?(Callie Carson)
?
? Callie looked to
Flynn, "I need to get my bag...and I ain't going to Cullenville." She
headed out the door from the sheriff's office and found the streets barren as
the sunlight began to light the sky. Bodies littered the street causing Callie to
pause momentarily. Hopefully they would stay dead.
? ?She then
started toward the hotel, guns drawn, determined to get her bag and all of its
contents that she'd need to fight the evil in Miller's Crossing.
?
(Flynn)
?
Flynn followed quickly
after Callie, hauling his rifle case and saddle bags over his shoulder,
narrowly eyeing the bodies littering the street of the town.? "Now
that's just excessive," he muttered, shaking his head at the waste.?
"Whoever's behind this obviously doesn' care 'bout people any more'n most
people care 'bout ants."?
?
The pookah then looked
to Callie.? "I can appreciate you wantin' to forge ahead to Miller's
Crossing," he said as they approached the hotel at a fast clip. "But
unless you or one of them other folks've figured out how we can block or cancel
whatever spell keeps makin' us go in circles every time we've tried to get
there before, I don't think we're gonna fare any better than the last time we
tried." ?
?
"I do wonder 'bout
one thing, though," he said as he stepped around the body lying right in
front of the doors to the saloon/hotel.? "Someone just killed all
these folks like they were just blowin' out a bunch of candles.? But for
some reason, they haven' done it to us, even though they were usin' these folks
to try'n get to us.? Kinda strange, don'tcha think?"
?
[Sicilien]
?
"I've got everything I need, so
whenever ya'll are ready," Sicillien answered both Chase and
Etienne.? His coat concealed enough ammo to put down a small village,
though a town was certainly stretching it.? "So guess we'll head off
soon as they're back, but where to?? I don't know this area and Callie
seems quite adamant on _not_ going to Cullenville.? Man, I wonder what
ya'll did to piss off the devil."? He kept surveying the town, looking
over to his right as Flynn and Callie set off to pick up their luggage from the
inn.? Turning his gaze towards the sky, he tried to get a feel for whether
or not the manikin was still watching them even now.? Does it ever tire
and? what was its source of power?? Could it pull from it
endlessly?? There were still remnants of the dark magic that was cast last
night, but it was all over the place, as if to throw him off the scent.
?
"While we're
waiting...Chase...you seem to be in the know as much, if not more, as the other
two," Sicilien stated, turning to face the man with a beastly secret,
motioning with his thumb towards Callie and Flynn's receding backs.?
"I know what I'm here for, but I'm not privy as to why all of you want to
get to Miller's Crossing and why that offense against nature is so hellbent on
keeping you out of it.? It seems like we're stuck together for better or
for worse, so I'd like to not tread through dark waters with both eyes
blind."? Though not apt to trust someone that he's just met without
measuring their grit, these people seemed to share a common goal and if the way
they all banded together to get out of that amalgam, well, he knew they'd watch
his six o'clock and that was good enough for him.? But what about
Etienne?? How did she fit into all of this?
?
"Then there's this damsel in
distress, which I highly doubt is an innocent bystander in all of this.?
Just who the hell...are...you...no...no..." the bounty hunter turned to
face the woman who was determined not just to get the hell out of dodge, but to
get the hell away from all of them.? However, when he was finally able to
get a clear look at her face, his heart dropped.? The realization of it
all hit him like a speeding train, dragging him along the tracks and then
discarding him like a ragdoll.? He stood frozen in place, in disbelief, as
his one unpatched eye furiously scanned her entire body.? Her hair, her
face, her eyes, her lips, her neck, shoulders, arms, and the rest of her
body.? How could he not have this seen this...seen her before?? He
felt his body going rigid, all muscles painfully clenching head to toe.?
He felt like his throat was being constricted, opening his mouth but nothing
coming out, or going in.? For what seemed like an eternity, Sicillien
stood frozen in time, not moving, not breathing, until a spasm wracked his body
and the involuntary flinch broke him out of his stupor.? Shaking his head
to try and clear the pain, he looked back up and before he knew what he was
doing, his feet took him forward towards Etienne who was now backing away from
him.
?
"You...Etienne...no..." he
breathed, his voice sounding quite raspy as if he spoke for the first time in
his life.? He firmly grasped her by her shoulders, fingers squeezing and
feeling as if he never touched her before.? Moving his hands up, he gently
cupped her face as his thumbs brushed across her cheeks, moving her hair out of
the way so he could get a clear picture of her visage.? This could not
be...she could not be...how many years has it been?? He has lost count.?
He was sure she was...so sure...that he even went mad, and then he cut that
piece off himself and locked it in the deepest, darkest recesses of his heart
and mind.? But yet here she was, whole and alive.?
"Etienne...no...R-rosalie...you are alive....after all this time.?
You are alive, Rosalie...? This cannot be...have I gone insane?"
?
He questioned his whole entire
being, his whole entire life at this point.? Nothing seemed to be as real
as this moment when he stood in front of her, but even now he could not be sure
of what he was seeing and what he was feeling.? There was only one way to
tell, so he pulled her in and kissed her.? He kissed like he's never
kissed before.
Etienne
Etienne tried not to gasp at the litters of dead bodies strung along the dirt.
Dozens of men woman and children for as far as the eye could see all...gone.
What a senseless lost of life. What was this thing they were dealing with that
could simply cut off the life of another without so much as second thought?
Etienne did not follow the man or the woman as they made their way back to the
hotel. She had no intention of following them. She was almost certain only more
death would come if she stayed with them. Therefore she had to get away from
them quickly.
She turned away to move in the other direction as Sicilien spoke to Chase.
Maybe since the two men were so engrossed in conversation, she could slip away
without them noticing. And then he turned to her. And stupidly she turned to
him. And damn her. Why did she do that? She blushed...he called her that
name..."I don't know what you are talking about," She started to say.
"I am afraid you have me mistaken with..."
And then he kissed her. And the minute his lips settled upon hers, she melted
into his arms. Her hand rose to his cheek and she kissed him back with the same
passion and longing and desire he kissed her with. The kiss was so intense it
left her panting...wanting...needing...
No! No, she could not do this. She could not risk...With a hard shove, Etienne
pushed him off her and then slapped him hard. "How dare you sir. How dare
you!" she said and then she took off running in the other direction away
from the other four.?
(Charity, Millers Crossing)
In the center of Millers Crossing,
in the town square, the 'Mayor' confronted the nude form of his wife, who had
finally finished her latest dance. "Why are you doing this, wife?"
Charity's husband asked, "why could we not rest in the Spirit World? Why
would you bring me, all of us, back to this World, this place?"
?
"Because," Charity replied
coldly, "you are MY people, MY husband, and this is now MY town." She
gazed out over the foothills towards Bendo. "Soon I will have other towns,
and other people. Even now, husband, the dead yearn to dance for me!" Her
head tilted back and she howled. In the distance her howl was answered, and
then again from a different direction, and then again. Nine times was she
answered, and she laughed and laughed. An unseen tear formed in the corner of
the Mayor's eye.
?
In Bendo the first of the scavengers crested the surrounding
hills, wolves, and then coyotes. Vultures began to circle overhead, waiting for
their turn. Several bear lumbered towards the town, and hundres of thousands of
insects crawled out of every conceivable crevice. Every single being was focused
on one thing, all of the free, ripening flesh offered on the streets of Bendo.
?
?(Chase)
Chase deep down still held out some hope¡even though he knew
Etienne held no feelings or interest for him, but now that door was truly
closed.? He was silent as he listened to
the Sicilien¡¯s reflection on Etienne that Sicilien seemed to not only know him
but knew her in a more intimate ways.? He
knew passion and some of that was there.??
It was unmistakable even for him.?
He found it amusing¡¡¯think you dost protest too much.¡¯ ?He looked at her when she pulled back and
slapped him.?
¡°You better go get your woman, man.¡±? He
said since she was needed but there was someone else whom she belonged to
now.? He was waiting for them now to come
up with a plan now.?
¡°Very strange.?
Whatever it is we are supposed to do¡we need to get to it¡all of us to
get to Miller¡¯s Crossing.? There is that
point that means we have to get there.? I
am not sure about stopping it but whatever the issue is¡it is trying to keep us
from getting there!? So it might be more
of what or who.? The longer we are here¡the
longer whatever it is, would be able to build up power.? So we going in circles is more of a delay.¡±? He said as he checked his weapons and wondered
about being a scavenger, not sure if money would be of any use if they didn¡¯t
get rid of whatever was there for them¡or delaying them.
¡°Maybe whatever it is, is using them for power.? Now that we are aware¡no longer in the dark¡no
need to hide¡or better for us¡its power is not as strong during the daylight
hours¡it would be best for us to travel now¡wherever we are going?? We might need to get a move on.¡±? He said loud enough for everyone to hear.
¡°So now we have to deal with the wildlife as well as
townspeople!¡±? He said as he looked at
the creatures that were there with them now.
?
Tag: Chase, Callie, Flynn, Sicilien,
Etienne, Charity (jumping in)
?
