Prizrak

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

Sara Weaver
Sandy Coves Inn, Salem, Massachusetts - early to mid afternoon



Sara blushed ever so slightly at Celeste’s hospitality, she wasn’t expecting someone like her to be out here in this backwater of a town. It had been such a long time since Sara had met someone as genuinely charming as Celeste, for the wasteland did not favor those of her disposition. Still Sara was caught off guard by the woman’s kindness. It appealed to a part of Sara that she so desperately wanted to embrace but she didn’t trust it. She was afraid to show anything that could be perceived as weakness but Celeste seemed innocent enough, and with no one but the robot around Sara was willing to give it a chance.

“Um, it’s nice to meet you Celeste…I’m Sara.” She cracked a grin that showed more embarrassment than joy. “I appreciate the offer, those look really good, but I just ate not too long ago and I don’t want to get sick.” Sara eyed up the scones on the counter, she had never heard of them before but they truly looked delicious. She didn’t like that she had declined the offer but the meal she ate for breakfast overpowered her curiosity. Plus her body was still coming down from the encounter outside of town, food was the last thing on her mind at this point. Not wanting to draw things out any longer than she felt was necessary she undrew the straps on her caps purse, even though Sara felt like she could talk with Celeste for hours. “You said 24 for three nights?” Sara took the caps out and placed them in her hand, counting silently with her mouth before placing the final amount on the counter. “There’s 50 there. Don’t worry I can count. Figured it’s only right that I repay you for your kindness. Also if it isn’t any inconvenience to you I’d prefer if I dealt with you instead of the robot. Nothing against it, I’m just not comfortable around them. I can continue to pay you extra for it if it helps you out?”

After placing the caps on the counter Sara got a rush of nervousness, like she didn’t know what to do with her hands, or her feet, or anything really. She wasn’t accustomed to feeling shy, or nervous around people. What was wrong with her? Before Celeste could say anything a knock on the door interrupted them, and man called out to them. Sara took a mental note of her weapons and her hand casually rested close to her handgun.

Celeste immediately looked at Sara and paled, almost shrinking behind the counter. "...another, um, friend, of yours?"

At the sight of Celeste’s fear Sara shifted her body in front of Celeste to guard her from an attack. “No, but I’ll take care of him if things go bad.” Sara leaned against the counter her hand still resting close to her handgun while her newly plundered sword and knife hung from her belt. Before the robot opened the door Sara shot a wink at Celeste. “Don’t worry I won’t let anything happen to you.” As the man entered he immediately struck Sara as a threat. She remembered him from before, she didn’t know much about Steve but what she did know told her not to be too trusting of him.

“Greetings ma’dam, Rook and Fēi nǚhái” Steve said as he winked at both girls. “Like I said outside I was coming up here to find out who was building that wall, whoever’s building that is making a mistake with the three doors.... Anyway getting back to topic I heard some gunfire and came to investigate but it seems you killed them already...or at least this group"

“....and I’ll take care of the next group that makes the mistake of showing up too. In the meantime I’d suggest you keep those eyes up and turning, wink at me again and I’ll set them spinning.” Sara was still coming down from her adrenaline rush so she was more aggressive than usual, but she would’ve said the same thing regardless. It was just something about him, she definitely wasn’t going to let her guard down around him.

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

Eliza Weaver
S&W Weaponry, Salem, Massachusetts - early to mid afternoon



Eliza grabbed one of the bottles of water that Shelby had brought over. She was parched and could feel a slight headache coming on, on top of all of her other aches and pains. Dehydration was something she did not want to deal with right now when she had finally been given a chance to rest without fear. “In all honesty Shelby I came to this town to die. I have a lifetime of pain and suffering behind me, people I’ve lost or left behind. I can’t live with that anymore, and I can’t escape it in a world filled with it.” Eliza was interrupted by the sounds of gunfire, instinct told her to spring onto her feet but her injuries stopped her dead in her tracks. Her body had become tense from the gunshots, and she quickly realized that she didn’t have Bragg’s gun with her.

“Fuck! Where did I leave his gun!?” Eliza couldn’t move but she was getting anxious in her seat with sweat running down her brow and slicking her palms. She was convinced that whatever trouble was happening outside of town was related to her. Even though Bragg had died she wasn’t comfortable with the idea that he was the last person from her past that she would run into. In this life she had more enemies than friends, but she realized that she needed to keep her friends close to her if she wanted to push through this. Thoughts on the past and her friends brought her to her collection of dog tags, miraculously they didn’t get lost in the shuffle but Eliza momentarily forgot about them. Between them and Shelby they were the only memories of her past that she wanted to keep close to her. Eliza fanned through each dog tag, putting a face to each name. These people dedicated their lives to her, and here she was the last one left. It hung heavy on her shoulders but she couldn’t shrug the weight, this was her burden to bare.

Fanning the dog tags helped to calm herself down causing her to realize that she may have struck Shelby a bit too sharply with the doom and gloom speech. She wasn’t lying, there were more times than she could count that she contemplated ending it all but she could never go through with it. Eliza attributed it to her being weak, but now she realized that she was too proud. That’s why she fought Bragg and struggled against her death, she wasn’t willing to die like that. Her Riders wouldn’t want to see her go out like that. She couldn’t help but feel a rush of emotions when she thought about them, she missed those days so much. It was the closest she had ever come to having a family, but she still had a chance. Her brothers and sisters made sure of that. “Shelby I’m sorry. I should be thankful for what I have left, not what I have lost. It means everything to me that you're back in my life."

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

Sara Weaver
Salem, Massachusetts - Late Morning



Sara scratched her head while she waited for the girl or Ace to say something to her but they were promptly interrupted by the sounds of gunfire. They were close from the sounds of it, and Sara didn’t flinch at the sound of them either. Her focused snapped to them like a bloodhound on a trail, and she bolted in the direction of them without hesitation. Handgun drawn she shouted out to Ace and Brandy while she left. “I’ll be right back! Don’t worry I’ll try and bring you back a souvenir!” As ecstatic as she may have appeared on the outside she was much more excited on the inside, her heart was racing and her whole body was tingling. It had been a while since she had gotten a chance to shoot somebody, and she certainly wasn’t going to miss one.

On her way down the road she passed a horse with a man and a woman on it. At first she paused in shock at the sight of a horse, but then she realized from the disposition of it’s riders that they may very well have been the source of the gunshots. “Hey you guys didn’t happen to leave any by chance!?” They were moving too quickly past her and must not have heard her because they kept going. “What the fuck? Who has a horse this far east?” It seemed odd to her but her body was pumping with adrenaline so she didn’t care to explore the subject further. She needed to see where those people came from, maybe they left something for her. Sara holstered her handgun for a moment so she could tie her hair up, and stash her gear behind some debris. She left her rifle and pack behind, taking only her handgun, knife, and a bundle of rope wrapped around her torso anything else would just slow her down.

Fortunately for Sara she could follow the horse tracks for about a half a mile outside of town to the site of the shootout. Two goons, left to rot. “Kill!” Sara ran over to the one, fetching a sword from the ground. She swung it around like a child playing with a stick, eagerly poking the fresh corpse with it. “They fucked you up good, huh buddy?” She stabbed the sword back into the dirt and got down on her knees to examine the body. She mumbled to herself as she checked the man’s body for anything good. “Chest wound….no two chest wounds. Injection site on the neck, were you shooting psycho you crazy bastard? You remind me of my boys, except they were a lot better at not dying, and they carried better shit.” Sara’s search didn’t turn up anything of spectacular value, just the sword and a large knife that didn’t seem to be as good as the one she carried. She took both of them, the sword she planned to keep, but the knife had to have some value to somebody. For the time being she left them both by the first corpse so she could search the other one.

“Ah man…” Sara recoiled at the sight of the other body, his head blown to pieces by a gunshot. “Nice!” She squealed with more joy than she probably should’ve. “You take anything for that headache big guy? Or are you just going to sleep it off?” Sara gave a slight smirk as she kicked the body, she knew he was dead it just felt right to kick him. Like before she knelt to examine the corpse but while she was doing so she heard someone, or something rustling in the ruins of a nearby house. She stopped what she was doing and sat down on top of the corpse's stomach, drawing her pistol and making sure her safety was off. Her stance was rather relaxed even though she anticipated an attack, her heart was still pumping in overdrive and Sara kept clenching her non shooting hand into a fist in anticipation. “Really jackass? I know you’re here, just get out here and get it over with.”

Then as if on queue another robed figure ran out from the rubble, this one much more alive than the others but not for long if Sara had any say in it. He was sprinting at her with a long blade in his hand, he was obviously deranged as he grunted and hissed like a beast as he ran towards her. Sara drew her pistol and cracked a shot off into the man’s leg, sending him tumbling face first into the ground. Before Sara could get up from her seat the man was already trying to stand back up, although with his muscles split and shredded he was struggling. “You’re flying high too? Good, means you’ll hang on long enough for me to enjoy this.”

Sara holstered her pistol and walked up the the struggling man, he cursed at her in an odd tongue while he violently swung his blade at her legs. “You guys are quite the collection aren’t you? The crazy ones are always fun.” With a swift and firm strike of her boot the blade flew from the man's hand and Sara collapsed onto his back, sitting on his neck, forcing his face into the dirt. “Psycho doesn’t help you breathe does it dickhead!?” Sara let him struggle for a few seconds before she shifted her weight onto the small of his back, letting him breathe. He gasped for his breath but once he recovered he continued the same deranged rambling as before. Sara grabbed the man's head and bashed it off the ground, but it didn’t seem to stop him. “Okay, I’ll stop when you stop.” She kept smashing the man’s head into the ground until his face was bloody and caked with mud.

Now his beastial screams were replaced with screams of pain. Sara realized that he was probably coming off of the psycho so she pulled her knife from its sheath and run it across the man's throat, causing him to gargle on his blood as he died. “I hate it when they start screaming. I’m not sleeping tonight now.” Sara nonchalantly removed the rope from her torso, tied it around the man’s ankles and started dragging him as he continued to choke on his blood. “I haven’t done this in years! This is getting my juices flowing, girls going to need to get a room here shortly. You know we used to string fuckers like you up all the time back home? Even had the Legion feeling the pressure for a while, nothing kills morale like trade routes lined with legionnaires...in the heart of Arizona. But hey you don’t care about any of this shit do you!?”

At this point the man had already died and while Sara was struggling to drag him she managed to get him to a nearby tree. She threw the loose end of the rope over a branch, kicked her heels into the ground and pulled the corpse into the air, securing it firmly. Know a corpse was strung up in a tree on the outskirts of Salem and while Sara was admiring her handiwork she heard the hum of a robot coming behind her. She turned to face it and was met with a worn but functional Mr. Handy.

“Good morning Madam! Are you the source of the disturbance?” Mr. Handy’s sort of creeped Sara out, she didn’t really care for robots in general but Mr. Handy’s were too friendly. It was unsettling. Still she didn’t have any reason to attack it, even though she was still rushing with adrenaline.

“Unfortunately not, except for that last shot. My friend over there is just hanging out until his friends come to pick him up.” Sara gestured to her trophy with a sneer.

“Oh my! Well I’ll say, your friend looks rather worse for wear Madam!”

“I know right!? Kids these days just can’t party like they used to. Hey since there’s probably going to be more of these guys showing up do you know of any place I could stay around here?” Sara didn’t really want to stay in Salem but she also did not want to miss an opportunity for round two, or three, or four. Honestly she could do this forever, she had forgotten what it felt like. It was better than sex, or at least the sex she remembered. It didn’t matter though, she felt good and it stopped her from thinking about all the fucked up shit in her head for a few a little bit.

“Oh well if you’re looking for room and board I know just the place! Follow me if you would Madam…? The Mr. Handy paused as if it were waiting for Sara to tell it her name.

“Sara…”

“Okay splendid Ms. Sara! Do come this way!” Obviously the Mr. Handy wasn’t too worried about the gunshots now and was more focused on showing Sara this place to stay. She didn’t know what to expect from this place, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she should stay in town for a few more days.

On the way Sara grabbed her loot from the other corpse, and her rifle and pack from alongside the road leading into town. Sara remembered the horse but was now more concerned with seeing where this robot was taking her. She needed some privacy right now if she was going to dedicate the focus she needed to on investigating that horse and it’s rider. Her robotic companion lead her to a large abandoned structure, called a Convalescence Home. “Con..va..les..scence? Is this a whore house? Robot did you bring me to a whore house!? I don’t know if I should hug you or smack you right now.”

“Of course not Ms. Sara! Such an establishment is no place for a woman of your calibre!”

“I’d beg to differ…but you know whatever.” Sara mumbled to herself as the robot opened the door into the building, revealing a young woman standing behind the front desk. The Mr. Handy whirred into the building ahead of Sara and made his introduction for both of them.

“I’ve returned manager. Ms. Sara and her friends were the cause of the disturbance we heard earlier. She’s now looking for some place to stay.”

“Uh ya, let’s get that straight. I did not kill all of those people….unfortunately, and they were not actually my friends, that was a joke.” Sara shifted the weight of her pack so it sat more comfortably on her shoulders while she stepped up to the counter to speak with the woman. “I’m just looking for a place to stay for a few days, the robot brought me here when I asked. So do you have any rooms or do I just pick a corner and set up a tent? Not really sure how this stuff works, it’s been awhile. I’ve got money.” Sara pulled a large pouch of caps out of her bag and sat them down on the counter with a satisfying jingle. “Is this enough? For whatever?”

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

Eliza Weaver
Salem, Massachusetts - Late Morning



Eliza was starting to second guess her decision to leave. Just the trip out of the room she was in and into a wheelchair left her in searing pain. She wasn't going to let that keep her from leaving the clinic though. There were so many people that had moved into Salem after she did and she hadn't met any of them. She didn't trust them and was afraid to, trust had gotten her hurt in the past and now in her weakened state she felt just as vulnerable as she did as a young woman.

Shelby was her only solace right now and she didn't want her to leave her side, as pathetic as it may have sounded Eliza was afraid to be alone. Even Waylon whom Shelby seemed to trust so much out Eliza on edge. It was something she wish she didn't feel but she couldn't forget all of the things that had happened to her to cause it. Still when she closed her eyes she relived all of the horrible things Bragg did to her just a few months ago. Someone whom she trusted just as much if not more than Shelby trusted Waylon.

Regardless Eliza wanted out of the clinic, and closer to Shelby. She didn't want to go back to her apartment, not anymore. Home didn't sound safe to her now that people knew she existed. Staying with Shelby seemed to be the most appropriate thing to do, given the fact that Eliza knew she couldn't walk. Nestled into her wheelchair Eliza didn't bother crossing her legs, they hurt way too much to move them. Instead she raised her hand to grab Shelby's, firmly gripping her fingers. “I'm ready to go. Just don't lose me on the way. I can't walk for shit.”

Waylon walked alongside Eliza as Shelby pushed the wheelchair back to her home. Eliza remembered meeting with and speaking to Waylon. Part of her liked him, he was more than handsome, had a good wit to him, but Eliza knew better. She said the same things about Bragg and it came back to bite her. Now she couldn't even work up something to say to Waylon, not even a thank you. Eliza just rested her head on her arm and grimaced in pain.

She was too afraid of Waylon to talk to him, all she could think of was how far she had fallen since she left Shelby. She was much stronger back then, but during these months apart old wounds were viciously ripped open, forcing Eliza to heal all over again. Thankfully she stumbled back into Shelby's arms because she had fallen back into some dark times, and she needed someone like Shelby to help her over out. Without her Eliza didn't feel like she had a chance, with her she felt hope again. Something she never thought was real.

Shelby didn't live too far away from the clinic. She was actually only two houses down from where Eliza was staying. They wheeled Eliza in through the front door and grabbed her underneath each arm. She felt like an invalid, she couldn't even walk on her own. Any pressure applied to her injured leg caused her to buckle in pain. But she forced herself through it, even just steps inside Shelby's home made her feel safer. Her familiar smell lingered in the air causing Eliza to feel a little nostalgic for their time together in Vegas.

Shelby and Waylon managed to carry Eliza to a chair to sit her down. Getting off of her feet took a huge strain off of Eliza, but also being somewhere where she felt safe helped a lot. “Thank you. I don't really have any idea on where to go from here. Everything I owned that meant something to me was on my horse and I don't know where he went. So I don't know what to do.” Eliza stopped herself for a minute and raked her hair with her fingers, she was getting a little emotional and was trying to calm herself down. “I don't want to be alone anymore. I've spent too much time alone, and afraid. I can't do it anymore.”

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

Sara Weaver
Salem, Massachusetts - Late Morning



Sara had just started finishing up her food when the girl she had seen from before came storming into the diner in a huff. Initially Sara thought that the woman was coming for her, after the remark she made earlier. Fortunately for both parties she had another target, slugging the sassy waitress in the face with a respected but rather pathetic punch. Sara couldn't help but chuckle a little bit to herself during the whole ordeal. She could tell that the girl was obviously flustered and by how she punched she didn't know what she was doing.

Finished with her food and not privy to hanging around with Dutch, Sara got up from her table and grabbed her things. Admiring the girls handiwork on her way out. “Best be careful who you piss off around here. That pussy ass punch could've just as well been a bullet.” Sara left after her snide remark, following Ace with his girlfriend slung over his shoulder. She normally kept to herself but there was something about that girl, it was stupid but Sara wanted to talk to her.

It didn't take Sara long at all to find the two lovebirds by the makeshift wall the townspeople were constructing. She hesitated at first, afraid to say anything. Sara had a reputation to uphold, especially in front of Ace but she had something to say and she couldn't let it eat away at her. Maybe things could change? Maybe she didn't have to be like this all the time. Sara eventually worked up the confidence to speak, striking a concerned tone that was foreign to her. “Are you alright kid? That was a hell of a swing? You need to put your hips into it next time, knock her on her ass.”

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

Sara Weaver
Salem, Massachusetts

A young woman approached the table as if she was the one to take Sara's order. Sara didn't recognize her from before, she had thought that Ace worked by himself but apparently she was wrong. Either way this new girl looked like a handful, but Sara liked her.

"Name's Betty, I'll be your waitress today. What'll you have toots, and make it snappy. Ain't got all day."

Sara cracked a smirk at the girls attitude. She missed that kind of fire. “Good because I don't either. A glass of water, two eggs over hard, and a brahmin steak cooked to medium.” She knew what she wanted, she had been thinking about it since she left home so she didn't waste any time ordering.

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

Thomas “Dutch” Kater & Sara Weaver
Salem, Massachusetts



“Cowboy?” Tom took a minute to stir the word around in his head before chuckling. “I guess I’ve been called worse. So what do I call you?” Tom wasn’t put off by the woman’s bloody hands. He had seen his fair share of blood and didn’t even bother wiping her’s off on his pant leg. She didn’t seem right though, there was something about her. Tom couldn’t put his finger on it, he felt like there was something connecting the two of them but he couldn’t figure it out. He tried to find something on her person that would connect the dots but nothing clicked. All he could see were scars and tattoos of a woman that seemed to have weathered the wasteland’s worst.

“People don’t call me much of anything anymore. But my name's Sara. I’d say it’s a pleasure to meet you but I don’t quite care for a liar.” Sara picked up her rifle and pack, slinging them over her shoulder again as she prepared to get on her way.

“I can appreciate a woman with that attitude these days. People seem to have forgotten what it means to be honest.” Tom could tell that the woman was trying to remove herself from the conversation, she seemed troubled by something. He could see it in her eyes, they projected an internal pain that Tom was well acquainted with. They must’ve been the connection he felt. There was something Sara was suffering from that Tom wanted to help her with, but he was smart enough to know that approaching her about it would end badly. Still he liked Sara, she had attitude. He didn’t want her to leave. “Where you headed?”

Sara stopped in her tracks to answer Tom. He was starting to get on her nerves, she just wanted to be left alone and a man that didn’t know when to stop asking questions wasn’t helping her any. “North, far away from this place. Salem isn’t my kind of town.”

“Is that right? Something tells me there aren’t too many towns around here that are your kind.” Tom kicked his feet in the dirt like a shy little boy before he continued. “But hey! Before you leave would you want to get breakfast?”

Sara raised an eyebrow in astonishment but food didn’t sound bad, especially if it was cooked by someone that actually knew what they were doing. She could only cook food so it wouldn’t kill her when she ate it, and that by no means ever made it taste good. Still she knew what the man was hinting at, even if he didn’t come right out and say it she would. “Are you buying?”

“Well of course! I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t paying. So, is that a yes?” Tom’s heart beat a little faster as the anticipation rose inside him.

“If you’re paying then I’m on board. But lets clear this up now so we’re all on the same page. This isn’t a date, I’ll never have sex with you, and you shake hands like a pussy. Now I take it we’re going to the diner?” Sara didn’t wait for him to answer she just started heading back towards the diner on her own. Tom was left blushing behind her, he didn’t know what to say but he was a man of his word. No matter what he was going to by Sara breakfast, even if his plans were just thrown in his face. “Don’t take it too hard cowboy. Even if you were my type I’d still make an exception for you.”

“Point taken, you’re a bitch.” Tom mumbled his response to himself, he was coming to regret his decision but Sara still heard him somehow.

“You know it. Now are you going to feed me or what? You being a man of your word and all.” She used the word man lightly. Dutch seemed like he had seen his fair share of shit but from how he acted Sara kind of figured that he wanted everyone to give him sympathy because of it. Sara didn’t sympathize, the wasteland didn’t play by the rules. It could take just as quickly as it could give. Sara learned real quick that the only way you could come out on top was to drop the rules and play to win. Except now she started to question that mentality. After all she didn’t feel like a winner, not anymore she had lost too much to ever feel like a winner again. Now she was just a salty vet that was going to spend the rest of her life aimlessly searching for the remains of her dead sister before she died alone. Ya there was no sympathy, if not for her, than not for him. They headed to the diner, Dutch tied his horse up outside while Sara headed into the diner greeting Ace on the way in. “Sorry that I stepped out Ace. I needed a breather, found this poor thing while I was out.” Sara gestured to Tom as he came in the door behind her. “He’s buying.”

Tom stepped into the diner and removed his hat, gesturing to Ace. “Morning!” He had only started talking to Sara a few minutes ago and her attitude was already starting to wear on him. At first he found it attractive but now he wasn’t sure. Little did he know that was the plan. Sara was messing with him because she had no interest in him. So she was hoping that she could deter him from getting too attached, fortunately for her it seemed to be working. Sara’s heart couldn’t care for someone like that anymore. After she lost Eliza and Eli, she just couldn’t do it anymore. Charlotte was still alive but as far as Sara was concerned she could’ve died in Caliente. She flew off the deep end and went crazy, Sara couldn’t blame her and while it hurt to lose her baby sister like that she had to move on. Loss was just another part of life in the wasteland.

Sara took notice to the elderly woman that was in the entryway to the diner as well. She respected women that made it this far into life. “Good morning Ma’am.” Sara smiled and slightly bowed her head out of respect before heading to her booth tucked away in the corner. Tom didn’t accompany her, he sat in another booth. He couldn’t bring himself to sit with her, not after what she said to him. “I’m still paying don’t worry.” Tom raised his voice just enough so Sara could hear him but he didn’t yell.

“Bitch.” Sara whispered to herself while she removed her gear and placed it on the booth alongside of her. She crossed her legs under the table and leaned back in her booth. She was looking forward to speaking with Ace again, not like she’d let him know that but she enjoyed his company. So she waited for him to come over to her before she said anything, she just wanted to relax while she had the chance.

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

Eliza Weaver
Salem, Massachusetts



Eliza was taken aback by the gesture from the man, a teddy bear was probably too childish for a woman her age but she appreciated it regardless. Although part of her still didn’t trust him, she’d grown leery of men and only felt safe because Shelby was with her. Eliza still didn’t want to show weakness even though she was obviously exhausted. So she accepted the man’s gesture and waited for him to leave. “Thank you. This means a lot. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me so far, but I really just need to rest.” Eliza gave the warmest smile she could in her current condition and nestled herself back into bed. “Shelby? I really hate to bother you again with this, but can you please help me get cleaned up? I can’t get comfortable like this.”

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

So reading through these posts, is this a slice of life RP? I'm going to wait for @Andronicus23 to reply before doing anything, but there doesn't seem to be a coherent plot.

@Stitches

Agreed, I kind of wish there was at this point.

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

Sara Weaver
Salem, Massachusetts



Waiting in her secluded booth Sara was becoming anxious. There were too many people inside the diner and with the arrival of a few more she couldn’t take it. She got up from her booth and fished out the pack of cigarettes she kept in her coat pocket. Unconcerned with what happened to the meat she brought with her Sara grabbed her backpack, and rifle before heading out of the diner. Ace was still busy with his other guests but Sara mumbled something to him while she fumbled to light her cigarette on her way out. “I need to step out for a minute Ace. I’ll be back.” She didn’t slow down to wait for him to answer her heart was racing and she needed to get out of the diner and get some space.

Outside with her cigarette finally lit Sara was able to catch her breath. “Why the fuck does everyone need to come to the diner at the same time!? Don’t these people have anything better to fucking do?” Sara whispered to herself as she paced outside the diner, even outside she couldn’t find solace. There was a woman riding a horse around the square that quickly drew her attention. Sara was initially startled by the site of a horse, and the fact that there was someone that actually knew how to ride it. She was too flustered by the crowd inside the diner to approach the woman though. Even the small amount of people that were outside were enough to keep Sara wound up so she headed further out of town, smoking her cigarette like her life depended on it.

Sara walked along the street leading north out of town coming to a brief rest by a large salmon colored building. She slumped up against the building’s foundation and ran her hands through her matted, greasy hair. In all honesty she was exhausted from the trip down here, she hadn’t been getting the rest that she needed and it was obviously starting to take a toll on her psyche. Maybe she needed to give this whole act up. Stop searching for Eliza, stop coming to this town. Just leave it all behind and keep heading north until she couldn’t go any further. There was no chance at redemption for her. She could never walk with the righteous, not after the things she had done. She was condemned to an inescapable hell either way, best she could do was just accept who she is, and what she’s capable of. There was a time when she would be proud to say that, to spit in the eye of anyone that disagreed with her. Now it just didn’t seem right. Not after she lost Eli. Her world was just not the same without him. She would give everything she ever had, and her own life if it meant that Eli could have a chance to live his. Sara clasped her hands together in one balled fist, her palms were sweaty as she squeezed her hands together trying to knead out the fire that was raging inside her.

She was fooling herself if she actually thought it would go away. It was too late for that, Sara snapped and spun around to face the weathered stone foundation that was supporting her. “FUCK!” She hammered her fists against the foundation as hard as she could, drawing blood that spattered the stone. After a few strikes Sara exhausted herself and she drug her fists down the wall after her final blow, scraping her skin and drawing more blood. Sara’s eyes were watery but she didn’t cry, she didn’t believe that she still could and she was probably right. She couldn’t feel anything anymore, even pain was fleeting. A quick rush, a burst of adrenaline to remind herself that she was still human was all she could get. Her heart had forgotten what it felt like to care, and she couldn’t remember if she ever did. Even in her memories of Eli she could only remember the times she hurt him, the times that she wasn’t the mother he deserved. She knew deep down inside of herself that she loved him more than she’s ever loved anything else, but she couldn’t convince herself to believe it.

“Ma’am, is everything alright?” A man’s hesitant voice came from behind Sara as she turned herself to face him.

“I’m doing alright, and you cowboy” Sara stood up and composed herself, her rifle and backpack had collapsed off of her shoulders and were now laying on the ground. She still had her pistol, but from the looks of the man she could take him. Even with bloodied fists she was confident that if things escalated she would come out on top, although the man’s voice was strangely calming. It was the sincerity in his tone that put Sara off. She wasn’t used to hearing it, that unmistakable kindness that only came from the heart.

“With all do respect Ma’am you don’t look alright.” The man was accompanied by another horse, and his clothes were soiled from dirt and grime. It was clear from the streaks on the man’s face and his puffy red eyes that he was recently crying. He didn’t strike Sara as the fighting type but something told her that he had seen his share. His face was younger than her’s but it was just as worn, his eyes were so innocent and stood out from the rest of his face. Almost like another part of him was trapped inside his body. “My names Dutch. I didn’t mean to come up on you like that. I was heading back into town.” He offered his open hand to Sara, hoping she would shake it and lighten the mood.

“Dutch? That’s a good name for a cowboy.” Sara firmly accepted his gesture with her sore blood soaked hand, shaking it firmly and sneering at the pain.