"There you go, Albert. All 100 cattle, present and accounted for," the man said.
Albert stopped and walked around the area where his cattle stood by the train car, examining them. He squinted his eyes, rubbed his temples and chin, and concentrated, as if trying to see if there was one missing. Satisfied with his counting, he turned to the man with a rifle in his hand.
"Alright, they're all there. Here's your pay," Albert said while reaching to his waist.
Albert handed the man 4 crisp and newly issued $20 bills from his pocket. The man took the money, examined it, and frowned.
"The deal was $100, Albert. You're short a twenty," the man said looking up at Albert.
Albert smiled maliciously. "You get what you get. Be happy that I'm even paying you at all, scum," he said while turning his back to the man and proceeded to start herding his cattle into the train car.
BANG!
Albert's leg exploded in pain and he cried out into the sky. He fell to the ground clutching his leg, trying to stop the endless pain he was feeling. Crimson blood began to ooze from his left calf and gathered under his leg. Bits of bone were splayed out into the soil and placed themselves into the grass. Albert tried to move his foot to get up, but he found he couldn't. The man in front of him slowly started to walk over to him. Albert tried to reach for his sidearm, but a firm stomp on his hand stopped him, and he cried out again in pain.
The man in gray reached down to Albert and took his sidearm from him and threw it away. With bandana up, he crouched down to Albert's level.
"Give me my pay," he said angrily.
His eyes pierced into Albert's and stared down into the deepest pits of his soul. Albert refused to budge. His pride would never let him give in to this lowly scum. The man saw this and promptly stomped on Albert's leg. More pain shot into Albert as he heard several cracks down in his leg. He clutched his leg and ground his teeth, trying to alleviate the pain. The man reached into Albert's pockets and pulled out his purse. He sifted through it and grabbed 6 twenty dollar bills and 5 silver dollars.
"I don't like being denied my fair share, Albert. If you had just payed what was due to me, you could've kept your cash. And maybe your leg," the man said gruffly. "Enjoy bleeding," the man said and lobbed Albert's purse back to him. He started to walk away.
"I'll find you, Emmerson! I'll hire the biggest gang around and I'll track you from the Rockies to the Atlantic! There will be nowhere for you to hide! You're a dead man, Emmerson!" Albert screamed at the man.
"As are you too, Albert,"
The man turned around and fired his rifle at Albert. A clean shot through the head ended the man's life in an instant.
And Richard Emmerson slowly walked off to his horse.
Richard reached his horse and mounted.
"Damn," he said to himself, "Gotta stay out of Missouri for awhile. Someone likely heard that. Let's ride, Coal!"
The man rode off from the loading area and traveled eastward. He reached the Mississippi and crossed over into south Illinois. After 2 miles, he came to a small farming town and decided to spend the night there. He trotted into town on his horse and stopped at a tavern. He tied Coal outside by the water pail and headed inside. He pushed the door forward and stepped inside. A couple men were sitting at a table in the corner and were playing poker. Richard walked towards the counter past some men enjoying cigarettes and chatting. He sat down at the counter and looked up at the tavern owner, who by then had made his way over to Rich.
"You getting anything?" the owner asked.
"Yeah, I'll have a beer. Need something to unwind from the day," Richard said as he took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair.
"Ah, had a busy day. Sure I'll get you something," the owner said.
He pulled out a large glass from under the counter and poured some beer into it. Richard pulled out a silver dollar from his pocket and gave it to the owner.
"Much obliged," he said and went off to tend to other customers.
Richard drank his fill in silence and contemplated what had happened. He was happy to have a quiet moment to himself when the world for once didn't hate him. However, his quiet moment was soon stopped as the two men playing poker had been staring at Richard since he had stepped in. They walked over to him, with the biggest man taking the lead.
"What's a man like you doing in my town," the large man said to Rich while holding his shoulder.
"Hey Rob, just let the man enjoy his drink!" said the old man with a smoke in his mouth.
"Beat it, old man! This don't concern you!" Rob said staring angrily at the old man.
Turning back to Richard, Rob said, "$10 is the insurance money. Cough it up, or your legs are going first,"
Richard slowly backed out of his seat and got up.
"Ok... I see how it is," he said while holding his hands up. He turned around to face Rob and greeted him with a smile. And then a right cross to his face. Rob was stumbled away from Richard and fell down, knocking over a table. The other man responded with a punch to Richard's gut and tried to follow up with a left cross. Richard recovered and blocked the attack with his right arm, grabbed his neck, and headbutted him. Rob was starting to get up, so Richard grabbed one of the stools and swung it at Rob. The stool connected with Rob's left cheek and promptly knocked him out.
Rich put the stool down, slowly walked over to the counter, chugged the rest of his drink, and walked over to the exit. As he passed by Rob, he said while wiping his bleeding nose, "Don't mess with ex-US cavalry."
Richard walked over Rob, opened the door, and stepped out into the warm summer dusk. He got onto Coal and rode over to an inn. He checked in, bought himself a room for the night, and headed up to his room. Taking off his gear and setting his rifle down on the bed, he took off his boots and laid his hat down on the nightstand next to the bed. He laid himself down in the bed and went to sleep, all the while thinking of the things he had done today.
Richard woke up and stared up at the ceiling. Slowly rising up, he stretched his arms out and yawned. He blinked his eyes for a couple seconds before getting out of bed and putting his gear on again. He put his hat on, grabbed his rifle, opened the door, and headed downstairs. He grabbed a quick bite to eat at the counter in the inn before paying and walking out. He found Coal still tied up outside the inn where he had left him the night before. He began checking through his belongings before a man came up behind him.
"Can I help you, sir?" said Richard as he turned to the new face.
"Yes, actually you can. You see, there's been weird things going on recently up by Hayman's Ridge. Some of our cattle and farm animals have disappearing around there while we've been taking them out to graze. We need someone to go investigate, maybe bring back our animals if they are there, or kill whatever might be taking them. Do you think you can do that for us folk here in town?" he said finishing with a smile.
Richard eyed him for a bit, looking for any deception or malicious intents in his eyes. He found none.
"Alright, I'll do it. I want $15 dollars though," he said as he mounted Coal.
"Not a problem, sir! If you find our animals or whatever it might be that's taking them, please bring them back here to me at the tavern! Thanks again!" the man said while handing Richard his money and walked off.
Rich set off for Hayman's Ridge to do what he was being paid to do. He tried to pass the time and ended up thinking of his horse, Coal.
Coal was, needless to say, Rich's good friend, if you could consider a horse your friend. With all the things Rich did, he didn't have too many friends. It came with the business and it often left him only with the companionship of Coal. That was fine and dandy to him, although the occasional visit to a town didn't hurt. Coal was a smokey black horse with gray splotches at his ankles. Richard had taken to him as he looked intimidating with his coat color and he liked his stubborn/aggressive behavior towards others aside from him. He had a white splotch on his muzzle which made him easier to find in the night if he ever got lost. That was another thing about Coal that Richard adored. Coal was very easily concealed in the night, so if Rich ever got into trouble, he would always have that working with him. Just a quick disappearance into a forest, and the rider and his horse would be gone without a trace.
Smiling while thinking of these things, he reached for his rifle and fiddled with it. His rifle was a beauty. And boy, did Richard love it. But it was more of a carbine, if you wanted to be specific. It was a Springfield M1873 Trapdoor Breechloader that came with a shortened barrel. Its stock would glisten in the sunlight with how well-cleaned and polished Rich had kept it. It had a deep, dark chocolate colored stock with Springfield's logo stamped onto the medal. It felt smooth to the touch, and fit snugly into his hands and his shoulders. Recoil was light, since the bullet had less charge in the cartridge than its rifle counterpart. It was an accurate weapon for a cavalry rifle and Rich had learned to work with the bounce that Coal would make and use it to his advantage when sighting in targets. It was good up to 200 yards, which was better than anything a muzzle-loader could get you. The fact of the matter was plain and simple. Richard loved this gun. He loved it as much as a boy loved his first crush. And Rich was never gonna part from his first love. He was lucky to have it. It was a new model of rifle when it came out 2 years earlier in 1873. He had picked it up while in his last days in the military. His commander let him keep as a token to all the hard work he had put into the military.
By then, he had reached the ridge and dismounted from Coal. He walked over to the ridges drop-off and looked out over the edge at the sun slowly starting to peak over the horizon. He smiled and took in the sight. It was interrupted, however, by a slight ever-so-quiet hum. He stopped and frowned. He turned around and looked past Coal. He noticed a little flicker inside of the small patch of trees that were growing in a triangle shape. Just a small, menial flicker that gave off a slight pulse every so often and a quiet hum. This intrigued him a bit, as it didn't look like the sun reflecting off of anything. No, it looked like a ripple from intense heat in the air. But it wasn't even hot. It was early morning, and the sun was still peaking over the horizon. Maybe there's a fire? he thought to himself. Upon closer inspection, no fire was present. He looked at this little ripple with fascination and intrigue. What was this little thing doing here? What was causing it? What was it doing?
As if on cue, the ripple began to spark and pulsate with light. Richard began to back away a bit upon seeing the commotion it was causing. Suddenly, a huge flash of light exploded outward and blinded Rich, as if he was staring directly into the glory of God. His pitiful attempts to shield his eyes did little to help his situation. The magnitude of the light enveloped him and shone every which way with majestic power! And just like that, just after 3 short seconds, it stopped. Rich opened his eyes and saw that he couldn't see. Not because he was now blind, but the afterimages from the light still danced in front of his eyes. He sat down in the soil and let his eyes adjust again. When he regained his vision, the ripple was gone. No trace of it was left, only a couple plants now in place of where it once was. Rich was relieved to see that. At least everything could go back to normal and he could forget about this whole thii-- HOLY CRAP! Where did the town go?
Rich got up with a start and stared at where the town had once been. There had been large fields surrounding the town with roads crossing through them. Now there only stood trees. Hundreds upon hundreds of trees were there. And they were huge. They made California redwoods look like puny insects under their gaze. Rich had to get back to Coal and find what had happened. But, he thought, It's useless. Where could they have gone? I know for certain that roads and towns and people don't just up and disappear out of nowhere!
He turned and ran back to find Coal where he had left him. Good, at least he hasn't changed. He began to pack up and put his gear back on Coal. After running over and double checking everything, he climbed up and settled into the saddle.
"Alright, Coal. We gotta figure out what's going on here," Rich said.
"Gotcha!" he heard as a reply.
"WOAH!"
Rich, in the shock of the moment, tumbled off of Coal abruptly and fell down on his rump. He looked at the horse with surprise and awe, mouth hanging open and eyes scared.
"Did... Did you... Did you just talk?" Rich asked with disbelief.
"Umm... yes," Coal replied with a sarcastic tang in his tone.
"Whaa... Whaaaa are.... What's going o-- What is going on here?" Rich asked with surprise in his voice.
"Whaaattt... Haven't you seen a talking horse?" replied Coal.
"No," replied Richard with more surprise.
"Well, congratulations, you're the first one to figure out how to speak horse. Now can you get up? We aren't going to get anywhere while your rump and the ground are getting intimate with one another," said Coal with a snarky smirk on his face.
Richard rose up from the dusty soil and admired Coal with an look of awe sprawled on his face. Here he was, having tamed this horse over 3 years ago and never once had heard him talk. He felt like someone had handed him the controls to a steam engine and expected him to understand it within 5 seconds of looking at it. He was just honestly, baffled.
"Do you know where we are?" Rich asked Coal.
"What? Oh heck no Rich. I am just as confused as you are as to the issue of where we are! I suppose we will just have to explore and find out. Who knows? Maybe there's more territory out there. Or maybe... another horse like me out there. The possibilities are endless, my friend," Coal remarked with a smirk.
"Oh come on, Coal. Don't be ridiculous. Other talking horses out in the world? Not possible. There is no way there can be other talking horses like you out there. We're just lost in some unknown territory and I'm hallucinating you talking to me," Rich said. "Just come on. Let's get going."
He climbed into the saddle of Coal and got himself comfy. He rode down the ridge and arrived at the beginning of the forest that grew where the town had once been.
"Do you think we can find someone in here?" Coal asked with a turn of his head towards Rich.
"I don't know. I suppose there is only one way to find out. Come on now Coal! Let's go find the town!" He said while trying to stay optimistic.
And with that, they entered the forest.
---
They walked. They walked and walked and walked. They sat, rested, and walked some more. And not once, had they sighted any signs of a town anywhere.
Rich was starting to get uneasy. He almost thought that the Rapture had happened and forgot to take him with it. But the forest kept going on and on and on. He thought there wouldn't be an end to it. Nearing the late afternoon, he decided to give up on trying to find them. Whatever had happened to them, he was certain either a thief or a pack of animals had picked them off by now. He would just have to face whatever came his way once he found his bearings and his way back to civilization.
Coal was starting to tire from walking the whole day. They came to a small clearing of grass by a river and decided to camp there. Rich slowly meandered over to the river and pulled his canteen out to refill. He took a nice, long, and refreshing sip of that wonderfully clear water and sat down, letting himself relax from the day's work. At this point, his stomach let out a low guttural grumble into the air and promptly let Richard know that he was hungry. Standing up, Rich walked over to where Coal was and found him grazing. He picked up his rifle, knife, and ammunition off of the small pile of his stuff on the ground.
"Coal, I'm going to go out and see if I can get anything to eat. Stay here, graze, drink, rest, whatever you want to do, but don't leave unless you have to. Got it?" Richard said while standing near the edge of the clearing.
Coal looked up at Rich and smiled. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Stay safe out there," he said and turned back to the grass.
Satisfied with Coal's safety, Rich left the clearing and ran through the forest with fervor. The imagined smell of a cooked rabbit or squirrel fueled his agile sprint through the forest. He came to a patch of long-leaved bushes and hid himself. He decided to roll on the ground for a couple seconds to mask his scent, something he learned from a frontiersmen in Missouri. With his scent concealed and his hiding spot taken, he waited for whatever unfortunate animal that crossed his path.
But nothing came.
An hour passed and no sign of any edible animals had been seen. His stomach complained with every passing second and it was starting to bother Richard. Hunger can drive men to do crazy and uncivilized things, so he wished to snuff out his hunger before he did something he would regret. Due to this fact, Richard decided that he was going to have to go out and find something instead of waiting for it to come to him. Again, he rolled around in the ground to mask himself, picked up his rifle, and started walking.
He walked through the forest for awhile and admired the scenery. He thought about nothing in particular, just menial things and thoughts to pass the time while monotonously trekking through this seemingly endless forest. Is there really ever an end to this forest? he reasoned to himself.
His question was soon answered as he came to the forest's end and open fields of grass appeared before him and also, a road.
Roads lead to civilization. Civilization means people. Then I can find out wherever the hell I am. he thought gleefully. His stomach grumbled yet again. But first, I am going to find some food.
With renewed fervor and energy, he started across the side of the road. After 5 minutes of walking, he noticed a small little cottage built beside a small brook, with many different kinds of wooden coops, animal cages, and strangely, lots of birdhouses hanging on the house and the trees around the entrance. Even weirder, there was shrubbery and plant life growing on the roof of the home. This would mean two things. This house was either abandoned or the caretaker was obviously not doing their job. Nevertheless, he slowly crept toward the front of the home and knocked on the door.
No one answered. He knocked once more. Again, not a sound of life filled the cottage. The opposite was present in the back of the cottage, so Richard decided to go around the back and maybe see if someone was there.
Again, Rich was disappointed to find no people there. But there were plenty of animals. There were woodland creatures, pigs, some farm animals, and even a bear, which Richard avoided entirely.
And boy, they looked tasty. Many of them were fat, plump, and ripe for the picking. However, he was feeling quite conflicted with himself. These are someone's animals. How will they act if I steal one? Will they come after me? They are going to be understandably angry if they find out one of their animals is gone. he thought to himself.
He decided to grab a chicken, as there were many of them inside the coop and taking one wouldn't raise any suspicion. He chose a fat and plump hen to take to the slaughter and promised himself that he would pay back the owner double the amount this hen would cost. The day was getting darker by the minute and sunset was approaching. He would have to get back to Coal. They would come back here tomorrow in the morning after breakfast.
However, many of the animals were starting to notice he was there and raised the alarm. Picking up the chicken, he began to run with his rifle in one hand, and the chicken curled up in his other one. As he got onto the road, he noticed a road sign pointing south farther into unexplored territory. The sign stated,
"Ponyville, 1.5 miles South, Everfree Forest, 0.1 Miles North"
This made Richard quietly laugh to himself at the weirdness and silliness of the name. Ponyville? What kind of a stupid name is that? "Oh yes, Joe, I'm going back to my wife and kids in PONYVILLE! Some one ought to name their towns a bit better! he thought to himself.
Luckily, he was able to find his way onto recognizable territory. About 10 minutes from camp and in hearing distance of the river, Rich killed the hen as not to make Coal uncomfortable. While he was walking back he held the hen out with his hand and let the blood drip onto the ground. When he got to camp, he found Coal sleeping standing up as he had seen him do so often. Deciding not to wake him, he got onto the task of plucking the feathers and skinning the dead animal. He got a fire and spit going and cooked his catch over the fire. After properly cooking the animal, he ate his trophy and finally, his stomach was satisfied. Feeling full, he took a swig of water, rolled out his sleeping roll, laid down with his rifle clutched in his hands with the safety on, and went to sleep, thinking about tomorrow's travels and adventures.