

Nicole squinted her eyes forward, scanning the horizon. “And if not?”

“Then we’ll probably have to set up camp halfway for the night. We left the town early but still, lil’ over a day is lil’ over a day.”

“Hm.” Nicole grunted. Then without another word, she cracked the reins causing Percy to bolt forward again.

Not one to be left behind in the dust, Jecka did the same to Spirit, and soon they were both off.

The sun that had risen steadily from one end of the sky, was now beginning to wane on the opposite end of the valley. They had made good progress, only stopping for the odd quick meal along the way. Jecka hadn't realized how ravenously hungry she had been, and nearly managed to scarf down an entire can of beans all on her own.

Thankfully, Nicole had come prepared. She had clearly been traveling on her own for some time before appearing at Tombstone, as not only did she carry supplies, but also knowledge. Jecka had perhaps not prepared quite as much given how suddenly she had decided to leave, but they hoped that upon meeting up with the caravan, they could take some supplies for themselves for use in their travels. The only issue with that was that they had yet to so much as catch sight of the caravan or any of the townsfolk.

Onward they rode, through the oppressive heat of the sun and yet as they continued on with no sign of the caravan, Jecka couldn’t deny the pit that was forming in her stomach. Sure, she had barely had a chance to iron out a proper plan with Megan on when they might return, but she had expected to see something by now.

That wasn’t the only thing worrying Jecka however, also at the front of her mind was how she would even tell Megan her insane proposition. That she planned to leave Tombstone behind in her care. Would Megan really just accept that?

As the duo rode by a peculiar rock formation, a notable spout of water that streamed around it came into view. A rare sight, and one at which Nicole began to bring Percy to a slow halt.

“We should stop here for the night.”

Jecka did the same with Spirit, albeit reluctantly. “Here?”

“Yeah, there's a good rock formation for protection, and somewhere to tie the horses too, plus access to wooden scraps to start a fire, and some running water. An opportunity this good doesn’t just come along.”

“I mean- shouldn’t we keep going?”

Nicole glanced over to Jecka. “You said it yourself that we might have to stop along the way. Are we particularly close to the mine?”

“I mean, still a couple hours but we might still run into the caravan-”

“Jecka.”

“I mean, they have to have left by now so-”

“The horses need to rest,” she cut in. “We need to rest. We’ll reach them in the morning.”

Jecka stared forward silently at the horizon. Still no signs of the caravan. Only the dying light of the day.

Nicole glanced back to Jecka. “They’re probably just waiting an extra day to be safe.”

“I don’t know... Megan is prudent if nothing else.”

“Right, but even then this whole plan was pretty off the cuff, did you ever even confirm a direct return time?”

“Just that she should give it a day.”

“So she’s probably waiting until the following morning to leave, rather than the night prior to it.”

“...Right.” Jecka eventually muttered out. “Right yeah, let's stop here for the night.”

Nicole inspected Jecka for a second, as if trying to get a read on her. The attention made her more than a little uncomfortable, but thankfully Nicole didn’t stare long, seemingly content with whatever conclusion she had come to. Without another word, she hoisted herself off of Percy’s back and landed on the dusty ground with a thud.

“You go ahead and tie down Spirit, then refill the canteens.” Nicole said, already preparing a rope and hobble from the saddle. “C’mon Perce, work with me here.”

Percy let out a disgruntled neigh as Nicole began to tie the hobble around his front legs, but he didn’t make any significant move to stop her beyond lightly bopping the top of Nicole’s head with his chin, causing her hat to fall off.

With a grumble Nicole finished tying the hobble and snatched her hat back up from the ground. Percy let out what Jecka could only describe as a snicker in horse form. Meanwhile, Jecka had already finished doing the same with Spirit, albeit she was far less resilient to the affair than Percy had been, making Jecka’s job easier. Afterwards she grabbed the canteens and made for the running water.

After refilling both hers and Nicole's, she made her way back around to the main camp. Even before she could see it, she could smell the embers of a freshly stoked fire, and rounding the bend she found that Nicole had also prepared the bed that she had previously rolled up along the back of Percy’s saddle.

Nicole got up and walked over to a nearby rock, sitting on it as the fire crackled nearby. The flickering orange lighting her face as the sky darkened behind her.

“Since there’s two of us, we should take turns keeping watch.” Nicole said, sitting down on the rock. “I can-”

“-I’ll take first watch.” Jecka cut in.

“What, you don’t trust me?”

Jecka shook her head. “It’s not that. I’m just... not tired.”

Nicole again gave Jecka a long, hard, stare. One that felt as if it were boring into Jecka’s very soul. Eventually, she let out a sigh, “well, neither am I.”

“We can’t both stay up all night.”

“Oh we most certainly can. The word isn’t ‘can’t’, it’s ‘shouldn’t’.”

“So logically one of us should take the bed to rest up?” Jecka asked, making no move for the bed rolled out and waiting behind her.

“Yup.” Nicole agreed, also making no effort to go for it as she surveyed the empty horizon beyond them.

Jecka walked up past the fire and towards the line of rocks that Nicole had planted herself at. She picked out a vaguely comfortable looking one, and sat on it mimicking Nicole’s stance. Staring out and away from the cozy camp behind her towards the rough wilds ahead.

She managed to keep this up for a good while, but eventually her eyes wandered upwards to the sky. A dark blue abyss that carried on as far as the eyes could see, dotted with speckles of light gleaming down on the both of them. For such a tense evening, it was a gorgeous sight.

Silence permeated the camp site, broken only by the distant wind, the odd noises from the horses nearby, and soft crackling of flame. Jecka wasn’t sure how long had passed by this point, probably not long but then again, who could say? She just stared up at the sky as the warm fire crackled behind her. The faint chill of the night air beginning to peck away at her arms. She shivered slightly. Involuntarily. She hoped Nicole hadn't seen that.

Glancing to her side to confirm she hadn't, Jecka found that Nicole was also staring upwards. At the sky above. Her eyes sparkled with the reflections of infinity, a cosmos of wonders contained in her gaze. It seemed that without even realizing it, a silent awe had been shared between the both of them. Jecka returned her gaze upward, now content at letting the odd shiver overcome her.

“You... really think they’re okay?”

“If you're looking for comfort, I’m the wrong person to ask.”

“I’m not looking for comfort, I’m looking for your genuine opinion.”

She didn’t answer immediately. “...They’re probably fine.”

Jecka never took her eyes off of the stars above, not even once she felt her head sagging back onto the rocks behind her, and not even once she felt the heavy weight of her eyelids. She continued staring up at the stars, until eventually she felt her consciousness slip into that of the world of dreams.

The next thing Jecka knew, she was jerked awake with a startled snort.

It took her a moment to realize that the snort was her own, and it took her a moment longer to realize what had woken her. Blinking up at the looming shadow overhead, she was able to make out the unmistakable silhouette of a horse. She barely had time to register what was happening before the animal bowed its head and dragged a wet tongue across her face.

“Ew- by the lord-” Jecka sputtered out, suddenly wide awake as she jolted upwards to see Percy with, what again could only be described as the horse equivalent of a snicker plastered across his long face.

It was only then that she realized the blanket that had been draped over her in her sleep as it fell to the dusty ground below. She clocked quickly that it was the one taken from the travel pack on Percy’s saddle. No doubt Nicole’s handiwork.

Jecka turned her head to see Nicole already moving efficiently around the makeshift campsite, tightening straps on Spirit and rolling the last of their gear with practiced ease. Despite the fire no longer burning, the smell of dead embers still hung in the air, so she couldn't have been up for long herself.

Jecka rubbed the sleep from her eyes and called out, “You should’ve woken me. I could’a helped.”

Nicole didn’t even look up. “You looked busy enough already,” she replied with the faintest hint of a smirk, the barest edge of amusement in her voice peeking through as well as she finished roughly applying the last of the gear to Spirit’s saddle.

“How long was I out?” Jecka asked, dusting herself off.

“You were out cold within the hour.”

“Shoulda woken me.”

“Nah,” she grunted, swinging up onto Percy’s saddle. “You needed the rest.”

Jecka huffed quietly, making her way over to Spirit and pulling herself on. “Next time, wake me.”

Nicole gave Jecka another long, hard, stare. Shorter than the one from the day before, but just as loaded. From there, she simply shrugged, silently pulled the reins on Percy, and turned him off towards their destination.

“C’mon then. We’re burnin’ daylight.” Nicole called back, as she and Percy quickly set off.

Never one to be left in the dust, Jecka followed close behind.

From there, the ride was silent. The grogginess Jecka would typically have felt in the morning, that had been bypassed by Percy’s ambush, was finally beginning to catch up to her. Still yawning herself awake, Jecka largely let Spirit take the lead.

They rode for maybe another hour before they were finally coming up on the distant mine, the unmistakable sign of the mountain it was built into marking it in the distance. A towering, spire-like formation with a chunk missing from the top, like something had taken a bite clean out of it.

Jecka was so taken aback by the sight, that she hadn't noticed Nicole bringing Percy to a slow so as to trot alongside her.

“That it?” She asked.

Jecka nodded, pulling back on Spirit’s reins. “Yeah. The Fractured Summit.”

“Hm, fittin’ name.” Nicole said, clearly alluding to the massive hole near the top from which the mountain got its namesake. “What caused that?”

“An explosion, far as the stories go.”

“Stories?”

“This’ns an abandoned goldmine.” Jecka explained, “Well, folks don’t walk away from gold ‘less they got a reason.”

“What happened?”

“Rumor has it, a ghost happened.”

Nicole scoffed. “Yer kiddin’.”

“They called him The Glimmerin’ Man. Say a ghostly light would appear deep in the dark of the mine, and snatch miners away.”

“Pft, fairy tales.”

“Not sayin’ I buy it. If you ask me it was prolly juss some accident. But people died all the same so they packed up shop.”

“Can’t imagine the distance from the town was any incentive to keep it neither.”

“Perhaps not, but like I said, folks don’t leave gold in the ground without somethin’ forcin’ ‘em too.”

As her words hung in the air like a warning, Jecka took Spirit’s reins again and began to urge her forward.

“C’mon, like you said, we’re burning daylight.”

This time, it was Jecka’s turn to take the lead, as Nicole and Percy trotted along behind.

Finally, Jecka found herself able to let out a sigh of relief.

As they got closer, she was able to see past the scorching heat of the sun beating down on them and instead focus in on the clear and comforting sight of the caravan parked out front. They were here. They were safe.

Jecka’s relief was short-lived however as her eyes swept the camp. The carts were empty. Tools littered the ground like forgotten relics, and ropes were tied hastily about the place. The caravan was silent, hollow. Everything looked as though people had been present only moments ago, only to vanish.

A cold weight in her chest clashed against the hot rays overhead as a slow realization crept into her, something had happened here.

Once more, before Jecka could act, she heard a “Hya!” from behind her as Nicole and Percy sped past towards the abandoned caravan. Clearly, Nicole had noticed the same thing Jecka had.

Playing catch up once more, Jecka’s hands gripped onto the rough reins as she urged Spirit forward just as Nicole leapt off Percy, the horse still skidding to a halt. Bold, brash, and stupid. A sight Jecka found it hard to take her eyes off of. Steadying herself upon landing, Nicole wasted no time in dashing forward into the camp of carts.

“Wait up!” Jecka hollered out, but Nicole was already gone. “Damn moron.” She muttered, swinging herself off of Spirit and hastily tying her down, something Nicole had failed to do with Percy who stood by staring at her. Whatever, he could wait, she had to catch up.

As she ran, she was hit with the smell of dust, oil, and gunpowder. All indicative signs that the townsfolk couldn’t be far, but where? Whatever, her first goal was to catch up to Nicole first. Catch up to her, and then find the townsfolk.

As Jecka rounded a bend however she quickly came across Nicole standing stock still in the middle of a clearing, her arms clean over her head, her pistol still strapped to her side. Opposite her, half hidden in the shadows of the mountain, someone held a gun steady and trained directly on Nicole. Then she heard the click of a gun.

Wasting no time, Jecka whipped out her pistol and pointed it forward, slowly walking around Nicole so as to catch sight of whoever it was that was threatening her.

“Nicole, you a’ight? Who's there?”

Stepping to the side right as the question left her lips, Jecka’s eyes finally landed on the culprit at hand, and her gun fell back down to her side.

“Megan?” She blurted, her shock softening into relief, before then tightening once more into caution as Megan’s gun remained trained on Nicole.

“Jecka!” Megan shouted out, never taking her eyes off of Nicole. “Get behind me.”

“Megan, lower the gun!” Jecka jumped between the rogue and the sheriff.

“Jecka, get out of the-”

“She helped me!” Jecka yelled out. “My plan, the one I told you about? She helped me defend the town.”

Megan finally looked at Jecka. She gave an odd look. Then she lowered her gun slightly. The odd look remained however.

“Jecka, that’s the one from the wanted posters. Nicole Y-”

“I know who it is.” Jecka affirmed, still planted between Nicole and Megan.

Megan may have lowered her gun, but her finger still hugged the trigger. Her eyes still staring at Nicole, as if staring down a bull.

“She’s a criminal. What’re ya doin’ with a criminal?”

“I-”

“Hey!” Nicole yelled out, cutting into their conversation.

Jecka looked around to see that Nicole still had her hands raised, although if it was meant to look like a sign of surrender, the expression on her face said otherwise.

“My hands are gettin’ tired, and I didn’t tie down my horse. He’s reliable when it counts but still more than capable of causing trouble and playing hooky,” she continued, “so can we put away th’ guns?”

Megan turned to look at Jecka, as if asking for approval. She nodded, and Megan slowly eased her pistol back into its holster, though her hand lingered near the grip. That detail was not lost on Nicole or Jecka, but one that for now could be forgiven as Nicole was finally able to lower her arms, flexing her fingers before landing them on her belt. The relief in her stance didn’t reach her face however as her eyes remained locked on Megan, as sharp as drawn steel.

“I’ll let you two catch up.” Nicole said. Her tone was calm, but her eyes betrayed her. They lingered on Megan a heartbeat too long before she turned toward the opening through which both Percy and Spirit waited. Megan looked more than uneasy to have Nicole leaving her sight, but another glance from Jecka seemed to be enough to keep her at bay as her posture eased ever so slightly.

“So then,” Megan finally spoke up, turning to Jecka as soon as Nicole was out of sight. “The business in town. You dealt with it?”

Jecka raised her hands to her side. “Wouldn’t still be here if we hadn't.”

Megan nodded. Jecka had expected a look of relief to wash over her face, but Megan’s face continued to wear its prior stony expression.

“What... happened here?” Jecka asked, almost worried about what she might learn if the empty caravan and Megan’s expressions were anything to go off of.

“Uhh, y’might wanna sit down for that one.” Megan shook her head, before stepping up towards the entrance to the mine. “C’mon, we’ve got a camp further into the cave.”

“A camp in the cave? Is it big enough for that?”

“The entrance to the mine itself is technically further in, before that are two larger areas we were able to bring everyone into. We figured it’d be safer to stay under a roof overnight.”

Before Jecka could respond, Nicole’s voice cut through the air. "What about the caravan?” she asked, arriving back in the clearing as she glanced around at the otherwise barren display.

“Pft, th’ whole reason we chose this mine as the hiding spot was cuz no one in their right mind was gonna come up here. No bandits, no trouble.” Megan shot a glance to Nicole at the utterance of the word trouble.

Nicole shot an equally spiteful glare back. Jecka decided she should probably jump in before the guns were pulled out again.

“Then why do I get the feeling that something has still gone wrong...?” Her voice echoed as they stepped foot into the tunnel's entrance.

“Simple,” Megan said, continuing onward, leading them both towards the camp. “It’s not the bandits you gotta look out for here.”

“Cryptic...” Nicole muttered under her breath.

“So what actually happened?” Jecka asked, stepping up towards Megan as she stopped near the corner in the tunnel.

“Take a look for yerself.” Megan said, finally rounding the bend.

Taking a moment to glance at each other in confusion, Nicole and Jecka both stepped forward to follow her, entering into a surprisingly spacious area inside of the cave. Natural torch light filled the cavern, as several of the townsfolk that Jecka recognized walked about the small tents that had been pitched up inside.

Again, she felt herself ready to hope. Ready to sigh a sigh of relief and dismiss Megan’s attitude as nothing more than a crabby mood. She found herself ready to believe everything was fine. She felt the cool relief of the cave air finally hit her as relief swelled in her chest, until of course she started counting. The cavern held many familiar voices, movements, and tents... but too few of them.

Tombstone was not a particularly large town. It was by all accounts quite miniscule. A blip on most maps that was often overlooked. It was the kind of town where everyone at least vaguely knew each other, but it still housed a good number of people. A good number of people that Jecka was not seeing.

Glancing around, she found only a handful of faces, and counting the tents she found there couldn’t have been enough here alone to house any more than half of the town. People were missing. A lot of people were missing.

“Megan...” Jecka asked slowly as she followed her along to one of the larger tents along the back wall, “where is everyone else?”

“So yer seein’ it now?”

“Seein’ what?”

But before Megan could answer, another voice cut in from inside of the tent. An older and somehow more authoritative voice than Megan’s, and one Jecka knew well.

“This here is everyone who is left of Tombstone,” the voice said. “The half who were in the outer of the two caverns.”

“What?” Jecka said, pushing through into the tent to be met with the tall and striking figure of Mayor Lynn.

A dinky wooden crate was sprawled out in front of her like a table as she sat behind it, her hands clasped together. A lamp in the corner lit the tent as Jecka, Megan, and finally Nicole all piled in.

“What happened to everyone?” Jecka asked, choosing to skip past the greetings.

“That’s the tricky part.” Lynn said, standing up with a sigh, “we have no clue. So far as we’re concerned, they just vanished.”

“Vanished?” Nicole asked, standing near the far corner of the tent and eyeing Lynn as though she was some artifact from an age long past.

“When we arrived, we had a good sixty three people. Now, we have only thirty two left.”

“But how? People don’t just vanish.” Jecka asked, her eyes remaining locked on the mayor.

Lynn opened her mouth to respond again, but was interrupted at the sound of fastening footsteps from outside the tent soon followed by another familiar voice yelling out-

“LYNN!! MEGAN!!”

Before Jecka could clock the owner of that voice, the answer came crashing through the tent’s flaps as Kelly arrived, panting heavily as if she had just run a marathon around her ranch.

“It happened again!” She yelled out, “The Glimmerin’ Man is real!”