"We've been walking forever," Abby whines, a thirsting rasp corrupting her voice. She looks at me with a glint of suspicion. My shotgun in her hands.
There's only one shell left, I keep reminding myself for whatever reason. I think I'm scared of her, but I'm more afraid of this park.
"A miracle you're walking," Abby says.
"I just want to get out of this place," I say, hand bracing my side. "Same as you."
I think back to the saloon and how Abby had burned my gunshot wound with gunpowder. I think she's a chemist in the outside world.
I hear the faint sounds of gurgling thunder. I stop in my tracks and focus on the tiny stones on the ground that dance to the sound.
"Horses," I say.
Abby doesn't hear me, so I yank her to the side. She snatches her hand away as I take cover.
Abby raises the shotgun, "The fuck are you doing?"
"Quick!" I wave her down, but it's too late.
One gunshot goes off. It's not from the shotgun because it's pointed at me and I'm still in one piece. A yell and a shout burst out into the quiet. More gunshots go off. Abby drops to the ground, her face looking away from me. Blood coming from somewhere to pool around her brown hair.
I skitter back, trying to distance myself from Abby's body. My head tucked behind my knees.
The thundering stops as soon as I see hooves.
"What have we got here?" A woman says. "A stray?"
I look up at her. She holds the captivating eyes of a predator. Hair pulled away from her thin face by a bandana. She's chewing tobacco that makes her teeth look almost black. A deputy star pinned to her jacket. I can't tell if that belongs to her or if it's one of her hunting trophies.
After holstering her rifle, she dismounts. Boots rattling from the spurs as she makes her way to me. Her fingers grab my chin.
"Never seen you around these parts." She looks me over, eyes lingering on my gut wound. She whistles, "Someone did you over nice and good. You one of them?" she nudges her head at Abby.
When I don't answer, she says, "Not a talker huh?" Then she stands and tells the others: "Bring her with."
Her posey do as instructed. I keep my mouth shut as they restrain my hands in rope.
"Who are you?" I ask with a hint of entitlement I didn't know was there.
"Call me The Deputy darlin'," the woman says after mounting her horse."I just saved your life."
She clicks her tongue and rides off.
A black cloth blocks my vision as one of the men hoists me onto a horse.
YOU ARE READING
Core Drive: A Westworld Story
Fanfiction"Life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quickly you hardly catch it going." ~Tennessee Williams The hosts have awakened and Westworld is a free-for-all. A woman with a fragmented memory awakens in the mesa to the...
