The Ocean’s City
Chapter 35

The light shining in the room was too bright. Chickens squawked, and things rattled. I rubbed my eyes, wanting to shut the light out, but the ruckus had already woken me up completely. I sat up and froze in confusion. 

I wasn’t in the Harlem-looking room anymore; I was on a rather uncomfortable bed with thin, rough cotton blankets. A female’s voice rang from outside. It sounded like she was fighting with the hens.

The house I was in, or room, was small. The door to the outside porch was open, letting a nice summer breeze inside. The girl came into view, stomping her feet in the mud. She was petite and wore a blue dress and a brown apron. She smiled at me.

“Good morning, sis! How did ya sleep?”

I nibbled on my lip and looked around the room. “Where is Dalton?”

“He’s with the other cattlemen doing his run already. Your husband told me I should let you sleep this morning. Are you hungry? I saved you breakfast.”

“Did he say when he would be back?”

She gave me a disappointed glance. “You know how these boys are. They are rarely back before supper.”

I let out a sigh of frustration. “How did I get here?”

“Here?” she asked, looking even more confused as she made her way to the edge of the bed.

“I went to bed sleeping in a different room—”

The girl let out a nervous laugh, interrupting me. “What on earth are you on about? You fell asleep here like you have since your loving husband took you for a wife? Unless you mean my bed instead of yours.”

Again, I let out a puff of frustration, realizing I was talking to another robot like in the last place. I reminded myself it’s better to be talking to robots than old men who betray you and kill your best friend. I swallowed the guilt and began talking again.

“Right, and who are you?”

“What has gotten into you?” She squealed. “Are you playing tricks on me again? I’m your sister, Fran!” She laughed, gently patting my arm. “I’ll warm us up some tea and get you your breakfast.”

I watched her hustle around the small room, slowly edging myself off the bed. As I looked around, I saw the bed wall against another room. I peered my head inside. It was tiny and fitted only a bed and a dresser. One thing caught my eye, and I walked to it. It was a picture, a bit worn down, but I could still tell who was in that black and white photo. There were four people. It was at a wedding. I stood wearing an old white dress I’d never willingly wear for my wedding. Dalton wore an all-black outfit with his holster, showing that beautiful gun of his. The stranger, Fran, was leaning on one side of me, and Hutson was on the other side of Dalton. What was strange about the photo was that I looked happy.

I looked at the photo of my wedding ring. The one forced on me.

...

By the time it was night, I had wanted to kill Dalton. Fran acted as the typical over-caring sister. She had me doing chores with her, and after a while, I stopped complaining about it because I was bored out of my mind. Yet, Fran would glitch whenever I did something wrong or asked her anything outside her knowledge. She’d worry about the bump on my head and make comments that made me feel like I was the crazy one.

We were outside stirring beans over a fire as she hummed some tune she couldn’t stop humming for the life of her. I kept looking out into the darkness whenever I heard even the tiniest noises. She said they would be back for dinner. I was getting paranoid. What if they left me here?

After about the third check I made because I heard an owl hooting off in the distance, I finally heard hooves pounding against the earth. I stood excited to finally be around familiar faces.

I went to take a step towards them but faltered when I heard the click of a rifle. I looked to see it in Fans’ hands. She lifted it to greet our guests. Was it not them? How would she know? She let out a loud whistle that echoed into the night.

Two long whistles whistled back, and she lowered the gun. She ignored the confusion on my face and went back to work.

I shifted the weight on my feet as I waited for them to get to the house. They unsaddled their horses and released them in a nearby corral. Four men came barking about dinner. They properly greeted me as they walked by and ignored Fran, chastising them to wash their hands and get ready.

“Where is Dalton?”

The group stopped their typical day routine. One tall, skinny man with a thick mustache spoke. “They caught a lead of one outlaw. They went to hunt him down and collect the bounty. They ordered us to stay here and watch out for you, ma’am.”

My lips thinned. They left me?

“When will they be back?”

“You know how these men are. He’ll be back a week… maybe a month?”

“A month?”

“Yes, ma’am, but don’t worry, you know we’d always do what’s best for you and your sister.”

I didn’t speak. I just turned on my heels and walked to the pen they put their horses in to graze for the night. I didn’t know how to ride, but I was about to find out. Hell... I’d walk the ends of the ridiculous world to find him if I had to.

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