NINE: baby steps
Faye arrived back at the Bebop late, very late by Jet's standards. She still trembled a little at the strange encounter back in that odd town—Black Rock, was it?—with the man known to the people here as Vash the Stampede.
Her heart raced. He had been so creepy. Faye couldn't really pick out a specific personality that truly fit him, though he certainly didn't seem to be either of the two personalities she had detected. Not entirely, anyway. First off, he'd tried to pass himself off as an idiot, but the way he treated her, almost gentlemanly as well as skeptically, left her skeptical herself. Nor did he seem quite the person she had seen in the general store, the man who the store clerk seemed to be so frightened of. It simply didn't make a hell of a lot of sense. If anything, he seemed to be the kind of man you could trust, the kind of man who would pull over in the middle of a blizzard to help damsel in distress.
A boy scout, Faye mused. If only the world had more guys like that.
That kind of man was one in a million.
Better than that, he was one in sixty billion.
As she slipped out of the Redtail, she was met instantly by Jet Black, covered in grease from head to toe and a gleam in his eyes that indicated he was ready to spit fire. Faye smirked as she eyed the old man.
"Oh my God," Faye murmured as she looked him up and down. "Somebody needs a shower. Jet, you reek!"
"You don't exactly come up smellin' like roses, Faye," Jet grumbled. "Where the hell have you been?"
"Doing exactly what you asked me to do!"
"Right. Well, what about groceries?"
Faye shook her head, and then she smiled her most radiant smile, the same smile she flashed whenever she was cooking up some sort of devilish scheme in that feisty brain of hers. "Forget the fucking groceries, Jet! I've got something sixty billion times better."
Jet arched his brow. "What the hell are you talking about?"
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She awoke early, very early, which was quite unusual for her. The pillow was wet again, soaked by tears shed during the night. She didn't know for sure what had brought them to her, but she had a relatively decent idea.
"Oh, Mr. Priest," she murmured.
Milly ran her fingers slowly through the moist fabric. Slowly, gingerly, the big girl pushed herself out of bed and sat on the edge of the mattress. Soon, her tears were forgotten as she noticed the pair huddled in the corner, lost in a restful slumber. She felt so happy for Vash. She was elated for Meryl.
Fresh tears slid down her cheeks, happy tears that she shed for her two best friends in the whole world. Tears she knew that somewhere, up in heaven, her precious Nicholas D. Wolfwood shed right along with her.
With a telltale smile, Milly rose. She washed her face in the washbasin near the window and peered outside. The fifth moon shone brilliantly overhead, the same moon Vash had carved a gaping crater into well over eighteen months ago. It brought sad memories for her, yet she was grateful for every moment.
Milly glanced over to her friends, making sure that the two were still sound asleep, and lifted her nightgown over her head. She changed quickly, contemplating the day's journey. Neither Meryl nor Vash had come out and said anything about leaving today, but somehow she felt they couldn't stay here. She knew that when they rose from their slumber, they would want to be on the road again. She sighed. At least the trip would be easier with Vash the Stampede leading the way.
After she had done some morning chores, like filling the canteens and rationing what little foodstuffs they had left, Milly decided it was time to wake her friends. Slowly, she approached the sleeping couple, still smiling. They both looked so peaceful. It was a wonder, after all she had seen, that Meryl had found such happiness. Especially lying next to him. Vash the Stampede, the cause of so much of her troubles. The name that had thrown the entire planet into disarray—if it was the name, at all. From Milly's brief experience, the place had been like this from the beginning.
Oh well. She couldn't let them sleep forever. Besides, she realized this town wasn't going to be very patient for much longer, with Vash present. Not that it mattered to her; she'd follow Vash to the ends of this desolate world, if possible, and by the small smile on her sleeping friend's face, she knew she wouldn't be alone. Kneeling next to Meryl, she reached out and gently shook her shoulder.
"Meryl? Wake up…"
With a yawn, Meryl stirred and tried to lift her hand to her face, but realized that it refused to move. Something held it down a bit. Her eyes fluttered and then slowly slid open. She peered down the length of her arm. Her arm lay across something brown rested against it, and her and feel around the edge of a bend. She blinked slowly. Where was she? Then she saw the other arm, clamped gently to her forearm.
Huh?
Suddenly, she was fully awake. She turned to give Milly a started look, close to hyperventilation. As quickly as she could without waking him, she slipped free of Vash's hold. Once she had escaped his embrace, she rolled onto her knees, a hand to her racing heart. Milly took a step back as her partner rose to her feet, running her hand through hair to straighten, as well as to soothe her nerves.
Milly grinned. "Meryl."
"What?" The small woman shot Milly a 'don't-you-dare-go-there' look.
"Oh nothing! I just thought it was that time."
"What the heck are you talking about?"
"To wake up, silly," Milly said, a playful grin on her face. "You looked so comfortable, I didn't want to disturb you!"
Meryl groaned and put her head in her hands. "No, no. It's okay." She realized how exhausted she still was as she yawned heavily and trudged over to the washbasin. She did her best to wash up, suddenly wishing she had dressed into her nightgown the night before. But with Vash present, she wouldn't have thought of it. She hadn't had the heart to ask him to leave, either, after he had been gone so long. It was a foolish notion, really, but now that they had him back, Meryl didn't really want to risk it.
"We're leaving today, aren't we?"
Meryl glanced at Milly. "As soon as he gets up, so you better get ready." Her gut twisted, but not from being ill. She faintly remembered waking sometime during the night to the touch of his fingers running through her hair.
Go back to sleep, he had whispered to her. Gentle and solemn, as though his heart was still contemplating his struggles in life, trying to determine how best to survive, how best to help his friends, and the whole of the world, survive. She shook her head free of the thought and rubbed the thin layer of sweat from her face.
Milly sat on the edge of the bed as Meryl leaned against the washbasin, staring at her reflection in the clear pool. "Oh Meryl, I'm so happy right now." She clutched her plush ducky to her belly, tears of joy mixed with painful remembrance dribbling down her cheeks as her thoughts turned to another who had been in their company, the traveling priest who had traveled with them before his death over a year ago. She sighed, brushing her tears away with the back of her hand. She choked off any unwanted sobs that might have taken her and simply smiled to her friend.
Meryl sighed and took a seat next to her friend. Despite her smile, she could see that something was bothering her friend. She draped an arm over her shoulders, violet eyes watching over her with concern. "Oh Milly, what's wrong? You know you can always tell me what's on your mind."
"Oh…" She sniffled and turned her gaze to Meryl. "I'm just so happy for you, that's all."
Meryl pulled back, gazing in wonder at her big friend. "Happy for me? But…"
"If you can't figure that much out for yourself, then you must not be ready to know yet," the big girl teased.
"Don't start that again, Milly. He's a friend in need, no more than that."
Milly grinned. She reached out and playfully tapped Meryl on the nose. "Bullshit."
Meryl blinked at her friend's response. Had Milly Thompson, her friend a thousand times over, the gentle sweetheart with love to spare, actually used that innocent tongue of hers to say that? She shook her head in wonder and laughed, and then fell into the big girl to give her as big a hug as she could manage.
Her eyes sparkled. "I love you, Milly."
"I love you too."
"And I love the both of you."
Meryl stiffened at the voice of the Humanoid Typhoon. She spun to stare at the man on the other side of the bed. But how… Somehow Vash had wakened and quietly slipped to the other side of the room without their knowing. He was standing at the other window, peering down into the alley. Meryl wondered why, but she didn't press the matter. Instead, she simply stood and watched him quietly.
Milly got up as well and moved over to see that their duffel was packed.
"Geez, you scared me."
He cast Meryl a sidelong glance. "I did? Gee, I didn't mean to."
"You did." Meryl sighed and tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "But that's all right. So, when are we going?"
"Any minute now," Vash replied. He looked out the window again, as if considering something. "I don't think we're welcome here anymore."
"Mr. Vash is right. I think we should get out of here right away."
Meryl nodded. "Well, Milly and I are ready. Let's get out of here."
"We're walking," Vash told her. "The bus won't be here until midmorning, and I don't have enough cash as it is."
"We'll be right beside you no matter where we go." Meryl smiled. "And we can take the thomases."
Vash gave her the biggest lopsided grin he could muster. "That'll help a lot." He slipped away from the window rubbing the palm of his prosthetic hand. After a moment, his hidden machine-gun sprung free and then slipped back into the hidden chamber. "Haven't used that in awhile," he murmured.
And then he did something Meryl hadn't expected.
After quickly wetting his stubbled chin, Vash took a bar of soap and a razor from a cup on the windowsill by the washbasin and started to work up a good lather. He spread in over his face and quickly shaved. Meryl thought it was a little weird, considering he was in a hurry to get out of this place, but then again, he did look as though he could use a shave. Then he used the water to spike his hair for the pivotal Vash the Stampede do.
When he was finally done, he turned to look at his friends. Meryl smiled, realizing once more that the man they had been searching for so long had finally returned to them. "All right, wait for five minutes after I leave, and then go downstairs, turn in the key, and get your thomases. When you leave the tavern, go due north along the main road and out into the desert. I'll catch up with you, okay."
"Wait a second," Meryl started. "Where the hell are you going?"
"Just checking a mousetrap," Vash replied, and slipped outside.
Milly frowned. "I didn't see a mouse."
Meryl suppressed a grin. "Just don't worry about it, okay?"
The big girl gave her friend a look and shrugged. "All right."
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Once outside, Vash slipped quietly through the alley, watching for signs of the drunk that had spent the night in the alley behind the tavern. He was easy to spot. He was stumbling through the alley, shotgun hanging in his right hand and a bottle in his left. Garbage spilled out of a crate that had been knocked on it side during the night. Vash shook his head, spying the metal star pinned to the stumbling man's vest.
"What a klutz. And I thought I was bad."
Quietly, he slid back, melting into the shadows. Five minutes were up, and the girls would be on their way any moment now. Sure enough, very shortly he heard the creak of the front door and two sets of footsteps, one from a much bigger person than the other, moving out into the street and toward the north.
He made sure that his friend, the drunken sheriff, didn't make a move toward the girls as they made their way to the south toward the thomas stables, but the coot was so plastered didn't seem to notice them. Vash took that as a good sign. He glanced up to the Fifth Moon overhead and came to realize that there was a fresh journey ahead of him. The sun would soon rise, and the scorching heat would follow. He wanted to get as good of a head start as possible before the sun made the journey practically unbearable.
A short time later, he heard Milly and Meryl coming back up the street with a pair of thomases in tow. They were on foot at the moment, but at least they were going. He peered out to the drunkard across the alley and waited. Very soon, his friends were well beyond city limits, and Vash was ready to get going.
Vash steered clear of the main street, but since it was in the path of his exit, he knew he'd have to cross it eventually. Since his face was out—the clerk from the day before had been proof enough of that, and now he'd apparently brought the sheriff in on it—he didn't see any reason to stick around. Besides, he had a ton of shit piled on his shoulders, and he couldn't do a thing about it here.
He slipped past the main street and headed north, after the girls. He could see them out there, not too far ahead, and it made him eager to be on his way. Ah, the great plains of Gunsmoke! Bring 'em on, baby! he thought, a grin on his face. "Shit. Who'm I kiddin'? It's a frickin' desert!"
Despite the fact they were leaving, Vash had a sneaking suspicion that he would find himself back in Black Rock again, in the near future. Who could tell? Still, it was the only town for 300 iles. Very few people would be going to the north, where the desert stretched on forever. Nobody lived that far north. Right now, all he had was a journey that he didn't quite understand. He'd just have to take little baby steps along the path, to make sure he was doing things the right way.
He wanted to be careful, especially with Milly and Meryl with him. There was so much that could go wrong, and he was desperate for them to stay with him, despite how they worried him. He couldn't turn them away now, now that he knew that they wanted to be with him wherever he road may lead, no matter the dangers. Besides, they had already risked a lot to find them at Black Rock. And before, they had even thrown away their jobs to be at his side.
Without them, he wasn't sure he'd even be so eager to go on.
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Soon, the sun peaked out over the eastern horizon, flooding the barren land in a glow of pink and gold. Off in the distance, along the northern horizon, Meryl could see towering pillars of rock stretching toward the heavens. This was a place where no sane person would dare travel, as it was more than a thousand miles to the nearest town, and that was if you traveled to the east. They traveled due north, far away from civilization.
A safer place, perhaps, for the man they began the venture with. Or, at least, Meryl hoped that he would join them soon. She kept peeking back over her shoulder, searching the town on the horizon, and all the land between here and there, for any sign of Vash, but it seemed that he had simply disappeared.
Meryl sighed. Why do I get the feeling I am walking toward my own death? She hoped Vash wouldn't be long. There was still a lot she wanted to discuss with the man. Milly reached down and gave her thomas a scratch behind the ear. "It's going to be a hot day, isn't it Meryl."
"Probably."
Milly sighed heavily and turned to her friend, offering her brightest smile. "I'm so glad to be on our way again. It reminds me of old times."
Meryl gazed to the twin suns peeking just over the horizon; her shoulder drooped only slightly. "Yeah, it is nice to be on the road again." If only she didn't have to wear the damned cape. Then again, she would feel naked without her derringers ever at the ready.
"Oh, I almost forgot." Milly reached into their duffel and finally picked something out of the mess within. Meryl eyed it briefly before she realized that it was her canteen. "Here's your water. I filled all the canteens this morning after I woke." She grinned. "Just don't drink it all in one sitting."
Meryl grinned. "Oh, thanks Milly. I'm glad one of us has a head on her shoulders."
They went on for several minutes, with Meryl occasionally tossing a look over her shoulder. She began to wonder if maybe they shouldn't go back to find him, to be sure that he was all right. But he had asked them to go on, that he would catch up. How long should we go without him before we go back for a look?
She couldn't even answer her own question. It bothered her.
"You okay?" Milly asked after a long silence.
"I think so. It's just…" She peered back over her shoulder again. That's when he shocked her once more.
"Eyes forward, Meryl. We're going this way."
"Vash?!" she yelped, spinning to look forward. Sure enough, there he was, walking right along beside her. "Damnit, you scared me! How the hell do you do that?"
He had that big, fool's grin on his face. "Trade secret."
"You're full of them, aren't you?"
"I guess I am."
Meryl shook her head. Vash always managed to pop up out of nowhere; it never ceased to amaze her. She slipped off her thomas and joined Milly on hers so Vash could ride. Instead, he took the beast by the reigns and walked onward. "Let's get going," he said. "I don't want to keep it waiting."
It? Meryl watched after him. What the hell was "it"? So many questions ate at her insides, but she didn't think it was even proper for her to ask. For now, she simply moved on, along with Milly and their thomas. She leaned against her big friend, pondering the situation at hand. They had Vash back. For now, that was enough for her.
"It" could come later, whatever "it" was.