Of Women and Wolves

Disclaimer: The OC is mine, everything else belongs to Rockstar.

Minnie Haines was a girl who could get through anything - or so she told herself. She had just gotten her horse stolen right from under her about a mile or two to Thieves' Landing from the MacFarlane Ranch, and for some reason no one was around.

"Where'd everybody go?" She questioned aloud, wondering what happened in that blink of her eye when her horse got stolen. She was without her trusty pistol, a semi-automatic pistol she had actually named Betty Jane, which she had lost in the altercation. Minnie was also tired from trudging through the muddy trail that came from the day's rain, and she wished she had chosen a different day for this , a loud growl came through the air, and Minnie knew she was in trouble. A wolf came out of the trees in front of her, four more came followed and surrounded her. Now Minnie wasn't a woman of God - or one of church for that matter - but at this moment she was praying for some divine intervention to get her out of this mess. While the wolves encircled her, she silently prayed, and when they got closer she screamed for help. She knew she had no chance of running away with the wolves surrounding her, and she was surprised that she was alive right now.

Minnie noticed the wolves getting closer and closer, knowing she was defenseless as a newborn fawn right now, she tried to come up with something. She saw a stick on the ground and grabbed it for extra protection, wishing she had Betty Jane on her, and waited for the imminent attack to commence. As one wolf jumped to attack, a shot rang through the air, not only making the wolves notice, but making Minnie open her eyes. Wolves ran all towards the attacker, a bandana over the lower half of his face, and a hat standing up top his head. She stared right at him, still in shock of the happenings, and didn't even notice that the four wolves left were killed in quick succession, as if they were never there. Her wide eyes stared at tired eyes and tears flowed down her face.

"You… you saved my life…" She stated, her voice slightly shaky, "Did God send you?"

"No Ma'am," he replied, his voice sounding gruff as he walked towards her, "It was probably the Devil."

Minnie let out some laughter, although it was shaky from nearly being a pack of wolves' dinner. "Thank you, sir. I am in your debt for this. If it wasn't for me losing ole Betty Jane, I wouldn't be in this predicament."

"What happened to her?" he asked, completely oblivious to the fact that the girl he just saved was talking about her gun.

"Oh, I dropped her a while back when the wolves came after me. I was so frightened, I didn't know what to do."

"You dropped her! Was she a child?" he asked with confusion laced in his voice.

"OH! No, sir, I'm sorry, Betty Jane is my trusty pistol. I am mighty sorry for the confusion, and for the trouble I caused for you!" Minnie let out a sigh, just noticing how she had probably troubled this boy who looked no older than 20.

"It was no trouble, Miss. It was my pleasure to help. The name's Jack Marston."

"My name is Minnie Haines. It's nice to meet you, despite the circumstances." Minnie brushed a piece of auburn hair out of her face, her green eyes looking downward in a sort of shyness. Jack took this moment to take in her appearance, despite her mud-caked clothing and mussed hair. Minnie looked to be about 17, give or take a few years, and had long auburn hair that he could barely tell the length of in her low bun which looked extremely messy. She was wearing the style of the time, a long skirt covering her ankles and boots, a long sleeved shirt, buttoned to the top, with a high neck and a belt right around her waist. Her skirt happened to be frayed and torn around the bottom from the obvious walking through the woods, and mud was all over her shirt and skirt, her boots were almost being hidden by the mud itself.

"Can you walk?" Jack asked, wondering how this girl would do.

"Yes, I should be fine. Here, this is for your help." Minnie reached into her pocked and then pushed about 15 dollars into Jack's hands as she slowly got up. As soon as she was on her two feet, she walked two steps and stumbled, her legs tired from walking earlier and her nerves shot from the attack.

"Here, Miss Haines, let me at least take you into town." Jack pushed, who was just like his father, not wanting to leave a woman out in the open.

"No, no, Mr. Marston, I've troubled you enough," she said, as she stubbornly tried to push her way through the mud. Suddenly, she felt the ground getting closer to her, as she almost tripped into the mud - Jack's arms being the only thing stopping her.

"Okay, Miss Haines, you really are in no shape to be walking into town. Just let me take you, it will be a lot simpler that way." Jack pushed, not wanting someone attacked again when he could have helped. He already had guilt from his father still on his mind - thinking he should have stayed, helped him in some way.

Minnie stubbornly agreed to be helped into the criminal-ridden town, her purpose there not yet fulfilled. She knew if she didn't go with this man, that she would surely get attacked out here again, and that was the last thing that she wanted to happen. God knows, her trusty pistol was now gone and she would have to find another one in this town, without being raped or even kidnapped. Her strength was withered away with her adrenaline, and at least having one good man on her side from the moment would keep her alive for a while. The young woman was helped onto the back of the horse and wrapped her arms around the man that saved her life.

"I don't think I can thank you enough for helping me out today," Minnie stated, a yawn following soon after.

"Well, I couldn't just let you die out there. You go ahead and take a nap, I'll get you into town." Jack said, noticing how worn out the woman must have been.

"I think I will…" As Minnie said this, her words trailed off into slight mumblings that were barely heard by his ears, and sleep soon enveloped her.

Thank you guys if you read it through~!
If you review it, could you please tell me things you found wrong with it?
I'm not too fond of flames, but I love constructive criticism.