Rotten Apple

Chapter Five: Strange New Town

Several nights had passed since D decided to keep Rosalia with him and during that short time, the two had grown considerably close. Though he remained outwardly emotionless and cold, there were times that he would "lighten up" and crack a few dry jokes which would always make her laugh as they rode across the frontier. Rosalia also seemed to be thriving and getting emotionally stronger as each new day passed.

A small town suddenly came into view.

"Dad, I am hungry" she told him.

The dhampir pulled his horse in the direction of the town. Once there, the duo were looked upon by the residents with suspicion which made Rosalia feel very uncomfortable. After dismounting in front of a tavern, D handed her some money and told her to get herself something to eat while he went to the cyborg horse stable to buy her a horse.

Entering the tavern, the seventeen-year-old placed herself at the bar and told the bartender that she would like something to eat and drink. While dining on her chips and drink, a young man, who looked about twenty, approached her.

"Hey beautiful," he told her seductively, "my name is Beau, what is yours?"

She looked at the man before looking over her shoulder and then back at him, "my name is Rosalia."

"Ooooh, Rosalia, I like that name," he told her.

The intense attention that she was receiving from the man was causing her to become uneasy.

"So, are you new here? I never seen you before," he told her while leaning closer to her.

Rosalia leaned away from the overly persistent young man, "um…yes, my dad and I just arrived here," she replied meekly while glancing toward the exit.

Beau noticed her apprehension, "hey-hey you don't have to worry about me baby," he told her tenderly before running his hand across her hair, "I ain't gonna hurt you—I just want to get to know you," he told her.

"Uh-um.." the girl stuttered.

Just then the bar tender spoke up after getting fed up with watching the town womanizer, also known as Beau, harass the poor girl, "Come on Beau—leave the girl alone. Can't you tell that she is not into you?!"

"You stay out of this Hank. I'm just trying to get to know this pretty girl—isn't she just gorgeous?" remarked the young man.

MEANWHILE:

D entered the cyborg horse stable and scanned the available horses for sale. Suddenly, his gaze fell upon a very lovely palomino colored cyborg horse grazing within its stall. He approached it to get a better look.

"Are you interested in that horse?" he heard the owner call from behind his work station. The man looked very frail and ancient, but D knew that looks were always deceiving. The dhampir gave a small nod in response to the old man's question.

"I am asking 170,000 dollars, not a penny more or less, so take it or leave it!"

"I'll take it," D responded before reaching into his pocket to pay the man, "I will also need some tack."

"Well, that is an extra 750 dollars," responded the old man before accepting payment.

After saddling the horse, the vampire hunter lead the animal out of the stables and to the tavern. Suddenly, he heard commotion coming from the establishment and he knew that Rosalia was in distress.

"GOD DAMNIT BEAU-get the hell out of my tavern!" snapped the bar tender angrily as he reached over to grab the playboy by his shirt, "The little lady wants to be left alone-not pined for or drooled over! Now GO-you sexed-up little bastard!"

The seventeen-year-old was speechless and somewhat relieved that someone was kind enough to defend her.

"I didn't want to do this, Hank, but you left me no choice," Beau told the man before balling his fist to strike him, suddenly the young man felt an ominous presence from behind him and turned to face D who was staring at him from beneath his traveler's hat, "What the fuck do you want, dhampir?!" he snapped before taking a step-back.

"I see that you are bothering this young girl. I am here to warn you to stop," he told the playboy emotionlessly.

"Get the fuck out of here dhampir, we don't want your kind around here!" snapped the young man before taking a swing at the hunter.

D grabbed the young man's fist and broke it without much effort. The play-boy screamed in pain as tears began to roll down his cheeks. Walking past the injured man, the dhampir held a hand out to his daughter, "Are you ready to go, Rosalia?"

She placed her hand in his and the two existed the building as the patrons and bartender did their best to aid the young man writhing in pain. A gasp escaped her mouth when she seen the palomino colored cyborg horse waiting beside D's black one, "it's beautiful!" she cried.

Her father remained silent before mounting his horse, "let's go…" he finally told her before kicking his horse into a trot. Rosalia quickly mounted her new horse and followed her father out of town. After about a mile of riding, the vampire hunter looked at the dark-haired girl, "the man who was trying to pick you up…did he hurt you?"

"Huh? No…he did not. But thank you for coming to get me," she replied.

D remained silent and pressed his horse to move faster. His daughter mimicked him to keep up, "dad…where are we going now?"

He looked back at her, "where we are needed."

TO BE CONTINUED IN CHAPTER SIX