Okay this is a story that have been mulling in my "weird" mind for a loooooooooong time, some time around 2006/2007... (you'll see it on first hand when you read the first line... and I'm not going to change the year, since it's how I decided it to be ;)
So it's kinda weird for me to finally post something that literally have been gathering dust on my computer... and it's with a little trepidation that I start posting this story... but it have FINALLY been undergone some Beta reading... (Major THANKS to snowbird for beta reading for me ;) and I'm slowly working on this story (as well as my TSOM story, so for the first time I work on two stories at the same time... and as so I can't give you promises on how often I'll update...sorry)
But one other reason for me to start posting is that I REALLY would LOVE to hear what you all think about my idea, in general, the plot, well just basically how well you think my story works... :)
Present time, 2007
The wind was howling and dark clouds hung over the landscape. A lonesome figure strode through the wind, trying to find a way back into town. The task was not easy, and the person slipped numerous times on the wet and slippery path. Suddenly a large gust of wind swept down the path and tripped the person over once again. The slim figure fell over and rolled into the side of the path, hitting her head on a small rock. The rain kept falling and thunder and lightning struck moments later, a bolt of lightning struck down in a nearby small pine tree, causing it to fall over. Luckily the small rock caught the pine tree just as it was about to hit the unconscious body.
Colorado Springs 1877
Matthew rode down the small path, he was careful not to move too fast, as the path had gotten some new holes from the huge thunderstorm that had struck Colorado Springs area last night. No one dared to venture out in the storm, so he slept at Dr. Mike and Sully's homestead. Now he was on his way back home to his own homestead. He had taken the longer path on a whim; he wanted to make the journey a bit longer as this morning was bright and clear. The air smelled fresh and earthy from the rain, morning mist still hung heavy in most places. Matthew took a long inhale and thought to himself that this day was going to be really good.
When his wagon turned a bend in the road something spooked his horse. It took him few moments before he got the animal under control again. Then he scanned the road ahead of him, trying to figure out what could have scared his horse so much.
A few meters further down the road he saw a small pine tree that lay halfway over the road and realized that this unknown obstacle must have spooked his horse. Carefully leading the animal a bit closer he scanned the area around the fallen tree, trying to figure out if he could get it out of the way. Suddenly he noticed some fabric under the log and that slightly puzzled him. He jumped down from the wagon and moved cautiously closer to the tree. It seemed as if the tree had fallen over a smaller rock, forming a cave under the tree. When he got a closer look at the fabric that peeked out he suddenly realized that it was a person who was trapped under the tree! Matthew moved quickly and reached for the body. Turning it around he saw that it was a woman, and that she had an open wound on her head. She seemed to be unconscious, but when he touched her wounded head she moaned quietly.
Within few moments he had the unconscious woman placed in the back of his wagon and covered in some blankets. He got his horse to move back so he could turn the wagon around. Then he paced his horse to move fast, and hastily made his way into town.
Matthew came rushing into town; making a sharp stop in front of Dr. Mikes Clinic.
- "Dr. Mike!" Matthew shouted. He jumped down from the wagon and hurried to get the injured young woman in the clinic.
Dr. Mike rushed out of the door; she was used to being called out like this when the townsfolk needed her in an emergency, but when it was one of her children that shouted out like that it always gave her the chills. She didn't want any of her children to get hurt. In her quiet mind she sighed in relief when she saw that it wasn't one of her own children that were hurt. But in the next second her doctor's mind kicked in and she guided Matthew, who now carried the injured woman in his arm, into the clinic.
"Who is she? Where did you find her?", Dr. Mike asked and did a quick check of the young woman. She had a wound on the side of her head, it was still bleeding a little, but it didn't look serious. Dr. Mike thought that the poor woman might had gotten a severe concussion, but not anything life threatening.
While Dr. Mike checked the woman more closely, Matthew told her where he had found her. But none of them recognized the woman. This puzzled Dr. Mike, but right now it was not the time to think too much about the fact that they didn't know who was she. At this time it was necessary to check the injuries. But other than minor scrapes on her hands and on one of her knee, it seemed that the wound on the head was the only injury that needed medical attention.
Michaela worked fast and the young woman was cleaned up and her head wrapped in a bandage in no time. Dr. Mike asked Matthew to carry the unknown woman upstairs.
When Matthew laid the woman on one of the beds upstairs, he sat down in a nearby chair. His mind reeled with thoughts about who she could be? While he sat there he found the time to take a closer look at the young woman. She looked fairly young, maybe in her early twenties, her hair was blond with golden hues. The sunlight glinted in the still messed up hair. Her skin was a bit pale, but that could be from the major stress she had been under. She had not been awake yet, and Dr. Mike said that it could take some time before she would wake up.
Matthew stretched himself out, and rose from the chair. On an impulse he walked over to the bed and gently took away a strand of hair that had fallen on young woman's face. This made her moan in deep sleep, and in a split second her eyes fluttered open and then closed again. Matthew felt his heart race, not just from the joy of seeing her waking up, if only for a short while, that still had to be a good sign. But also for the fact that when he looked into her eyes for that split second it felt like his heartstrings began to pull in him; he recognized something in those eyes, something that he thought he had lost forever. Matthew shook his head and scolded himself for even having such stupid thoughts, Ingrid was dead! But he could have sworn that this woman had Ingrid's eyes. He ran a shaking hand through his semi long hair, and sat down. This was stupid, Ingrid was dead, he reminded himself, that rabid bite killed his love. His heart twisted in pain at the memory of how he lost the woman he loved.
In this somewhat shocked state was how Dr. Mike and Sully found Matthew when they walked into the room.
"Are you okay, Matthew?", Dr. Mike asked "You look like you've seen a ghost!"
"It's nothing, it's just that she just opened her eyes few moments ago. That's a good sign isn't it?", Matthew explained, trying to look calm, but his insides were still a great turmoil. He shook his head to clear his mind once more.
Dr. Mike nodded and hurried to check up on the girl. But she didn't respond to anything Dr. Mike did.
"I think we have to monitor her for the next 24 hours until she wakes up, so I guess we're going to sleep at the clinic tonight. Hope you want to help me out here Matthew, and I'll get a hold on Colleen and Andrew before they head out to the Château again. Brian is picking Katie up from the school, so they will be here soon as well". Dr. Mike planned out loud.
Matthew nodded "Sure, you can count on me, Dr. Mike", he said seriously.
Once everybody arrived in the Clinic, they made a plan of watching over the young woman during the night. Then Dr. Mike send her family off to Grace's Café to get some dinner, they would bring some back to the clinic for Dr. Mike.
Then the night came and all through it each one of them had one shift and they sat next to the unknown woman. It was a long night for everyone.
When Matthew was sitting next to the girl in the early morning he was thinking again about what he had seen when she opened her eyes. Could it just be his mind playing tricks on him? It had to be, because he had never seen this woman before, and he knew that the Bergman family had moved further west, close to Los Angeles. And as far as he knew he had seen all the members of Ingrid's family. He had not heard of another sibling or relative that should also be in America.
Matthew was still sitting next to the unknown woman's bed when the sun started to rise, beginning a new day. He rubbed his eyes with his hands, and stretched his body. He needed to stand up for awhile, so he got up and looked down at the still sleeping woman. Matthew wondered how long it would be before she would wake up. He gently touched her shoulder and felt the warmth from her body on his hands. Suddenly, her eyes opened and she stared at him with a crazed look in them. Matthew jumped back a little, startled that she woke up so suddenly.
"Where am I?" the woman said in a mere whisper, her voice was a little hoarse as well.
Her head was pounding like there where someone hitting it with a hammer. She moved in the bed, and felt her stiff body, but the excruciating pain in her head was by far the worst. Gently she put a hand to her head, and felt the bandage wrapped around it. She closed her eyes tightly trying to send away the pain and dizziness. But no matter how much she tried, it was the same when she opened her eyes. She tried to focus on her surroundings. There was a man standing next to the bed she was laying in. He looked at her with concern in his eyes. She had no idea who he was or where was she. She turned to look around the room; it looked rather old and rustic in her opinion, with the wooden walls and old furniture. She couldn't remember anything at all.
"Where am I?", she repeated her question once more, and looked at the young man.
"You're in Colorado Springs."
Okay, the woman thought, she was not that far away from home. She knew she lived in Salida, a small town close to Colorado Springs. She sighed in relief when she got that information. But as she looked closer at the man standing next to her she got a puzzled look at her face once more. His clothes looked like it could be from the last century, with a white shirt and brown dusty pants. She looked once more around the room and saw that there was a worn hat on the bedside table. It reminded her of the hats cowboys wore in the few cowboy movies she vaguely remembered seeing once.
"Okay…", she paused, not knowing how to ask her next question "Are you sure… everything looks so different, I mean your clothes and this room… where am I exactly?"
Matthew raised his eyebrows just a bit, that was an odd question he thought, what more did she want to know? He couldn't tell her who she was, but he did know that she was in Colorado Springs.
"I mean, you really are in Colorado Springs, and I don't know what you mean about things being different, I don't understand" She didn't respond, and she looked troubled somehow. He continued: "I… I mean we don't know who you are either."
This question made her brow wrinkle in deep thoughts. Who was she? Who was she? The more she thought about it, the more pain she felt in her head. Who was she? She really didn't know that herself. When that realization hit her, her breath stopped and she shook her head in agony.
"I... I… I don't know…I don't know my name!", she whispered. She started to cry, resting her even more throbbing head in her hands
Matthew hurried to her side and tried to comfort her, telling her that everything is going to be okay. He tried to explain that Dr. Mike said that something like this could occur when her head had been hurt like that.
When her sobbing slowly stopped, she started to shake her head in disbelief.
"How can I remember that I live in Salida, and I know that it's near Colorado Springs, but not my name?", she asked the man and watched as he shook his head saying "I don't know much about this, but I think Dr. Mike could answer that much better. I'll be right back."
She nodded and watched him as he walked out of the door. She rested her head on the pillow trying to get her mind in order. But it confused her beyond belief laying here in this room that pretty much reminded her of some old cowboy movie she saw once.
Suddenly, the sound of gunshot was heard. She bolted upright in her bed, causing her head to spin and she felt nauseated. But after a few seconds the world stopped spinning and her curiosity got the better of her. Slowly, she got out of the bed, the wooden floor felt rough beneath her feet. She walked over to the window and pulled the thin curtain away.
What she saw made her breathless; she looked out into a street filled with horses, wagons and people who had old looking clothes on. The women wore dresses that looked like they where from the last century, and the men wore similar antic looking clothes.
She closed her eyes and shook her head, but when she opened them again the image was still there. Then she started to look a bit closer at the scene before her. There was a mercantile down the street where an elderly man was sweeping the boardwalk. Suddenly, she saw a redheaded woman walking up to the store, next to her walked a dark skinned man wearing Indian clothes, he even had few feathers in his hair. Was that a real Indian? Her head was spinning like crazy, where in the world was she?! It looked much like a stage set up for an old western movie. This could not be happening.
Suddenly, her eyes caught a commotion at the house located on the other side of the street. The place had a huge sign saying "Saloon". There was a crowd gathered around on the boardwalk in front of the saloon. But when another gunshot was heard people began to move away again, yet still keeping an eye on what was happening inside the building.
And then a long haired man came out of the door of the saloon dragging along a rough looking man and in the other hand he held a riffle. He threw the man out on the street, but kept the weapon in his hand. Then he shouted something at the man and glared at the curious crowd before he walked back into the saloon. A short while later two men came out carrying a third man who was limping. There was blood on his pants and it looked like he had been shot.
From her point of view it still looked like a scene from a cowboy movie, but she couldn't find the cameras and lighting or any other sign of this being a movie set. Her mind swirled; what was happening, where was she?! The more she thought about it, the more her head hurt. She steadied herself by resting her hands on the window sill as she started to feel sick.
Then she heard voices outside in the hallway.
"I only have a minute; I need to go back down and help Colleen and Andrew. Connor O'Neill has a serious gun shot wound in his leg, it could become complicated." It was a woman talking.
That man had been shot, like really been shot, with a real gun! Her thoughts twirled around like a hurricane. This was real, she was not dreaming. Her mind started to go blank and she felt herself sinking to the floor, before everything went completely dark she heard the female's voice again.
"Matthew, please, help her back in the bed, she must have seen what happened over at Hank's Saloon. She could be in shock."
To be continued...
Note: chapter 2 is written and beta read, but still need one or two final read through by myself... hope to get it ready to upload in a day or two... ;) after that anything can happen, hope you all bear with me on this note... and please leave reviews that can give me some pointers on how this story will work, and what you like or dislike about my whole plot... ;)
Note Note: the town name Salida is a real town located somewhere west of Colorado Springs... google map search it if you don't believe me... I needed a town that had NOT been founded until after 1877... Hurrah for wikipidia... ;) You'll realize why later on in the story... ;)
