Take Away the Saints

Reaper : Ch. 1 & 2 || trueathenian

Chapter 1

Girland smoked his pipe as they loaded the carriage. He didn't attempt in the least to check on what it was that was being loaded. It did not interest him, nor was it any of his concern. If anything, that would piss off his employer. Yet the less than experienced Harold didn't seem to be concerned by that. Girland didn't blame him... He was only seven years old after all.

The kid had a lot to learn, especially if he wanted to survive long enough to become a man.

He put a hand on Harold, "Stop boy, the act of delivery is important... Not what is being delivered. Knowing what they transport only invites trouble... and behind trouble stalks Death."

The cold gleam in Girland's eyes scared Harold, who turned to tend to the horses.

Girland sighed as he took another puff. The sun had started to sink, it was past noon. He leaned back in the uncomfortable carriage seat and closed his eyes as the loading continued.

It's all like the movement of the sun. It rises and sets, rises and sets, the same routine every day. It's just one delivery after another, the sheer repetition.

Girland knew diverting from his golden rules would lead to death. Tegna wasn't a forgiving place.

Girland didn't specialize in anything but driving. That's all he had done his entire life. And he was not the best in the business, there were better men... Yet most of them die young. Very few in Tegna could boast to have grown as old as Girland. He had survived not because of skill or charm, but because of his golden rules, the uttermost being, never look at the cargo...

In this world of chaos, the stability of rules can keep you alive... Hell, he did not have grey hairs for naught.

Tegna was the definition of sheer chaos. With no governing bodies, no laws, no defined societal structure, it was just a constant struggle for power.

The number of deaths surpassed the number of births, and each year the population dwindled. People either risked travelling out of it, or died in random gunfire between some Jack and Johnny. Mostly it was the latter.

A tap on his seat shook him out of his contemplation and he tightened his grip on his six-shooter.

"Ready when you are!"

"Do you need company here? We have the men," asked his grim looking employer.

He had already forgotten his name, but he didn't show it.

"I have Harold. Men on the front seat attracts suspicion. Just have enough men hidden in the carriage to protect your cargo."

Girland was never one to waste time with pleasantries. His employer nodded in agreement and started to leave as he patted the horse.

Girland called for Harold before he inspected the reigns. It was going to be a long night.

***

Dusk reigned heavily that day. A dense mist had started to engulf the less trodden forest path. The smoke from Girland's pipe added to it.

The consistent clip-clop of the horses kept him at ease. The path was less trodden but was safer, for it had seen the least use of Tegna's vagrants.

Most of it was underdeveloped and swallowed by a living sea of forest.

Harold had already dozed off. Only a few hours to go before the delivery would successfully be complete. Girland had no doubt about their success, until he saw the silhouette.