I Sing Of Chaos And Eternal Night

0930

With a sack full of around a thousand wallets, we left the train and rode towards the east—towards the direction of Copper Springs. But as I led my men forward, Peter suddenly galloped up beside me and said, "So what's next?"

"We need to meet up with Smokey Dan." I never took my eyes off the barren terrain ahead of us as I answered him.

"And afterwards?"

The strange pitch in his voice made me turn, seeing he had an eyebrow quirked and a smile on his lips.

"We have to go to town. Or that's where this direction will eventually lead us." The figure of Smokey Dan started to come into view. He was on top of his mare, waiting there beside the train as if he knew to expect us.

"What do you have to do in town?" Peter glanced at me. "Stage another a shootout?"

Something about his tone seemed strange to me. He was asking a question, but it didn't sound like he wanted to know the answer. "I don't know." I frowned at him. "I haven't been told yet."

We were rapidly closing in on Smokey Dan. We would reach him in about sixty seconds, me being the first. But before I could, Peter's hand shot out and gripped onto my shoulder, stopping me. "Julia, wait." He sounded like he was out of breath. "If it's an order you need, then how about we skip town and go somewhere else?"

I opened my mouth, wanting to deny him. I wanted to tell him we had to go to town. Yet, I couldn't. For some reason, the words that came out of me were, "Where would we go?"

His smile only widened. "Well, you're an outlaw, right?" Since our horses had slowed to a trot, he was now able to speak in a clearer, smoother voice. "Why don't we go rob a stagecoach?"

Do as he says.

At last, a command. But not the one I wanted. "Alright." I tipped the brim of my hat back. "Have you ever robbed one before?"

"I haven't. But that's why I'm here, isn't it?" Peter asked, circling around me from on his horse. He reminded me of how a vulture circles around its next meal. "To live out the fantasies of a time gone by?"

"Hey!" Nash finally came up beside us, followed by the rest of the men. "Why did y'all stop?"

I gazed over towards Peter. If his voice was strange, the look in his eye was even stranger. He was looking at me as if he was waiting for me to say something. But not just anything— something specific.

"We're going to go rob a stagecoach." I turned back to my men. They all whooped and hollered, or at least they started to until Peter spoke.

"Sorry, guys. But this is just something between me and her." He nudged me with his elbow. "But don't worry. I'll bring her back."

The men fell silent before turning to me.

"What? I don't understand." Nash blinked. I saw his hand brush against the side of his hip, but it never reached for the gun tucked away in the holster.

"I'll return soon," I assured them.

And with that, we were off, leaving my gang behind in the dust. I knew they were staring at me as I rode off towards the vast unknown that was the desert. I knew their eyes were blinking as they waited for what to do next. And despite knowing this, I wanted to look back and confirm it. Yet, I never did. The command prevented me from doing so.

Keep following him.

The roar of an engine echoed through the desert followed by a high-pitched whistle. The train had started moving again, and this entire time I hadn't noticed until now.