Mild trigger warning - As much as I hate sexual assault/suggestions of it used as some form of character development or brutal excuse in TV and films, for something set in the old west it kind of narratively makes sense for the world they're in. it is briefly suggested in this chapter, and will come into other chapters occasionally. I will try to have a little trigger warning before those times in case that's upsetting for anyone. I will never be particularly graphic or obscene with it though, because...well who wants to write that?!
CHAPTER 9
1885
A wagon bustled through the winding paths along the edge of the mountain, the sun starting to set on the other side.
Two happy parents and a young boy sat in front, singing together to pass the time.
“Oh my darling, oh my darling Oh my darling, Clementine You were lost and gone forever Dreadful sorrow, Clementine” Tony Harris briefly looked over at his son Alex, his toothy grin warming his heart, he moved his gaze forward to concentrate, but continued to sing with his family. “Drove the horses to the water Every morning just at nine Hit her foot against a splinter Fell into the foaming brine” Jessica Harris closed her eyes with the song, enjoying the last of the sun. “Ruby lips above the water Blowing bubbles soft and fine But alas, I was no swimmer So I lost my Clementine.” Tony slowed the horses slightly to more safely pass a tightening bend on the mountain’s edge. “Alex, did you enjoy staying with the Maclays this weekend?” Tony asked, keeping his eyes on the road. “Yes, sir.” Alex nodded politely. Jessica smiled briefly at the response with her eyes still shut. “Did you have fun with Tara and Donnie?” he pushed. “Yes sir, me and Tara played dominos. Donnie didn’t want to spend much time with me, but he did show me a dead frog he found near the pond! We poked it with a stick!” Alex said excitedly. Jessica opened her eyes to shake her head slightly at the perplexing entertainment choices of young boys. “That’s uh, great son. We’re sorry we had to leave you for a few days but you know how this works, sometimes our deliveries are to dangerous places and we just want you to be safe.” Tony explained for what felt like the millionth time to Alex, who understood, but Tony felt guilty nonetheless. “It’s okay sir, I don’t mind. I did miss you both, but Mrs Maclay made little cakes! They were yummy!” Alex smiled at the memory. Jessica nudged her son with her shoulder and smiled at him “We missed you too”. They rode on for another hour, singing through their repertoire, until they were back on even ground, past the base of the mountain, just outside of a town. They were coming up to a corner , when Tony saw out of the corner of his eye, a flash of movement through the trees a little way along in the other direction. He recognised the glint of metal. He immediately stopped the wagon and turned to Alex, speaking quietly and hurried. “Alex, remember what we taught you. The road isn’t always safe. I need you to get under the seats, now remember - Do not make a sound, do not move at all, not until we tell you to.” Alex looked alarmed but never questioned his father, immediately climbing into the back of the wagon and crawling underneath the bench seat his parents were sitting upon. He tucked himself up as small as he could, his eyes focusing on the gap where his parents legs rested. He tried to calm his breathing. Tony looked at his wife with concern and mouthed “I love you” before restarting the wagon. Within seconds of the horses moving forward, three men on horseback rounded the corner towards them. On the left was a man with dirty blonde hair underneath his tatty cowboy hat, with a clear scar across his cheek. In the middle sat an older gentleman with a large, unkempt beard, and on the right was a younger, clean cut looking man with cold eyes. Tony pretended to act normal and carry on riding, hoping his panic was premature. Unfortunately, his panic was entirely justified. As soon as the men took sight of the wagon full of supplies, they blocked the path in front of the wagon. Tony slowed the horses to a stop and smiled at the men. “Can we help you gentlemen on this fine day?” he offered, hoping kindness could alleviate any potential confrontation. Alex watched his mothers hand twitch towards the gun by her legs. Without saying a word to each other, the three men simultaneously drew their guns on the couple. The man in the center held up two revolvers, while the men on either side pulled repeater rifles. Jessica and Tony held their hands up in surrender immediately. The middle horseman immediately distinguished himself as the leader by roughly barking at the couple. “What’s in the wagon? Don’t try nothin’” The other men kept their guns aimed eerily still at the couple, allowing their leader to run the show. “It’s just some food supplies we’re taking to town to sell. Milk, eggs, that sort’ve thing.” Tony responded truthfully, wanting this ugliness over quickly. The leader chuckled humourlessly. “Likely story. Get out. Now.” his tone of voice giving no room for argument. Jessica and Tony gingerly stepped out of the wagon on opposite sides, trying to be as accommodating as possible, desperately trying to keep Alex safe. As they dismounted the wagon, the leader nodded at his two men who immediately flanked the vehicle. The blonde grabbed Jessica, the other grabbed Tony. The man holding Tony threw him to the ground and hit him in the stomach with the butt of his rifle to ensure he understood he needed to stay put. Meanwhile the blonde man holding Jessica threw her against the side of the wagon. “We got time for some fun, boss?” the man asked his leader, keeping his eyes leering at Jessica, who was grateful her son couldn’t see from his current position. The leader aggressively barked in response “Are you kiddin’? We’re way too close to town, we’ll have law on us any minute. Check the wagon ya goddamn fool”. The man rolled his eyes and threw Jessica to the road next to the wagon. He climbed into the back of the wagon, quickly peering under the tarp to see much of what was already described, some milk pails, egg boxes, and some other groceries. He started moving further into the bed of the wagon, closer to the seats. Jessica, terrified of the men finding her child, quickly jumped to her feet to lunge towards the wagon, and managed to exclaim “Wait - “ before the leader shot her in the chest, killing her instantly. Before Jessica’s body had managed to fall to the ground, Tony screamed and got up to run towards her, resulting in the leader shooting him directly in the face. The two bodies laid either side of the wagon, blood seeping into the dirt. “Goddamn it, is there anything good? We gotta go” the leader gruffly yelled at the man in the back of the wagon, while searching the bodies, still warm to the touch. “It’s just goddamn food supplies and shit all else” the man responded, jumping off the back of the wagon. “Well, these wedding rings may fetch us somethin’, what a waste of time” the leader pocketed the jewellery and mounted his horse. “Let’s get goin’ before the law finds them” the leader said, signalling to his men to follow him down the road they initially were heading on. Underneath the wooden seat, Alex stared unmoving at his parents' prone bodies on the floor, with tears silently streaming down his face. ---------------------- Upon seeing the crumpled bodies of his surrogate family, Alex ran immediately towards Tara and Dylan. Kneeling on the ground next to Tara, Alex quickly checked Dylan over. He turned towards Tara and tried to carry her burden. “Let me help” he spoke simply, looking her in the eye. She nodded wordlessly, getting herself into a standing position. Alex put Dylan’s arm around his own shoulder and gently pulled himself into a standing position, supporting Dylan’s body on himself. As soon as he was righted, Tara put her father’s other arm over her own shoulders, and slowly they moved into the house. At the same time, Willow - briefly stunned by the scene - managed to break her reverie and untie Donnie from the hitching post. Donnie thanked her gratefully, and immediately stormed into the house after his family. Willow, completely lost for a course of action, paused for a few moments before she followed Donnie into the home. When she walked in she immediately took in Donnie now standing at the kitchen sink, staring hard out the window with his back to the room, drinking large mouthfuls of bourbon straight from a bottle. His face was covered in blood and it had matted some of his hair, his stature clearly showed some discomfort on his person. Willow Looked over towards the seating area in front of the fireplace, Alex had gently sat Dylan down, who remained unconscious. After ensuring Dylan was safely seated, Alex wordlessly headed towards the wash room. Tara watched Alex’s retreat to the wash room, understanding his intention, and turned her sights back to her brother. She stood and moved into the kitchen, picked up a clean cloth and started dabbing at Donnie’s face. He immediately winced, but allowed her to continue. The blood had made the wounds seem more substantial, but after a cursory wipe Tara happily realised that her brother had only minor cuts and bruising. Alex returned to the living room with a jug of water and various cloths, he poured the water into a spouted pot and hung it over the fire to warm up. He waited a minute or two for the water to warm and then poured some into a small dish, dipping a cloth into it, and then started to clean a cut on Dylan’s face. Throughout the tense wound cleaning circus in the open space of the house, Willow sat silent and still at the kitchen table, feeling entirely useless. Alex cleaned the cut as best he could, and walked over to the standing Maclays in the kitchen. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I need to unload the wagon for you guys and I wouldn’t mind getting settled. Is the first cabin still free?” He asked, pointedly looking at the red headed newcomer and back to Tara. Tara nodded “Of course it is. Thank you, Alex. Welcome home” she smiled weakly at him, wishing his return had been less dramatic. Alex quickly tucked Tara into his arm for a brief hug and kissed her on the forehead before heading out the door. Willow, watching the exchange, felt a mild jealous rage rumble through her that she did not want to think about. She had no idea who this man was but the familiarity between him and Tara made her uncomfortable in a way she had never experienced. She felt a little sick. A few moments passed with these new feelings squirming in her stomach before she stood and started for the door, briefly stating that she’d leave the family alone. Tara started to respond but Willow had already left, the door gently closing behind her. ----------- As soon as she walked outside the house, Willow saw Alex unloading some hay from his wagon. She started to walk on, deciding it would be smarter to not engage, but instead he dropped the hay bale and walked over to her, smiling easily and extending his hand. “Hi, sorry for not introducing myself in all the confusion. My name’s Alex Harris. What brings you to the ranch?” “Oh. um, hello! I’m Willow Rosenberg. I’m just renting one of the cabins for the time being” she responded as vaguely as possible, not entirely wanting the conversation to get very far. “Oh good, they haven’t had any tenants in quite a time. What has you here then, if you don’t mind me asking?” He continued to smile at her, which Willow tried to dislike but had to admit that he seemed very friendly, and she had to remind herself of how well he’d handled the traumatic situation they’d found themselves in. “I’m writing a book, needed inspiration and wanted to be close to Sunnydale. Not sure how long I’ll be here, so this seemed like a good place to stay while I work.” She gave her vague book lie, trying to remain consistent, but hating each time she had to use it. “Oh wow, a book! You should talk to Tara about it, always was a reader that one! I’ve never been great with it, but I can read enough to get by.” he looked genuinely impressed at the notion of Willow’s literary skills. “So um, do you stay here often? You seem close to the family” Willow pried, hating her own curiosity. “I live here. Sometimes. It’s kind of complicated. I do a lot of supply work and when I’m not travelling all over, I stay here” he responded simply, his smile falling a little bit. “Wow that’s amazing, getting to travel around like that. I must say I’m a little jealous, I’d never really left Los Angeles before coming here, you must have a lot of fun” she smiled, imagining the adventures he must have, going from town to town across the country. Alex’s face kept a polite smile but the light in his eyes dimmed considerably when he responded “Well, it has it’s downsides.” without elaborating, he turned back to the hay bales. Willow, mildly concerned she’d said something wrong, followed him to the back of the wagon. “Would you like some help unloading?” she offered. He smiled wide in response. “I would, thank you”. --------------- Donnie and Tara sat either side of their fathers unconscious form. Tara was in the middle of the sofa next to her father, while Donnie sat in a chair to their fathers right. “What the hell is going on, Donnie?” Tara asked, looking at her brother with worry. “I’m not sure to be honest with you, sis.” he responded, taking another swig of his bottle. “You must know something. Daddy has been acting odd this week and you haven’t exactly been yourself either” she pushed. Donnie nodded, relenting somewhat. “I don’t know details but, I have some hunches. Daddy was talkin’ to some business man when we went to town last week. Had some goons with him. Daddy didn’t look too happy and neither did that man. I was comin’ out of the saloon so I didn’t hear them talkin’ but I’m pretty sure Daddy handed over some cash.” Tara looked more concerned and shook her head, wondering what mess her father had landed them into. “It sounds silly but, I swear I know the man. He’s runnin’ for mayor but politics ain't my thing as you know. Somethin’ just looked familiar to me. I can’t place him. Anyhow, Daddy’s been all quiet since and I’ve been worried, we ain’t exactly flush for cash at the moment so, I’ve been tryna keep an eye. Then those two men jumped me when I was cuttin’ wood, didn’t explain nothin’ just hit me a bunch and dragged me out. I was a bit out of it but they kept sayin’ Daddy owed their boss money and his time had run out.” Tara nodded sadly. “I was watching, from the stable window. I had Willow with me and wanted to keep her safe, but I had my rifle sights on them in case… well, in case I had to. There were too many of them, if I’d managed to get one or two of them they could’ve easily killed you two, but I kept sight on them anyway” she confessed to him, feeling guilty she hadn’t done something more proactive to help her family. She put her head down in shame. Donnie looked up at his sister with surprise. “That was real brave, sis. And the right call. If you’d shot off they’d probably have ended us then and there. And you protected Willow, she looks like money, they would’ve been on her for sure”. Donnie moved to sit on the other side of the sofa, next to his sister who was still looking down. He put his arm around her on the sofa, pulling her close. “You did the right thing, I’m proud of you.” he held her to him and rested his head on top of hers, closing his eyes and letting the comfort cool his anger at the day's events. With her brother's acceptance and love, Tara finally felt the rest of her adrenaline melt away, and the safety of her brother's arms allowed her to unleash all of the repressed fear and worry. She cried into his chest. Donnie, upon feeling the dampness on his shirt and hearing her sniffles, just continued to hold her, knowing they both needed this moment. Within a minute of the tears falling, Dylan started to stir at the noise. He groggily looked at his surroundings, registering he was inside their family home, and looked to his left to see his two children's faces staring at him with anger and confusion, one still stained with blood, the other drenched with tears. “I guess I owe ya’ll an explanation” he sighed. ------------ Elizabeth barged into the sheriff’s office, feeling restless. For the last week or so, she had fought every demon and vampire she came across, looking for any information she could on the local attacks, or any connection to the mysterious red head she had rescued. She had shied away from the ranch itself, knowing their knowledge of her could be detrimental should the red head actually be involved with what was happening. She had a hunch that, despite the reported brutality, this was still vampire specific attacks. Blood draining and random victims seemed a little odd for your garden variety demon without other, more insidious markers. She had broken into the Sheriff’s office a few times over the last week to look over evidence but hadn’t found anything particularly substantial, and she had beaten as many vampires she encountered as she could for information before staking them. She had nothing. And she was annoyed. “Finn, you got anything for me?” She asked with a bored tone at the Sheriff’s desk. Finn was bent over some paperwork and looked concerned, his usual humour and laid back approach seemingly gone. “I’m afraid there are no recent outlaws for you to pursue, Summers. We’ve been focused solely on these attacks and frankly gettin’ nowhere. I assume if you had any leads you’d let me know?” He asked, looking at her almost hopefully. “I have absolutely no idea” she responded truthfully in a flat tone, turning to leave the office. Finn sighed, and then held up his finger. “Hold up, Bounty hunter” she stopped and turned around, crossing her arms and looking at him with little patience. “While there are no new cases for you, Some man named Snyder from a detective agency did drop by with some old cases they’re trying to track down across the states. Some are as far back as 25 years old. Highly doubt there’s much to go on but, they’re still fugitives and have gotten away with it for far too long, I’m sure you’d agree. Feel free to look through, take your pick. There’s good money in it, they seem to want to crack down as much as possible”. He dropped a large file of various papers on his desk in front of her, and then proceeded to go back to his own work. Elizabeth shrugged, needing something to keep her attention, and picked up the stack, moving over to an empty desk to have a look through. After a few pages of uninteresting old cases, she stopped dead at one particular wanted poster. Staring back at her from the page was the face of her own watcher, with a different name. END OF CHAPTER 9
_________________ - I am a poster girl with no poster, I am 32 flavours and then some -
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