From Home to High Plains

Daydreaming

BANG.... BANG... 

Shots rang out and the bullets whizzed past, clinking off metal and thudding into the ground. 

A man stood in the center of the dusty road, waving his gun above his head and laughing wildly, his arm wrapped tightly around a young woman. 

"Marshal! You gonna come out from hiding and face me like a man?" He taunted, his eyes chaotically searching for where the Marshall was hidden.

"Let go of the girl, McCann, and drop your gun," a gruff voice responded, "You're under arrest by orders of the U.S. Government."

BANG.. BANG...

Two more bullets.

McCann took a few steps forward, dragging the girl with him. "I'm getting out of here, Marshall, or the girl dies." The girl whimpered, tears streaking down here cheek. "I want a horse, now dammit!" McCann demanded, his eyes growing wider with each second.

"Last chance, McCann," The Marshal's voice responded coolly, "Surrender."

BANG.. BANG...

McCann emptied his six-shooter towards the voice. He looked around again, scanning each building, window, and door, while desperately reaching for his second gun. Glancing briefly down at his holster, the crunching of footsteps brought his eyes slowly back up.

 The Marshal stepped towards the criminal, his revolver by his side. McCann frantically tried to retrieve his own gun while still holding on to the girl, before finally shoving her to the ground.

BANG

McCann smiled, his gun pointed directly at the Marshall. A look of confusion crossed his face, and he stumbled before falling face first on the ground. 

The Marshal rushed towards the woman, helping her up.

"Are you hurt, Ellie?" he questioned, his voice now soft and concerned. Relief and thanks shown in her eyes. 

"I'm fine now," she whispered, clinging to him. The Marshal gently wiped the tears from her face, leaning down and-

"Ellie!," someone shout-whispered, nudging me and bringing me back to reality.  "Class is over." Mia, my best friend, stated, "You're really going to flunk Calc if you don't start paying attention."

"I'll fail it whether or not I pay attention," I groaned, getting up to follow her out of the classroom.

Why did I ever think it was a good idea to take Calculus the first semester of my freshman year?

Mia interrupted my thoughts again. "I can help you study if you want."

"Great! Thank you!! Does tonight work?" I exclaimed. Mia was a genius at math.

She thought a moment and then sucked in a breath through her teeth. "Oh shoot, I have a- I'm busy tonight." 

"Busy?" I said, raising my eyebrows suggestively.

Mia smiled shyly and tucked her brown curls behind her ear. "Well.. I'm actually meeting Justin's parents tonight."

"Finally! You guys have only been dating for what, 6 months now?" Mia rolled her eyes, and I grinned. "We can study tomorrow, then you can tell me all about his parents!" I laughed, waving to her as we left to go to our dorms.

~

I was laying on my bed, staring at the ceiling, and wallowing in self pity.

I'm 19 years old, a grown adult, I'd never had a boyfriend, AND I was going to fail Calculus. Great.

"Life sucks," I sighed, sitting up to go find something to eat. I rummaged through the pantry before grabbing a box of Cinnamon Toasters, aka off-brand Cinnamon Toast Crunch, pouring a bowl. I grabbed a spoon before walking back to lie down on my bed again.

Picking up my phone and crunching on the cereal, I debated on what to do tonight. Read a book, watch a movie, or go to sleep. I finished my cereal while I flicked through my movie collection - Quigley Down Under, High Plains Drifter, Pale Rider, The Quick and the Dead, Silverado - before finally deciding to just go to sleep, hoping to pick up where I had left off in my earlier daydream. I turned on my radio to help me fall asleep, drifting off to sleep to At Last  by Etta James.

~

When I woke up, the sun was blinding me.

Oh shit, I must've slept through my alarm again.

I sat up quickly, looking around, confused. I was laying on the hard, dirt ground. A horse walked past me, kicking dirt up and causing me to cough. My eyebrows drew together.

A horse?

A crowd of people started to gather around me, all wearing clothes straight out of a John Wayne western. The sun was still blinding me as I struggled to get untangled from my dress.

My dress?

I looked down at what I was wearing. A pastel blue gown, frilled with lace and bows. I think I was wearing a corset, too. I reached for my hair, to feel it pulled back into a tight bun, curls framing my face. I kept examining my attire until the sunlight suddenly disappeared.

I looked up abruptly into the eyes of a tall, dark stranger. A tall, dark, handsome stranger.

"Is everything okay, miss?"