"Hey Boss. How long have we been walking?" Dario asked Cormano.

            The makeshift Drifter group had been wandering through the savanna for days, searching for the twenty-six million Gella reward. The seemingly endless expanses of amber grasses rolled on and on, forever. Cormano had led his group of wannabe Drifters west of Claiborne, hoping that the rumor of Virginia Maxwell's presence at Westwood would hold some truth. However, at the rate they had been traveling, they should have been at Westwood days ago.

            Cormano was tired. Cormano got irritated when he was tired, not to say he didn't get irritated when he was fresh. Cormano's group were without horses, so this led to the tiring factor as well as the sun beating down upon their heads. "Does it really matter Dario?! We'll walk till we get there! End of discussion!"

            "I personally think we missed it. It would probably suit us best if we turned around and headed back to Claiborne." Ian advised as he took a swig from his canteen.

            "Yea, I'm with Ian. We've been out here for day with no sign of anything!" Romero complained.

            "You all are a bunch of yellow-bellied, lily-livered, cattle calves! The central plains are nothing compared to walking day after day in the actual deserts, with nothing but the hot rocks under your feet and the hotter sun above the brim of your hat! I say we count our lucky stars and continue westward, and seeing how I'm leading this operation, we'll continue westward! Now shut up and walk!" Cormano yelled.

            "Whatever you say Cormano." Ian shrugged his shoulders.

            Romero raised his canteen to his lips, after removing the bandana. He lifted it, expecting a drink, only to feel the polished grains of sand fall upon his lips. He quickly spit out the sand and peered into the metal canteen. It was too dark to notice any water or not. He shook the canteen and then held it upside down. A slight trail of sand fell from the canteen's opening into the grass below. Romero sighed.

            "Hey boss? You hearing what I'm hearing!" Dario cried out. Instantly the other three put a hand to their ears, waiting for the strange noise hat Dario had heard. Sure enough it came, a train whistle.

            Ian glanced out to the horizon eastward, behind them. A train was coming into view. "Hey Cormano, the trains behind us!"

            Cormano turned to see the oncoming train. His eyes filled with tears. "Rescue! Quickly halt that train!"

            Ian tipped the brim of his manila hat. "And how do you expect us to do that?"

            In a matter of moment, Dario was thrown onto the railroad tracks. Cormano held his incredibly long barreled hand ARM out, aimed at Dario. Dario was shaking in his boots. The train was coming closer, ever so closer.

            "You stay on those damn tracks and stop that train or the Domar 55H will finish you off, you understand?" Cormano ordered.

            "Y-yea boss. Gulp." Dario looked straight ahead, seeing the black face of the Filgaia Express loom closer and closer.

            Romero was shaking in the grass as well; Ian simply had his arms crossed. Cormano glanced out there. "Here she comes."

            The train conductor had his head out the side window when he noticed a man on the tracks. His hat nearly flew off with the surprise. He pulled the brake handle immediately and flipped the train whistle on. The blaring noise made Dario cringe. Sparks and steam flew from the train's enormous wheels. The brakes screeched in an unearthly howl.

            "I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die." Dario rambled.

            The train came to a complete stop just a few inches away from Dario's nose. The bearded man fell over in a feint. Cormano stepped underneath the engine car's piloting window, where the conductor was sticking his head out.

            "What the hell is wrong with you folks!? I just barley stopped this train from running over your friend there!" the conductor screamed.

            Romero went and pulled Dario off the tracks. Cormano frowned. "Spare me the bull old man. Which way is it to Westwood?"

            A door on the third car down opened and out stepped a tall man, dressed in a red jacket and pants. At his side was a sheathed katana and on his head were purple tinted spectacles and an enormous Afro. Ian glanced his way.

            "Well well, if it ain't a member of the Shroedinger Gang. They must have got their Gob's Hideout job done." Ian mused.

            "Sir, you shouldn't talk to the conductor like that. It is just plain rude. You should apologize immediately to him and to all the passengers on board for stopping their voyage." The Shroedinger Gang member said.

            "Who's gonna make me, punk? You! Har har, don't make me laugh. Get back inside and no harm will come to ya." Cormano replied, aiming his Domar 55H at him.

            "I wouldn't do that if I were you Cormano…" Ian advised. "That's one of the Shroedinger's, Todd."

            "I'll ask for your information when I need it!" Cormano shouted. "Now get back in de car unless you want a bullet in yer head!"

            Todd raised his purple glasses up his nose with two gloved fingers. He then unsheathed the katana as fast as a lightning bolt and struck the ARM out of Cormano's hand. Cormano stepped back in fear. The Domar 55H fell besides the rusted tracks.

            Todd placed the katana near Cormano's neck. "Now apologize."

            "I-I'm sorry! All right! Lower that over sized butter knife afore you hurt somebody, will ya!" Cormano pleaded.

            Todd sheathed the sword as Cormano fell down on his rear. Todd pointed eastward. "Follow the tracks east, that is the way to Westwood."

            Todd then walked towards the third train car and climbed inside. Ian, Romero, and Cormano watched him leave and the train started up again.

            "Thank you!" Romero called out. He was then so fortunate to receive a smack upside the head from Cormano as he pulled himself up.

            "Ahem! If that Todd character waited any longer I would have had to done something he wouldn't find pleasant…" Cormano fibbed, hoping his followers would buy it. "Wake up that snake eating bastard. We head east."

            Cormano started down the tracks as the train pulled west. Romero smacked Dario a couple times to wake him, but not before switching his canteen.

** *

            Night had fallen again as the Maxwell Gang pulled into the outskirts of Claiborne once again. The three horses immediately set to chomping away at the delicious grass as the four set up a camp. Another three hours and they would be in the town. But that would probably be best to do tomorrow. Virginia immediately threw herself down upon her sleeping bag, exhausted. Jet, Clive, and Gallows were still making camp.

            "So how do you plan on picking up the money Gallows?" Virginia asked.

            Gallows placed some dry tinder inside a stony circle he had set up. "I… just go in there and claim it."

            "Say Gallows, what was the name you used when you took up the job?" Clive asked.

            "…Mr. Wayne … or something to that effect…" Gallows scratched his head.

            "Oh great. This is beautiful." Jet moaned.

            "The races are over. It shouldn't be so crowded as last time." Clive said.

            "You guys think that Cormano and his gang are still here?" Virginia asked.

            "If they really wanted that money, they would have left searching for us." Jet laid himself down near his things. Virginia suddenly remembered the soap dolls.

            "Say Jet, are you going to show us anymore of your models tonight?" Virginia asked.

            "… It depends…" Jet murmured.

            "What do you mean, 'it depends'?" Virginia put her hands on her hips.

            "It depends if I feel like it or not. Why do you want to see them so badly anyway?" Jet responded.

            "…" Virginia thought.

            "Because they're amazing feats of art and modeling." Clive covered for her.

            "Yea." Virginia quipped.

            "Come on, let's see if you have one of me in there!" Gallows laughed while he set up a fire.

            "All right. Sheesh." Jet dug into his bag. His hands emerged with two more models for the night. He handed them both to Virginia. "There. You happy now?"

            Virginia admired the models. She thoroughly examined every centimeter of the idols. They were perfect models of Claudia, the innkeeper's assistant in Little Twister, and of Roswell, that nut in Laxisland.

            "Woah! You made one of the seriously hot babe in Little Twister! Err… what was her name again…?" Gallows thought.

            "I believe it was Claudia." Clive answered. "Yes, the one girl you were so infatuated with the first time we went there as a team.."

            "I remember that! She turned out to be Melody! We weren't expecting that at all!" Virginia almost yelled with excitement.

            "And then Clive gave her the lecture of a life time." Jet grinned.

            Clive smiled. "When I get angry, I can give some one a good lecture."

            "That's when you first told us about Catherine and Kaitlyn. Before that we thought you were a swinging bachelor. Hee hee." Virginia giggled.

            "We are heading to Humphrey's Peak after this, aren't we?" Gallows recalled.

            "Yes. It shouldn't be much longer." Clive agreed.

            So what's the plan for getting to Humphrey's Peak?" Jet asked.

            "What's wrong with the train system?" Virginia asked as she bit into a green apple.

            "You kind of disabled the Westwood station with our last raid, if you recall." Clive reminded them.

            "Oh. It will get back up in a few days. Train stations can't afford to be out long." Virginia replied.

            How about through the mountain passes? We can get to Midland station that way." Gallows added.

            "We need mules for a mountain pass. All we have our three horses. Besides, we don't have any mountain gear." Clive told them.

            "Right. We could get mules in Little Rock…" Gallows started.

            "What's wrong with the sand canal?" Jet asked.

            Clive placed a finger to his chin. "Ah yes. That infernal place."

            "Could we get the horses through there safely?" Virginia was worried.

            "As long as we have our ARMS out at all times we should be fine. And at this time of year all the bridges inside should be up, so we don't have to leap block to block like last time." Gallows put in his input.

            "All right then. After we collect our reward we head for the sand canal, due west of Claiborne." Virginia stated.

            "But remember, we'll have to go through the Little Twister basin again: merc country." Clive told.

            "We made it this far right?! It's no problem!" Gallows said.

            "Get your feet back on the ground people!" Jet said with a bit of anger in his voice. "We'll have to be more careful than that going completely through Twister basin. Out there, there's no grass to feed the horses, so we'll be going slower. And they'll be a Drifter Gang every couple of miles out west of Little Twister!"

            Virginia, Gallows, and Clive grew silent. Virginia spoke up after a minute or two. "We'll just have to be more careful! Like Gallows said, we've come this far together, so what's this compared to what we've done?"

            "Well said Virginia." Clive agreed. "Now tomorrow should be a long day, so I suggest some sleeping."

            And so, after a quick meal, the four Drifters fell asleep, preparing for the coming day's events…