Day 1
Brad squinted his eyes
against the setting sun. They'd ridden all day, one day closer to
reaching Reno in the north. He dismounted from his buffalo, as
did his trusty companions, Leaking Pan, Wilko Nine Shot, Burning Zee,
and Agitated Pancake, hastening to set up camp.
Even though it had only
been a day's ride, the air was noticeably cooler, the area quieter.
It was a change from the heat and noise Brad had grown so accustomed
to in Chuparosa. The difference immediately put him on edge.
“Oi!” Wilko shouted,
noticing a torn strap on his saddle. “I won't be getting far when
this rips apart!”
“I can fix that,”
Pancake told him confidently, his brown fro bobbing up and down as he
set to work. “Have it done in a jiffy.”
Wilko watched as he worked.
Cake was a handy man to have around.
Zee started a fire and
regaled his comrades with songs of love, loss, and horse slaying,
while a pot of chili simmered on the fire.
Bradacus smiled as he
imagined the horses in Zee's song being ground to high quality glue.
Leaking Pan was unusually
quiet as he enjoyed his chili. He couldn't shake the feeling someone was following them, probably even watching them this very
moment.
“I've gotta take a leak,”
he announced, walking away from the fire and into the woods. There
were so many trees here. It would be easy to hide among them. He
strained his eyes in the darkness, hoping to discover some shadowy
figure hiding nearby.
If there were someone, he
couldn't see him, or her.
Day 2
The group awoke and Brad
set to making coffee. When it was ready, he sipped his steaming mug
and sighed in pleasure. Aside from glue, coffee was truly the nectar
of the gods.
Without wasting time, the
glue men broke down camp and continued their ride toward Reno.
They still had two more days to go.
“Brad, I'm gonna fall
back for a bit. I'm afraid that chili isn't agreeing with me,”
Leaking Pan lied, gingerly patting his stomach for dramatic effect.
“I'll catch up in a bit.”
Brad nodded his ushanka and
continued riding with his crew as Pan fell back.
Leaking rode his buffalo
off the trail and into the thick forest. When he knew it was hidden
from view, he tied it to a tree and double backed through the forest
on foot, the better to stay hidden. He had to be sure no one was
following them.
Climbing up a large pine,
he waited in the branches for someone to come down the trail.
Sure enough, a lone rider
dressed in all black came along shortly.
When the figure rode just
below him, Pan sprang from the tree and tackled the pursuer, knocking
her off her horse.
They rolled together in the
dirt, struggling for position. Finally he overpowered her, the two of
them breathing heavily on each other's faces as he held her pinned to
the ground.
“You!” Leaking Pan
shouted, realizing this was the same ninja from the saloon. “Why
are you following us?”
The ninja squirmed,
straining to break free of Pan's grasp, but his grip was too strong.
All she managed to do was free her beautiful blue hair from her mask.
“Answer me!” he
shrieked. Her blue eyes complemented her hair perfectly, he noticed.
The ninja took advantage of
Pan's momentary distraction. Her knee crushed into his groin as
she pulled him to the ground. In an instant, she rolled to her feet
and leveled a long katana blade over his throat.
“Make it quick,” Pan
said simply, closing his eyes and accepting his fate.
But instead of the sound of
his death, he heard the patter of small footsteps running away. He
opened his eyes to see the woman fleeing toward her horse. Without
breaking stride, she leapt atop her mount, snapped the reins, and was
gone.
Pan scrambled to his feet
and sprinted into the forest to retrieve his buffalo. Brad needed to
know immediately.
yay :D
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