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Playlist: Track 20-23

Chapter VII: Frontier

It was dark where they stood, an interesting point Jacob made to himself constantly as his muscles tensed in anticipation. They shifted within whatever space they found themselves. Gravel, sand, and loose rocks beneath the sole of their shoes suggested they had not in fact landed in the expected pool of the Ulysses. If anything, judging by the earthy smell and echoes of their minute shifts, both understood that they had to be in some sort of cave.

Reaching out in the darkness, discerning a howling wind up ahead and trickling water behind them, Edward and Jacob walked in blindness as they tried to leave the cave. Their footsteps reverberated against the walls, giving off eerie echoes. The air was damp and cold, pushing through the material of their clothes and chilling them to the bone. The sand and gravel beneath their torn shoes scraped against the ground, an unwelcomed sound. The howling wind grew as they rounded a corner where they saw a distant light—the mouth of the cave.

"So," Jacob began, suddenly stopping and staring at the bright light. "I have it on good authority that one should never walk toward the light at the end of a tunnel."

Edward leaned against the wall, digging his roughened hands into the sharp stone as his eyes remained fixed on the light spilling in. "We're not dead."

"No shit," Jacob said. "Then…why aren't we back in Norwich?" he exclaimed.

"I know as much as you, Jacob!" Edward snapped back. Jacob heard Edward take a shaky breath as he recollected his thoughts. "Listen, let's just leave this cave and see where we end up, okay?"

Jacob turned back to the light and forced himself to swallow the lump in his throat. "My day couldn't get any worse," he muttered as he continued toward the light despite every fiber in his body telling him not to.

The closer they got, the more blinded they were. But, eventually, they reached the mouth of the cave, squinting their eyes as they adjusted to the light.

They found themselves surrounded by tall mountainous walls, as if they were in some sort of a canyon. The color of the soil and rocks was reddish, and here and there tufts of grass hugged the curves of the rocks. To their right, there was a passage narrowing until it essentially became too narrow for them to continue. To their left, the way opened and seemed to lead them out of the canyon.

"One thing's for sure," Jacob said as he widened his eyes. "We sure ain't on the ship anymore," he trailed off.

"Nor are we in Norwich," Edward agreed. Quickly, as if the thought had just hit him, he reached for Jacob's wrist, removing the RHD to look at it. Alas, the display was dark yet again, as if their jump in time had forced out every last ounce of energy the device held.

"We need to recharge the RHD. Maybe once we can turn it on, we can see where we've landed."

"We can't stay here," Jacob said, squinting up at the sun. "From the looks of it, the sun's moving into position over us. There was water in the cave, but we don't have any flashlights or torches to go search for it and we don't know if it's clean."

Edward walked up to Jacob. "We were at a big disadvantage in 1190, barely able to blend in. But here...here we have no idea where we are. We could have landed in the middle of the Gobi Desert for all we know."

"Which means?"

"I have no idea where this thing has taken us. It might simply have transported us within 1190 or it might have taken us back to 2019 but to an entirely different place…if that's even possible."

Jacob took a look around them and then glanced at the RHD. "That's impossible, isn't it? Once we travel into the past, we cannot just jump from one place to another. We need to do it from the Ulysses."

"Then what is your hypothesis?" Edward asked sarcastically as he gestured broadly to where they were standing. "Because this doesn't look like the Ulysses if you hadn't noticed."

"Well, maybe it just dropped us off at the wrong coordinates?"

Edward looked around them and back at Jacob. The sun was getting into position. Soon the canyon, which had previously been sheltered, would grow increasingly hot. "There is only one way to find out," he sighed.

With whatever courage they could muster, Edward and Jacob set out for the opening road, leading them out of the canyon. Upon Jacob's insistence, they ripped the hems of their tunics and wrapped their heads to protect them from the harsh rays of the sun. As they kept walking, in silence, they noted the walls shrink and the path widen until they were out of the canyon. Edward and Jacob squinted at their surroundings.

Before them stretched a bare land, dotted only and sparsely by short tufts of grass, scrubs, some cacti, and boulders in all sizes—the land jagged, with many dips and tops. It wasn't flat as they had expected when leaving the small canyon. No sign of civilization was in sight and they would have to find something soon, lest they start to dehydrate.

"Which way?" asked Jacob.

"Why are you looking at me?" Edward exclaimed with a frown.

"Well, you're the expert here, the historian."

"And you are the supposed survivalist expert, marine. You decide."

"So you later can tell me what a shitty decision I took? I ain't falling for that, Masen!" Jacob snapped back.

"Well, we need to go somewhere...anywhere before it starts getting dark."

Jacob looked up at the sky and then left. "South," he said after a while.

"You sure?"

"Really, already you're questioning me?"

"No no," Edward quipped back. "Let's go south." He rolled his eyes.

It was getting tenser between them for they knew the peril they found themselves in. The longer they tarried, the more likely they would succumb to dehydration.

It felt like they were walking for hours. The sweat ran like rivers down their backs, their temples, and armpits. But they braved on in silence, their eyes glued to the ground before them, mindful of not stepping into a crevice in the ground, on a spiky shrub, or on some hidden animal. Edward couldn't explain why, but he had a feeling there might be snakes lurking between the grass and shrubs.

The sun lowered on the sky and they decided to stop. The vast and deserted land before them stumbled into silence. As they found an elevated plateau to sleep on, shivering in the cold which now replaced the warmth the sun had afforded them, Edward stared up at the sky, the brilliance of the stars revealing that they couldn't be back in the 21st century. He remarked to himself that some stars in the sky appeared to have moved, he couldn't find them in their usual place. He didn't pay more attention to it and it was soon that his eyes closed; the fatigue washing over him as it had with Jacob.

They didn't know how long they had slept for, but the invasive rays of the sun soon had them on their feet, continuing their walk. The landscape started shifting through the day as they passed several springs. Jacob and Edward quenched their thirst, ignoring if the water might be spoiled or not. Feeling the cool liquid soothe their dry throats was worth the slight chance of dysentery, both thought.

They eventually happened upon a vast river. It was hugged by an oasis-like ribbon of green vegetation, allowing them some relief from the arid climate that pushed down on them. Edward and Jacob decided to follow the river downstream, hoping they might happen upon a settlement or even a town at some point. They walked the entire day and by twilight, they settled near a nook of the river. Jacob fished while Edward prepared a fire, now a practiced rhythm between the two.

On the third day, around mid-afternoon, Edward's eyes were drawn to something in the east, on their side of the river. Jacob, who was far ahead of him, doubled back, frowning in irritation.

"We can't stop, Masen," he sighed. "I know you're tired but—" Jacob stopped himself short as he followed Edward's gaze. Lines of smoke in the distance rose into the sky.

Both briefly crossed eyes, a silent understanding passing between them. Where there was smoke, there was a fire. And where there was a fire there were people.

Without a word they left the bank of the river, traveling inland, quickly making toward the smoke as if guided by it. It was like seeing an oasis in the desert and both men feared the solitude and lack of civilization were playing tricks on their minds. But still, they braved on, hoping they would stumble upon something—anything other than the solitude they had thus far encountered.

They traveled further and further away from the oasis of the wide river, their mouths dry, lips parched, and faces hollowed out from lack of water. Edward and Jacob picked up the pace with wide eyes until they started jogging. Every limb in Edward's tired body ached, his feet were sore and had blisters, his head hurt till the point that he thought he might faint. But he braved on. Jacob looked worse, a cough settling in as he fought through his own discomfort.

They eventually reached a small bend in the land, passing the harsher inland, with cacti, shrubbery, and jagged rocks, the ground uneven with shafts hidden from the naked eye.

The string of smoke grew in the sky until they finally saw the source of it.

Both men stopped in their tracks as they were faced with a most unlikely picture. But, surely, after what they had seen and experienced, nothing could surprise them anymore.

Before them was a town and it appeared that they had wandered onto the main street—if indeed it could be called such a thing. Two-story buildings lined the wide street and had vertical façades, many with square tops hiding gable roofs. The main street was half-busy, some carriages and riders going about their day on it.

The skin on Jacob's arms prickled as it turned into gooseflesh. Some people caught the sight of them and stretched their necks to get a better look at them. Edward and Jacob, unaware of what else to do, proceeded as they had in York, entering the unknown town, the dirt road of the main street soiled here and there by the droppings of the horses that graced it. Some of the houses had verandas, others had wooden stairs leading up to the upper floor.

Edward licked his lips, feeling the eyes of the inhabitants stare them down. Women in pretty and plain dresses and men in either shabby clothes or refined suits pressed against the facades of the houses as they passed by.

Edward and Jacob knew exactly where they were—as evident by the houses and people before them. But how they should have gotten there was another matter entirely. They had not just traveled from one place to another…they had traveled in time as well.

"We need a plan…" Jacob muttered as they kept walking, the unforgiving sun pressing down on them. "We can't just…keep on walking until the end of this street…" He stopped and Edward mimicked his action as he took another look around. Past the main street, he saw more houses, smaller ones, lining up behind the ones facing the main street. Some had more torn façades than others. Discerning from the cut of the wood, the lack of distress to it, the town couldn't be more than a few years old at least.

A group of men appeared from a street to their left, blocking their way forward. The surrounding spectators kept at bay, curiously looking but keen on keeping their distance.

The men all wore hats to protect themselves from the sun. On the chest of one man, Edward saw a dull plaque—a star. The same man rested his hands on his hip, signaling the guns kept in the holsters. He pushed his dirty beige hat back, eyeing Jacob sideways and then back at Edward. "Rough mornin'?" he asked with a stiff smile.

After having spent months in the 12th century, the clothes of the men before them looked strangely modern. Most dressed in dirty shirts in different shades of blue and brown. One of them wore black. Their trousers were dirty from dust and Edward couldn't discern the true color under the layer of dirt. They all had belts with holsters around their waists which housed revolvers. These men looked rough, hardened albeit civilized enough.

"Close your mouth son before you start swallowin' flies," another man said, speaking in a pleasant southern accent.

Jacob and Edward looked at one another quickly as Edward forced his mouth shut. There would be many questions, of that he was certain.

"It's just...well we haven't seen...people for a while," Edward said.

Edward's blunt remark caused a chuckle to extend within the group. "Looks to me like y'all were robbed," the second man with the accent remarked.

Another one spat some chewing tobacco to the ground and cleared his voice. "Told ya they wasn't from here."

The tension of the strangers enveloped both Edward and Jacob as they realized that the town now had gathered to see what their little exchange would result in. Were they expecting a brawl?

Another in the group stepped forward, his eyes shifting to and from them in a jittery manner. "What's your business here?" he asked in a sharp tone. He had a harsh look in his eyes and an unruly mustache in desperate need of a trim. He was chewing on an extinguished cigar, looking over his shoulder and narrowing his eyes at Jacob, pointing at him. "Is he with you?" the third man asked Edward.

"I'm with him," Jacob answered defiantly as he narrowed his eyes.

The third arched an eyebrow as he squinted his eyes, shifting to look at Edward. "Best we get 'em boys down to the office, eh Jed?"

Jed rose an eyebrow at them, his dark eyes scanning the growing crowd. His nose wrinkled as he gave out an irritated sigh. He made a sign for them to follow and soon Edward and Jacob were forced to go with the rest of the armed group, trying to ignore the hushed whispers and stares sent their way.

They shuffled through the dirt road, dust kicking up as they walked, irritating Edward's lungs and causing him to cough violently. He squinted at the sun, the shadow of a building soon looming down on him. A gloomy shadow from the wooden building came over him, a shiver running down his spine as he glanced up and grew pale while the men pushed them inside.

Edward and Jacob found themselves in a Spartan-like room with some tables and a chair in a corner, stacking some paperwork. At the end of the room, there was a small line of cells, all empty except for the last one where a man was lying sleeping with a hat covering his face.

Jacob was pushed to the side, forced down into a chair as the group of men gathered in the room. One closed the door behind them. A worn clock ticked in the corner, the sunlight filtered through dirty windows, the walls had a yellow tint—probably from cigar smoke.

The group of men—who Edward supposed to be the lawmen of whatever town they found themselves in—appeared more threatening than they had in the square.

"We don't get many strangers here," the man with the moustache said as he sat down in a chair and let a carefree grin touch his face—but it never reached his eyes.

"You ain't from around here," another pointed out.

"Nor are you from west of the river," Jed confirmed. He pushed Edward down in a chair and seated himself in front of him. "So, you'll tell us where you're from, what happened to you, and what you're doing here."

The stern look on Jed's face might have unsettled Edward before, but not anymore. However, there was indeed one thing worrying him—Carlisle had said it himself—he was a terrible liar. But if he did not come up with a viable story for him and Jacob, he feared what would become of them.

Edward needed to situate himself in the time period and location. Nothing about the men's clothing told him much about the exact era. The guns they carried—revolvers—indicated that they had to be post 1830's.

"We're waitin'," Jed said, now a more severe expression etching into his features.

"We were traveling south."

"From?" Jed asked.

"New York," Edward said, saying the first larger city that came to mind and that he knew would exist and be established in this period.

Jed raised an eyebrow. "New York?" he asked in disbelief.

"We got sidetracked on the way," Jacob added in.

"What business have you here?" another of the men interrupted, ignoring Jacob.

"Looking for my uncle…" Edward trailed off. It was a half-truth at least.

"Family business, eh?" Jed smiled, but this time it was colder than before, if such a thing could be possible. He leaned forward, staring Edward straight in the eye before spitting to the side and wrinkling his nose. "Then tell me, Mr…?"

"Masen, Edward Masen."

"Well then, tell me Mr. Masen why you and your friend here came from the direction of the border?"

"Border?" Edward asked.

Jed straightened up with a sigh. "Piedras Negras is not four miles from this city, on the other side of the Rio Grande."

Rio Grande. Piedras Negras. Texas.

If the men before them were referring to a border and they were being antsy about it, the Mexican-American war could have already happened or was about to break loose.

Edward knew that he needed to act and speak up for himself and Jacob before the assumptions the group made about them got them killed. Since his time in 1190, his sense for survival had vastly improved, noticing what was needed of him now more than ever.

Edward needed to lie; well enough to be able to either get away from there or earn their trust.

"Tell us, how it is that you're from New York yet you came from the Rio Grande?" they asked him again, more forcefully now.

Edward frowned and crossed his arms defiantly. It helped steady the shivers running through him. "Is this how a man who's been uhm.. robbed and left to die in the desert is treated in these parts?" He heard the hesitance in his own voice and hoped they wouldn't notice it too much.

One of the men cocked the hat up his forehead to get a better view of Edward as he leaned forward. Deep brown eyes narrowed at him as his nose wrinkled.

After a momentary pause, he straightened up. Edward could see it on his face, he hadn't bought it. "I don't like it, Jed," he said with a frown.

Unbeknownst to Edward and Jacob, the man in the cell had woken from his slumber and now listened intently, the hat still covering his face. He made slow movements as he got up to sit, placing the black hat on his head and gripping the bars.

"Psst," he started, trying to catch Jacob's attention, who was the closest to him. But Jacob, somberly realizing they might not leave the building anytime soon, was entirely engulfed by the conversation before him.

The man rolled his eyes and gripped the bars harder, leaning forward, as if wishing to push through the iron bars.

"Psst," he said again, albeit a bit louder. Jacob heard it instantly, yet he was careful in turning around, not wishing to alert the man standing a few feet from him.

Jacob crossed eyes with the prisoner, casually leaning back to better hear whatever he had to say.

"You speak English, Indian?" the man asked, his voice had a soft Southern accent that Jacob couldn't place.

"Don't you Indian me," Jacob snapped under his breath.

He sensed a smile in the other man, showcasing a rather bright set of teeth, something Jacob had not expected considering the era they found themselves in.

"You and your little city boy are 'bout to end up in this cell with me...at least until Ferris decides what to do with y'all."

Jacob raised an eyebrow at the remark. "What do you want?"

"Get me out of this damn cell and I'll help y'all escape."

The statement caused a scoff in Jacob which turned the head of the closest man. Jacob quickly settled himself in the chair while the prisoner darted back to the small bench he'd been sleeping on. One of the men eyed Jacob for a while until he turned back to the conversation between Edward and Jed, which was anything but smooth. Yet, out of the corner of his eye, Edward noted that Jacob and the prisoner had been interacting, thus he proceeded to buy them as much time as he could, for he sensed the danger they now found themselves in.

"I ain't buyin' that you lot traveled all the way from New York and got robbed and taken 'cross the river."

"Well, sir, believe it!" Edward said, gaining courage. "Never have I been treated thusly... well, I've never been robbed before. All my possessions, gone in the blink of an eye. You see, we had set out from right outside the city after sending a letter to my uncle who…" Edward lied as well as he could, never stopping for a pause, hoping his incessant monologue would buy Jacob some time.

"Psst," Jacob heard again.

"I'm not trusting a man behind bars," Jacob snickered under his breath.

The stranger shrugged. "And you'd rather place your faith in them?"

On cue, one of the brothers grabbed Edward's hair and brought his head back. "Shut up!" he snapped. "I can't take another second of your whinin'." Edward squared his jaw, closing his eyes, and pushed through the pain and fear.

"B-But my uncle w-will be furious!" he complained in a shaking voice.

"That's the least of your worries," Jed snapped, a suspicious look still plastered on his face.

"The lock is at the far end; it doesn't need a key, but I can't reach it. All I need is for you to open the door and I get us all out of here...oh, but you need to get me one of those guns first."

"For fuck's sake," Jacob whispered under his breath. The more he saw the way the men tense and grow angry, the more he was inclined to believe the prisoner. But he wasn't about to act just yet. He leaned back again, pressing his lips together, settling his shaken nerves. "You get us to…a more welcoming place and you've got yourself a deal," Jacob hissed.

"A more welcoming place?" the stranger smirked.

"And you can help us get some better clothing and horses on the way."

"I ain't no thief if that's what you believe," the stranger scoffed.

"You heard my friend and can see the state of us. We've got no clothing, horses, or food. We won't survive out here if they kick us out of town. If I set you free, you at least point us in the right direction of a larger town, maybe even help us at least not look like beggars."

The stranger turned quiet, as if he was thinking through the proposal. He sighed, leaning his back against the side of the cell.

"I mean...if you can even get us out," Jacob smirked.

"You've got the best gunslinger west of Austin in front of you!" the man hissed back, his lips curling into an even bigger smirk.

"You better not be lying," Jacob hissed back. His eyes scanned the room and noticed that one of the men had placed his holster on a table with two guns and some bullets, thinking it out of reach from them. But Edward had now gone to argue with Jed and thus caught the entire attention of the group. Jacob licked his lips and leaned forward, feeling the eyes of the stranger on his back.

Taking a deep breath, Jacob quickly reached out and grabbed the holster, freezing and wondering if anyone of them had caught his movement.

They had not.

Edward's reciting of English Medieval law and comparing it to the US Constitution had them all scratching their heads in confusion.

Jacob swiftly passed the holster to the stranger and slowly stood up, backing to the bars and feeling the handle, the cold metal sending a jolt through his body. Sweat had started to pearl near his temples and he was trying to catch Edward's eyes to alert him that something was about to take place.

But Edward had gotten so carried away in his discourse that everything else was irrelevant to him.

Jacob sighed and unlocked the door, waiting for the chaos that was about to erupt.

And chaos it was indeed. For as soon as the cell door opened, the stranger burst out, one gun drawn. Before the others could react, he had already fired two shots. One aiming at one man drawing his gun, the bullet hitting the side of the handle and funny enough causing the man to drop it in a loud scream of pain as part of his hand had been hit by the bullet. The other bullet aimed at another man, also disarming him with one blow.

Edward stared wide-eyed at the stranger and no sooner had he shut up before the stranger threw himself behind a desk, dragging Jacob with him. On the opposite side, the remaining five men sought cover behind whatever they could find, leaving Edward in the middle of the room. He darted for Jacob and the stranger, shots fired behind him, but thankfully not aiming for him.

Edward threw himself dramatically behind the desk and gave Jacob a stern look.

"Now what!" he shouted through the bullet storm. The interior of the office was shredded to bits by the impact of the bullets.

The stranger threw a gun to Jacob who instinctively went to load it.

"Keep your head down and let me work," Jacob shouted back. He spun the revolver and felt the weight of the weapon in his hand. "No killing!" he shouted to the stranger before returning the violent fire. Edward pressed the palms of his hands over his ears and squinted his eyes shut. The muffled sound of gunfire was all he could hear together with the frantic beating of his own heart.

He heard a muffled cry right near his ear and felt someone drag him to stand. Edward acted on instinct, swiftly following Jacob and the stranger who had cleared the way for them out the back. Some more gunfire echoed across town that was now entirely void of people.

Jacob swore as he tossed an empty gun to Edward. "Load it!" he ordered, cocking another one and aiming it toward the back entrance to the building as the stranger disappeared. Jacob tossed Edward a belt with some bullets. Without thinking, Edward emptied the gun, the hot metal burning his left hand, but the adrenaline caused him not to notice. With shaking fingers, he inserted new bullets and handed the weapon over to Jacob.

The sound of galloping hooves came from the far end of town as Jacob pushed Edward out of the way, another shot whooshing past them. Jacob acted calm under the pressure they faced, calmer than Edward had expected. He fired two shots as the stranger rode up to them on a calico steed, with another horse in tow.

"Couldn't have gotten us each a horse?" Jacob growled.

Edward's eyes widened. "You mean we have to ride those things?"

The stranger leaned forward with a crooked smirk. "Boy, you won't survive long out here if you're not even willin' to ride a horse."

Jacob got up in a swift and elegant motion, the animal stomping its feet under him and unwilling to keep still. From inside the house, it appeared the men were regrouping. Jacob extended a hand to Edward. "Come on!" he shouted. "Get on the damn horse, Edward."

Edward gave out a half frantic, half frustrated exclamation. "You've got to be kidding me!" he cried out as he ran toward Jacob, grabbing his hand. But their trek through the wilderness had him weak.

"Just get a good grip," Jacob said through gritted teeth, too weak to haul Edward onto the brown mare.

The stranger fired a few shots into the house. "We need to go!"

Edward pushed his hair out of his eyes, backed, and ran toward the horse, throwing himself over the back. "Go!" he shouted, lying over the back like a sack of potatoes.

Jacob urged the horse into a gallop, as well as the stranger and the small town was soon but a small speck in the distant horizon.

Edward thought he would get sick with the constant bouncing, but when they were far enough, the stranger let out a sound of triumph.

"God damn if that wasn't the finest shoot-out I've ever seen!" he said with glittering eyes.

Jacob forced his horse into an abrupt stop, almost sending Edward off its back. "I can't believe we did that," he mumbled to himself. Something within him was bursting as well, as if the small boy within him had just awakened.

The stranger eyed them up and down. "Listen, a deal's a deal," he told them. "Follow this path toward the east and then take a left at the ridge. By nightfall, you'll be by my brother's ranch. Tell him Randy sent you and that I owe you a favor."

"What about you?"

Randy leaned forward in the saddle. "My brother is the honest type, wouldn't want me within five miles of his lands after what I pulled in that town behind us. He needs to cool off for a few days before I even as much as show my face before him. He'll help you and then you can set out for wherever you wish." Randy straightened up and fixed the hat to offer him more shade. He gathered the reins and turned his horse north-east. "As for that uncle you mentioned… I heard a few weeks back of a Mr. Michael Masen. Maybe that's him? You share the same last name at least. Either way, you should ask my brother and his wife, they might know more."

With that, Randy urged his horse into a canter, soon leaving them once more alone in the wilderness.

Edward slid off the horse in a silent fashion. When Jacob saw the look on his face, he got off the horse as well.

Edward quickly looked for the RHD and the solar charger, staring at it in muted silence, opening and closing his mouth several times. Jacob finally took it from Edward.

"So this confirms that we can…jump through time now?" They hadn't stopped yet to ponder where they had ended up. It wasn't 1190, which meant the small RHD had brought them into an entirely new time. "We don't need the Ulysses?" Jacob stated.

"Why here?" Edward asked himself.

"What do you mean?"

"Why here, why 19th century Texas?"

Jacob bit his lips. "Listen, let's come up with a plan. We go to Randy's brother's ranch and get some food and sleep. After, we see if we can find this man who goes by Michael Masen and if he really is your uncle… if that is the case…" Jacob's eyes darkened.

A frown stretched over Edward's features as a dark look appeared in his eyes as well.

"If it's him," he said in a subdued voice, the tone distant, weak.

"He might have answers," Jacob muttered as Edward placed the charger and RHD back in the bag. He looked at the horse with a frown.

Jacob followed his gaze and couldn't help a chuckle escape. "Not a rider, are you?"

"Just help me get on to the damn horse," Edward snapped, surprising Jacob. The stammering was all but gone now.

He put his hands up in a sign of resignation. "Alright," he chuckled.

"And wipe that smirk off your face," Edward said. "You look ridiculous…we almost died!"

Jacob walked over to the horse and offered his knee for Edward to step on.

"Yeah, but how many people can say they took part in a shoot-out…in the Wild West?"

Edward pressed his lips together as he got onto the horse, Jacob swiftly pulling himself onto the saddle in front of him.

"This isn't a game, Jacob."

Jacob shrugged. "You're just angry because you're out of your element." He urged the mare into a slow walk, loosening the reins.

"That's the least of my worries."

"Suit yourself. I'm going to enjoy this time period vastly more than the previous one."

"Why's that?"

"I may not know much about history, but if there is one era I'm good at, it's this one."

"Oh boy," Edward sighed.

A sense of sickness crawled up the base of Edward's stomach, up his throat until he was certain he would throw up. But he kept it down as best as he could, braving through the hellish ride.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself outside of a cluster of houses. An alley of trees framed a quaint road leading up to a larger house perched upon a hill overlooking the cluster. They had arrived at a ranch, which was rather well kept, showing that the owner had to be somewhat wealthy to keep such a large estate.

The cluster of buildings was grouped parallel and perpendicular to each other, in a linear plan, and opened toward the center. Edward discerned barns and stables, with attached systems of corrals and outbuildings which weren't located in front of the living area—which was usually the normal case. He supposed that the living area was the house on the hill, surrounded by some trees and, from what he could see, gardens. He heard the pooling of a small stream in the distance, the body of water probably used to irrigate hay fields adjacent to the buildings.

The cluster of houses was built with sturdy wood that had darkened over time. In the far distance, to the east, Edward saw enclosures for the cattle that roamed the hilly landscape. A large cedar tree's branches hung over the small courtyard of the enclosure, completing the picturesque picture.

"Well, it certainly is a ranch," Jacob mumbled as he got off the horse. "These people must be loaded."

Edward got off it as well, dry-heaving as he worked to find his balance and ignore the rising nausea. As he straightened up, a man walked down from the alley of the main house, holding a rifle, flanked by three other men. The first man was better dressed than the other three and Edward thought that perhaps he was the ranch owner. His clothes were not as dirty and scuffed. The other three men still looked more polished than the lawmen they had met in town.

Edward automatically took a step back, bumping into the horse while Jacob slowly raised his hands.

"We're not here to cause trouble, sir," Jacob said automatically.

The man's jaw clenched, gripping his rifle and stopping a safe distance from them. The warmth of the late afternoon was slowly dissipating as the sun was lowering on the sky. Still, it was warm enough to send heat waves distorting the horizon.

Edward's tunic was soaked through and the sweat dripped from his hair. Jacob didn't look much better, their scruffy beards and unruly hair making them look like bandits or even beggars.

"Then why are you here?" the owner of the rifle demanded, but not aiming the weapon at them. Behind him, the men tensed. He had a pleasant Southern accent, smooth and calming.

"Randy sent us," Jacob said calmly.

The man scoffed. "Last I heard, Randy was locked up in the sheriff's office at Eagle Pass."

Jacob shrugged. "Well, he ain't anymore."

"You got him out?" the man asked in disbelief.

"Yes."

"Both of you?" he asked again, now frowning in dumbfounded disbelief.

Jacob turned to look at Edward and then returned his gaze with a sigh. "To be frank, sir, it was mostly Randy and myself."

Edward still had his hands in the air. "I helped…a little," he muttered.

The stranger swung the rifle over his shoulder. "And what did Randy tell you about me, then?"

"If you are who I think you are… he told us that you are his brother and that you would offer us food, shelter, and maybe a new set of clothes?" Jacob asked with a hopeful tone to his voice.

"And maybe information. We are looking for my uncle," Edward added.

The stranger chewed on his lower lip and removed his hat, wiping his forehead with his arm and sighing, muttering something under his breath.

"Fine," he said with an air of resignation. Despite the severe expression on his face, the man before them gave the impression of being very calm, albeit a bit inconvenienced.

Edward and Jacob breathed out as they started approaching with the horse, the man walking up to them as well.

"We're in your debt, sir," Edward said with a smile.

As the man approached with the rest of the group, his nose wrinkled. "I think a bath is in order before anything else." He turned to one of the men. "Tell Alice to have Jane and Martha prepare these…gentlemen a bath."

"Will do, Mr. Hale," the other man nodded and swiftly vanished into the main house.

The stranger turned back to them. "Well, who are you that my brother decided to send me your way?"

"Jacob Black, sir."

"Edward Masen."

When Edward said his name, the stranger's eyes widened. "Masen?"

"Yes?" Edward said.

"You wouldn't be related to Michael Masen, would you?"

"That's my uncle!"

The stranger flared his nostrils and looked up to the sky.

"I…I uh take it that you've not had a good encounter with him?" Edward mumbled.

"Get washed and then we can talk, Mr. Masen," he said.

A/N: Hoping you enjoyed this chapter, the adventure is just getting started ;) Our friends have many more hurdles to go through!

Cheers,

Isabelle