Wanted

#19 | Rest and Retreat

[This chapter was uploaded a month ahead to my website: ajmstories.com!]

The night was especially dark over Rich River. The moon was absent from the sky leaving only distant stars sparkling but providing little light for those on the ground. The young man with goggles leaned on the exterior wall of a building near the room in which Curtis, Sly, and Mabel were meeting with Minutes 'til Midnight. He was tired but refused to let himself rest until Curtis and the others exited the room.

Inside, Doc and Curtis sat at the table while Mabel and Sly walked over to the stairs where Mina was now doing sit ups and Trapper watched from the steps. Smiley and Virginia sat on the floor by the couch and talked quietly while Rowan slept. Mina lifted Mabel with one hand and did a few arm raises with Mabel's weight. Sly watched Mina unsure of how to feel about the murder of Payton Serrano. Payton had tried to kill Curtis and him on multiple occasions, but he and Curtis agreed that killing was to be avoided at all costs except for their lives. Especially after the incident with Dynamite, the thought of taking a life left both men feeling dreadful despite each of their past experiences in doing so.

"I, too, was takin' in by the big bad man in black, but he wasn't called Midnight then," Doc explained to Curtis. "He was an outlaw, but I didn't know it yet. He had a different alias, and his bounty was nothin' compared to what it is now. With mine and Virginia's knowledge combined, we've been able to patch up lots o' holes in Midnight's identity an' figure out where—and who—he is now, details o' which we'll share in due time. I know you want to know now, but let's keep things simple. We've shared a lot o' stuff with ya already an' we barely know each other, so let's talk a bit more casually fer a minute."

Meanwhile, Sly kept quiet around the others. Mabel seemed to be getting along just fine with Mina, and with the rest of the group by extension, but Sly's excitement died down after learning how Payton died so suddenly.

"So, you used t' be a ranger, right?" Trapper asked and distracted Sly from his thoughts.

"Yeah," Sly said. "For about seven years. Only been an outlaw for a few weeks.

"Bein' an outlaw sounds stressful. Hope t' never get a bounty on ma head."

"Hey, you never told us about your spell. Mind sharing? I saw you use it on Steel in Tangate but couldn't quite tell what was going on."

Trapper leaned back and took a breath, then sighed and said, "I can paralyze people if I touch their shadow with ma own. In Steel's case, I just had to lean an' reach my arm out an' that was enough to connect our shadows, but sometimes I need'a be a bit more creative; extend ma shadow somehow. I'm also free t' move around while I have someone trapped, but I need'a be careful not to move so much that ma shadow disconnects from theirs. I can paralyze multiple people at once, too, but it's usually hard to get them into range at the same time."

"Man," Sly said and dropped his shoulders. "Now I wish I had a spell. They sound so useful, not to mention super cool."

"They definitely are," Trapper teased.

Sly tried to open up a bit more to Minutes 'til Midnight and enjoy the fact that any spellcasters besides Curtis weren't trying to kill them. Still, he knew, like Curtis, that letting his guard down could be fatal. He always kept a hand in his right pocket near his revolver. Before anyone knew it, time slipped by, and the late hours of evening crept up on the party.

"I understand a life on the run doesn't entail much recreational down time, 'specially when you're as recognized as y'are," Doc said. "But what do ya do fer fun? Gamble?"

"A bit," Curtis said. "I got into readin' while stayin' at Midnight's ranch—mainly fiction. He had tons o' books. I never got through 'em all in the four years I spent with 'im."