Author's Note: Ok, I'm not sure if I'm going to take a break from this or not. I seem to have lost a all my fans except two. Is this story going too long? Please let me know. I do have two other stories to work on.
Chapter 53: In the Old West
"This can't be..." Peter breathed.
"No!" Davy shouted angrily. "No, no, no!"
"Davy, calm down," Piper said sympathetically. "Getting angry isn't going to accomplish anything."
"I don't understand," Micky said more to himself than anyone else. "I thought Chronos was going to send us back home. Why were we sent here?"
"Maybe he didn't mean to," Piper said. "He's working on trying to fix it; maybe this is just an unforeseen complication from the curse."
"Can we expect to jump around to more eras?" Mike asked.
"I really don't know," Piper said. "Maybe."
"This is insane," Davy muttered. "I just want to go home."
"We all do, Davy," Mike said. "But we don't have much of a choice."
"What do we do now?" Peter asked. "Try to blend in again?"
"Unless you wanna sleep out here on the ground tonight," Mike said. "With the snakes and scorpions."
"Uh, let's not," Micky said shuddering at the thought.
"Wait a second," Piper said. "I was a little bored and came up with a spell yesterday that might help us so we can fit in better. It's a spell that should alter the state of our clothes."
"What?" Davy asked.
"She can manipulate our clothing to match those of this era," Mike explained.
"So we don't have to steal more clothes?" Peter asked hopefully.
"No," Piper said.
"And you can make them less itchy and heavy?" Micky asked.
"Yes," Piper laughed a little. "Hold still." Piper closed her eyes and muttered a little under her breath. Micky suddenly felt a temporary cold sensation envelop his body as if someone were wrapping a wet blanket around him. He looked down and saw he was now dressed in the same style as the men off in the distance.
"I like these," Peter said admiring his own new getup. All four boys wore the same outfit that appeared to be what passed for formal attire of the time: a dark tail coat and trousers with a dark waistcoat, and a shirt with a winged collar, a top hat, and heeled boots with a slightly narrow toe. The way Piper was dressed nearly took Micky's breath away. She wore a dark purple corseted gown trimmed with lace that matched her black boots and small purple lace hat.
"They are more comfortable than the other ones," Davy said.
"Still just as hot, though," Micky said.
"I think that may be the location more than the clothes," Mike said scanning the horizon. "We're obviously in the middle of the desert. It looks like there's a water tower out there. That means there's a town. We should head that way."
"Are we going to use the same cover story?" Peter asked following Mike as he started leading the way.
"It worked last time," Micky said. "I don't see why not."
"I don't know if we'll get lucky again and get free room and food in exchange for work," Mike said.
"Worth a shot to ask," Piper said.
"At least they don't hate the British," Davy said. "I don't have to worry about being arrested."
"Nonetheless, we should all just keep a low profile," Mike said. "I don't know exactly what era we're in, but it appears to be old west. Which means they're still strict on morals. If you guys are ok with it, I'd like to stick to the story you two are married so we don't attract any unwanted attention."
"Agreed," Micky said. "I really don't want to go through anything like what we just went through and I'm pretty sure if they convicted people just for adultery in this time, they'll have a field day with an unmarried woman sleeping in the same room as four men."
"It would be nice if we had money to get separate rooms," Peter said.
"I'd rather be able to keep an eye on Piper," Micky said. "We haven't seen the Devil for days. I'm hazarding a guess that he's in this time period along with us and I don't want to run the risk that he decides to mess with us just to have a little fun."
"You think he would?" Davy asked.
"I imagine he's a little bored," Piper acknowledged. "Who knows what he might do."
"If he kills any of us, he won't get home though," Peter said.
"Won't stop him from toying with us," Mike said. "I'm with Micky. We all stick together. Just to be safe."
"Agreed," Davy added as they reached the town. The distinct smell of manure struck Micky's nose as they passed a stable on the edge of town. The streets were lined with dozens of little shops and people walked the streets talking in hushed tones. They appeared to be gossiping about something, but Micky could only hear snippets of their conversations and couldn't put anything together.
"I wonder where we are," Davy asked.
"I wonder when we are," Mike added. "Because if that's the same place I'm thinking of, I know where we are."
"What?" Micky asked trying to follow Mike's gaze. Finally he realized Mike was staring at a sign reading OK Corral and Livery. Something about it seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't remember.
"What's that?" Davy asked.
"The OK Corral," Mike answered. "The site of one of the biggest old west shoot-outs in history."
"Oh yeah," Micky said remembering something about that from his history books. "Between the Earps, right?"
"Earps and the Clantons in the booming mining town of Tombstone," Mike answered. "It was like a bedtime story back in Texas. You'd be shunned if you didn't know the story."
"Isn't Tombstone in Arizona?" Peter asked.
"Yes, but it's still the old west," Mike answered.
"So it's like cowboy legend?" Micky asked. Someone walking past suddenly stared at them in a very odd way. Micky felt chills go down his spine before the person finally walked out of their sight.
"What was that?" Davy asked.
"Don't say the word "cowboy" around here," Mike answered quietly and started shuffling them down the street. "Those are the bad guys. They're the bandits around here. Being a cowboy is not a good thing."
"Oh," Micky said not realizing that cowboy had ever had such a bad connotation.
"Let's just find a hotel and lay low," Davy suggested.
"First we have to find a way to cover the cost," Mike said. "This is a booming mining town and because of all the robberies and general lawlessness they don't take too kindly to strangers."
"So what should we do then?" Peter asked.
"Not sure yet," Mike answered as he scanned the street looking for something. Micky assumed he was looking for a hotel or something. "But for now just act like you belong here."
"Right," Micky said following Mike as he set off down the street again. Micky looked at all the buildings around them and didn't realize where Mike was leading them until they stopped in front of a large building on the corner near the OK Corral. It was a large two story building with a balcony wrapping around the second story and a large sign reading Occidental Hotel wrapping around the top. Their boots clicked on the wooden planks surrounding the building that served to keep the dirt from the roads out of the building as Mike and the others walked into the hotel and up to the counter.
"Hello," Mike said to the man behind the counter. "We were hoping you could help us. See we're travellers and we were robbed not far from here and we need a place to stay."
"Robbed?" the man asked.
"Yes," Mike answered. "We don't know who they were; their faces were covered. But we need some shelter until we can get our things in order."
"Sorry," the man said. "I feel for you, buddy, but I can't give you nothing for free."
"I understand," Mike said. "But maybe we can help out for a little. Work it off."
"There's nothing I need doing," the man said. "Have you reported the robbery yet?"
"No," Mike said. "We just got into town. We really don't want to be a bother. We're just passing through."
"Well, sorry," the man said sympathetically. "I can't help you. I wish I could."
"Thanks anyway," Mike said as the three of them walked out of the lobby together.
"Now what?" Davy asked.
"Scuse me," said a woman behind them. They all turned to see a woman dressed in a very provocative bright red version of what Piper was wearing leaning against the wall of the hotel. "Did I just overhear you folks need some money?"
"We really aren't interested," Mike said quickly trying to leave.
"But you ain't even heard what I got to say," the woman protested.
"Look, Miss," Mike said trying to sound sympathetic, "we really would just like to mind our own business and lay low."
"Well, unless you wanna lay next to the horses, I know how you can get some money," she smiled. "That is, if any of ya'll really can sing."
"Sing?" Davy asked.
"How do you know we sing?" Peter asked.
"I have my ways, darlin," she smiled staring directly at Piper now. Micky instinctively moved to stand in front of her not really knowing what this woman was talking about but feeling the need to protect her anyway.
"How do we get money singing?" Davy asked.
"There was supposed to be a woman singing at the theater down the street," she answered. "Only problem is, she died this morning."
"That's sad," Peter said.
"Yes, well, it was her own fault," the woman said almost conspiratorially. "I warned her not to get involved with a married man."
"So are you suggesting we take her place?" Mike asked.
"If you want some good money," she smiled. "If they like ya, you'll get a good little stipend."
"At the Bird Cage I'm assuming?" Mike asked.
"You know your history, my dear," she laughed.
"What?" Micky asked confused. Why exactly had she used that word?
"Thanks for the offer, but we'll have to think about it," Mike said.
"Just don't think about it too long," she said ignoring Micky and walking away. "Unless you wanna sleep with the horses."
"What's the Bird Cage?" Davy asked.
"It's a world famous theater," Mike answered quietly. "Or at least it will be. It's not exactly known for catering to upper class clientele, though."
"It caters more to her type," Micky said. "Lots of drinking, gambling, and...other stuff."
"Oh," Davy said.
"Which is exactly why I really don't think we should go anywhere near there," Mike said.
"But what are we going to do for money then?" Peter asked innocently. "All we would have to is get on stage and sing."
"And sing what?" Mike asked. "Do any of you know any saloon songs?"
"We could sing classics," Davy suggested.
"Yeah, the kind of crowd going there would not enjoy "Greensleeves"," Mike sighed.
"We have to do something," Peter said.
"I'm not really sure we should even trust her," Mike said. "I got a weird feeling from her. How did she know we were musicians? And what did she mean by "You know your history"? Something definitely is off about her."
"Maybe she's psychic," Piper said. "You notice she looked directly at me when she said "I have my ways." She's probably a psychic and knows I'm one too."
"Can we trust her?" Micky asked getting very worried.
"I don't really know," Piper answered. "She's not exactly a reputable citizen, which sends off untrustworthy vibes of its own. But that doesn't mean she's going to try and do anything to hurt us."
"So what do you think we should do?" Davy asked.
"We could always give it a shot," Piper said. "I can wait backstage and freeze the room in case something happens."
"You realize they are very trigger happy out here, right?" Mike asked. "If they don't like us, there's every chance they can shoot at us. Especially there."
"Hence why my freezing power would be helpful," Piper said.
"Still doesn't change the fact we don't know any songs they would like," Mike said.
"You do," Micky said. "What about "Never Tell a Woman Yes"? Take everything out but the piano and vocals and it sounds very Old West."
"He's right," Davy said. "I've always thought it was more western than most of the rest of your songs."
"We've never really practiced it much," Mike said. "And we don't have the music for it."
"I remember the piano part pretty well, though," Peter said.
"Alright, are you sure you guys wanna do this?" Mike asked.
"Like I said," Peter answered. "All we have to do is perform on stage. We don't have to deal with any of the clientele or anything like that. Just sing."
"Better than sleeping with the horses," Davy said.
"Alright," Mike said. "But I think we also need to keep an eye on that woman. Just in case."
"Agreed," Micky said glancing Piper worriedly. If this girl was psychic and knew that Piper was too, it could be very bad for her. It could be very bad for all of them. Micky really didn't want to run into another problem like they had before.
