Isadora stood off to the side as the chaos unfolded, not particularly keen on the idea of getting involved. "Too many men and too much alcohol," she muttered under her breath. Neither the sheriff nor the deputy seemed to be overly concerned either, although Isadora noted that they were watching the fighting carefully. Lookin' out for weapons being drawn, I'd reckon, Isadora mused silently. That's just as well, I suppose. Don't want anyone shootin' up the place here, now do we?
Soon enough, Sophie joined Isadora behind the bar counter. She leaned forward, redoing her long blonde ponytail before resting her elbows and on the polished wood. "How come you never see women getting into these brawls?" Sophie drawled, a hint of dry humor lacing her voice.
Isadora laughed. "Because we've got more sense than the whole lot of 'em," Isadora replied, making a vague gesture towards the main seating area of the saloon, where the fight raged on. "Jesus Christ, Soph, do you have any idea what even started this entire fucking thing? The man with the scar only tried to hit one guy, and suddenly everyone's tryin' to kill each other."
Sophie clicked her tongue. "Men," she answered. "You never know with goddamn men."
A sharp, sudden sound turned Isadora's attention towards outside of the saloon. "Sheriff, someone robbed Smith's store! Look there!" Billy cried out, sitting at his piano and gesturing towards the window.
"Someone's got a gun out there!" Sophie exclaimed, her sky-blue eyes as round as the moon. Isadora jumped out from behind the bar, intent on going outside to investigate, when another shot rang out. The sheriff let out a cry of pain and cursed, and Isadora's eyes widened as he fell to the ground with blood oozing from his hand. Isadora looked around wildly and spotted a man with a hat pulled down low over his face holding a gun, and a split second later she caught sight of another gun-this time in the hands of a man with long blonde hair pulled back from his face in a ponytail.
Shit. I saw 'em walk in earlier, didn't I?! Isadora recalled frantically. Isadora's train of thought was abruptly cut short when a third gunshot sounded, this time from the deputy's firearm. Isadora let out a startled shriek as Clayton's bullet struck the man in the hat, causing him to collapse and join the sheriff on the ground. Isadora crouched down behind the bar counter with Sophie, breathing heavily. She vaguely remembered Clay's shout-Did he say outlaws? Dear god, I think he did!
One of the outlaws screamed out an order, and Isadora heard a window shatter from the front of the saloon. Her heart was racing, and Isadora realized that she was pressing her nails into her palms hard enough to draw blood. Yet another gunshot rang out, and it was followed by shards of glass raining down around Isadora and Sophie while the deputy launched himself over the bar counter and landed behind it, just a foot away from where the two young women. Isadora saw blood leaking from a bullet wound he had taken to the leg. Bullets flew over the bar counter, and Isadora yelped and shielded her face with her hands.
There was a commotion from the back of the saloon. Isadora glimpsed more men-obviously from out of town-rushing in and taking aim at Clayton. "Jesus Christ," Isadora said in a breathless, panicked voice. She reached under her skirts for the dagger she kept concealed in a small pocket sewn onto the inside of her underskirts. Isadora's fingers closed around the hilt and pulled the blade out from under the cloth, her fingers clutching it tightly. Her hand was shaking uncontrollably, and for a second she was afraid that she'd accidentally cut herself. Isadora took a breath and pulled out her other dagger as well, pressing the hilt into Sophie's trembling hands.
"Isa? What am I supposed to do with this?" Sophie whispered, staring at the man who had a gun aimed at Clayton.
Isadora shook her head. "I don't know, Soph. I have no idea. It's better than nothing, though," she replied shakily. Never had Isadora felt so helpless. Outlaws. Outlaws, here in Soursprings! What in the world are we gonna do? Isadora thought. Would they try to hurt her mother or Elena or her siblings? What about Elena's husband? None of my family has done anythin' wrong. None of the people who live here have done anythin' wrong. Why can't the outlaws just leave us alone? Isadora wondered desperately. She swallowed hard, and suddenly there was anger swirling around her gut, clawing its way up her throat and into her mouth. Nobody here has fuckin' done anythin' to anyone. We just want to be left alone. Is that too damn much to ask?
Unfortunately, it did not seem like any of the outlaws would be especially open to giving Isadora an honest answer to her questions, considering the fact that they had guns drawn and aimed at the deputy, who was on the ground a mere foot away from her. Isadora was paralyzed with fear, her eyes glued to the barrel of the gun pointed directly at Clayton. Dear lord, what are we gonna do?
Infinite Cosmos
Altered Tundra