Fatal Exception [Westworld]

1

Gunshots rang out, a few people screamed. Elizabeth just rolled her eyes. "This is a stick up, nobody try anything!" The piano continued playing an instrumental of a Rolling Stones song. It was the only thing that felt out of place in the bar, but the other guests loved it.

She stood up and turned around. Her hand went for her pistol. "I said don't try anything!" The guest shouted. His hands shook as he held out his gun.

"Go ahead, shoot me. It won't do anything, anyway," she told him. Realizing she was another guest, the man whirled on the host who'd been sitting a few chairs down at the bar. The host looked at Elizabeth. She noticed how human his fear was. But that was what Westworld was known for, the details. "Now, don't be an asshole. What'd he do to you?"

"I'll shoot him!" The man threatened.

"This has got to be the world's worst robbery." Elizabeth sighed, pulled out her gun, and shot the two hosts that were accompanying the man. "You lose. Play again?" The man looked at her for a long moment, then finally turned away. He walked dejectedly out of the saloon.

Elizabeth turned back to the bar and grabbed her drink. She holstered her gun, as she knocked back the bourbon. Then she headed toward the door. "Miss? Wait!" She looked over her shoulder, and saw the host she'd just saved. He caught up with her, just as she reached the door. "You saved my life, thank you."

She smirked. "Yeah, some cowboy you are, huh?"

He laughed. "A friend of mine used to tell me I dressed like a cowboy, but that's about the extent of it." Elizabeth shook her head, amused. She reached out to push open the door. "Can I get your name?"

She tilted her head to the side, but decided to humor him. "Elizabeth, but my friends call me Beth."

"Nice to meet you, Beth. I'm Teddy."

"Did I say we were friends, Teddy?"

He grinned. "Maybe not, but I'd like to be."

She looked down at the ground, and then back up at him. She pressed her lips together and narrowed her eyes as she thought. She rubbed at her arms. Her cowgirl outfit was high quality, and actually quite comfortable. But she wasn't used to it yet. "How'd you like to come on an adventure with me, Teddy who's not a cowboy?"

"I'd love to."

She shook her head. "Alright, let's see if you can keep up."

OoOoO

The following day, Elizabeth and Teddy left Sweetwater. They made camp out in the desert under a tree. He'd disappeared to catch a rabbit. She'd let him, figuring the hosts were probably programed to be better hunters. Elizabeth was skeptical about eating a synthetic animal. But, supposedly people thought it tasted just like the real thing.

She leaned back on her hands, letting the fire warm her. It was cold out, when the sun wasn't beating down. Suddenly hands wrapped around her arms, her mouth was covered so she couldn't shout. Elizabeth searched frantically for her gun, and found it on the other side of the campfire.

A man stepped into her view, Elizabeth recognized him immediately. She'd stopped him from robbing the saloon the other day. "Where's the cash, doll?"

Whoever was behind her, tied her arms together with a rope. "Why are you robbing me, when there's literally a bank in Sweetwater?"

"I saw you on the train yesterday morning, you just got here. Which means, you still have all your cash." Every guest was given a stack of cash when they got their outfits. And this guy was right, Elizabeth had barely spent any of her allotment. "Figured you'd be an easier mark than the bank. I'm just warming up." He rolled his shoulders. "Plus, you owe me for that white hat move you pulled back there."