Chapter 15-The final chapter! yay! :) enjoy

My eyes fluttered open and I found myself in a bed with white sheets. I looked around. The walls were dirty white and had some areas where it had cracks and rotting beams. I slowly sat upright. Doc appeared next to me. "Hello, Banshee, how are you feeling?" he asked. I gave him a confused look.

"Where am I?" I asked him. He reached down and took a swig from a bottle and placed it back down on the ground. "Yer in my office, recovering from yesterday," he said. "Yesterday?" I asked. Doc nodded. "You went to the Abandoned Mines," he said. I blinked. Abandoned Mines…

An image of Rattlesnake Jake appeared in my head. I flinched uncomfortably. Small parts of memory started to piece back together. My head throbbed with pain again. I groaned and rubbed it gently with my left bandaged wing. My eyes went wide when I remembered how Bill, his gang, and I escaped the rattlesnake.

"Kaliah! Where's Kaliah? Is she all right? Did Jake kill her?" I asked Doc, panicking. Doc placed his hands in front of his chest and told me to calm down. "She's fine, she's fine. We found her lying unconscious around some blood, but she'll recover. As for Jake, we didn't see him, must have left right when we came," guessed Doc, shrugging his shoulders. I sighed with relief, but felt my ribcage tightening.

"Banshee," I heard a person say my name. I turned my head to the left. My eyes widened. It was the stranger I shot when I was with the gang. The stranger's dish like ears twitched and listened to the strange sounds in the room. He had bandages wrapped around his arm where I nicked him in the shoulder.

"Y-yes?" I asked. The stranger stared at me. "Yer the bat. Yer the one that shot me," he said. He didn't seem upset. I nodded. "Yeah, I'm sorry-" I said. The stranger held his good arm up, silently telling me to stop. He continued. "Doc told me the story, you don't have to apologize," he said. I didn't say anything. The stranger continued. "Very dangerous, to join a gang, to save the lives of these citizens in this here town," he said.

"They care for me, I owe them," I said. The stranger nodded. "Amazing. Very amazing," he said. I sighed and rested my head against the pillow. I stared up at the ceiling. "Yeah," I said. We didn't talk for a while. I closed my eyes for a couple minutes, until the stranger spoke again.

"The name's Iron, by the way," he said. I opened my eyes and turned my head back to him. "Iron?" I asked. Iron nodded. "Got the name when I was with my parents. We worked with metals, my brother's name was Bronze. We would go around for metals and sell them to the nearby towns," he explained. I nodded, "Interesting," I said. Iron smiled.

"Yep, that's also why I came down here. Heard there was metals here. Special types, just a rumor I guess," Iron shrugged. I blinked. Special metals? Here? I thought. I started to ponder over what Iron said. I wonder if Bill knew about the "special metals" and that's why he lives in the Abandoned Mines…but wouldn't he have found them already? Why did he want the town? Questions floated around in my head. Iron interrupted my thoughts.

"What about you? How did ya git yer name? Did you live in a graveyard or something?" he asked. I shook my head. "No, The town named me because of my scream ability." I said. Iron gave me a quizzical look. "Scream ability?" he asked. I nodded. "I'll show you when I recover," I said.

Iron's nose twitched. "So, you ain't from around here, are you?" he asked. I shook my head, "No, I don't know who I am or where I come from, but the town was nice to let me stay and start over," I said with a small smile. Iron smiled back. "Well, that's good, it's good to find people who will help you," he said.

Later on, Rango's posse came around to visit me. Occasionally, some citizens would come by and see me. They apologized for not believing me when I told them about Bill's plan. I told them it was all right, but they gave me things as a sign of gratitude and apologies. Some gave me little gifts, like water, and fruit. I accepted the gifts and thanked them. The kids of Dirt came by as well. They told me how I was really cool. Priscilla told me how she wanted to be just like me when she grew up. I enjoyed everyone's visit.

When everyone left, Iron and I talked for a while. I told him the story of how I came to Dirt, and what happened while I was with the gang. Iron's ears twitched and listened to my story. He listened with interest and didn't interrupt.

I had no idea what time it was when I finished my story, but I felt my eyes getting heavy. Iron stretched his arms in his bed and yawned. "Well, at least you stopped Bad Bill and his gang from taking over the town, yer mission is complete," he said as he settled down and fell asleep. "Yeah, I succeeded," I yawned. I pulled the sheets up to my chin and closed my eyes.

...

The next morning, I woke up to the mouth watering smell of warm, scrambled roadrunner eggs, dry toast, and small hot pancakes. I opened my eyes and found the Rodent family standing next to me with smiles on their faces. I slowly sat upright and looked up at them. I was happy to see them.

"Morning Banshee," said Mrs. Rodent as she placed the plate of food onto my lap. She handed me a fork and I dug in. "Thank you," I said as I swallowed my eggs. "Babbi!" Petunia said. She reached her hands out to me. Her father held her in his arms. "Sorry we weren't here to see you yesterday, everyone wanted to see you," said Mr. Rodent. I smiled as I chewed the dry toast. "That's ok, I understand," I said. Stub handed me a glass of water, which I gulped down in seconds.

"Heard you fought Rattlesnake Jake," said Stub. I stopped eating. Stub continued. "Did ya kill him?" he asked. I shook my head, "No," I said. Stub smiled. "I bet he was real scared when he saw ya, huh?" said the young rodent. I smiled, but decided to not say anything.

When I was done, Mrs. Rodent took my plate. Petunia got out of her father's arms and jumped onto my lap. I felt my bones snap inside. "Babbi!" said Petunia as she touched my face and hair. The Rodent family talked to me and told me how when I got better, I was still allowed to stay with them in their home. I thanked them and said goodbye when they left.

Later on, Iron woke up and we talked for a while. Just then, Doc came in to see how we were doing. I felt the blood drain out of my face when I watched him pull out a vaccination needle, filled with a strange colored liquid. I flinched in fear. "W-what's that?" I asked. Doc pointed to the needle in his hands. "This, is what's going to help you recover, now hold still, it will only hurt for a second," he said as he unraveled the bandages around my arm. When the needle was injected into my arm, I screamed. The wall accross from me exploded and left a gapping hole. Iron gawked at the wall. "Woah," he said. When Doc was done he wrabbed my arm back up. Iron was amazed at my scream ability. "That was amazing! You we'rent kidding about that strange scream ability! we're you born with it or something?" he asked me. I just shrugged, rubbing my sore arm. Doc walked over to Iron and checked his bandaged arm.

Iron was allowed to leave when Doc checked his healed wound and unravelled his bandages. Iron shook his head. "Nah, I'd rather stay here and keep Banshee company," he said. I smiled. I enjoyed Iron's company and was glad he decided to stay a little while longer. He told me that when I fully recovered, that he was going to leave town.

"Heard a town had a mine full of silver, I'm curious to settle there and possibly start a business," he told me. I didn't want him to leave, but it was best for him to leave Dirt. The town of Dirt wasn't a place to stay, since a lot of bizarre and horrible things happen. Also to add that he almost got killed, so he was better off someplace else. Iron told me more about his family and what he did.

I listened, until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. Iron yawned and drank his glass of water that sat on the nightstand next to his bed. "Well, I'll tell the rest of the story tomorrow, I can't seem to stay awake," said Iron as he got into bed. "Me too," I said as I laid my head down. "Goodnight, Banshee," said Iron as he pulled the covers up and fell asleep. "Goodnight, Iron," I said as I drifted off to sleep.

I dreamed I was with Kinski. We walked together down the town of Dirt. No one seemed to mind as we walked. Kinski and I started up a conversation, but when I woke up, I couldn't remember it. I sighed as I sat upright in bed. It was pitch black in the room. I could hear Iron snoring softly in his pillow.I touched my bandaged wings, thinking about Kinski. I wanted to know where he was. I wanted to know if he was ok. My throat started to tighten up. I felt tears come to my eyes as I laid back down.

...

I woke up the next morning with no visitors. Iron and I ate our breakfast. Iron finished his story from yesterday. A couple hours later, Rango and Beans came in to see how I was doing. I asked them if they have seen Jake or Bill and his gang anywhere. They shook their heads. "Right when we left the Abandoned Mines, back to Dirt, no outlaws were seen," said Beans. I sighed and laid my head back down.

I thought back when I watched as the wagon left. They were gone. Would they come back? Where were they now? Did they move to a different town? I pushed the thought away when tears came to my eyes. I couldn't stop thinking about Kinski. It was torture. "Banshee? Are you ok?" asked Iron.

I snapped out of my thoughts. "Huh?" I asked. Iron gave me a look. "You seem distracted, something wrong?" he asked me. I shook my head. "No," I lied. Iron didn't believe me. He was about to ask something else, but was interrupted when Rango's posse came in carrying Kaliah.

My mouth dropped open in shock. "Kaliah," I said and started to get out of bed. Doc came over to me and forced me to lay back down. The men carefully placed Kaliah into the bed next to me to the right. Kaliah's eyes were closed. Her wings and body were bandaged up. Blood seeped through the bandages. In some areas, I saw deep gashes and visible scars. I stared at her in shock.

"Is she ok?" I asked Doc. Doc rubbed his face in exhaustion. "She's fine. We kept her in a different room when she was unconscious. When she awoke, I couldn't calm her down. So, I figured that she would settle down when she knew that you were ok, and you could keep her company," said the one eared rabbit.

I smiled a small smile, but it disappeared when I heard Kaliah groan in pain. "Kaliah?" I said softly. Kaliah's bleeding ears twitched. She whimpered and screeched softly. I stretched my bandaged wing out to her. The tip of my wing lightly brushed over her left wing that drooped over and laid on the ground. Kaliah's face gradually relaxed.

Two days passed when Kaliah was able to open her eyes and speak to me. I asked her what happened when she fought Rattlesnake Jake. Kaliah lowered her scratched face.

"I don't really want to talk about it," Kaliah said in a low voice.

I nodded. "Oh, all right, you don't have to," I said. Iron gave me a look. "You understand it?" he asked. I nodded. "I can understand her. Kaliah," I said. Iron's ears twitched and he scratched the side of his face. "Ah, well…what did she say?" he asked."She said she didn't want to talk about her fight with Rattlesnake Jake," I said. Iron's eyes widened a bit. "Oh, so she's the bat who fought the snake so you could get away," said Iron, picking back to the story I told him. Iron continued. "Did you kill him?" he asked her. Kaliah's blind eyes turned to me blankly."Iron asked if you killed Jake," I said. Kaliah sniffed the air.

"Iron. That's a strange name, and no I didn't kill him…He slithered away when he heard the sheriff's men come in. they found me on the ground…" she said, her voice faltering.

I turned back to Iron and shook my head. "No," I said. Iron didn't say anything as he sat on his cot bed. I felt my stomach churn when Kaliah whimpered in pain. I felt horrible for Kaliah. "Thank you, for saving us," I said. Kaliah smiled a small smile, but it disappeared when another wave of pain shot through her wings. When the pains ceased, she spoke.

"Don't mention it, we're even," she said.

I didn't understand what she meant by that. I guess because I took care of her and fed her. She was my friend, and I was her friend. "What did she say?" asked Iron. I turned my head from Kaliah, to Iron. "She said to me, "your welcome,"" I said with a smile. Kaliah gave me a look, but smiled as well and laid her head down.

Iron spat the ground then laid down in his cot bed. "I would hate to come face to face with that devil," said Iron as he stared up at the ceiling. Kaliah went back to sleep. I sat there on my bed. My wings were still sore, but they didn't hurt as much.

Days went by. Later, I was able to go outside. I still had to wear bandages, but I didn't care, I was glad to leave the musty room. Iron stayed with Kaliah. He would help Doc take care of her. Kaliah allowed Iron to feed her medicine. She seemed to like Iron and trusted him. I guess Iron somewhat reminded her of her master, Balthazar.

I continued down the street. Main street was somewhat cleaned up. Almost all the blood and guts were washed away. Some citizens waved to me as they continued scrubbing away at the blood stains on the windows and wooden steps of their homes. As I walked around, I didn't realize where I was going. I accidentally bumped into a spider.

"Oh! I'm sorry-" I said but stopped in mid sentence. The spider was a black widow. He wore a black coat with coattails and a black top hat. He wore steam punk looking goggles and held a hammer and nails in his two front arms. I gasped and took a step back. The black spider took a step back as well. He stared at me. His goggle eyes twitched and moved. The smaller goggle lenses moved around. Looking at me from head to toe. I stood there, frozen to the spot. I have never seen him around before. Just then, Priscilla came up to me.

"Hey Banshee! Yer out of Doc's office," she said. I nodded. The black spider looked down at the small little girl. Priscilla turned and smiled at the spider. "Hi, Mr. Black," she said. The spider, now named Mr. Black, nodded his head. Priscilla turned back to me. "You wanna come with me?" she asked. "sure," I said, trying to not stare at the spider. Priscilla smiled. "Bye Mr. Black," she said and waved. Mr. Black smiled and nodded his head again. I followed Priscilla down the street. When I turned my head back around to look at the spider one last time, he was gone.

"Who was that? I've never seen him around before," I said. Priscilla looked up at me. "Oh, that's Mr. Black, he's the undertaker of the town. He builds the coffins and arranges the funerals for all of the deceased. He was working non stop every time the new sheriff came to the town," Priscilla smiled cheerfully. "He would let me poke the dead sheriffs and examine them before he buried them," she added, her smile widening. I gave her a small, nervous smile. I never knew Priscilla would be interested in the deceased.

"I have a skull of the roadrunner that sheriff Amos used to ride, you wanna come and see it?" she asked me, her huge amber eyes looking up at me with excitement. I smiled. "Sure," I said. Priscilla led the way to her house. She opened the door and we both walked inside. Her house smelled musty.

The lighting inside was dim and stuffy. A dull, naked hanging light bulb lit the small living room. There were ugly couches with springs sticking out. Strewn across the ground were empty beer bottles. "Are your parents home?" I asked her as we walked up a couple of squeaky wooden stairs. Priscilla shook her head. "No, my parents are dead, I live with my uncle, he's sleeping in his room," she said. We got to the top of the stairs and down a hallway. Priscilla and I walked all the way down to the end and into a room. "Sorry, my room is a bit messy," she said as we entered inside.

Priscilla's room was full of strange objects. Her bed was cluttered with black fabric and spools of black, red, white, grey and green thread. On the ground was hundreds of little bones, clothes, bits of food, and strange jewellery. On the paint peeling walls were hand drawn pictures of animal skulls, dead bodies, bleeding hearts, and graveyards. Other pictures were labels or designs for beer bottles and firecrackers. In one corner was a cracked gravestone. On a badly made dresser were different types of animal teeth, pieces of sharp colorful glass, rusty nails, and one roadrunner skull.

Priscilla walked up to the roadrunner skull and lifted it off her dresser. She carefully walked over all the junk on her floor and handed the skull to me. I stared at it. "Wow, that's cool," I said with a smile as I examined it more closely. Priscilla smiled. "Thanks. You know, yer the first girl to ever say that, and not drop the skull and scream in disgust," she said. I kept looking at the skull. I wasn't disgusted by the skull at all. I was actually fastinated with it. It was amazing. I guess I didn't mind things like that. "Why wouldn't I be fascinated with this? Its cool," I said as I handed the skull back. Priscilla looked down at the skull for a minute. "None of the girls at my school are like that. They don't like hanging around with me because I'm…different," she said. I stared down at Priscilla.

What she said instantly reminded me of Kinski, how he said he was mistreated and looked down upon, just because he was different. All three of us, Priscilla, Kinski, and I. We were all misfits, living in a cruel world. I knelt down and hugged Priscilla. "There's nothing wrong with being different," I said to her. Priscilla hugged me back. When I let go of her, she smiled up at me. "Thanks, Banshee," she said. Then she turned around and placed her roadrunner skull back where she got it.

...

We walked out of her house and down the street. The day started to get late. I said good-bye to Priscilla and headed back to Doc's office. Kaliah and Iron were next to each other. Iron stroked Kaliah's hair gently as she smiled in her sleep. Iron saw me come in and continued petting Kaliah. "She's a really cool bat," said Iron in a whisper. I nodded.

"Yeah, she is. I just wish she could stay here. Rango, his posse and I are going to take her home when she get's better," I said. Iron nodded and looked back down at Kaliah. He continued petting her. I was really amazed that she let Iron pet her. She always seemed wild and full of anger in her, but now, she's calm and happy. I yawned and slipped into my bed.

Right when I was about to, Iron turned his head to me. "Do you think she would let me ride her when she gets better?" he asked. I nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure she would, she seems to like you; but how many more days did Doc say when she'll be fully recovered?" I asked him. Iron stopped stroking Kaliah and thought for a minute. "I think he said two weeks, but I can wait," he said with a smile. I smiled back and went to sleep.

The two weeks passed, and Kaliah was able to move around again. She screeched happily as Iron and Doc unravelled her bandages. She flapped her wings and flew around in the room. Her wings rubbed up against the walls, and knocked over night dressers and lamps. "Git her outside," said Doc as he tried grabbing the excited bat. Iron and I grabbed Kaliah and helped her outside. Her body was big, and was hard to get through the door.

Kaliah flapped her wings and flew through the skies. Iron and I watched her. "Wow, I wish I could fly like that," said Iron. I looked down at my bandaged wings sadly. My wings were still damaged. Doc told me I had to wait a couple more weeks till he was able to take off the bandages. I missed flying, it was the best thing to ever have.

I looked up, just as Kaliah came down and landed in front of us. Iron came up to her and stroked her hair. Kaliah smiled and allowed him to scratch behind her ears. I instantly remembered to ask Kaliah if Iron could ride her. I walked up to Kaliah. "Hey Kaliah, Iron was wondering if he could ride you," I said. Kaliah smiled and nodded. Before I could tell Iron, Kaliah went down on her belly. Iron's eyes widened and he turned to me. I nodded my head. Iron excitedly jumped on Kaliah and held onto her mane. Instantly, Kaliah took off through the skies. I watched Kaliah fly through the air. Iron whooped and cheered in the sky. A couple people came out and watched the bat and mouse. Kaliah flew over their heads and went up again. The kids screamed with excitement and jumped for joy. When Iron's ride ended, some of the town kids came up to Kaliah and asked to ride her.

Kaliah became the main attraction in the town. She let the citizens take a ride on her back as she flew over the town. Kaliah didn't mind at all, she was just happy to be able to fly again. When the day grew late, everyone had to go home. Kaliah landed and laid there in the middle of the road. She stuck her pink tongue out and started to pant. Iron and I helped her back into Doc's office to sleep for the night.

Iron stroked Kaliah's head one last time before leaving the office. "Are you leaving?" I asked Iron. Iron turned to me and nodded. "Yeah, I am," he said. My shoulders went down. "Cant you stay a little longer?" I asked him. Iron smiled and shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, but I'll visit when I can," he said.

Iron gave me a hug. I hugged him back. "It was good to see you Banshee, I hope you have a wonderful new life here in Dirt," he said. "I hope you do wherever you are going too, and good luck with your metal business," I said to Iron. We both stopped hugging and I watched as Iron waved goodbye and walked down the street where he last left his wagon full of mining supplies and metals. I waved back as he whipped the reins. The two roadrunners hitched up to the wagon woke up from their nap and started to move. I watched as the wagon left Dirt till it disappeared into the darkness.

The next day, we entered the prairie dog territory. I steadied my breathing and looked down at the ground. Kaliah crawled on all fours next to me. Rango and the posse followed right behind us. They got down off their roadrunners and left them. We didn't say anything as we got closer.

The prairie dogs were already out. They were brushing their bats' fur and feeding them what looked like dried up roots. Balthazar was hitting a small prairie dog with his stick. "Ezekiel! I'm gonna whup you till you become a raw piece of meat left out in the sun!" yelled Balthazar. "Pappy! Ow! I-ow! Sorry!" said the prairie dog named Ezekiel. His voice instantly made me remember where I heard him from. He was the one that shot Kaliah when the gang and I were stealing her that night.

We approached them. The prairie dogs looked up and saw us. Balthazar stopped hitting Ezekiel and sniffed the air. "What the hell? What are you all doin' here again?" he asked and moved his stick back and forth on the ground and walked up to us. Rango placed his hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him. He looked back at me and nodded.

I sighed, "I came to return Kaliah-" I said to Balthazar. "Kaliah? You found her?!" asked Balthazar happily. Kaliah screeched and came up to her master. "Kaliah! Oh Hallelujah! I'm so happy to have you back!" Balthazar said happily and wrapped his arms around Kaliah's neck. Kaliah screeched happily and wrapped her wings around him.

I smiled a small smile, but then my smile faded. I had to tell him. Surely he will beat me till I can't feel my body, or do the worst to me, but at least I did the right thing in returning Kaliah to him. "Balthazar? I need to tell you something else," I said sadly. Then Balthazar stopped hugging Kaliah and walked his way toward me.

"I- " I started but then was interrupted by Balthazar. "Thank you so much for finding my Kaliah and returning her to me!" Balthazar said happily and wrapped his arms around me. I stiffened, my arms screaming in pain. Rango and the posse looked at Balthazar in shock. They have never seen him so happy, let alone hug someone. I turned my heasd to Kaliah, who seemed to be laughing.

"Its ok, you don't have to tell him," said Kaliah to me.

Balthazar stopped hugging me and patted my shoulder. "Thank you again, I never thought I would see my beloved Kaliah again, you have my gratitude," he said and went back to Kaliah. I rubbed my sore wings and smiled as I watched Balthazar hug Kaliah again. Kaliah screeched and flapped her wings happily. Then, Kaliah came up to me and wrapped her arms around me.

"Good-bye Banshee, hope we an meet again soon," said Kaliah.

I hugged Kaliah back. "Yep, you too," I said. Then I looked back at Rango and the posse. They smiled back at me. When I was done hugging my friend, I said goodbye to Balthazar, Kaliah, and all the prairie dogs around them. As we walked back to our roadrunners, I looked back and watched as Kaliah was surrounded by all the prairie dogs and bats. My stomach unknotted itself. It was nice to see Kaliah happy, and to be back with her family again. I turned back and mounted my roadrunner. When Rango and his posse were all on their roadrunners, we all rode out of the Prairie Dog Territory.

The sun sank lower and lower as we rode. Finally, the Abandoned Mines came into view. I felt a twinge of pain in my heart as we came closer to it. I sighed sadly as I slowly passed by it. I turned my head and saw the empty stable Kaliah once stayed in, and the entrance to the hideout. I looked away when I felt tears come to my eyes. I stared down at my wings that held the reins to my roadrunner. I wiped the tears away.

Suddenly, at the corner of my eye, I saw movement. I quickly turned my head back to the Abandoned Mines. My heart lifted a bit as my ears perked up and listened. Silence. "Banshee? You ok?" asked Rango, noticing my strange behavior. My eyes flickered from Rango, back to the mines.

"Huh? Uh, y-yeah…yeah, I'm fine," I said. I noticed something shoot its head back into the hideout. I might have imagined it, but I could've sworn I saw a flash of blond hair. When we passed by the Abandoned Mines and were a good distance away, I turned my head back.

Faint, but clear, I saw Kinski in front of the mines. Standing there. The breeze rustled his dishevelled hair. My eyes widened with excitement and my heart lifted from my chest. I turned around and straightened up on my roadrunner. I rode with a smile on my face next to Rango and the others as we headed back home to the town of Dirt.

The End!

Author's Note: Wow, I never thought I would be able to finish this story. I am so happy how it turned out. It's a lot better then how I first started out. If you keep working at it, it will all work out in the end :) Thank you so much for reading this story and all your wonderful comments :) I might would have not finished it without your support. Thank you again!

-Bat13SJx

Original Character (O.C.): Banshee

My Characters: Ricochet, Petunia, Stub, Mr. and Mrs. Rodent, Kaliah, Iron, Hector, Blade, Klaus, Loyal, Gerome, Skimp, Rye, and all the nameless outlaws.