The New Regulator

A/N: This story is in the process of being re-written to make it flow better. I'd love to get your feedback, good, bad or otherwise. Enjoy.

Adios.

...

"We must've searched high an' low fer that hussy an' I'll be damned if I know where she's gone."

I shifted my grip on my pistol and leaned closer to the edge of my hiding place. I had no interest in getting caught this close to escaping.

"Let's try over there."

The footsteps faded and I released the breath I'd been holding. "That was close," I whispered peering around the corner. The path to freedom was partially blocked by wagons and, unfortunately for me, a lot of Murphy's gang were hanging around. "Good luck finding me," I hissed moving to re-holster my pistol.

"Gee, I must be the luckiest guy around then?"

I froze as a rifle barrel was placed against my back.

"Thought you'd get away did you? You sneaky little bitch!" the man grabbed a fistful of my coat and pushed his face right close to mine. "Thought you'd escape justice fer killing members of the Murphy-Dolan faction did you?" he spat in my face and laughed. "You will hang, girl."

"I don't think so, you son of a bitch," I raised my hand and fired a round straight into the bastards head. As soon as he hit the dirt I was hot-footing it down the road, ducking and weaving around people, goods and animals. A quick glance behind me showed no pursuit, so I hid behind a stack of barrels to catch my breath. Still on alert I jumped a little when a wagon pulled up next to me. I quickly aimed my pistol at the occupants, only to find a rifle pointed back; held by a young man with sandy-blond hair.

"Howdy," he said with a smile on his face.

The other man smiled at me "on you get, I can help you."

I looked around quickly before scrambling into the back of the wagon. I laid low as we left town but once we'd passed out of sight I sat up. I eyed the two strangers suspiciously and kept my hand on my pistol. The older of the two handed over the reigns to the younger and turned to face me.

"You don't need to fear, my dear," he said. "I'm on your side, so can you tell me your name?"

"Jacqueline Williams," I replied narrowing my eyes "Jackie for short."

The man nodded "and how old are you Jacqueline?"

"I turned nineteen last month, why do you care?"

"It isn't very often one comes across a young lady escaping a hanging."

The younger man turned in his seat and stared at me wild eyed. "You're a girl?!"

"You got a problem with that?"

Blondie shook his head and focused again on driving.

The old man chuckled "I think you'll fit in with the boys very well, don't you agree Josiah?"

Josiah made a noise that sounded like "yes" and flicked the reigns.

We followed a track that snaked its way through the scrub and hills, until I saw a large ranch spreading out in front of us. I nervously pulled my at my bandanna as we came through the gate and I saw a group of young men emerge from the house.

One of them stepped forward and held the reigns of the horse. "John, I need to have a word with you about Billy."

"What has he done to pig this time, Richard?" the old man sighed.

"He painted it blue."

The old man raised an eyebrow "did he now?" he looked around at the others. "Well in that case, William can show our young friend to the bunkhouse and then wash the pig."

The others came closer as I got off the wagon and William turned out to be the smallest of the group. He came over with a frown on his face and jerked his thumb behind him.

"The bunkhouse is this way." He slouched off around the corner of the big house and towards a smaller building.

I followed behind as he entered the porch and was glad to get out of the heat. I took off my hat and wiped my face with my bandanna.

William turned around and was about to say something when he stopped suddenly. "You're a girl?!"

"Your friend Josiah reacted the same way."

William chuckled "that's Doc for ya." He turned back around and lead the way down the hall to the last room. "This'll be yours as long as you can stand to be here, oh and one other thing."

"What?"

"Only John calls me William, everyone else calls me Billy."

I looked around the room, keeping my guard up, and found it satisfactory. "I suppose the same goes for Josiah?"

Billy nodded "the rest of us boys just call him Doc."

"Whatever, the same goes for me too," I replied. "I answer to Jackie most of the time and, if you keep looking at me like that, I'm gonna paint the wall a nice shade of brain okay?"

"She's got you in your place doesn't she, Chivato?" a shadow appeared in the doorway and a tall Indian stepped into the room.

Billy stepped back. "Say what you will Chavez," he sniggered "I'll soften her up eventually."

Billy stepped around Chavez and headed outside. I glanced uneasily at the Indian and fiddled with my pistol.

"Easy, I'm not going to hurt you." Chavez help up his hands.

"Sorry, I'm still a little jumpy from today and now I'm surrounded by strangers."

"It's fine, Gatito, just take your time." Chavez stepped out of the room and looked towards the house. "I was the same as you when I first arrived here; unsure if I was surrounded by friend or foe." Chavez looked back at me. "It took time, but I slowly made friends and I'm sure it won't take long for you either."

"Thank you for that," I replied. "I'll do my best."

"Come on, we need to wash up for supper."

…

The meal spread on the table was far better than anything I'd had recently so, once Grace had been said, I dove right in. I shovelled food into my mouth in a ravenous, unladylike manner as though it was my last meal.

"Slow down Gatito, you'll choke." Chavez placed his hand on my arm.

"What did you call her, Cha-vez?" a boy sitting across from me asked.

"It means kitten" I told him.

He burst out laughing and I placed my hand on my holster, fully prepared to throw down over the dinner table.

"I wouldn't if I were you" the stocky boy on my other side said under his breath.

"Why?"

"Well, Steve, he doesn't mean no harm by laughing."

"Never the less, Charles," John said firmly "it was inappropriate behaviour for the supper table and at the expense of our new friend." John looked back at me "now Jacqueline, I would like to know how you came to be marked for death."

"Well, it began last month at my fathers' ranch. I was waiting for him to come in for supper to celebrate my birthday, when all of a sudden he came tearing down the track; his face white as a sheet. The horse had barely stopped before he leapt down and ran inside; barring the door behind him. I asked him what was wrong and he muttered something that sounded like 'curse that Murphy bastard' before going to the linen press and retrieving his rifle. I had rarely seen my father with his gun and the times I did normally involved horse thieves. I looked out the window and saw a group of men coming down the track with faces like thunder.

Father told me to go upstairs and hide until he saw the men off. I didn't want to leave him but he all but pushed me to the stairs. I relented and went straight to the window that looked over the yard. I looked down and saw that the men had stopped. A few had dismounted and were walking towards the door, calling out to my father to sign the ranch over to them or they would take it by force. My father replied with a curse and a shot was fired. The men on the horses pulled their guns out and began firing at the house; some of the bullets ricocheted into the window next to me, showering me in glass. I looked around the room and spotted my fathers' old rifle in the corner.

I took hold of it and, after finding it loaded, aimed the sight at the first man in the group. My aim was true and he tumbled off his horse and landed heavily in the dust. His companions seemed stunned so I aimed the rifle again and took out another before another barrage of bullets flew through the window. I didn't raise my head until the bullets had stopped and I cautiously looked out of the window; to find the strangers were collecting their dead and heading back up the track. I saw this as an opportunity to see what had happened to my father so I went downstairs, only to be faced with a disaster zone. The house was shot to pieces and the lifeless body of my father was slumped under the window. Without thinking, or checking to see if the house was clear, I ran over to him and through my tears I could see he was riddled with bullet holes. I sat back on my heels and cursed the strangers who'd done this. I only registered there was someone behind me when their shadow fell across mine.

He grabbed hold of me and roughly tied my hands together with a piece of rope. 'Just cuz' yer a girl, don' think you'll get any special treatment at yer hangin'. The man smirked and hauled me kicking and screaming out the door. He heaved me onto his horse and headed up the track to meet up with the others, who were setting up camp a short way off the main track. They jeered when I was pulled down from the saddle and shoved to the ground.

'She's a real wildcat fer sure' the man said as the group started their supper. 'Might as well have some fun on the way back, whataya say fellas?'

All but one cheered and I focused on him. I pegged him as the lowest ranked so he would most likely be left on first watch, I just had to figure out how to get his gun off him. The opportunity came to me after everyone else had gone to sleep. I looked over at the sentry and cleared my throat. 'I need to have a movement,' I told him 'do you mind untying me?'

He narrowed his eyes as he mulled it over before coming over and removing the rope. He followed me behind a bush and I kicked him in the shin, causing him to stagger, before diving for his gun. 'One word and I'll blow your brains out first' I hissed in his ear as I lead him back to camp. I tied his hands behind him and walked over to the man who'd threatened me and shot him in the head. The sound woke up the others so I quickly fired off rounds until it was just me and my captive. I began digging through their packs, looking for ammunition with which I reloaded the pistol. I turned towards the man by the fire.

'I want you to take a message back to your bastard of a boss and tell him that I will deliver his soul into the fiery pit of Hades!' I went over to the horses and picked out the calmest one. I loaded up the ammunition and mounted him, then turned to face the man again. I threw a knife into the ground between his legs 'free yourself with that and remember what I told you.' I spurred the horse forwards and headed back to the ranch. I tied the reigns to the back porch and gave the horse some hay and water before heading into the darkened kitchen, struggling to locate the candles and matches. I decided to bury my father in the old barn as I could work in peace and the candle wouldn't be noticed. I took a candle with me and set it carefully on an upturned cart. Once the ground was prepared I carefully carried my father to the barn and, once covered with dirt, spent a good half hour praying for his soul before extinguishing the candle and heading back to the house.

I located the strong box that held our money and stuffed into a sack that also had a few personal items in it. I dug around in the pantry for food that would last and filled one of the horses' saddle bags, while placing the money and my things in the other. I mounted the horse and after taking one final glance at the only home I'd ever known I turned his head toward the wilderness.

I spent a few weeks roaming the land on my way to Lincoln every now and then hiding from Murphy men. By the end of yesterday I was in the town. I kept my bandanna over my face in case I was recognised as I rode down the main street. I spotted a shop selling guns and bought a few items; I didn't want to spend too long in town as I was growing uneasy with some of the looks being shot in my direction. Once everything was secured to the saddle I left town and set up camp a few miles away. I pulled my bandanna down and was just breathing a sigh of relief when footsteps reached my ears. I turned around and my stomach dropped. The man I'd let live was standing there with a few friends.

'Yer gonna wish you'd killed me when you had the chance, girl!' he growled stepping forward with his rifle raised. The barrel was pressed against my forehead and he jerked his head at one of the others. 'Got that rope?'

'Righ' here' a short, well-dressed, man said. He tied my together and ran a hand over my body as though he were a lover.

'Now you just come quietly' the first man said with a smirk as the revulsion was clearly seen on my face. He tugged on the rope as he headed off causing me to stumble. They all laughed as we made our way to the courthouse and I was thrown on the floor of the dock.

'Tomorrow the fugitive, known as Jacqueline Williams, will be brought to justice for the killing of six innocent men.'

I glared at the judge and restrained myself from cursing by the inside of my mouth.

'I hereby sentence you to hang by the neck until you are dead, may God have mercy on your soul!' the gavel was slammed down and I was roughly hauled to a secure room, and I was restrained with cuffs and chains.

The men left and night soon fell. As the hours passed I was planning my escape, I ignored the food they brought me and wracked my brain for ways to get out of my situation. I didn't realise I'd fallen asleep until I woke to the sun streaming in the window. I began to panic as I realised it was mid-morning and I was due to hang at noon, so I looked around the room for anything that would help. I put my foot on the chain between the cuffs and pushed, slowly working my hands free as the tramp of boots started moving towards me. I picked up the fire poker and bashed it hard over the first head to enter the room before diving for his gun in the ensuing chaos. Amidst all the yelling and the press of bodies I dashed out of the building and up the street towards my camp. I had to take a different route when Murphy men appeared in front of me which is when you appeared on the scene Mr. Tunstall."

The hush in the room was as though it was a sick room, the boys were quiet and Steve looked more than a little nervous.

"I can't thank you enough for helping me," I said with a small smile. "I would really like to get my horse back as soon as possible though."

The old man nodded. "It's still relatively light out, so William can take you back into town."

Billy seemed quite affected by my tale and it was only when John repeated his name a second time that he answered.

"Sure, let's go."

I followed him outside to the stable. He mounted the first horse in the stalls, without tack, and pulled me up behind him before heading towards town in silence. I pressed a hand to his shoulder and pointed in the direction of my camp. "He should be over there so sit tight, I'll be back soon."

Billy nodded and, once I was on the ground, moved behind some trees and out of sight from the road.

I crept towards my camp on alert for any sound that would indicate company, upon hearing nothing I picked up my pace and was immensely relieved to find my camp how I'd left it. The horse was happy to see me and all my things were still in the saddle bags so I quickly mounted up and trotted back to Billy. Just as I reached him I heard shouts and gunshots coming from town.

"Just a bar fight," Billy said spurring his horse forwards. "Let's go before anyone finds us."

It was just getting dark when we arrived. We dismounted and led the horses back to the stables where I removed the saddle bags and gave my horse some hay and water. After lugging my things to the bunkhouse I followed Billy back into the house, to join the others who were seated around the fire.

"Now that you have returned there I something I wish to know," John said looking up at me with a gentle smile on his face. "Would you like to stay here and become one of my Regulators?"

"Yes sir, I think I would," I replied with a small smile.

"Excellent! Now I think it's time you all went to bed as we have an early start tomorrow," John got up and patted my shoulder before leaving the room.

The boys and I went back to the bunkhouse and said goodnight. I locked my door just in case, I wasn't sure about these strangers just yet and didn't want to take chances. I kicked off my boots and hung my holster on the bed post. Once stripped down to my shirt I climbed into bed and realised it would take me a little while to get used to sleeping in a bed again, I won the battle eventually and soon slipped into sleep; safe at last.