Okay, so I had this idea in my head for a while now, but after seeing one of the stills from the TDA Blog, I decided I had to do it. So here it is, folks Way Out West!
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Chapter One: Strangers In Town
It was hot, very hot, so hot you could fry an egg hot. You people get the hotness of the weather now right? Good, anyways it was hot in the little town of Wawanakwa. Surprisingly, even after the colonists stole the land from under the Indians' noses they still had the kindness to keep the land's old name. But moving along…under the blazing sun, there was barely anyone outside, inside however was a different story. Although air conditioning was not invented yet, the inside shade was still a lot better than drying yourself up in the barren land, which would explain why most of the small population of Wawanakwa was inside the Alamo Saloon.
It wasn't the biggest building in the town, but it served it purpose: a place where people could relax. There were cowboys playing poker and showgirls were strutting their stuff. Owen Harding was playing the piano, looking slightly ridiculous sitting on a small wooden bench, wearing a red vest reaching its maximum stretch factor, and a black bowler's hat that was two sizes too small.
Not everyone was busy gambling their savings away or flirting, Courtney Summers, the owner of the only bank in Wawanakwa was by the bar. Sitting on a stool in a comfortable modest dress, she lazily took a swig of beer. (Yes people, the heat was so intense, it has made Courtney become calm and slightly lazy!) Beside her was Gwen Brodka, wearing a dress that was almost as flashy as the showgirls. Although, she wasn't going to be putting on a show anytime soon, or do anything else of great importance for that matter. She usually sat around observing the surroundings; being the girlfriend of the town mayor was a rewarding thing.
"God, why didn't I move to San Francisco when I had the chance? I could be sipping wine in style right now," Courtney said, huffing a bit from the heat. Gwen only nodded; she had heard this rant before. She was slightly cooler than the rest, as she had her own oriental fan that Mayor Trent Hannigan had got for her when he visited San Francisco. She turned to the swinging doors of the saloon, only now noticing a shadow forming behind it.
In came two strangers, one in classic cowboy attire and the other in what appeared to be animal skin fashioned to look like regular pullover shirt and pants. The cowboy, tall and blonde with a blindly pink shirt under his leather vest strode in slowly, while his friend, also tall and very muscular followed suit.
"Excuse me, miss? Is this the town of Wawanakwa? The one in need of a new sheriff?" the cowboy asked the two ladies by the bar.
"Why'd you need to know?" asked Courtney, eyeing the two men critically, like she would with bank notes to check if they were frauds.
The young man took off his cowboy hat and tipped it in their direction slightly, "The name's Geoff, miss, Geoff Murdock. Me and my friend here are looking for a job, we're both strong, have never committed any crimes, and my friend can speak Apache."
"Still doesn't mean you'll make good sheriffs," piped a voice from behind the counter. The bartender, a young, blonde, petite woman had joined in the conversation, although was not too whole heartedly into it. She nodded her head at the other man, "what's your friend's name?"
The animal skin clad man merely smiled, "My official name is Dog's Journeyman, but most of you people call me DJ. And before you ask, yes I was raised in a peaceful tribe, dedicated to make a better connection between the peoples…in other words, I won't be scalping you anytime soon." He laughed at his joke, but the bartender barely flinched.
Suddenly a ruckus started in the corner of the saloon, apparently two drunkards had drawn the same exact card and were now arguing about who was cheating. Geoff quickly got off his stool and turned to face the fight, "step aside ladies, and let's make this a little preview of my skills" But he barely made half a step forward when he heard the sound of a shotgun being cocked behind him. Apparently the noise was loud enough to also draw the attention of the two drunkards who along with Geoff, turned to face the origin of the sound.
The lady bartender had decided to take another approach, and had taken out a 14 gauge muzzle loading shot gun out; she pointed at the door and said calmly, "I suggest you two take this outside." The two men promptly straightened the over turned table and staggered out. Satisfied, the bartender placed the gun back to its place behind the counter and seeing the look on the two strangers' faces said "I've never shot anyone before, if you're wondering, I usually just shoot the ground and give troublemakers a little scare." She quickly turned back to her previous activity of cleaning the glasses.
Geoff eased back into his stool, "A 14 gauge muzzle loading shotgun, huh? That's a pretty big gun for a…"
"If the next words out of your mouth are 'little lady' then I suggest you seriously think of the consequences before deciding if you should say them," replied the lady behind the counter. Gwen, Courtney and DJ just watched the interaction, amused expressions on their faces.
"Well then, how should I call you Miss…?"
The bartender just smiled slightly and turned back to the wall, carefully placing the clean glasses in their places.
Geoff, feeling slightly dejected, quickly changed the topic, 'So…what happened to the old sheriff?"
"He retired," stated Courtney simply.
"Wow, not a lot of sheriffs live to that old an age to retire," DJ said in awe.
Courtney had a confused expression on her face, "What? No, the old sheriff is about as old as you guys, he retired extra early because he said he wanted to quit while he was still n good health. Lazy is more what I'll call it."
"Or maybe it's because Duncan was getting sick and tired of you calling him to constantly check people out who are loitering in your bank." Gwen said.
"Yes well, Duncan didn't need to make fun of my so called obsession. It was logical thinking, I'm the only bank within a fifteen hundred mile radius and loiterers usually mean one thing: robberies."
"Moving along," Gwen said, knowing that if she let her continue it'll turn into a full hour rant, "I happen to be dating a highly influential man in this town, and I think you two might make good sheriffs, at least for the time being."
DJ and Geoff beamed, "Thank you so much for the offer," DJ said.
"No problem at all, do you guys have a place to stay?"
"We're currently looking for a place that can provide a stable for our horses. We'll love it if someone can show us around town," Geoff said, eyeing the blonde barkeep who was currently serving a drink to showgirl with her cowboy boyfriend. The showgirl was also blonde, but had a look on her face that said that her dress size probably exceeded her IQ.
"I'll be happy to help," a new voice popped in. The owner of the voice was a small, slightly scrawny man with brown hair, wearing a tattered old light brown suit and pants over a white, shirt. A thin, black lace was tied into a bow around his neck, "Name's Cody Fargo, I pick locks, open safes and tests them for a living, and trust me, I'm very good." He stuck out his hands to shake, trying his best to become friends with the new sheriffs. "Funny story, I actually moved here from San Francisco, I wanted to settle down you know?"
"What's funny is that when Mayor Trent went there he heard that you ran away because you owed some pretty bad men money form poker games," Gwen said wit a smirk.
Cody continued, undeterred, "anyways, I know this town backwards and forwards, I can give you the best tour around," he tried to sling his arm around the two men's shoulders but found he was just a bit too short, "shall we move on?"
"Uh, sure," said Geoff as he followed the small man out the door, but not before turning back again and saying to the bartender, "I guess we'll be seeing a lot more of each other then, Miss…"
"I'll give my name when I'm ready to," was the curt response.
Once the men were gone, the barkeep's best female costumers turned to her.
"Just what was your problem?" asked Courtney. "They seemed okay, I mean they're way better than Duncan."
"I know their type; sure they seem tough now but let me tell you, when this town's in real trouble, we won't be seeing them anytime soon."
"Oh come on Bridgette," Gwen said, finally saying her name, she would've said it sooner to Geoff, but figured her friend wouldn't have liked that, "not everyone who comes in this town is bad."
Bridgette didn't look so convinced "the last few times some strangers came into town, it spelled trouble."
"Well, what can you expect? We're the prime target for the dreaded Red Hand Gang." suddenly, as if by cue, dramatic music surrounded them, the three ladies turned to face Owen, who blushed slightly and resumed playing normally.
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So now we've seen most of the gang! Others will be appearing shortly, don't worry. Just who is the Red Hand Gang? You'll find out soon enough! Also, some things were slightly inspired by the video game GUN, and this might not be the most historically accurate plot out here.