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Chapter 3
The Lonesome Drifter and the Mysterious Stranger
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'Come on, Kyrie, you're lagging!' Boone snapped, waling ahead of the whining nineteen year old.
'I'm coming!' She was busy looking over various roots and plants to make healing powder. 'This is a good one.' She muttered, stuffing it into her bag and running to catch up with her companion. 'You are an impatient man, you now that?'
'I don't like being out in the open like this, it's too quiet.'
'You are just being paranoid.'
'Am not.' He growled out.
'Are too.' She countered.
'Am not.'
'Are too.'
'I grew up with two bitchy older sisters, I'm quite good at this game.' She sing-songed. He rolled his eyes, feeling yet another migraine coming on. That couldn't be healthy for him.
Kyrie was about to say something else when all of sudden, she looked up, straining her ears as she listened closely.
It sounded like strumming.
'You hear music?' She asked.
'Yeah.' He muttered
Peering around the giant billboard, Kyrie's eyes widened when she saw a man sitting in front of a small campfire.
He had on a cool looking cowboy hat, a duster that looked like it saw better days, and next to him was a beautiful old accoustic guitar.
'Umm..hi' She said in a friendly tone, giving a small wave.
'Whata re doing?' Boone whispered hurriedly. 'You don't know this guy, how do you know he can be trusted?'
'I didn't know you and yet I talked to you, didn't I?' She snapped.
Damn. She had a point.
The man looked up, he had one hell of a mustache but yet he had a kind look to his eyes.
'Howdy, little lady.' He said.
Kyrie liked this guy already. 'What's your story stranger?'
The drifter sighed. 'My story's a long one, friend, and I can't say it's all that interesting.'
The girl sat down on the opposite side of the fire while Boone stayed standing. 'Nevertheless, we are interested.'
Boone rolled his eyes.
'Well, I was born in a small town out Montana way. Me and Ma didn't have much ever since my pa up and left.'
'Your father abandoned you?' She asked. Thoughts of her father raced through her head. Even though he didn't abandon them on purpose, it still hurt knowing that he was killed. It sort of felt like abandonment in her eyes.
'That he did.' The man continued. 'Never did know why. Ma always said he was a mysterious feller, even when he was with her.' He pondered on his next sentence. 'Like he was a stranger sometimes.'
Kyrie and Boone glanced at one another.
'Sounds like you miss him.' Kyrie commented, feeling sorry for the man. 'Is that why you're out here wandering?'
'Maybe.' He sighed. 'Maybe I just felt like I didn't belong at home.'
You and me both my friend. Kyrie thought, feeling a connection to this guy.
"It must've been hard growing up without a father.'
'It sure wasn't easy. Ma worked her fingers to the bone to make sure we had enough to survive and I worked in the coal mines from the time I was fifteen.' The man paused, the memory still hurting him at the thought of his mother.
'After Ma died, I guess I wanted to find my Pa and get some answers from him. Been out here ever since, but he sure isn't an easy man to find.'
'What are you going to do when you find him?' Shockingly, it was Boone who asked that. Kyrie looked at him in surprise.
The Drifter sighed. 'Can;'t say I really know. Maybe I'll just ask him why. Maybe I'll just punch him in the mouth.' He sighed in frustration. 'Hell, the more I think of it, the more the whole damn thing sounds like a bad idea.'
The man turned his tired gaze to the fire.
Kyrie chose her next words carefully. 'Sounds like you should move on, settle down maybe.'
The man nodded, looking slightly happier at the thought of that. "Maybe I should. You wouldn't happen to know where a guy with a guitar can get a job, do ya?'
They both shook their heads. 'Sorry, not at the moment.' Kyrie sighed.
'Ah well.' The drifter shurgged. 'It was worth a shot.'
'And as for your Dad, I wouldn't worry. He's out there somewhere. And who knows, maybe he is watching you right now.'
Little did they know how right she was.
Hiding in the shadows, a man wearing a long trench coat and a pre-war hat, watched as the courier, the sniper, and the drifter parted ways. Feeling pride for his estranged son, the Mysterious Stranger kept watch as he always did, protecting those in dire situations. He decided to follow this girl for a while.
Everyone needed a stranger looking after them.
A Mysterious Stranger.
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Hell yes!
Mysterious Stranger is the man! He always appears when I need him!
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