"With all due respect, Blake, but what you just did back there was absolutely INSANE!" yelled Edgar. "You just dropped an offer that could have possibly made us the wealthiest people in Amer-"
"Ed! I don't care what that Butch guy said! For all I know, he coulda been lyin' to us about that mine!" Blake rudely responded. The sun was setting and she already got tired of them mentioning the dropped offer.
This was the sixth time Edgar had mentioned it. It's no wonder the man was so greedy.
After a few silent seconds, Wallowitz just had to say it again. "Ya know Ed's right, Blake. I can't believe ya-"
Wallowitz didn't even finish his sentence when Blake stopped her horse and turned to them, both guns out and pointing right at them. "Say it again. Go ahead! Jus' try me!"
None of them said a word, but Jake was about to open his mouth when she lowered her gun to an area where it should hurt them. "Do. I make. Myself. CLEAR?!" she threatened. They shook their heads and protected their crotches. Blake grinned and put her revolvers away. "Good."
She made the horse continue forward with them shivering from her threat.
...
The gang found a place to camp out for the night. Freighter found wood to build a fire and Japhet flew and found them game, maybe a little than they wanted. He was, however, very gluttonous.
The gang gathered around the fire and told them stories of their life and some memories and a bit of their personality leaked out.
Freighter was a free African man whose mother was also a slave in the South. But even after his freedon, he was full of his pride of being a free black man in a free country.
Edgar came all the way from Britain as a former train tycoon. He was on the border of wealth and fame, and losing his job. That was because he was found corrupted and too greedy about his money. So they kicked him out and sent him to America.
Scuzz wasn't the type of man that liked much work; Blake knew that for sure about most people. But his laziness and his unenthusiastic attitude got him fired from his one job as a bank clerk.
Jake. Now Jake was a woman's man. He can swoon girls in any shape. Sometimes, he'd might go a bit over the edge, and may even sleep with them after 'their fun time'.
Wallowitz was a man full of jealousy. He wished he had everything everyone wanted. But at the same time, he knew that wasn't going to happen. He usually became jealous of what other people looked like. He hated how he had a slight hunch back and tooth gap. But in the end, he said, that's just how you are.
Well. Most of them.
Blake never said a single word about her past, nor a single memory from then. "Y-ya know, Blake. Y-ya haven't s-s-said anyth-thin' ab-bout yerself." "Yeah, Blake!" Jake noted. "Why don'cha tell us somethin'."
"We told you ours. How 'bout you?" Freighter asked.
The camp went silent for a while.
Blake looked away from them and said, "Well... To be honest: I don't think it's worth discussin' about. Not really somethin' I should be talkin' 'bout." Some nodded in agreement, others, not really convinced by her reply. "But, if ya really wantin' to know, then fine," Blake said after a few awkward seconds of silience, "but it's kinda long. So hope y'all don't mind."
Nobody disagreed with her and listened to her story.
...
"Ya see. I was born into a wealthy family. So wealthy, we owned some horses. Even ran in the Derby in Britain. But some would come in second, third, get money from a trifecta an' whatnot.
Well, 'nyway.
My papa taught me how to ride a horse, how to shoot a gun, and pretty much anything a boy could do. Cuzz I really didn't like the things most girls did.
Now that was frowned upon these days, ya know? My mama taught me to cook, clean, an' all that girly shit. That really did much for me. I loved my fam'ly with ev'rythin'. The reason's probably cuzz I can just dsecribe our clan like this: We're bright as day, but also dark as night. It's like that cuzz our hair's bright like the sky, but we have dark eyes; dark as night.
I thought it was a weird metaphor for us but, ya know, I bought it. And I still sorta do. But, I'm a little... Different from them, cuzz my eyes are two different colors. So I don't think it worked as much for me.
And really; it's too bad I don't see 'em anymore.
Well, actually, to put it this way: my family didn't last too long.
See? I found this man, I don't remember what he looked like. But, I brought him to my fam'ly an' they took him in, hook-line-an'-sinker. When I saw him, I knew he had that look of insanity in him, but I really never mentioned it to 'em. Cuzz ya know, I wa'nt supposed to ask stupid questions 'bout stangers.
Then, we got him all fixed up an' all that.
I had a gut feelin' that wasn't a good idea.
That night, we were supposed to be sleepin', and I didn't know this 'til next mornin...
He killed them. Killed 'em all. All but me.
I dunno why. But he spared me. An' I thought he did it for a reason.
I'm still scarred for life after that. Makes me wanna... Well, actually, I guess that's why I sorta, ya know, ... snapped. Wanted revenge. Wanted his blood on me."
...
...
...
Blake finished her story. Her men gave her looks of pity and sympathy. "Wow, Blake... I had no idea," muttered Edgar.
"It's fine. It's just been a long time," she replied.
"I can only imagine," Freighter said.
The sound of a coyote howling made them jump out of their skin. "Such a lonely sound, don't'cha think~?" Blake asked. Wallowitz nodded. "Makes ya think that we aren't the only ones out here, ya know?"
"That's fer sure," Blake murmured.
...
...
The moon was up. It was a full moon.
Everyone was asleep.
Almost.
There was something out in the darkness that kept Blake up. She knew they weren't alone.
On a distant cliff, two Natives could see the group fast asleep.
...
...
...
Scuzz woke up in a jolt. He looked around and didn't see Blake. He scanned their camp again and then found Blake standing on the border line of the desert. Scuzz gave a sigh of relief and walked up to her. Blake didn't turn around but knew that it was Scuzz coming up to her. He stood next to her and looked at her. She was looking out in the desert. He looked out in that direction and back to her. "What? Whatcha see?" he asked.
Blake pulls out a knife and shows it to him. And it's not hers. Her gaze never left the horizon.
"What is this, Scuzz?" she asked.
He took the knife and examined it. "It-it's an indian's."
"Comanche. Found it by me this morinin'," she told him. Scuzz gave her a shocked yet confused look. "Y-you do-don't think w-we're near the C-Comanch-che border? D-d-do ya?" Blake looked at him with certainty and said, "'fraid so."
Both went back down to the camp and woke up the others and explained their current situation.
"Those indians'll do anythin' to make us leave their lands," Freighter noted, "But what amazes me is that they even knew we were here in the dark in the first place." "They're quirky people, alright," Edgar added. The gang talked about maneuvering through the Comanche lands and sneak around the tribe.
Jake then had an idea. "Well, hold on a sec. What if they just warnin' us to stay out? We can send someone to check it out." All nodded in agreement, and Blake was actually surprised by him, but didn't say anything.
"So then," Blake started. "Any volunteers~?"