Setting Sun
By Nelys The Alchemist
Chapter 1
The sandy landscape stretched out in all directions around a scattering mess of old dilapidated buildings. The town was the only thing within miles to break the monotony of desert sand for the eye, with hot wind blowing dust and grit around the old buildings and across what was left of the pockmarked road. The sun blazed overhead, slowly bleaching out any color that remained on the worn signs above the storefronts. The town held the general layout of most other towns in the region, with stores struggling to supply the needs of those who dared try to scratch out a living in the hot and dry world.
A general store, livery, hotel and saloon, dentist and undertaker made this town much like any a man would find in the rest of the world. A few smattering of houses trying desperately to grow anything plant and animal alike could be found surrounding the town, some deserted and none thriving, which in turn surrounded the only source of water for miles. Just like every other town.
Heero Yuy woke to the usual early morning warmth from the sun that came peeking into his windows and rolled out of bed. The floorboards creaked, an old and dry sound in the air around him, as he moved about in search of somewhat clean clothes. He pulled on light pants the natural color of the cotton used and his scuffed and reliable leather boots and went into what might have been called a kitchen at some point in time. After some searching of the barren shelves and pantry he found a bit of stale bread and just enough jam to make it edible, shoving it quickly into his mouth before turning back out of the room.
His last stop was the bathroom, and also the last place he ever wanted to be. He stopped quickly to attend to business before pausing at the sink. A quick glance in the cracked mirror found cobalt eyes glaring and nearly lost among tumbled locks of dark brown hair and a days worth of a beard. Before he could talk himself out of it he reached for a switch on the wall, flipping it to hear an old engine struggle to start up. It was always a wonder to him how it started at all after all this time. He turned a knob on the sink and put both hands under the spray of sand that issued from the faucet. Stifling a groan as his skin was blasted he grit his teeth and rubbed his hands quickly before bowing his head down and allowing the stinging sand to hit his face. This was followed by a quick and rough scrubbing under each arm before he shut both the faucet and generator off. Using a towel from the wall he brushed as much residue off his skin as possible before pulling a long sleeved shirt with several buttons missing on over his tank top, not bothering with the buttons as it kept him cooler to leave it open. The only reason to wear sleeves at all was to keep the sun off his arms anyway. He was dark enough from the blasted thing.
On his small and battered front porch that stretched across the front of the small and battered house he noticed a figure dressed in white across the other end of town. He was nothing beyond a speck that Heero could see but he looked to be coming in, which seemed unusual to Heero as most people who came in did so by coach or mule and only stayed when they had to. With a shake of his head he himself headed into town and to the job that kept him alive and able to live in his small and battered house.
Nodding to the few other townsfolk he passed Heero was quickly at the door of Sunny's Gun Shop and stopped once more to watch the man dressed in white continue his march into town. He was coming from the east and had neither mule nor buggy of any kind to take him this far and Heero wondered how he had gotten so far with just his two feet. He knew how great a distance it was to the next town and to make the trek by foot was insanity. Having come from that direction once upon a time had been tough as any journey and he'd gotten lucky enough to hitch a ride with someone in a rarely seen truck.
A gunshot rang out from within the shop and Heero rolled his eyes as he came through the door. The shop was small, dirty and disorganized. Much like the owner herself. Said owner sat behind the counter in her standard uniform of coveralls over a tank top with her booted feet daintily crossed on the counter and a smoking gun in her hand.
"You're smiling," Heero said in his usual monotone. "You must have got one this time."
"You bet I did," Hilde replied with a smirk as she eyed the still smoking barrel she held pointed to the ceiling. "I got the little sucker that ran off with my breakfast yesterday."
Not wanting to see the carnage of a gunned down Gila lizard Heero ducked under the old wooden counter and opened one of the cabinets, pulling out gun pieces and various cleaning tools. Hilde slid off the stool she was perched on and passed the gun over to him, watching him quietly for a moment.
"You're later than usual today."
He shrugged.
"You got an air about you too, and I don't mean from the heat."
He paused a moment. "There's someone coming into town."
"Oh yeah?" Her eyes lit up and she went to the door, sticking her head through the glassless frame and craning to see to the left, then the right. "Someone looking for a gun I hope."
"He looks different," He replied in the same monotone. "I can't tell from so far away but there's something different about him."
"Well maybe that's money. We're so used to not seeing it around here I'd be surprised if I could still recognize it." Hilde leaned back out of the window while bouncing on her heels and peered toward the edge of town. The dot of white Heero spoke of was slowly getting larger.
"Money doesn't walk in without a mule Hilde."
She threw him a dirty look. "Stop ruining my good mood."
Heero worked hard in the dusty gun shop, slowly piecing together weapons as Hilde found them. Technically he was also to run the register but there were hardly ever people there to buy, so he spent most days repairing and cleaning and polishing the wares in the shop while she bartered on the days she was there.
For the moment she was at the saloon, the only place to ever make any real money, helping the bartender serve drinks and run card games.
He paused as a whisper of a sound crept across his consciousness and looked up, squinting against the brightness of the light coming through the frame. Slowly his eyes adjusted and he watched two children go running down the road and his curiosity got the better of him. He had a pretty fair idea of what they were running towards but his hands set down the gun piece with a soft 'thunk' and his feet moved his body around the counter to the doorway anyway.
The object of their hunt was walking slowly up the road within the town limits, layers of white billowing around him. There was a white cap of the same material on his head, presumably to keep the sun off, and a worn looking bag slung over his shoulder. The clothes looked well worn and dusty, not at all uncommon, but the face of the stranger was young and friendly looking and he smiled when the children ran up to him.
"My sister thought you were a ghost!" The little boy exclaimed.
"Nu-uh!" She replied even as she hid behind her brother.
The stranger laughed.
"In this heat I wish I was a ghost, I might be cooler," He replied as he bend down and rested his hands on his knees. "Can one of you tell me where the hotel is? I've been walking for a long time."
The children nodded as he stood and allowed them to pull him along. As the three passed the gun shop, drifting past Heero who stood just enough inside so as not to be seen, the stranger turned and looked him directly in the eye, unnerving him enough to take a step back away from the window. His instincts were not warning him of danger from this person, but they were warning him of something. If only he could figure out what.
Author's Note:
So here's chapter one of something I've been working on for some time but finally found the courage to post. This is my first true attempt at a multi-chaptered fic so please excuse any clumsiness that may come from formatting SNFU's while I iron out the process. This is a long tale, so the chapters will get longer (I think) but for the moment I'm just trying to break them up as it makes sense. Please comment and let me know if you like it so far.
~Nelys