A Dark Heaven

Chapter 12 Getting a move on

Maggie was the first one awake, she woke a little bit before the sun came up. She was excited to keep moving and seeing the new territories. Maggie had never been out of Kansas and the new surroundings had made her extra awake and energized. The young girl moved out of her tent to explore, she tripped over a dark blob that let out a yap and ran to sniff her face, it was Sally.

"Sorry Sally." Maggie whispered and petted the dog.

Maggie got up and strayed further away from camp with Sally following her. She walked looking around at the trees and plants around her as the sun was finally rising to give her light. A memory of the first day they got here came into her mind, striking paranoia. Raymon and Gage heard other people here, probably The Comanches who would cut off her eyelids and force her to stare into the sun. Maggie looked at the sky to the bright morning sun and shuddered at the thought. The shudder turned into violent shaking when she wanted to go back to camp but the panic blocked her thinking and all her surroundings looked the same.

"Don't be so weak, you're fine." She told herself out loud.

Maggie hated the feeling of being small and scared. She found it embarrassing and that she was too tough and brave to feel that way, it didn't matter that she was 11, she killed her father and escaped being hanged, then ran with outlaws. She should be above being scared.

"Marty even said that The Comanches don't even exist in these parts no more." She told Sally and also herself.

It didn't take away that someone might be living in these parts though, maybe even worse than The Comanches. Maggie pulled on her two long braids trying to stop her mind from running so fast. She thought she was going to be sick when Sally ran and started chasing something.

"Sally no, please stop!"

Maggie begged for the dog to stop running, she tried to keep up but the brown dog was out of her view. She stopped and wanted to shout but didn't out of fear of strangers hearing her. Maggie thought she was going to cry, she was lost in the woods with only a knife she took before leaving and now her dog ran away. Paranoia started striking harder at the loud running of sticks breaking in the deep bushes. Maggie started running in the other direction as fast as her legs could take her. She felt her body jolt when two sticks pounded into her back, leaving muddy prints on her shirt.

"Sally!"

Sally was proudly holding a dead rabbit in her mouth and started trotting back in a familiar direction. Maggie felt no choice but to follow her dog. Sally was trained to hunt and retrieve. Maggie prayed that Sally was leading her in the right direction.

The two made it back to camp with Sally still holding her rabbit, everyone else was up.

"Maggie, Damn you! Where did you go? You ain't supposed to go nowhere." Sara yelled while storming over to Maggie.

"I didn't go far, calm down. Sally found breakfast." Maggie told the gang casually.

"Don't you ever just leave like that again, you ain't even know where you are, none of us do." Sara said while taking the rabbit from Sally.

"Fine by me."

The wagon was packed and everyone was ready to start moving South after eating Sally's gift. The trip felt slower and longer this time around. Maggie had enough sightseeing for one day and slept through most of it until she was woken up by Raymon,

"You ride Kratos, I'm tired."

"What? No, Gage is awake, tell him to move."

"Gage was shot you ain't, now come on."

Maggie huffed and got out of the wagon to move to Raymon's mustang. Kratos eyed her as she patted him and got on, she struggled but managed. She could have sworn Kratos was trying to lean down to help her. Once she was on, the excitement of exploring came back, she looked around at the open plains and everyone around her. Marty was humming a song and sometimes talking to Sparky, to which Raymon yelled, "Stop talking to that horse, I'm trying to sleep you old crazy kook."

Beverly was riding a little bit ahead, like she always did. Sara and James were riding next to each other, Sara on Queenie and James on Marty's old horse, Smokey.

Maggie sensed something between them, the whole gang suspected something. Sara and James were getting very friendly with each other. Maggie heard talk of James owning land in California, the same state Sara's family lived when slavery was still legal. Maggie thought of the two living in a big house in California and Sara finding her family and the two of them starting a family of their own; A real family that's blood related. She thought harder about the scenario, What would happen to the rest of us? Would Sara leave? Does she want to leave? How many of us actually enjoy this life?

Steering was becoming boring to Marty,

"Bevy, come over here, we're switching."

"You need help gettin' down, old fella." Raymon said from the back of the wagon.

"Shut up you lazy son of a bitch, you makin' a child move your horse, degenerate.

Beverly and Marty switched, Beverly hated steering wagons but she managed with full concentration on the reigns. Beverly had a new reason to hate the wagon, she could hear Raymon and Gage talk and drink in the back, soon enough all she heard was Raymons loud voice and Gage sometimes laughing.

"You boys mind handing me a bottle of whatever you got." She shouted to the back of the wagon.

"You oughta steer us right off a cliff, but here, I guess." Raymon handed her a beer bottle.

Beverly heard Gage whisper something and Raymon laugh loudly. She felt the quiet joke was about her.

"Beverly!" Raymon yelled.

"No, don't stop!" Gage shushed him.

Raymon continued, "Gage thinks you already drive the wagon like a drunk so givin' you a beer wouldn't change nothin'."

Beverly couldn't help but laugh, that was the first time Gage made a cruel joke towards anyone but Raymon. "Well fuck you than. At least I didn't get shot."

The rest of the ride went better, Beverly, Raymon, and Gage all talked to make the trip seem faster. In the dead of the night, Marty finally stopped by a stream of water and told everyone they're done for the night and it's time to set up. The land around them was dry with only a few small weeds around.

"I hate this type of dry land, you can't farm shit here." James said.

"I agree but why are you talkin' about farming, sonny?" Marty asked.

"It was just an observation sir."

Marty scuffed and walked away.