Christina was glad that the masked stranger decided to join them, he seemed to be a very skilled fighter. She was considerably less happy about him inviting Fenton to come along. That man scared the hell out of her. The possibility of him leading them into a trap didn’t even occur to her, but wouldn’t it make more sense [i]not[/i] to bring him along then? But what did she know about these things? Nothing. Perhaps it was better to leave these kinds of decisions to others. 

“Hey, Leary!” she whistled at one of the men in the crowd, a big guy with a wide grin. Leary helped out around the Saloon, mostly doing the heavy lifting and taking care of the horses. He was as thick as a post but incredibly warm-hearted. “Go fetch a horse for our new friend Fenton so he doesn’t have to walk all the way. Look in the stables behind the Saloon, the owners are…,” [i]dead[/i], she swallowed the last word, “...not going to need them any time soon.”

“Aye, miss Emerson,” he smiled at her and ran off. 

Christina admired Jack for looking so calm, although she suspected it might have been just a poker face. After all, any sane man would be at least concerned about what was going on. She turned to the masked man, who looked just like that - concerned, nothing more. Not scared, surprised, or angry, just a bit concerned. And the way he spoke to Fenton sent shivers down her spine. Sure, all who traveled the prairies solo had to look scary to deter potential trouble, but for him, it didn’t seem to be just a face he put on around strangers. He [i]was[/i] scary. Nonetheless, he stayed to help, which meant there was a bit of good in his heart. Or maybe he just didn’t have anywhere else to go.

“I’m glad you are coming with us,” she told him, trying to be friendly. “We seem to be going to the gates of hell together and I don’t even know your name,” she chuckled nervously. “I’m Christina.”

“Miss Emerson!” Leary was a bit winded running down the street with two horses at his tail. “I didn’t know which one you would want, so I brought both.”

“Any of them would do, thank you.” She smiled at him. He was always so eager to please people and many took advantage of that. She always tried to avoid that, but maybe just this once? “Actually, since we have an extra horse now, why don’t you join us? We are going to the caves west of the town.”

His brows furrowed. “Bad place. You shouldn’t go there.”

Christina sighed. You are speaking my mind, man. “I know, but we kind of have to. We could use a strong man with us.”

Leary grinned. “I am a strong man. I will go and protect you then.” He jumped on a horse and moved next to Christina.

“So, I think we are ready to go unless there is something else?” Please, let there be something else, she prayed in her mind. She really didn’t want to go to the caves.

[@DragonofTheWest][@RedXIII]