MIDNIGHT ENCOUNTER

Owanjila Dam, Big Valley

Night had set in and the three brothers decided to rest for a while, to be more exact Lemy was the only one looking to rest. Lyle and Bobby still had enough energy to continue riding, but they chose to stick together rather than split up and trail on in the darkness. The town of Strawberry was at least two hours away thus Lyle couldn't understand this pointless rest. At least they managed to find a safe spot to relax under the moonlight.

"At least this dam will provide us some fresh water and fish if y'all up for some late night fishing?" Lemy suggested it to the others.

"Or we can just keep riding to town and purchase fresh meat and canned goods instead, how about that?" Lyle countered.

While the oldest two bickered next to the fire over such mundane things, Bobby was down by the dam. Leaning against the railing of the structure the young Hispanic admired the view of the lake created by the dam he currently stood on. Behind him the raging waterfall floated down the Upper Montana River until reaching the Flat Iron Lake. This was the farthest north he had ever gone and it was all new territory for him, but at the very least he had his older brothers to keep him company as well an extra two pairs of eyes.

"Owanjila?...Wonder what native tribe that word belongs to?" Bobby read the inscription on the plaque.

He's only ever met one Native American in his life and it was during his public hanging at Armadillo after stealing a horse and killing the owner. Funny enough when a white man commits the same crime he only gets locked up and transferred to a county prison, meanwhile the blacks, orientals, natives, Mexicans and even Jews end up getting the noose. Such a bullshit world they lived in, he would never understand it.

Other than worry about the future he needs to focus on the current time that he and his brothers are sharing and journeying through. Having admired the man made structure enough he walked back towards those two who remained in their exact positions. The night had allowed a soft breeze that was sweeping by to lower its temperature to anything that it touched. It was a pleasure for the young man to feel such a cool sensation against his skin as New Austin was notorious for its dry weather. Sandstorms being the norm and the sun an unforgiving adversary to all that failed to find shade from it. Better this cooler weather than back home, perfect for him and his mother to move to, although it was still a far fetched dream at the moment. Hopefully this treasure map actually led them to physical fortune. Too early to tell still, but the enthusiasm was still beating in them all, mostly Bobby and Lemy of course, Lyle had his reservations for joining.

"So what else is new among you two other than the usual." Bobby dryly asked as he sat down opposite them both.

"The usual." Lemy grumbled.

"Unfortunately." Lyle muttered just high enough for the oldest to hear him. Feeding Liena a treat, Lyle patted her dearly, always showing her the affection she deserved, an affection that not many fellow human beings got from him if at all.

Looking at the stars the hunter sighed as he searched for the North Star. Locating it he saw that it was close to midnight, at least by an hour or two at best. That is the same time it would take them to reach Strawberry if they took off right now, but Lemy was already too tired to carry on any further, tired or just plain lazy. The urge to kick him in the face was too strong for him to contain, but he did just that. He deeply hated dealing with people like his brother, he lacked the appropriate patience to be anywhere near them. Mostly he would just beat them senseless and rob them of their belongings if they carried anything of actual value, but this moron was family so that was out of the equation.

The forest around them was far from quiet. The waterfall from the dam as well the many crickets and birds chirping in their nests echoed through the air. Well if this was going to be their stop for the night then he might as well make it secure for them.

"I'm gonna go check around." Lyle grabbed his bow and began to trout ahead of the road that led north towards the river., "Don't get eaten while I'm gone."

"Speak for yourself." Lemy laid flat on the flat surface of the half buried boulder they all rested on.

"Don't be gone too long." Bobby said.

Lyle nodded back a grunt as he trekked down the silent and lonely road up ahead, the moonlight taking on the role of his only light source for this rather dark road deep in unknown territory. The fire of the makeshift campsite burned behind him as he walked deeper down the road around the lake. With bow and arrow in hand, Lyle kept a sharp eye on his surroundings as well a clear ear to the many noises of the various wildlife inhabiting this wooded area. Lyle could recognize all the calls being made: the chirpings of sparrows, the distant mating call of an elk buck, the croaking of frogs and the hoots of an owl searching for its next meal-to-be rodent. To him this was a sixth sense, he could pinpoint the creature and its state of being just by the unique noise it would choose to emit, the others would have been blind to it all. Lemy may know just about enough, but Bobby sure would be lost on his own without any resources or experience in hand.

"Not much out here other than the native critters, no humans, that's a relief." Lyle whispered. Up ahead the river came into view and the road arched around a rocky cliff cutting off his vision for what may lay more ahead. Not risking getting blindsided on that archway, the hunter jogged up the brush and climbed the top of said cliff to get a better look at the area further beyond. Leaning against a tree he relaxed enough while still being highly alerted. If it's not the average bandit that guts you for less than thirty cents on your pocket then a wandering grizzly or pack of wolves will do the honors in order to obtain your sweet-fresh tender flesh.

A grey squirrel skittishly ran across his feet and up a tree, safe from all the nocturnal predators that couldn't reach it from such height. A lesson that they needed to always follow through and through.

Not in the mood to be standing for the time being, Lyle sat down against the trunk of the tree and gazed at the night sky in peaceful silence. The many constellations at display made him appreciate the beauty of the untamed world at hand. Eventually it would all be painted behind the industrial smog and intense artificial lights of the ever-growing and ever-expanding so-called civilized future that would desecrate what's left of this beautiful frontier. Just thinking about it sent an intense displeasure across his inner mindscape.

"Nothing will ever last." Lyle sighed, a hint of dismay made itself appear on the rather serious young hunter.

A minute passed, just silence. Another minute passed as well and again nothing but natural silence and no signs of any mingling entities that may pose a degree of danger to their makeshift rest spot. Having scouted enough Lyle stood back on his legs and decided to return to the others before they chose to come out and search for him instead. That would not be the case because his keen eyesight took notice of rising smoke down into the woods and away from the main road. That had not been there before to which the blond concluded that the responsible party had just settled down for the night and about a short distance from their own spot by the dam.

"Should I even?" He muttered as he focused his gaze on the black smoke that rose up to the air before it dissipated into the black sky and it's many bright stars.

Unfortunately for him and his many, upon many past encounters and hard earned experiences he couldn't simply walk away and let it be.

"Guess I am." He ended that internal debate by walking forward towards the source of his foolish curiosity.

Lemy and Bobby must be waiting for his return, perhaps they finally decided to head to town and now it was him that was stalling their progress and all because he wanted to check out a random campfire that sprouted in the middle of the night. Even if the people he would soon encounter were just harmless-weary travelers as themselves there was no logical reason to stick around. The three of them could easily ride off before any actual danger came to them. All these reasons made their opinions heard in his head as he silently stepped over fallen branches and piles of dead-wither leaves, making as little noise as possible as he continued to march forward.

He could now see the orange-yellowish shine of the small fire up ahead, many trees and high grass keeping him hidden from view.

Stepping closer he saw the source of his worries. Just a pair of riders alongside their horses calling it a night after a likely long travel. His curiosity satisfied, Lyle chastised himself for getting all worked up over a handful of nothing. As he continued to mentally scold himself the two men resting around the fire struck up conversation.

"We should have rode just a bit farther. We're still too close, the others probably rode up to Ambarino." The one with a deep southern accent and a sorry excuse of a goatee told his companion.

"I'm too god-damn tired to give a damn. I haven't slept all day and would much appreciate it if you shut the hell up!" The older man with mutton chops and a balding head spat back.

Lyle had no qualms with eavesdropping on people, after all that's how one discovered valuable opportunities in this world, but this was none of his concern and the others were most likely already wondering where he had run off to. Turning his back to them he took one step away from his hidden spot when the next piece of dialogue halted his movement.

"We would cover more distance and time under the cover of the night, the law ain't that active right now. Besides no one would have to see us holding a bloody woman hostage in broad daylight may I damn well add." The hick complained to his partner in crime who waved him off and bit down on a piece of cooked meat.

Upon hearing those words Lyle immediately scanned the campfire around them for the object of said conversation. Moving from his spot, Lyle crouched as low as possible perfectly avoiding any detection from the two kidnappers who remained in their spots. Reaching another tree he took cover behind it and quickly looked around from this new angle for the woman in question. Looking past the horses he spotted her on the ground leaning against a tree. From his distance he could see that she was gagged, blindfolded and tied up from her wrists to the back and ankles, a very uncomfortable position in an already unwanted situation.

At this point he cursed himself even harder for intruding on this ongoing crime.

But her muffled cries caught his attention, watching her wiggling against her bonds, not much effort nor strength to even budge herself from her current spot. The man with the mutton chops looked over towards her and threw her the bone he had just finished licking.

"Quite you! Be glad we haven't chosen to spread your legs for our pleasure, but keep it up and that may change." He chuckled with malice as she cried harder through her cloth gag.

"They'll pay us more if she's a virgin you know that right?" The hick annoyingly reminded his partner.

His friend said nothing back and laid on his bedroll, placing his hat over his face to block out the light of the fire. The hick muttered something unintelligible and leaned forward to grab a piece of meat that was being cooked over the fire. He never got the chance for an arrow whizzed through the air and struck the man directly on the throat.

"Urgh!" He choked out. Both hands reaching for his wound, but unable to pull out the embedded arrow tip from himself. Blood spurted out, on the ground and on his shirt. He fell off his seat and wretched his body in pain and panic as his partner hastily got to his feet.

"What the hell?" He shouted with a revolver already in hand, aiming it erratically at the shadows that surrounded him.

Before he could yell again at their attacker he got pierced on the stomach by another arrow. The pain indescribable, he dropped his weapon and clutched on the arrow as he fell on his knees. From the shadows he saw a slender man emerge, face hidden by a black bandana, but his eyes spoke all the words he needed to know; this was the reaper and his soul was his.

Putting away his bow over his shoulder, Lyle unsheathed his hunting knife and not wasting any more time with this worthless creature he grabbed what little hair the man still possessed on his head and yanked his skull back, exposing his throat and slit the sharp steel blade into his soft tissue. A crimson line appeared and it became wider as a waterfall of blood poured its way out of him. Letting go of his head, Lyle kicked him over and left him there to rot alongside his friend who had stopped moving some seconds ago.

Ignoring the two fresh corpses he had added to his long-standing resume he walked over to the tied up woman. Looking closer she was young, black raven hair, white skin with her face tainted by the black mascara that trailed from behind the blindfold. Her dress was elegant, not horrendously over done as many rich folk preferred them, but modest at its core. A black skirt with silver colored spider shaped emblems sewed onto it. Black penny loafers with black see through leggings. Black silk blouse that had been stained by all the dirt on the forest ground, not to mention that her chest was of great proportion, a specific area that Lyle looked away from. This young girl could very well be associated with the color of darkness with how much it decors her current outfit. The only thing that was of a difference was the headband keeping her hair in place, vermilion in color and it so happened to also have a spider to add to the design.

'Spiders.' He mentally leered, not the most favorable animals on his list with humans being number one. This girl seemed to be enamored by them by the amount of them she has attached to her clothes.

Kneeling down in front of her, Lyle gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She recoiled in fear as expected of him and struggled in an act of panic to move away from him.

Grabbing the bandana he lifted it up over her forehead and was met by a pair of dark-brown watery eyes staring back at him in sheer fear. Her face was dirty and ruined by the tears, mascara and dirt that she was accumulating for the time she had been their prisoner. He could see a small bruise on the left side of her cheek whether it was caused to immobilize her or force her to comply he could only guess, but seeing it made him feel much better over killing those two. Still seeing the fera in her eyes, he realized that his own face was still covered and proceeded to lower his mask and gain her trust.

"Hey it's okay Miss, those two are not going to hurt you no-more." Lyle did his best to soothe her nerves with clarification of his alignment.

Removing the gag around her mouth, the young girl coughed then smacked her lips, licking them for hydration. She said nothing at first, still looking at Lyle, better yet, analyzing him for any artificial features that may contradict his words of kindness and help. Lyle didn't blame her, this must have been her first physical interaction with true danger. Of course she was spooked to trust him immediately, but he didn't have time to allow her such deep thinking, he needed to get back to the others and that included bringing her along as well.

"Does anything hurt? Did they hurt you in any way? Please I won't hurt you...nor touch you. I'm nothing like them." Lyle pulled out his knife to cut her loose, but seeing the knife freaked her out a bit.

"N-no! Stop!" She cried, making Lyle sigh in frustration.

"I gotta cut you loose somehow okay?" He proceeded to free her legs first, seeing that she relaxed and allowed him to lean her onto the side to cut the restraints on her wrists.

Now with all limbs set free and movable she massaged her wrists from the rope burn and looked around them with weariness.

"W-where are the o-others? Their...friends?" She spoke.

Lyle's eyes lowered sharply at her words in response and he quickly re-equipped his bow and arrow in hand, scanning their surroundings, intensely eyeing the many shadows of the trees that the flickering fire was giving birth to.

"Exactly how many?"

"Four? M-Maybe five, it was dark, it w-was still night time." She spoke rapidly, her words breaking concentration as she fearfully moved her eyes in all directions.

"I was riding on m-my...my stagecoach with others. They came from the darkness and killed the driver!" She cried, finding it hard to recall unpleasant memories, "I think they split off on separate paths after robbing us."

Well that's some good information for him to now know. Most highwaymen just do a quick raid before vanishing into the horizon, but they always stick together. Guess they had different priorities in hand and would rendezvous in a different location. Knowing this Lyle slung the bow over his shoulder and helped his damsel up to her feet.

"Hey, I'm getting you out of here okay? Strawberry ain't that far away, you'll be safe there Miss…?"

"F-Forrester, Gloom Forrester." She clarified, wiping away her tears.

'Gloom?' What kind of name is that to place on your own kid?' That was the first time he had heard such a name, more so on a female. Guess everybody had an imagination after all, who was he to judge? Taking her hand he walked her over to one of the horses that remained hitched to their spots, rather riding one of them back than have the poor girl run through this rough terrain after all the shit she had to go through. These horses were not in bad shape, he could bring them both back to town and fetch a small price for them.

"Okay now, we're taking these two beauties with us, just don't look at…the..." Lyle caught her doing exactly what he failed to finish. Gloom was staring at the bodies of her two kidnappers, eyes wide with fear as her body tensed up at the gruesome sight of his latest kills.

"Ms. Forrester, it's kill or be killed out here. They had it coming, you don't. Come now." Lyle offered his hand which after looking away she took.

With both hands he lifted her up on the rear of the animal making sure she was well balanced, before attending to the other horse. Once both horses were tied together by a lasso, Lyle climbed on and gave out commands to the beast to trot back to Bobby and Lemy. Gloom had gingerly placed by the hands around his waist, not something that he felt odd about as it was natural to do so or risk falling over. Although, when she leaned forward when the horse hopped a fallen dead tree, Lyle's chest did flare up at the touch of her own chest against him. Lyle wasn't a filthy minded individual when it came towards the opposite sex, he refused to ever consider such traits upon himself, but feeling her breasts push against him was something else for him.

'Really? You just rescued this poor girl from being either raped or sold to be raped and you're getting excited? You pathetic piece of shit.' He mentally scolded himself. Lemy would mock him until death if he learned of such disgusting action his body had betrayed him for.

They had reached the main road that circled the lake and up ahead he could no longer see the small fire they had produced. Had those two wandered off in search of him? Or something else that he chose to not even consider had occurred?

"I'm so tired." Gloom moaned behind him. She once again leaned on his back and rested her head on his shoulder, a much more comfortable pillow than the hard bark of a tree.

Once again poor Lyle felt mortified by her innocent actions. He could feel her, or two better specify he could feel her rather well formed breasts pressing into him and he had no choice but to allow it. Damn, this sure wasn't a common incident for him, he wasn't much of a social person, so having a female of his age range at such danger close proximity was sounding off all the alarms of confusion inside his brain.

'Just take her to town and calm the fuck down Lyle!'

Riding to their spot the area was desolated and the others nowhere to be seen. Not wanting to jump to unsavory conclusions he reared Liena to the road leading to town. They must have moved on forward, believing that he must have left them behind. The pace they rode was average, not wanting the terrified girl to feel any more distressed than she already was. As they rode in silence, Lyle could only have one image on his mind which was the innocence in her eyes, such a rare beauty in this harsh world they inhabited. There was something mesmerizing about her, then again he never really had time to socialize with many females, rather keeping to himself up on his mountain.

"What's your name?" Her voice as soft as he could imagine asked him.

"It's-"

"Lyle! Thought you gave us the slip...who is she?"

Bobby came into view up ahead, thank the moon for shining down on his figure or Lyle would have threatened him at gunpoint. Regardless it was good to see him and know that nothing had gone wrong as he had earlier imagined.

"Saved her from some kidnappers, they're dead now." He nonchalantly said.

"W-What?" Bobby stuttered in shock.

"Where's Lem?" Lyle looked around, unable to see his older brother.

"Went off to look for you. What about her"?

Without warning Gloom tightens her grip around Lyle, pressing her chin over his shoulder timidly looking at his brother. Lyle didn't like all of these sudden developments and wanted to get to Strawberry and drop her off already, but other matters had to be attended to.

"She just needs a good bed for the night. Which way did that fool go? I need to redirect him back with us." He asked as Gloom listened to their conversation.

"He rode ahead, making sure there weren't any...surprises." Bobby worded his response carefully in her presence.

"I know for damn certain he didn't just walk to town...you know what, hold that thought, let's go." With that said Lyle took the lead and the three of them rode towards Strawberry which wasn't that far up ahead from the many acres of trees blocking their view.

As they rode closer to town they could now see the stream that led to the waterfall located in the center of town. The entrance to town was up ahead and the many lights of the lanterns scattered across the small town gave life to the place.

They had finally arrived.

"I guess I'll ride on ahead. See if he hasn't stolen something already and got caught, uh... ma'am." Bobby tipped his hat to Gloom and rode up ahead leaving them two alone once again.

Seeing nor sensing any danger anymore both eased their nerves and relaxed. Liena ceased her jogging and marched at a steady pace. Despite the noise of the flowing water and the many chirps of nearby birds, the silence was deafening for Lyle. Should he say something? She hasn't made a peep since she...asked for his name. Guess he did have something to tell her after all.

"Hey umm...Gloom?" She lifted her head up, resting on his shoulder.

"Yes?"

"My name is Lyle."

The words felt odd as he said them out loud. It's not like he hasn't given out his name before, but this time it felt very personal on his behalf. It felt like that one time many years ago, the same sentiment and under similar circumstances too. Guess it was an extremely rare occurrence to have a beautiful lady riding with him and holding him right with her arms.

"That's a pretty name. I like it." She said back.

"...Thanks, that's...very kind of you to say." To say he wasn't bewildered by the compliment would be a lie, Lyle was on unknown territory and despite all his years of survival experience he felt lost.

"Compared to mine all other names are prettier anyways. My mother found it humorous, a way to express her bleak world views through me. My sister is called Lois, so for some reason she got off lightly." She blabbered away, her timid persona having disappeared and now a more giddy and talkative one having taken center stage

"That's interesting to share." He responded back, "Everyone's got their reasons honestly."

"Who named you?" Lyle stiffened up as she calmly asked, "I get that all parents agree on our names, but who came up with it first?"

"...my mother did, of course." Lyle spoke quickly and to the point.

To her however it sounded exactly how it sounded; the need to change the subject and speak about literally anything else, she didn't inquire any further. In front of them the huge wooden sign with the words Strawberry carved in welcomed them both to the sleeping town; only very few citizens dwelled the muddy streets at the moment. He could see the butcher shop and the Post Office up from and center and many buildings each serving a different purpose to this tourist resort. Bobby and Lemy must have gone further in as he failed to spot their respective horses on any of the many hitching posts.

"Oh thank God. I'm so happy to see so much civilization." Gloom happily commented.

Lyle resisted the urge to lay out a sarcastic remark, but he did roll his eyes at her deluded appreciation towards such a destructive society of greed. At least she was smiling, he guessed she was since she was behind him. Up ahead the Sheriff's office was in clear view next to the fanciest building in the entire town.

"The sheriff is probably asleep, but a deputy has to be on standby, he can take your testimony about your unfortunate ordeal." Lyle pointed the building at her to see.

"Oh thank you Lyle, thank you for saving me and taking me all the way here." Gloom hugged him harder, a sweet smile for him to not be able to see.

"Yes, well... I'm glad to have found you too." Lyle shyly responded.

Reaching the hotel Lyle got off Liena first and helped Gloom off as well. This time they both stood chest to chest while holding on to each other. Under the clear brightness of the lights both got a better view of each other, whether they were speechless was up to debate, one thing was certain Lyle was once again mesmerized by her kindly beauty. After a few seconds of silence, Gloom broke eye contact and gently pushed away from him.

"Ahem." She giggled as Lyle let go and played around with his hands, also looking away from her.

"Guess this is our stop." He said.

"I wish I had something to give you-" Lyle raised a hand to halt her sentence.

"It's okay. Your life is worth more than some coin, stay safe." Lyle smiled, a smile that felt genuine and one that she felt an attraction to.

"Hope to see you around. I'll be staying here for a few days to regain my bearings, Strawberry was my intended destination anyhow...I still feel bad for the others." Gloom sighed as she sadly remembered her fellow passengers.

"Let's hope this never happens to you ever again." Lyle said. He scratched the back of his head, unsure how to finish this conversation of theirs, Gloom got the message and walked up the stairs.

"Goodnight then, I'm happy to know there's still kindness in this world." She waved him goodbye and entered the establishment leaving the blond out in the street still looking on towards the door.

"She's something...that girl...is...too kind." Lyle told himself as he walked away.

Now that that unexpected assignment had been settled he needed to find his brothers, wherever the hell they may be at the moment. Grabbing the reins of Liena he led her down the western path on foot. As they crossed the bridge to the other side he spotted Bobby up ahead alongside his horse. Both on standby next to this one story building. Just by the looks it was sturdy and well maintained, probably a bed and breakfast if he had to guess. Bobby saw Lyle approaching with his horse and stood straight from the wooden pillar he was leaning against to greet him over.

"Hey Lyle over here!" He raised his voice. Waving his arm to which Lyle waved back. The girl that rode with him was gone, he must have dropped her off at that big hotel next to the Sheriff's Office.

"Where is he?" Lyle asked, hitching Liena next to Bobby's horse.

"Up there." Bobby pointed up at the cliff that oversaw the entire town from the east side, "After Blackwater, Lem chose to make camp away from curious eyes that may recognize his face. At least you and I got us some warm beds for the night, $3 for two rooms and just the night, the price was the cheapest I could find."

"This is a tourist town, it makes sense they overpriced everything for the greed of it." Lyle noted.

"Well, let's shack up and continue the rest in the morning." Bobby patted him on the shoulder and walked ahead to the door of the Bed and Breakfast.

"So who was she?"

"Some poor girl caught in an unfortunate situation."

"She was very...beautiful, you sure you weren't enjoying the ride alone?" Bobby smirked at his brother who in return glared at him in annoyance to such a preposterous insinuation.

"Shut the hell up and don't let Lemy influence you with his bullshit." They both entered the friendly establishment to settle in for the night while Lemy camped out in the outskirts for all of their safeties. Tomorrow they would officially commence their investigation regarding the fabled gold that their father died for. An unexpected encounter came into fruition, but Lyle didn't regret interfering, after all he got to save and meet quite a character, that girl, Gloom Forrester had caught his eye, yet he believed that nothing special would come out of it. After all he's not looking to settle down and they have a quest to complete. The roads ahead would provide many more stories for them three to bear witness too. Now whether they chose to act or stand by was all on them to decide.