The Untold Future

Wild West

After riding for a while, we arrived at the forest. Collins asked me to pull over. I pulled off and he said, " I appreciate your saving me but I think we should part ways for now. It'll make the trail go cold if they're tracking two groups instead of one."

"Do you have any supplies?" I asked.

"Uhhh," he said second guessing himself, "no."

"What qualifies as currency nowadays?"

"Currency? Currency's been shot to hell, love. We've gone back to bartering. That paper has no value unless there's a government behind it."

"I'll go into town and buy you some supplies."

"Oh, no, miss! I really appreciate it but-"

"Look," I interrupted, "I just saved your ass back there so you could live, not so you can go in the woods and die of hunger, dehydration, or infection. I'm going into town to buy supplies. Go over that ridge and stay there until we come back."

"I'd argue that I'm a badass, but this is my first fight with a woman outside of my family so it's probably destined that I am to lose." He started to walk over the ridge.

I pulled forward in the quad until I reached the town. The town was so mountainous in terrain that a lot of houses were on stilts. It was small and rundown which made it the perfect hideaway spot.

I reached a checkpoint of sorts, told them what I was there for, and continued forward. I stopped on the road at some of the fruit stands and signed Faith to wait. A creepy man came out of a building in front of me and walked slowly forward. The merchant looked up at me in worry as he had heard the door open and close.

He was about average height with a little beer-belly. His hair was black and looked ratty and tangled. He had sideburns. He was dressed relatively nice with cowboy boots, jeans, and a plaid collared shirt, but he looked slimy.

He came around me, looked over my shoulder, and asked, "What have ya got?" His breath was awful! It was like he had been eating roadkill for a month and that the roadkill had been cooked, by the hot sun, on the road!

"Fruits, sir," the merchant replied.

The man moved to my other side quickly. I instinctively went for my knife but he caught my arm as it was going to the knife. "Oh, I wouldn't do that," he said quickly and quietly. "Come with me won't you? You and the little girl."

He started to pull me. He grabbed Faith. We screamed. He pulled us toward the building. He opened the door.

"Hey!" someone yelled. It was evidently a man. "Why don't yuh let me take them lovely ladies off uh yuh there, Burt?" The man turned around to look at his challenger. Just them Faith bit the man, er... Burt, I guess. He released her and cursed in my ear. She went running to the other man.

He was young and also wore cowboy boots, jeans, and a plaid shirt but the look suited him. He might have gone a little overkill with the hat though. I mean, it still suited him but I've never really been into that cowboy look.

He signaled Faith to come over and let her hide behind him. Burt pulled me around and put me in a choke hold. The young man pulled out a pistol. I couldn't really enjoy it then but looking back on it this was straight out of a Wild West movie. All this moment needed was someone with a western accent saying, "Uh oh, look out! There's gonna be a shootout!" It needed me to act more like the damsel in distress, and it needed the challenger, who already had a western accent, to say, "Don't do this, Burt. You already know I can shoot a rattler at twenty paces." I mean technically I think he did kind of say that but there aren't that many rattle snakes at this high an elevation. I think he said squirrels. I don't know, because THERE WAS A GUN THAT WAS BEING HELD BY SOME REDNECK AND IF IT WAS FIRED WITH BAD AIM I WOULD DIE. So, yeah, I don't really remember that part of the conversation.

This guy must've been a pretty good shot though because at the sight of the gun, Burt loosened his hold on me.

"Let her go," he said.

Burt let go of me and kicked me forward. I fell and my face made contact with the porch of the small building. That set the other guy off. He sprung at the door but Burt was too fast at closing his door. He was like a snake bolting into his dwelling after seeing a hawk swooping overhead.

"If you ever make a grab fer any uh the ladies 'round here ever again, I don't give a damn who yuh are er what connections yuh have, Burt, I'll drag yer raggedy, rat ass out here and shoot yuh!" the young man yelled through the door and kicked it before turning around and coming to me. He took a knee and offered me his hand. "Yeh alright there, miss?"

I took his hand and got to my feet. I couldn't speak. I was too shocked to speak. I couldn't find the right words. My mind was in a whirl still trying to comprehend what just happened. I had already started talking because I thought it was rude to not answer but like I said I couldn't find the right words to say so I just stood there in front of him stammering like an idiot. "I-I, you... why, who? W-what?"

"Uhhh, okay, so not alright then?" he said awkwardly but with worry.

"No!" I answered quickly. "Do you have a marker?" He looked at me like I was crazy. So I took my knife, turned around, and approached the door. I started to etch words in the door. I carved, Beware Burt! He's a piece of human garbage! The minute I was done I slipped my knife away and turned around.

"If we ever get any paint or markers, I think we should come back and redecorate this rathole to suit the rat that hides in it," I said.

"I agree," the boy replied as he smiled deviously. He led us back to the fruit stand.