The Relentless: Among the Willows

Chapter One: Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death

"Well, I suppose all we can do is trust your instincts, boy... so tell me, what's got you so fixed on killing this Waters fella?"

"Whatever you say, you still didn't answer my question."

The slick scraping of steel slips off of Henry's revolver as he runs a metal brush through the barrel. His eyes remain fixed on his guns as he cleans them though his attention turns to Slim as he waits for his response.

"Waters took somethin' from me, I just want to make sure he gets what's coming to him." Wyoming says stoking the fire with a small stick before lying back on his bedding.

"Well, that still doesn't explain why you brought Mr. Thomas and me."

"Mr. Thomas is an experienced hunter, you volunteered."

"Hm." Sheriff Collins huffs with a bruised ego, "Let me know when dinner's done." Collins says before turning his hat down over his eyes.

Slim let out a slight grunt in response as he drifts into his thoughts staring into the crackling embers of the fire. He can still hear her voice screaming out when he closes his eyes. The heat of the fields blazing down and lighting up the night as he stared into her eyes one last time, holding her in his arms. The only thing he had ever cared for, the only love he had ever known, Abigail. He is drawn out from his thoughts by the smell of cooked beans and sits up to find Henry finishing cleaning his pistols and putting them away. He then pulls out his shaving kit and begins to apply a layer of shaving cream down his chin and cheeks and behind his thick brown mustache. His eyes gleam down to Wyoming noticing he has awoken.

"Dinner's about done." He says in a cold, steely tone.

Wyoming wipes the sweat from his forehead as he props himself up and turns over in his bedding letting out a thick hack of spit onto the ground.

"Bad dreams?" Henry asks.

"No, just nightmares," Wyoming responds lifelessly.

"Is there a difference?" Thomas asks now pausing applying his shaving cream.

"Yes," Slim says sitting up and grabbing three spoons from his bag.

"I have my own, thank you," Thomas says with his hand out before running his blade down against the foamy white residue on his cheek.

Wyoming puts one of the spoons back and takes a spoonful of beans out and begins to chew on the cooked beans and jerky.

"Have you been after 'em long?" Henry asks as he continues shaving.

"Two years."

"So what's the plan when we find him?"

"As I said, we capture or kill Waters and take down any of his friends he may have out here with him."

"You did say that... but you claim you know this man, perhaps his affiliates, what should we expect once we find them?" Henry asks, his tone now dropping. Wyoming could see that he was a clever man, clever enough to put two and two together at least.

"You're not as daft as the Sheriff over here are ya?" Slim asks with a smile, Henry only returns a stone-cold stare awaiting an answer, "They're a bunch of ruthless sons of bitches, but if we get the drop on 'em, we can take 'em."

"And you believe that will be easy?" Henry asks now wiping the remaining cream from his face as he finishes shaving.

"I didn't say it would be easy, but accomplishable? Absolutely, we just need to be smart, and careful, that's why we brought you, isn't it? So we can get the drop on 'em."