Lazarus Heart
Disclaimer: don't own this.
Authors note: sorry for the delay, but Gabriel spilt Dr. Pepper on the keyboard and I had to replace it lol. Thanks again for all that reviewed; I appreciate it.
Chapter Four: The Beast
Sand swept across the desert plains of the planet Gunsmoke, carried by the wind in a whirlwind of motion. The sandstorm covered a small town, howling in its fury, and making its presence known to all within its grasp. Inside the walls of the town saloon, a group of people huddled together, and talked franticly to each other in frightened whispers.
Vash sat on the bar watching their fearful expressions as he loaded bullet after bullet into a black revolver. Behind him the bartender stepped out from a back room, and tapped Vash on the shoulder.
"I found some more bullets in the back" he said setting a small box of ammo on the counter. Vash looked over his shoulder at the bartender, "great, and thanks for letting me barrow your gun".
The bartender shrugged, "its no big deal, but I think your crazy to even consider taking that thing on".
Vash chuckled, "well I've been accused of being crazy more than once".
The bartender sighed, and shook his head, "your really serious about this aren't you? Ah well, if your really gonna face that monster you might as well take these too". The bartender reached down below the counter and pulled out a brown leather jacket, and a gun belt. He held the two items up to Vash who took them hesitantly.
Vash raised an eyebrow, "are you sure? I don't want to damage your coat".
The bartender poured himself a drink, "like I said before its no big deal".
Vash nodded to him, and slipped his arms through the sleeves, he was thankful for the jacket. Without his old body armor and red coat, the jacket was his only protection at the moment.
Vash buckled the gun belt around his waist, and emptied the box of bullets into the jacket's left pocket. He slid off the counter onto his feet, and with the bartender's gun in hand, struck a dramatic pose.
"Well ladies, how do I look?" he asked looking over at the insurance girls. Meryl sighed and shook her head while Millie giggled at Vash's antics. Jimmy, who had calmed down a little, sat in Millie's lap and looked at Vash with wide eyes.
"You look funny mister" Jimmy said truthfully. Vash dropped his pose and hunched over.
"Why does everyone pick on me?" he said in a fake miserable tone.
Meryl raised an eyebrow, "could it be because you make it so easy?" she said sarcastically. Vash was about to retort when he felt vibrations through the floor. His face turned serious " its here" he said quietly.
The bartender gulped down another drink, and cleared his throat, "everyone get behind the counter". The people in the saloon quickly got out of their seats and rushed behind the bar. Meryl walked over to stand next to Vash, while Millie took Jimmy over to the counter, and handed him off to the bartender. With the people safely hidden behind the bar, Vash and the insurance girls stood side-by-side facing the door.
Meryl readied two Derringers in her hands as Millie brought out her stun gun; Vash stood between them, his eyes were narrow pools of blue-green as his hand steadily hovered over the handle of his revolver. Soon the saloon shook in time with thunderous footsteps, and all attention was drawn to their beat as they neared the door. Time seemed to slow down for the people in the saloon, as the door and front wall of the saloon exploded inward. Shards of wood mixed with sand impacted with the saloon lights, shorting them out and plunging the saloon into darkness.
Meryl and Millie worked as one; Meryl fired her two Derringers letting their flash of light illuminate the dark shape of the monster. Millie, using the flashes to target the monster, fired her stun gun three times. The three non-lethal X's slammed into the monsters midsection, and hurled it back through the hole it entered through. Vash wasted no time following the monster out of the saloon and into the storm. Vash watched the monster recover from the stun gun's blows, and get back to its feet.
Vash ran head long towards the beast, firing his gun three times in rapid succession; one bullet struck the beast's forehead with a loud clang, while the other two bullets tore into its kneecaps. The creature's dark form wobbled as it tried to stay upright, and Vash used this distraction to slide feet first under the creature's legs. Halfway through his slide, Vash sent a kick to the monsters backside, and caused it to topple forward. The monster tried to stand back up on its ruined knees, while Vash regained his feet, and calmly walked over to the monster.
As Vash neared the monster the sound of squealing motors reached his ears, and confirmed his suspicions of the monsters origin. Vash had seen this kind of machine before, it was a defense robot, but its design was radically different from the type he and Wolfwood had fought. *How could this thing still be active after all this time* he thought to himself. Vash shook that thought from his mind as the monster got back on its shaky legs. Before it could turn around, Vash raised the gun, pulled the hammer back with his thumb, and pointed the gun at the monster.
A bullet flew from the barrel as Vash pulled the trigger, and hit dead center in a small circular power jack located at the base of the machines neck. Electricity erupted from the machines neck, and illuminated its body. The machine was humanoid in shape, with bipedal legs and a thick frame.
Cloth rags covered the machine in order to hide its robotic appearance, and the metal blades that made up the machines hands, were painted black in order to give them an organic look. The electricity that covered the machine began to recede as it's power cell died, and the robot grew still.
Vash walked around the smoking robot and looked into its eyes, which were two small cameras that had been shaded red. *Someone went through a lot of trouble to make this machine into a monster* Vash thought, as Millie and Meryl walked out to stand next to him. "Is it dead?" Millie asked him. Vash nodded.
"What is it" Meryl asked hesitantly.
"It's a machine, a piece of lost technology," Vash answered.
Millie looked at Vash with a curious expression "you mean it's not a monster?"
Vash shook his head "no, but someone wanted people to think it was".
"But why would someone do that", Meryl asked in surprise.
Vash turned to face the ruined saloon wall "I don't know, but we're going to find out". The three of them walked back into the saloon, and the bartender hesitantly poked his head above the counter, "is it dead?" he asked in surprise.
Vash smiled in the darkness of the saloon "as a doornail".
It seemed like all the people hiding behind the bar let out a relieved sigh, they stood up and came out from behind the bar. Vash along with Millie and Meryl received slaps on the back, accompanied with hugs from the grateful people in the saloon. Jimmy ran over to the trio, and looked up at them with admiration "you guys were awesome".
Vash smiled "thanks, but it wasn't really a monster".
"What was it then?" the bartender asked.
"It was just a machine" Meryl replied.
The bartender looked thoughtful, "if it was just a machine, then how did it cause all the storms?"
Vash opened the breach in the back of the barrowed revolver, and turned the cylinder slowly, letting the spent bullet casings fall to the floor.
"It didn't", he told them as he began to reload the gun, "Whoever was controlling the machine must have caused the storms as well".
Vash twirled the loaded gun around his finger, and then holstered it in a smooth motion. Meryl looked at Vash, "how are we going to find the ones who controlled the machine?"
"We just have to follow the storm to its point of origin" Vash replied.
"They all came from the same direction right?" he asked the bartender. The bartender nodded, "yes, they all started in the north and then traveled this way".
Meryl clenched her fist, "ok, let's finish this once and for all".
Vash looked hesitant, "Meryl I think it might be a good idea for you and Millie to stay here".
"But why Mr. Vash?" Millie asked him confused.
Vash smiled, "we don't know if there are more of those things out there, and I don't want you two to get hurt".
Meryl sighed, "I appreciate the concern, but if there are more of them out there, you're going to need some help".
Vash slapped his forehead in frustration, "can't you just listen to me just this one time, and not fight me on this?"
Meryl closed her eyes and smiled sweetly at Vash, "Vash, do you like doughnuts?" she asked him.
"Uh Meryl, you know I love doughnuts", he replied hesitantly, she was starting to scare him.
Meryl opened her eyes and glared at him, "that's good, and if you drop this subject right now, you'll still have the teeth to chew them".
"Why do you always threaten me?" he grumbled. Meryl heard his grumbling, and it set her off into a lecture. The people in the saloon watched the short insurance girl blow up in Vash's face, and all of them developed sweat drops as Vash pleaded for mercy. Millie, who was used to their fighting, didn't really pay attention until she felt someone tug on her cloak.
Millie looked down and saw Jimmy trying to get her attention. She leaned down to him and he cupped his hand on the side of his mouth, "do they always fight like that?" he whispered.
Millie laughed softly, then whispered back, "well actually, its their strange way of saying they like each other".
Jimmy looked surprised, "oh they must care about each other a lot", he said as Meryl put a few new lumps on Vash's head.
Meryl put Vash in a headlock, causing him to flail around and agree to Meryl's terms, "alright you can go, just stop hitting me!"
Meryl smiled as she released him, "I knew you'd see things my way".
Vash rubbed his sore neck, and grumbled under his breath. Millie smiled at her two friends, *I wish they would just admit their feelings for each other*.
"Ok, we need to get moving before whoever sent that beast gets away", Vash told the two insurance girls. The girls nodded and followed after Vash as he walked outside into the storm. Jimmy and the bartender waved at their retreating backs, "be careful you three", "come back safe," they both yelled over the storm.
The walk was long, taking almost an hour before they were able to make out an object in the distance. The object was a large wagon, parked next to a group of round boulders. Vash motioned for the girls to stay down, and he silently crept up behind a boulder. Once he was sure he hadn't been spotted, he waved to the girls, and they crept over to join him.
Vash kept his voice low, not wanting to alert anyone to his or the girls' presence, "I'm going to creep up behind the wagon, you two cover me ok?" The girls nodded. Vash was getting ready to move, when the door of the wagon opened, and a male voice was heard over the storm, "Come out from behind the boulder, we know your there, we can see your heat signature".
Vash cursed, "Well, so much for the element of surprise".
********
Interlude: Warrens City, one day ago.
Lazarus stood on the roof of the saloon, watching the people of Warrens City load money into the bandit's car. He looked down at the leader, who was sitting in a chair under an umbrella, and laughing the most annoying laugh in history. The wind picked up, and ruffled Lazarus's poncho, *I can't believe I even considered doing this*, he thought to himself.
Lazarus sighed, and then stuffed the bartender's rag into the bottled he'd swiped from frank. He tipped the bottle sideways, letting the alcohol seep into the rag, and then taking a lighter from his pocket, lit the rag on fire.
"Here's to stupidity", he said in a mock toast.
Lazarus hurled the bottle at the bandit who held the girl hostage; it hit the ground at the bandit's feet, and erupted into flame as soon as it shattered. The bandit screamed as his pants caught fire, he forgot about the girl, and slapped his legs in an attempt to put the fire out. Lazarus drew his white semi-automatic, and took a running leap off of the roof.
He landed in the front seat of the bandit's car, and fired his gun over the windshield, making the bandits dive for cover. Lazarus dropped down behind the wheel, and started the ignition, *shouldn't have left the keys in the car*, Lazarus thought as he put the car into gear.
He pressed the gas pedal to the floor, and the car flew backward down the dusty street. The townspeople realizing the bandit's lack of hostages quickly surrounded the dazed criminals with their weapons drawn. Lazarus hit the brake, stopping the car a few buildings down, and turned around in his seat to see if the girl was unharmed.
"Are you ok?" he asked her.
The girl responded by hurling herself at Lazarus, and hugging his neck, "thank you mister".
Lazarus's eyes widened, "uh, yeah its ok, you can let go of me".
The girl didn't listen, and continued to thank him; it was at this moment that the "voice" decided to speak. *See, now doesn't helping people make you feel good inside*? Lazarus awkwardly patted the girl on the back, *your enjoying this*, he thought darkly at the voice. The voice seemed to smirk, *immensely*, it replied.
The townspeople had tied the bandits up by now, and were gathering around the car. The girl let go of Lazarus when she saw her parents in the group of people, and rushed out of the car to join them. Lazarus stepped out of the car as well, only to be assaulted by slaps on the back, and words of thanks. Frank Marlin stepped through the crowd, and walked up to Lazarus, "I don't know if what you did was brave, or stupid, but you did great".
Lazarus was getting uncomfortable with all of the attention, "uh really, you don't have to thank me, it was nothing", he said nervously. Frank put an arm around Lazarus's shoulders, "don't be so modest, no one was hurt, and the bandits didn't get away with our money"; frank started leading Lazarus towards the saloon, "come on its time to celebrate".
The voice laughed in Lazarus's mind, *I told you it would turn out all right, you did pretty good, for a pansy man*. *I hate you*, Lazarus responded as the townspeople dragged him into the saloon.
One day, and one hangover later, Lazarus was driving through the desert, in a black convertible. The same car that used to belong to the bandits, it was a reward for helping apprehend them, *I guess helping those people was a good idea after all*, he mentally chuckled.
Lazarus had let frank have the silver revolver for free, stating that he didn't want to carry it around anymore. Frank had been surprised, but he accepted the guns with a smile, and a thank you. Lazarus looked over at the cross riding shotgun next to him, *now if only I could get rid of this thing, I'd be set*.
The voice sent a small pain through Lazarus's mind, *don't even think about it*, the voice growled at him.
Lazarus gritted his teeth, "never crossed my mind", he replied sarcastically. He pressed the petal to the floor, and the wind ruffled his long red hair as he drove towards whatever fate awaited him.
End chapter four, written by Lee.
Disclaimer: don't own this.
Authors note: sorry for the delay, but Gabriel spilt Dr. Pepper on the keyboard and I had to replace it lol. Thanks again for all that reviewed; I appreciate it.
Chapter Four: The Beast
Sand swept across the desert plains of the planet Gunsmoke, carried by the wind in a whirlwind of motion. The sandstorm covered a small town, howling in its fury, and making its presence known to all within its grasp. Inside the walls of the town saloon, a group of people huddled together, and talked franticly to each other in frightened whispers.
Vash sat on the bar watching their fearful expressions as he loaded bullet after bullet into a black revolver. Behind him the bartender stepped out from a back room, and tapped Vash on the shoulder.
"I found some more bullets in the back" he said setting a small box of ammo on the counter. Vash looked over his shoulder at the bartender, "great, and thanks for letting me barrow your gun".
The bartender shrugged, "its no big deal, but I think your crazy to even consider taking that thing on".
Vash chuckled, "well I've been accused of being crazy more than once".
The bartender sighed, and shook his head, "your really serious about this aren't you? Ah well, if your really gonna face that monster you might as well take these too". The bartender reached down below the counter and pulled out a brown leather jacket, and a gun belt. He held the two items up to Vash who took them hesitantly.
Vash raised an eyebrow, "are you sure? I don't want to damage your coat".
The bartender poured himself a drink, "like I said before its no big deal".
Vash nodded to him, and slipped his arms through the sleeves, he was thankful for the jacket. Without his old body armor and red coat, the jacket was his only protection at the moment.
Vash buckled the gun belt around his waist, and emptied the box of bullets into the jacket's left pocket. He slid off the counter onto his feet, and with the bartender's gun in hand, struck a dramatic pose.
"Well ladies, how do I look?" he asked looking over at the insurance girls. Meryl sighed and shook her head while Millie giggled at Vash's antics. Jimmy, who had calmed down a little, sat in Millie's lap and looked at Vash with wide eyes.
"You look funny mister" Jimmy said truthfully. Vash dropped his pose and hunched over.
"Why does everyone pick on me?" he said in a fake miserable tone.
Meryl raised an eyebrow, "could it be because you make it so easy?" she said sarcastically. Vash was about to retort when he felt vibrations through the floor. His face turned serious " its here" he said quietly.
The bartender gulped down another drink, and cleared his throat, "everyone get behind the counter". The people in the saloon quickly got out of their seats and rushed behind the bar. Meryl walked over to stand next to Vash, while Millie took Jimmy over to the counter, and handed him off to the bartender. With the people safely hidden behind the bar, Vash and the insurance girls stood side-by-side facing the door.
Meryl readied two Derringers in her hands as Millie brought out her stun gun; Vash stood between them, his eyes were narrow pools of blue-green as his hand steadily hovered over the handle of his revolver. Soon the saloon shook in time with thunderous footsteps, and all attention was drawn to their beat as they neared the door. Time seemed to slow down for the people in the saloon, as the door and front wall of the saloon exploded inward. Shards of wood mixed with sand impacted with the saloon lights, shorting them out and plunging the saloon into darkness.
Meryl and Millie worked as one; Meryl fired her two Derringers letting their flash of light illuminate the dark shape of the monster. Millie, using the flashes to target the monster, fired her stun gun three times. The three non-lethal X's slammed into the monsters midsection, and hurled it back through the hole it entered through. Vash wasted no time following the monster out of the saloon and into the storm. Vash watched the monster recover from the stun gun's blows, and get back to its feet.
Vash ran head long towards the beast, firing his gun three times in rapid succession; one bullet struck the beast's forehead with a loud clang, while the other two bullets tore into its kneecaps. The creature's dark form wobbled as it tried to stay upright, and Vash used this distraction to slide feet first under the creature's legs. Halfway through his slide, Vash sent a kick to the monsters backside, and caused it to topple forward. The monster tried to stand back up on its ruined knees, while Vash regained his feet, and calmly walked over to the monster.
As Vash neared the monster the sound of squealing motors reached his ears, and confirmed his suspicions of the monsters origin. Vash had seen this kind of machine before, it was a defense robot, but its design was radically different from the type he and Wolfwood had fought. *How could this thing still be active after all this time* he thought to himself. Vash shook that thought from his mind as the monster got back on its shaky legs. Before it could turn around, Vash raised the gun, pulled the hammer back with his thumb, and pointed the gun at the monster.
A bullet flew from the barrel as Vash pulled the trigger, and hit dead center in a small circular power jack located at the base of the machines neck. Electricity erupted from the machines neck, and illuminated its body. The machine was humanoid in shape, with bipedal legs and a thick frame.
Cloth rags covered the machine in order to hide its robotic appearance, and the metal blades that made up the machines hands, were painted black in order to give them an organic look. The electricity that covered the machine began to recede as it's power cell died, and the robot grew still.
Vash walked around the smoking robot and looked into its eyes, which were two small cameras that had been shaded red. *Someone went through a lot of trouble to make this machine into a monster* Vash thought, as Millie and Meryl walked out to stand next to him. "Is it dead?" Millie asked him. Vash nodded.
"What is it" Meryl asked hesitantly.
"It's a machine, a piece of lost technology," Vash answered.
Millie looked at Vash with a curious expression "you mean it's not a monster?"
Vash shook his head "no, but someone wanted people to think it was".
"But why would someone do that", Meryl asked in surprise.
Vash turned to face the ruined saloon wall "I don't know, but we're going to find out". The three of them walked back into the saloon, and the bartender hesitantly poked his head above the counter, "is it dead?" he asked in surprise.
Vash smiled in the darkness of the saloon "as a doornail".
It seemed like all the people hiding behind the bar let out a relieved sigh, they stood up and came out from behind the bar. Vash along with Millie and Meryl received slaps on the back, accompanied with hugs from the grateful people in the saloon. Jimmy ran over to the trio, and looked up at them with admiration "you guys were awesome".
Vash smiled "thanks, but it wasn't really a monster".
"What was it then?" the bartender asked.
"It was just a machine" Meryl replied.
The bartender looked thoughtful, "if it was just a machine, then how did it cause all the storms?"
Vash opened the breach in the back of the barrowed revolver, and turned the cylinder slowly, letting the spent bullet casings fall to the floor.
"It didn't", he told them as he began to reload the gun, "Whoever was controlling the machine must have caused the storms as well".
Vash twirled the loaded gun around his finger, and then holstered it in a smooth motion. Meryl looked at Vash, "how are we going to find the ones who controlled the machine?"
"We just have to follow the storm to its point of origin" Vash replied.
"They all came from the same direction right?" he asked the bartender. The bartender nodded, "yes, they all started in the north and then traveled this way".
Meryl clenched her fist, "ok, let's finish this once and for all".
Vash looked hesitant, "Meryl I think it might be a good idea for you and Millie to stay here".
"But why Mr. Vash?" Millie asked him confused.
Vash smiled, "we don't know if there are more of those things out there, and I don't want you two to get hurt".
Meryl sighed, "I appreciate the concern, but if there are more of them out there, you're going to need some help".
Vash slapped his forehead in frustration, "can't you just listen to me just this one time, and not fight me on this?"
Meryl closed her eyes and smiled sweetly at Vash, "Vash, do you like doughnuts?" she asked him.
"Uh Meryl, you know I love doughnuts", he replied hesitantly, she was starting to scare him.
Meryl opened her eyes and glared at him, "that's good, and if you drop this subject right now, you'll still have the teeth to chew them".
"Why do you always threaten me?" he grumbled. Meryl heard his grumbling, and it set her off into a lecture. The people in the saloon watched the short insurance girl blow up in Vash's face, and all of them developed sweat drops as Vash pleaded for mercy. Millie, who was used to their fighting, didn't really pay attention until she felt someone tug on her cloak.
Millie looked down and saw Jimmy trying to get her attention. She leaned down to him and he cupped his hand on the side of his mouth, "do they always fight like that?" he whispered.
Millie laughed softly, then whispered back, "well actually, its their strange way of saying they like each other".
Jimmy looked surprised, "oh they must care about each other a lot", he said as Meryl put a few new lumps on Vash's head.
Meryl put Vash in a headlock, causing him to flail around and agree to Meryl's terms, "alright you can go, just stop hitting me!"
Meryl smiled as she released him, "I knew you'd see things my way".
Vash rubbed his sore neck, and grumbled under his breath. Millie smiled at her two friends, *I wish they would just admit their feelings for each other*.
"Ok, we need to get moving before whoever sent that beast gets away", Vash told the two insurance girls. The girls nodded and followed after Vash as he walked outside into the storm. Jimmy and the bartender waved at their retreating backs, "be careful you three", "come back safe," they both yelled over the storm.
The walk was long, taking almost an hour before they were able to make out an object in the distance. The object was a large wagon, parked next to a group of round boulders. Vash motioned for the girls to stay down, and he silently crept up behind a boulder. Once he was sure he hadn't been spotted, he waved to the girls, and they crept over to join him.
Vash kept his voice low, not wanting to alert anyone to his or the girls' presence, "I'm going to creep up behind the wagon, you two cover me ok?" The girls nodded. Vash was getting ready to move, when the door of the wagon opened, and a male voice was heard over the storm, "Come out from behind the boulder, we know your there, we can see your heat signature".
Vash cursed, "Well, so much for the element of surprise".
********
Interlude: Warrens City, one day ago.
Lazarus stood on the roof of the saloon, watching the people of Warrens City load money into the bandit's car. He looked down at the leader, who was sitting in a chair under an umbrella, and laughing the most annoying laugh in history. The wind picked up, and ruffled Lazarus's poncho, *I can't believe I even considered doing this*, he thought to himself.
Lazarus sighed, and then stuffed the bartender's rag into the bottled he'd swiped from frank. He tipped the bottle sideways, letting the alcohol seep into the rag, and then taking a lighter from his pocket, lit the rag on fire.
"Here's to stupidity", he said in a mock toast.
Lazarus hurled the bottle at the bandit who held the girl hostage; it hit the ground at the bandit's feet, and erupted into flame as soon as it shattered. The bandit screamed as his pants caught fire, he forgot about the girl, and slapped his legs in an attempt to put the fire out. Lazarus drew his white semi-automatic, and took a running leap off of the roof.
He landed in the front seat of the bandit's car, and fired his gun over the windshield, making the bandits dive for cover. Lazarus dropped down behind the wheel, and started the ignition, *shouldn't have left the keys in the car*, Lazarus thought as he put the car into gear.
He pressed the gas pedal to the floor, and the car flew backward down the dusty street. The townspeople realizing the bandit's lack of hostages quickly surrounded the dazed criminals with their weapons drawn. Lazarus hit the brake, stopping the car a few buildings down, and turned around in his seat to see if the girl was unharmed.
"Are you ok?" he asked her.
The girl responded by hurling herself at Lazarus, and hugging his neck, "thank you mister".
Lazarus's eyes widened, "uh, yeah its ok, you can let go of me".
The girl didn't listen, and continued to thank him; it was at this moment that the "voice" decided to speak. *See, now doesn't helping people make you feel good inside*? Lazarus awkwardly patted the girl on the back, *your enjoying this*, he thought darkly at the voice. The voice seemed to smirk, *immensely*, it replied.
The townspeople had tied the bandits up by now, and were gathering around the car. The girl let go of Lazarus when she saw her parents in the group of people, and rushed out of the car to join them. Lazarus stepped out of the car as well, only to be assaulted by slaps on the back, and words of thanks. Frank Marlin stepped through the crowd, and walked up to Lazarus, "I don't know if what you did was brave, or stupid, but you did great".
Lazarus was getting uncomfortable with all of the attention, "uh really, you don't have to thank me, it was nothing", he said nervously. Frank put an arm around Lazarus's shoulders, "don't be so modest, no one was hurt, and the bandits didn't get away with our money"; frank started leading Lazarus towards the saloon, "come on its time to celebrate".
The voice laughed in Lazarus's mind, *I told you it would turn out all right, you did pretty good, for a pansy man*. *I hate you*, Lazarus responded as the townspeople dragged him into the saloon.
One day, and one hangover later, Lazarus was driving through the desert, in a black convertible. The same car that used to belong to the bandits, it was a reward for helping apprehend them, *I guess helping those people was a good idea after all*, he mentally chuckled.
Lazarus had let frank have the silver revolver for free, stating that he didn't want to carry it around anymore. Frank had been surprised, but he accepted the guns with a smile, and a thank you. Lazarus looked over at the cross riding shotgun next to him, *now if only I could get rid of this thing, I'd be set*.
The voice sent a small pain through Lazarus's mind, *don't even think about it*, the voice growled at him.
Lazarus gritted his teeth, "never crossed my mind", he replied sarcastically. He pressed the petal to the floor, and the wind ruffled his long red hair as he drove towards whatever fate awaited him.
End chapter four, written by Lee.