(Chapter 12: Sweet Tonya)
Everyone was asleep at Fort Wallace as night fell, Tonya was sleeping in her bed with a sheet of linen laid over her body. She had been tossing and turning most of the night, the thoughts of Sisika still embedded in her mind. Everytime she looked at a doorway, she could see the silhouette of a hanging body in the moonlight. It kept her awake, she was sweating too. She remembered seeing poor inmates going insane, hearing their laughs during the silence of the night. They would echo in the halls of the penitentiary, she had remembered what Dred had told her about Tahiti. She finally got into a good and comfortable position, her sweats stopped and sleep slowly overcame her at last.
The thoughts of Tahiti had helped her drift to sleep, she could picture the glorious evening sun slowly setting. Giving the sky that purple and peach color to it, pure beauty. Tonya imagined herself sitting on the beach of Tahiti, her toes sinking into the sand as the water would cool her down since the sun was beaming down upon her. Instead of a bunch of brutal outlaws, the gang had turned into a huge family in some sort of way. Every couple that was in the gang had been married to each other, the children were laughing, and playing. The calming thoughts would only aid her to sleep, once she was asleep, nightmares would take over…
Tonya was walking down the street with Rebecca, it was in Blackwater during a parade. She had no idea of why they was there in the first place. Large eye appealing wagons rode down the street, dancers, drummers, and some soldiers. There was a massive vehicle rolling down the street, people looked at it in awe. Little did she know, it was an armored tank. It wouldn't be seen in America until next year, this dreamed seemed to be predicting the arrival of new tech. It also appeared that Blackwater had grown into a much larger town, into a city!
Rebecca had a carbine repeater, Tonya had dual wield revolvers, strange since Tonya never killed anyone. The parade went on, and on. Every citizen in Blackwater, focused on the streets, and not the rooftops. The rest of the elites stood on separate buildings, Bill Pierce stood on one, Dred Jackson stood on the one beside of Bill, Jack Marston stood on the one between Bill's building, and Dred's building. The three went into cover while Rebecca, and Tonya remained on the street.
Suddenly screams of terror rang out, rapid fire shots were going off. Several men in black, charged into the streets. Leading the charge, was Jake Lanza. Rebecca took cover behind a barrel, suddenly, a BlackJack member emerged from behind a parade wagon. Shooting Tonya right in the chest..
Tonya was jolted awake by the dream sequence, quickly feeling her sternum to see if anything was damaged. She removed the sheet off her body to see nothing was damaged, she wasn't bleeding either. Tonya looked over to see the silhouette of a person in the doorway, she jumped and cowered against the wall.
"Relax, Tonya. It's me, Dred." The silhouette spoke, making Tonya give out a sigh of relief.
"Oh my god, Dred you scared the shit out of me." Tonya laughed, Dred entered the room and sat down on the bed, looking down at her.
"Sorry, I heard you give out a loud scream. No one is up, are you alright?"
Tonya sighed again in relief and looked at Dred with worry, she remembered her nightmare.
"The parade, we was attacked by men in black. Some massive wheeled behemoth was rolling on the streets, I was shot by a man who held a gun. A gun that could shoot bullets out as fast as lightning."
Dred looked confused, and slightly concerned by the way she described the armored tank and hand held machine gun. Dred had never heard of this new technology, he didn't know it was being used over the ocean in Europe. The year was still 1915, World War 1 was raging on across the ocean.
Tonya was looking out into the camp, at the glowing fire at the center of the Fort. She also looked at the moonlight, then finally at Dred.
"Tonya, I know of a place. We can relax there, together. It's not too far away, I think you'll like it there." Dred explained as he grabbed Tonya by the hand, Tonya smiled sweetly at Dred.
"Sure, let's get going. I'll get the tent." Tonya responded, it was settled. The two would find a peaceful spot for their own.
The two rode out into the night, leaving Fort Wallace behind. They would ride towards The Heartlands, they could tell that they were getting close because civilization got smaller, and smaller. Pronghorns could be seen grazing about, some were resting. Small rabbits ran here, and there. A large herd of Bison could be seen for out to their East.
"Wow, this is a peaceful place. I'd like to camp here, nothing harmless at all out here. No threat of law enforcement out here." Tonya said, amazed by her surroundings. She had never been to the Heartlands before, she lived all her life in New Austin until she was brought to Sisika by boat.
The two seen large hills and rocks, they weren't the size of mountains though. They were not too far away though, Dred would turn down another path, he was followed by Tonya.
"We are getting closer, see that cliff over there?" Dred asked, pointing towards a cliffside in the distance.
Tonya seen it, the perfect spot for a camp. An overlook of the land, they went down the bank of a stream as they neared their location. She yawned, Dred snickered as he heard her yawning.
"Getting tired back there?" Dred asked, Tonya nodded her head.
The two made it to their location as they circled around the cliffside, then they made their way through an opening between the trees. They had arrived at Horseshoe Overlook, it was an overall quiet place. Out in the Heartlands of New Hanover, they set up their tent and took a seat on the cliffside.
The experience was quite calming, the cool air of the night made it even better. Finally, the troubling thoughts subsided within Tonya's mind.
"I-I love this place." Tonya said with a sweet smile on her face as she looked up at the moon, she looked out into the wilderness. The river running below them, and the snow tipped mountains far in the distance.
"Please, can we stay here?" Tonya asked in joy, grasping both hands of Dred, that would make him smile.
"Yes we can, sweet Tonya." He responded right before he yawned, it was getting late at night. The two would need rest for the coming day, they would not know that their next day would be rough. Very rough….