Chapter 3: Home on the Range

The car rattled as it hit a bump, waking Sombra from her nap. She had laid her head against the window, she looked around groggily at Jesse, who stared ahead, paying attention to the road. She realized there was a string of drool on her lips, slowly dripping down, the side of the car door, and she quickly wiped it away with her palm, and prayed that he hadn't seen her. She looked out the window and noticed the orange sun slowly crossing over the horizon. She could tell they had made good headway because everything had become more rural.

"Enjoy your nap, sleeping beauty?" Jesse said with a sly grin on his face.

"I did, thank you very much." She said pragmatically.

"Good, we're almost there, I'd say we're about a half hour out."

Sombra turned to look out the window and caught glimpse of a sign that read "Texas State Border in 25 miles."

She had almost forgotten that over years, North America had advanced diplomatically so much that open border travel had become a possibility. Hard to believe that a generation ago they would build up a wall only to tear it down.

I probably wasn't even a thought in my parent's head when that wall went down…come to think of it, I don't think my parents thought much of me even after I was born…

"You doin alright?" Jesse asked noticing a sullen expression creeping upon her face.

Sombra fidgeted in her seat and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm fine just been a long trip."

Fuck, how does he always notice that somethings wrong…?

"I know the face of trouble when I see it."

FUCK is he reading my mind!?

"An' no, I ain't no psychic"

I'll have to keep my wits about me.

"Whatever you say cowboy" She replied coolly.

"Gunslinger." He corrected.

They both chuckled and shared a passing glance before all went awkwardly silent again.

Sombra luckily had a handheld gaming device that she always keeps with her, thankfully it was enough to stop her from going crazy during the long drive. They had just exited the highway and were heading down a long stretch of road that was surrounded by plains on either side, a sign on the side of the road said "Welcome to Texas, The Lone Star State." They took a left hand turn down a dirt road that that eventually lead up a hill, and to a what looked like a sizeable ranch style home. Sombra was surprised, admittedly she half expected to see a barn or an animal enclosure with cows and horses, but was ultimately disappointed that there wasn't one because of missed opportunities for good jokes. All things considered it was a nice place, painted white exterior, front steps leading up to a covered front porch, it even had a porch swing, as Jesse would put it.

"It ain't much, but it's enough."

She agreed, sometimes less was more. the car came to gentle halt. Jesse breathed out a sigh of relief, it had been a while since he had been here, even longer since he had a vacation. Sombra pushed open the car door and stepped out into the open. It wasn't too hot yet, in fact it was quite a lovely temperature to her, a cool breeze swept across her, the grassy plains moved in an evanescent dance. The morning sun gave off just enough heat to make up for the gentle breeze. It was pure bliss, Sombra was half tempted to just lay in the long grass and fall asleep, but ultimately decided she better let Jesse give her a tour of the place first. After all she was a guest here.

"You comin?" Jesse asked, already walking up the front porch steps.

Sombra was pulled out of her thoughts and back to reality, it took her a few seconds to register what he had even said before she smiled, nodded, and headed after him. Jesse opened the door, Sombra noticed that he didn't even unlock the door with a key, he just simply opened the door and walked in.

"What, no key?" she asked quizzically.

"Does it look like there's anyone around here to break into the place?" he replied sarcastically.

It was a stupid question, she blushed embarrassed that she even asked it in the first place. They stepped into the foyer of his home, the interior was surprisingly modern, the wood floor was dark and complemented the white walls very well. On the left was the living room, to the right a kitchen with dark granite counter tops, and an island. Copper pots and pans hung on a rack over the sink. Walking straight from the front door through the main hallway lead to two rooms.

"You'll have the master bedroom since you're my guest here." He stated as he opened the master bedroom door for her and waved her in.

The room had walls were painted a gentle blue, with a queen-sized bed pushed against the back-center wall with a nightstand on either side, a TV hung on the wall opposite the bed, there was a door that lead to the master bathroom which had a large bathtub. The cherry on top was a set of twin doors that led outside to the back porch, the view was quite pleasant.

"By the way, I think there's something you should know." Jesse said with a hint of seriousness in his voice.

"What is it?" she replied hesitantly.

"Well, the place is kinda… y'know haunted, they say the land was built on top of an ancient Indian burial ground, that its cursed," His voice quieted into a hushed whisper "some say that the Devil himself visits here."

Sombra's blood almost ran cold, was all this a big mistake. Street thugs she could handle, but the goddamn devil himself? She wasn't by any means the most superstitious person in the world but, you can't help but hear people's stories about the evil and chaos the Devil has spread. Even someone like herself, someone who has worked with Talon, had something to fear. A single question burned in her mind now, "is this for real?"

"You mean El Diablo!?" was all she could blurt out.

Well I guess that's close enough. she thought.

A few seconds of silence went by before Jesse let out a hearty laugh.

"I'm just fuckin with ya, the place aint haunted." he said cheerfully while wiping a tear from his eye.

Sombra's eye twitched. "You're a dick" she replied, obviously irked by his idea of a practical joke.

'Aww, you're cute when you're angry." He teased.

Heat rushed to Sombra's cheeks, no one had ever really referred to her as being cute, then again no one really ever teased her like that either, she was a tough girl after all. Get in her way, and you're liable to end up in some serious pain. But Jesse was different, she didn't quite describe how, but he was.

"I'm probably gonna end up sleepin on the couch, I tend to just nod off sometimes. Oh, and also, there's another room down the hall and a separate bathroom right across from ya."

"Thanks McCree." she smiled, and for a moment she found a moment of clarity, throughout all the shitty things her life she had found a grain of happiness, after being abandoned, being stabbed in the back, there was still a kind and gentle soul in the world who didn't care about her past. She moved closer to Jesse and wrapped her arms around him in an affectionate hug.

Jesse stood there shocked for a moment with his arms hanging at both of his sides before he realized he was standing there like a complete idiot, he didn't want to give her the wrong message, he wanted her to know that the feeling was mutual. He hugged her back, they stood like this for only a few minutes, but it felt like hours to the both of them, before Sombra broke from the embrace.

" Sorry, It's just that… No one has ever been this kind to me ever." she spoke softly.

"Kindness is in my blood." He replied smiling

She smiled and nodded.

"Well, I gotta go check on a few things, why don't ya take a bit to settle in."

"Will do" she replied.

Jesse turned and walked out of the room whistling to himself a tune that she couldn't make out. She closed the door to her room and turned around and started to unpack the little things she brought with her. She jumped when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, she slowly pulled the phone out of her pocket and switched it on to check the message.

We're going to be on the move soon be ready, will contact you again soon -R

Her heart sank as she read the text, it was only yesterday that she started to actually enjoy the time off she had. She shoved the phone back into her pocket. Her sadness eventually migrated to anger. She silently seethed before she punched the mattress, gritting her teeth.

"You're not the fuckin boss of me." she muttered.

End of Chapter 3

holy fuck i have like so many ideas for chapter 4 i'm trying not to make the chapter overly long but at the same time i want to develop the characters any ideas and comments are more than welcome, I could always use the extra help and direction.

Post Note: In case something goes wrong or you're wondering about the state of another chapter or just would like to input some ideas you can head to the forum page below, Cheers! 3

forum/Western-Digital-News-and-Discussion-Forum/199977/