I don't even remember how I got back to town, but I somehow did. I didn't even realise I had wandered back to town until I accidentally bumped into Chase, who was standing outside the infirmary. "Irene?" He frowned. "Are you okay? You look dazed."

I sighed. I wanted to tell Chase what I had seen, to unload some of my irritation on him, but frankly, it was Jed's business, and I shouldn't have even followed him in the first place. "I'm just not sure whether to be annoyed at Jed or worried about him."

Chase sighed. "Maddeningly, I'm in the exact same position. I want to be really mad at Jed for what he did to Kirk and Benji, but…" He growled. "I can't be. Not as mad as I want to be, at least."

I bit the inside of my lip. "How's Benji?"

"Still hasn't woken up," Chase said, exhaling through his words. "I'm out here because…well, I have to plan what I'm going to tell him."

"And what ARE you going to tell him?" I asked sympathetically.

"I have no idea," Chase sighed. "How am I supposed to tell him that he'll never walk again?"

I grimaced. "Do you want me to help?"

Chase sighed again. "I could do with some emotional support, if that's okay."

"Of course, yes." I hesitated. "Do you want me to get Ash?"

"Um…" Chase also hesitated. "She's good at this kind of thing… So yes, please."

A small smile appeared on my face. Ash was my best friend since we were kids. She was an archaeologist, and an amazing one at that. I used to accompany her on her digs, acting as her hired muscle, as it were, except I wasn't "hired"; I liked protecting her. Especially since we used to go to some pretty dangerous areas, which meant I got to use my skills a lot.

"I'll be back in a sec," I said, turning and rushing off.

I knew where Ash would be: she'd either be in the room she rented for free or she'd be in the infirmary. She had a crush on Chase. Which was cute, but…I didn't know if I had a crush on Chase too. But it didn't matter for now; now I just needed to find my best friend.

I peeked into the infirmary first, but she wasn't in there. So I went to the saloon, rather regretfully.

"Well, if it isn't Irene," my big sister said, smirking, as she leant provocatively against the doorway of the saloon. "What can I do for you?"

"Stop acting like I'm one of your clients," I said disgustedly. "Or worse; one of your customers. I just need to know if Ash is in her room."

"She went out about half an hour ago," Annie replied casually. "Said something about a new discovery."

"Did she say where?"

"She said something vague that I can't really remember."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course she did. Do you have any idea where she is?"

"No."

I rolled my eyes again and turned away. "Great. Thanks. Don't think I'm coming to your establishment ever again."

"I'll try not to lose sleep over it."

"Why do you have to be such an asshole?" I snapped. "I get that you're trying to be strong and independent and flirty, but it doesn't mean you have to be such an asshole to your only sister."

"Well-."

All of a sudden, Annie jerked forward and glared behind her. From the way the man in the doorway was standing, I presumed that he had just slapped her butt.

"Hey, sexy." He grinned revoltingly at her, clearly drunk. "Come back inside and have some fun."

He made a movement as if he was about slap her butt again, but before he could even blink, Annie whipped out a gun and, without hesitating, shot him…

…in the nuts.

He screamed in pain, clutching his crotch, and collapsed sideways.

"Oh, relax." Annie holstered her gun. "My boyfriend's a doctor; I know how to shoot someone in the nuts without killing them."

I almost spoke up against Chase being Annie's boyfriend, but I decided to shut my mouth. Besides, seeing this creep getting what he deserved was good enough to make me forget anything I was about to say. I smirked down at the guy, and then I turned my smirk to a second drunkard, who was standing a metre or so behind the first guy. His eyes had widened, and his thighs were bent slightly. He was clearly thinking about how painful that experience must be.

"So melodramatic," sighed Annie, placing her hands on her hips.

"How about I shoot YOU in the breast, then?" I muttered. "See how melodramatic YOU are?"

"What was that?" Annie asked pointedly, turning to look at me.

I repeated what I had just said, word-for-word. "I'm not scared of you," I snapped. "Even though I think what you just did was awesome, I'm disgusted by you and your behaviour."

Annie just raised an eyebrow. "Leave, then."

"I intend to."

I turned on my heel and stormed away. Despite the fact that I admired Annie for having the courage to deal with drunk creeps the way she did, I hated how she put herself in the firing line by dressing and acting how she did. She was acting like one of the prostitutes she employed at her saloon, something I knew she thought I didn't know about. But I did, and it upset me that these women felt the need to dress provocatively and sell their bodies to drunk men for a night.

Just as I was thinking about that, I felt myself bump into someone. Without realising it, I had managed to walk all the way back to the ridge where the bandits had cornered Benji this morning. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was-."

"Irene!" trilled a familiar voice.

I blinked as I felt my best friend hug me tightly. "Ash…?"

Ash immediately leapt back, looking nervous. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-."

I interrupted her by hugging her back, just as tightly. "It's great to see you, Ash."

As we pulled back, I saw that Ash was beaming. "It's great to see you too, Irene! It's been a while."

"Ash, I'm sorry to be rude, but I need your help. Did you hear what happened to Benji?"

Ash's face fell and she nodded sadly. "Yeah. It's really terrible."

"Well…Chase needs to break the news to him that he's permanently paralysed, but he needs moral support, and he asked for you."

Ash's beam returned, though her cheeks were tinged red. "He…He did?"

I nodded, though that was ever-so-slightly a lie. "Will you help?"

Ash nodded. "Of course, yes."

"Great. Then let's go."