A/N: I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of my reviewers; your encouragement and kind words have just been phenomenal. You have really motivated me to write this story and continue with it. Forty reviews for a prologue and four chapters- that is just amazing! Having received a review that was slightly critical of my prologue, I've decided to re-write it. I do admit it was slightly rushed because I just wanted to plunge into the Charlie storyline.
Thank you all so much and I hope you enjoy this next chapter.
Chapter Five
Rachel gripped Charlie's leather jacket tightly, watching the speeding ground as it flashed past her. Butterflies and cramps began plaguing her stomach, having never been on a horse moving this swiftly. A terror filled expression formed on her pale face, but all she could do was cling to Charlie for dear life and pray for the best.
The sun was becoming higher in the sky as it quickly approached mid day. The rest of the gang rode confidently, galloping quickly across the open wastelands, heading south to Millville, which was still a fair way yet. Birds squawked overhead as Rachel looked upwards, feeling the blinding sunlight bathe her face so warmly. For a moment it felt as if she were flying; the breeze brushed through her hair and caressed her cheeks.
Rachel's stomach growled loudly. She hadn't eaten now since the afternoon earlier and was badly in need of some nourishment. "Charlie, when are we stopping?" she asked quietly, tugging gently on the outlaw's jacket.
"Why ya ask?" Charlie replied, keeping his eyes glued to the path in front of him.
"Just wondered," Rachel replied, blushing as she lied.
"We should be nearer nightfall," Charlie called back quietly over his shoulder.
Every now and again Rachel felt the constant stares from someone close by. She turned to glance quickly over her shoulder and saw Tommy grinning perversely at her. His eyes studied Rachel's curves, secretly appreciating her fuller stature. She wasn't obese, but was nicely proportioned. Rolling her eyes and sighing, Rachel looked away quickly. Around her neck she realised she was still wearing the necklace Laura had allowed her to borrow. It dangled loosely on her chest and had a medium-sized, fake crystal heart attached, which was no larger than the size of a walnut. She held the pendent between her small fingers and watched all the colours of the spectrum shine brightly in the centre.
As time passed by that afternoon, Rachel felt a throb form in her backside after sitting so long on Charlie's leather saddle. She squirmed, closing her eyes as she tried hard to alleviate the annoying pain. "What ya doin'?" Charlie asked sternly, feeling her move about behind him.
"Nothing," Rachel replied, wincing at the severe cramp which was developing in her backside and right leg.
Charlie rolled his eyes. "It feels like you're doin' somethin'."
"I'm sorry. I just feel really uncomfortable," Rachel said again, looking down and feeling nausea wash over her yet again at the sight of the speeding ground beneath the galloping horse's hooves.
"It shouldn't be too long until we stop," Charlie told her, his voice growing gentler in tone. It sure was growing hotter out there as the blazing sun relentlessly beamed down on the outfit. Sweat dripped down Charlie's brow, coming to rest in the dips of his lips. The leather of his jacket and gloves held the heat in more, making it feel as though it were burning.
Rachel let her mind wonder once more...
I don't think I can take this bloody heat much longer. And these men are just disgusting, although Charlie isn't too bad. At least he doesn't smell like that fat guy Jackson.
I wonder what Mom and Dad are doing back at home. I should have called them. Oh God, they'll know something is wrong now. I bet Laura is glad she got rid of me. Why's it always me that gets picked on? Can't people just leave me alone? I don't hurt anyone, so why do they think it's funny to bother me so much?
Charlie suddenly began fiddling around in his saddle bag as the outfit slowed down their pace. "Here, don't say I never give ya anythin'," he snapped waspishly, reaching behind and shoving half a loaf of currant bread and an apple into Rachel's hands. The dried meat he'd bought in the town before Two Guns had been devoured a few hours before Charlie had met Rachel.
"Are you sure? Do you have enough for yourself?" Rachel asked, still firmly holding onto Charlie with just her left hand and holding the food items in her right.
Charlie smiled secretly to himself. She may have been irritating, but somewhere he appreciated her kindness. "I'm sure," he replied simply. Tonight would probably mean going out and hunting down a rabbit or some misfortunate animal which was scrounging around nearby.
Rachel took a bite of the fruit bread which had grown extremely dry and crusted on the top, but to her it tasted good all the same. She hadn't eaten in almost twenty four hours now since her meal with Charlie and even half of that she given to him. The sweet taste of the fruit invaded her mouth, pleasuring her denied stomach. The rest of the half loaf was devoured with great vigour.
Once the bread had been eaten, Rachel began on the apple. It may have been slightly soft and not crunchy how she preferred her apples, but again, it was food. Thankfully by now the horse was only trotting down a dusty dirt road, passing by old abandoned cattle sheds. "So, Rachel…" a voice came from her left. Rachel's head shot around to look into the grey eyes of Ben Wade. "Where ya from?"
Rachel couldn't help but become confused by the gang leader's current change in attitude towards her. They'd been travelling now most of the day and he'd just suddenly decided to interrogate her as to where she was originally from. "I used to live in England but moved to the States a few months ago," she replied nervously, only just maintaining eye contact with Wade who rode slowly beside her and Charlie.
"Most around these parts still aren't too fond of the English," Ben said, his expression stern. "Why did ya decide to live here? Don'tcha have parents?"
Rachel tensed, not quite sure how to answer that. She knew that he'd never believe her story. Brushing the dripping sweat from her brow, Rachel mused over her reply to that question, finally deciding to just tell him the truth. "I don't know how I got here," she said simply. "I…erm, was with friends and they…did some kind of spell and then I found myself here…and Charlie found me."
Ben glanced at Charlie sceptically. "This true, Charlie?" he asked his second in command.
Charlie looked at the leader uneasily. "Ah don't know, Boss. She seemed pretty scared an' all."
Ben smirked to himself and cooed to his horse, riding on ahead, leaving Charlie and Rachel behind. "Do you believe me?" Rachel asked Charlie, tugging on his leather jacket.
"Ah don't know," Charlie replied, quickening his horse's speed to catch up with the Boss.
xxx
To everyone's relief, Ben instructed all the men to stop as dusk began to take over the baron wastelands of Arizona. Charlie gracefully jumped from his horse, turning around to help Rachel down. She was surprised when he held his hand out and assisted her down from the saddle. "Thank you," Rachel said, giving him a smile full of gratitude.
Whilst a few of the men gathered fire wood, Charlie and Ben discussed their plan of action for the next few days. "The coach passes through on Tuesday so we've got one full day to catch up with it," Ben reminded Charlie, taking off his hat and sitting down on the dusty ground with his back against a large boulder. Through the darkness Ben watched Rachel as she remained alone, sitting away from all the men, keeping her arms wrapped around herself. "Maybe we can use the girl to our advantage, Charlie," he proposed, turning his attention back to Charlie.
"How so, Boss?" Charlie asked.
Ben smirked, removing his hat. "We use her as a diversion. Make her go in front and stop them for help. Then we come in behind," Ben explained, keeping the pleased smile on his face.
Charlie sighed and looked down a moment, not sure whether to accept Ben's course of action. But he knew their leader was a stubborn bastard and would still make sure things were done his way despite differences of opinion. "That's puttin' her at risk," Charlie said suddenly, his eyebrows furrowing as concern spread across his young face.
Chuckling, Ben looked into Charlie's eyes. "Ah think Tommy's right. You're sweet on her, Charlie."
Charlie swallowed hard. "Let's do it then, Boss," he replied simply, knowing that this would put Rachel's life at risk, but also make them quite a few thousand dollars richer. His eyes searched for Rachel through the dark, finding her as her features became illuminated by the embers of the newly lit fire. Sighing, Charlie got up and strolled over to where Rachel was sat. "You alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine, thank you," she replied. On her face was a blank expression and unshed tears were in her eyes, threatening to fall down her cheeks.
"Want me to warm ya up?" Tommy Darden asked suddenly, walking past Rachel and Charlie. He winked at her and made a perverse kissing motion with his lips. Charlie merely scowled in response, warning Tommy away.
With no word, Charlie walked over to his horse and fiddled around with his saddle bags, then returned to Rachel, his figure coming into view thanks to brightness of the fire. "Here. It'll keep ya warm," he said softly, handing her a thin blanket. "It gets bitter out here at night."
"I'll be fine," Rachel replied bitterly, one tear slipping silently down her cheek.
"Shut up and come here!" Charlie hissed, crouching down and enclosing the grey blanket around Rachel's trembling shoulders. It wasn't worth fighting or resisting anymore. Rachel knew she was stuck here for quite a while, if not for the rest of her life. Charlie may have mellowed slightly since meeting him two days ago, but the rest of the gang to her seemed like a group of disgusting animals.
Jackson and Kinter soon returned to the camp with a couple of rabbits they had shot. They dropped the dead animals to the ground with a thump, paired with rising dust, and prepared their knives, sharpening them in preparation for skinning the rabbits. Rachel huddled inside the blanket, squirming at the sight of the animals being cut open.
Charlie raised an eyebrow and looked across at Rachel's expression of complete disgust. "Ah take it you're not used to this?" he asked, smirking. "Never lived in the wild, hunted for ya own food and skinned it yaself."
"Yeah, and I'm glad I never have too," Rachel replied, pulling the blanket around her tighter to push away the biting cold. When she thought about all this, it made her realise that this was the way that many people survived and how the very first men of the world kept themselves alive.
A while later and Rachel was presented with a black mass which looked only just edible in any way. Kinter placed the cut up and cooked rabbit in Rachel's lap and walked away quickly, ready to eat his own meal. All of the men had already tucked into their food with great relish whilst Rachel grimaced at the meat. Closing her eyes and holding her nose, Rachel bit a tiny piece of flesh from the bone, tasting an overly smoked flavour travel down her throat. It certainly wasn't a piece of prime steak, but neither did it taste like contents of a lavatory bowl. Shortly after taking her first bite, Rachel began eating larger chunks, finding that she actually quite enjoyed the flavour.
By the time Rachel had finished her meat, all the other men had thrown their bones away and were sat leisurely by the fire discussing various topics of conversation amongst themselves. Charlie was only a few feet away from Rachel and was alone, lying on his back along his camp roll, staring up at the stars littering the sky. His arms were behind his head, acting as a pillow. "Anything interesting?" Rachel asked, moving across a little towards Charlie.
"Depends on what ya find interestin'," Charlie replied simply, never looking at her. Rachel dragged herself across the dusty ground to where Charlie was lay and pulled the blanket in tighter around her body then leaned her head back, staring up at the sky.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked, smiling at the twinkling starlight in the heavens.
"It always helps me clear mah head," Charlie said absently. "No matter what shit ah've had happen, ah can look up and let mah worries drift away."
"I always find that with music. It lets me forget the bad things that happen and concentrate on the good," Rachel replied, catching a quick glimpse of Charlie's pistol. "I've never fired a gun," she continued, watching as Charlie's expression changed to one of confusion.
"Ah take it that's a hint?" he asked, looking at her.
"No," she mumbled, fidgeting with her fingers. "I just looked at your gun and it made me think that I've never fired one before. I do Tae Kwon Do back home but I've never fired a gun."
"What the hell is that?" Charlie asked, sitting up on his bed roll and staring at Rachel questioningly.
"It's Martial Arts. Self defence. You know? Kicking and punching. I used to train twice a week. I was on my purple belt before I left; doesn't look like I'll be going much further."
Charlie couldn't help but smile to himself, watching the fire form small dancing lights in Rachel's eyes. "Ah suppose its all well and good bein' able to fire a gun but ya need to be able to stand ya ground in a one on one fight. "
Eventually, as the fire died down, the embers diminishing, the group lay down for the night on the hard, cold ground. Rachel grit her teeth as she felt stones dig into her back and the coldness spread through her body, but for tonight this was all they had.